cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Involvement of tumor-associated macrophage activation in vitro during development of a novel mantle cell lymphoma cell line, PF-1, derived from a typical patient with relapsed disease

Human mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cell lines are scarce and have been only sporadically described and validated, and only a few have been thoroughly molecularly or genetically characterized. We describe here the successful establishment of a new MCL line, PF-1, with typical MCL characteristics. Culturing primary MCL cells in vitro initially gave rise to an essential generative microenvironment "niche" involving macrophages required for MCL growth, and eventually produced the PF-1 MCL cell line. Our analysis revealed that PF-1 is morphologically and genotypically nearly identical to the original tumor cells. The PF-1 MCL cell line that we have developed will be useful for in vitro and in vivo studies of MCL pathogenesis and therapeutics.
Interaction of Ethanol with Inducers of Glucose-regulated Stress Proteins ETHANOL POTENTIATES INDUCERS OF grp78 TRANSCRIPTION

Abstract GRP78, a molecular chaperone expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum, is a “glucose-regulated protein” induced by stress responses that deplete glucose or intracisternal calcium or otherwise disrupt glycoprotein trafficking. Previously we showed that chronic ethanol exposure increases the expression of GRP78. To further understand the mechanism underlying ethanol regulation of GRP78 expression, we studied the interaction between ethanol and classical modulators of GRP78 expression in NG108-15 neuroblastoma × glioma cells. We found that, in addition to increasing basal levels of GRP78 mRNA (“induction”), ethanol produced greater than additive increases in the induction of GRP78 mRNA by the “classical” GRP inducers A23187, brefeldin A, and thapsigargin (“potentiation”). Both the ethanol induction and potentiation responses modulated grp78 gene transcription as determined by stable transfection analyses with the rat grp78 promoter. Ethanol potentiated the action of all classical inducers of grp78 transcription that were studied. In contrast, co-treatment with the classical GRP inducers thapsigargin and tunicamycin produced only simple additive increases in grp78 promoter activity. Transient transfection studies with deletion mutants of the rat grp78 promoter showed that cis-acting promoter sequences required for ethanol induction differ from those mediating responses to classical GRP inducers. Furthermore, linker-scanning mutations of the grp78 promoter suggested that the ethanol potentiation response required a cis-acting promoter element different from those involved in induction by ethanol or classical inducing agents. While the ethanol induction response required 16-24 h to be detectable, ethanol potentiation of thapsigargin occurred within 6 h. The potentiation response also decayed rapidly after ethanol removal. In addition, the protein kinase A inhibitor R-cAMPS and protein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid both increased ethanol potentiation of thapsigargin while S-cAMPS, an activator of protein kinase A, decreased ethanol potentiation. Taken together, our findings suggest two mechanisms by which ethanol regulates grp78 transcription, both differing from the action of classical GRP inducers such as thapsigargin. One mechanism (potentiation) involves a protein phosphorylation cascade and potentiates the action of classical GRP inducers. In contrast, GRP78 induction by ethanol involves promoter sequences and a mechanistic pathway separate from that of the ethanol potentiation response or classical GRP78 inducers. These studies show that ethanol produces a novel and complex regulation of grp78 transcription which could be of particular importance during neuronal exposure to GRP-inducing stressors as might occur with central nervous system injury.
“Gradual Exile” by Mahmoud Darwish

Very few poets can claim to embrace in the fabric of their work the systole and diastole of the times, but Mahmoud Darwish stands today as a poet who encapsulated the experiences of many Palestinia...
The Optic UK Lecture: bench-to-bedside adventures of a diabetes researcher: results past, results present.

This presentation covers two topics. First is a basic laboratory study, designed to explore the mechanism for the phenomenon of ‘early worsening,' in which individuals with type 1 diabetes and early to moderate retinopathy are rapidly placed on ‘tight' blood glucose control, after which about 10% of these individuals develop a worsening of retinopathy with the appearance of multiple ‘cotton wool' spots. Our studies on cultured retinal cells used vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production as an index of cellular ischaemia. VEGF production increases substantially when cells are cultured in low oxygen, but VEGF production in these hypoxic cultures decreases when the medium contains a fivefold excess glucose concentration. Cultures with no medium glucose also show increased VEGF production. In the clinical situation, we infer from these results that retinas with early retinopathy have a reduced blood supply and are therefore relatively ischaemic, thus increasing their VEGF production. Adding glucose provides an alternative energy supply, thus reducing the demand for VEGF and hence, reducing the likelihood of ‘early worsening.' However, reducing the glucose supply to these already compromised retinas further increases their ischaemia and, therefore, the stimulus to produce more VEGF. The second part of this presentation is a clinical exploration of possible reasons for the frequent, wide discrepancy between measured central macular thickness by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual acuity in eyes with diabetic macular oedema. I explore the influence of different diseases in which macular oedema appears, the presence or absence, and size, of cystoid cavities; duration of the oedema; age of the subject, different anatomic derangements including epiretinal membranes and disruptions of the photoreceptor layer, and various biochemical and physiological mechanisms.
Fuzzy control for active suspensions

A methodology for the design of active car suspension systems is presented. The goal is to minimize vertical car body acceleration, for passenger comfort, and to avoid hitting suspension limits, for component lifetime preservation. A controller consisting of two control loops is proposed to attain this goal. The inner loop controls a nonlinear hydraulic actuator to achieve tracking of a desired actuation force. The outer loop implements a fuzzy logic controller which interpolates linear locally optimal controllers to provide the desired actuation force. Final controller parameters are computed via genetic algorithm-based optimization. A numerical example illustrates the design methodology.
Community Organizing and Regionalism

In 1996, the Gamaliel Foundation, a national network of more than 40 congregation‐based community organizing projects, adopted a regional approach to community organizing, consolidating local proje...
Apolipoprotein E and Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract The past year has seen widespread confirmation that the ϵ4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. The ϵ4 allele also appears to correlate with life expectancy. This allele has been found to be present in over 50% of Alzheimer patients, regardless of whether or not they have a family history of dementia. It is not yet clear how the ϵ4 allele mediates its actions; however, recent evidence suggests that apolipoprotein E4 may be responsible for the accelerated formation of β-pleated amyloid from soluble β-amyloid peptide, as is seen in the neuritic plaques of Alzheimer patients, as well as interacting with intraneuronal microtubular transport mechanisms.
Malignant lesion segmentation in contrast-enhanced breast MR images based on the marker-controlled watershed

Breast tumor volume measured on MRI has been used to assess response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, accurate and reproducible delineation of breast lesions can be challenging, since the lesions may have complicated topological structures and heterogeneous intensity distributions. In this article, the authors present an advanced computerized method to semiautomatically segment tumor volumes on T1-weighted, contrast-enhanced breast MRI. The method starts with manual selection of a region of interest (ROI) that contains the lesion to be segmented in a single image, followed by automated separation of the lesion volume from its surrounding breast parenchyma by using a unique combination of the image processing techniques including Gaussian mixture modeling and a marker-controlled watershed transform. Explicitly, the Gaussian mixture modeling is applied to an intensity histogram of the pixels inside the ROI to distinguish the tumor class from other tissues. Based on the ROI and the intensity distribution of the tumor, internal and external markers are determined and the tumor contour is delineated using the marker-controlled watershed transform. To obtain the tumor volume, the segmented tumor in one slice is propagated to the adjacent slice to form an ROI in that slice. The marker-controlled watershed segmentation is then used again to obtain a tumor contour in the propagated slice. This procedure is terminated when there is no lesion in an adjacent slice. To reduce measurement variations possibly caused by the manual selection of the ROI, the segmentation result is refined based on an automatically determined ROI based on the segmented volume. The algorithm was applied to 13 patients with breast cancer, prospectively accrued prior to beginning neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Each patient had two MRI scans, a baseline MRI examination prior to commencing neoadjuvant chemotherapy and a 1 week follow-up after receiving the first dose of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Blinded to the computer segmentation results, two experienced radiologists manually delineated all tumors independently. The computer results were then compared with the manually generated results using the volume overlap ratio, defined as the intersection of the computer- and radiologist-generated tumor volumes divided by the union of the two. The algorithm reached overall overlap ratios of 62.6%±9.1% and 61.0%±11.3% in comparison to the two manual segmentation results, respectively. The overall overlap ratio between the two radiologists’ manual segmentations was 64.3%±10.4%. Preliminary results suggest that the proposed algorithm is a promising method for assisting in tumor volume measurement in contrast-enhanced breast MRI.
AN EVALUATION OF ORDER RELEASE MECHANISMS IN A JOB-SHOP ENVIRONMENT

Controlling the flow of material on the shop floor involves releasing and dispatching jobs to meet customer due-date requirements while attempting to keep operating costs low. This report presents an evaluation of five releasing mechanisms and four dispatching rules under various levels of aggregate due-date tightness, shop cost structure, and machine utilization using simulation. The performance criteria of total shop cost, jobs on shop floor, deviation from due dates, and job queue time are collected to demonstrate the interactive nature of releasing and dispatching on shop performance.
A putative primer for the replication of cauliflower mosaic virus by reverse transcription is virion-associated

Abstract We have isolated, from a cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) preparation, an RNA species (75 nucleotides) covalently linked to the 5′-end of the CaMV DNA fragment (sa-DNA) which is complementary to the CaMV 35 S RNA transcript 5′-end. Site-specific cleavage located a unique m 7 G residue in the RNA moiety of sa-DNA suggesting that it is host cell tRNA met i sa-DNA is reminiscent of retrovirus ‘strong-stop“ DNA and is evidence fo the reverse transcription model of CaMV replication.
The Pregnancy Depression Scale (PDS): a screening tool for depression in pregnancy

Depression in pregnancy can be underdiagnosed as a consequence of the symptoms being misattributed to “normal pregnancy.” There are currently no validated clinician-rated scales that assess for depression specifically during pregnancy. We sought to develop a brief, convenient screening tool to identify depression in pregnant women in the community setting. Prospective mood data using the 28-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were collected monthly in 196 pregnant women with a history of a major depressive disorder. These data were analyzed to delineate those HDRS items associated (elevated) with normal pregnancy vs. those indicative of a pregnant woman meeting diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode. Endorsement of symptoms on seven items of the HDRS were highly predictive of having a major depressive episode during pregnancy. We present a well-validated, brief scale to screen pregnant women for clinical depression. Whether this study will generalize to women who do not have a history of major depression remains to be studied.
Rigorous upper bound for turbulent electromotive force in reversed-field pinches.

An upper bound is determined for the turbulently generated axial electromotive force in reversed-field pinches, constrained solely by energy conservation in the approximation of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. The field reversal is predicted and comparisons are made with the minimum-energy state with the invariant magnetic helicity.
Aldehyde and ketone complexes of bis[2,4-pentanedionato] nickel(II) and cobalt(II) and their proton magnetic resonance spectra

Abstract The co-ordination of a series of meta and para substituted benzaldehydes with nickel acetylacetonate was studied principally by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The data indicate that the interaction is weak and follows a σ+ correlation to the Hammett ϱσ treatment. Several 2:1 aldehyde to M[AA]2 complexes were isolated but in solution the principal species appear to have a 1:2 stoichiometry.
Design Methodology for Compact Photonic Crystal Wavelength Division Multiplexers

We present an extremely compact wavelength division multiplexer design, as well as a general framework for designing and optimizing frequency selective devices embedded in photonic crystals satisfying arbitrary design constraints.
ADHESION TO FIBRONECTIN OR COLLAGEN I GEL INDUCES RAPID, EXTENSIVE, BIOSYNTHETIC ALTERATIONS IN EPITHELIAL CELLS

Extracellular matrix influences many cellular events. In this study, we demonstrate that adhesion of human salivary gland (HSG) epithelial cells to fibronectin- or collagen I gel-coated substrates, mediated by beta1 integrins, results in substantial alterations in protein and RNA expression profiles. The large numbers of changes in expression suggest that simply changing the adhesive substrate has basic effects on the regulation of cellular biosynthesis. Two-dimensional electrophoresis of [35S]methionine-labeled HSG cell proteins identified significant differences in the patterns of protein expression by cells cultured on nonprecoated substrates, collagen I gels or fibronectin. Thirty-two differentially expressed cDNA clones, which included both novel and previously sequenced genes, were up-regulated within 6 hr by culturing HSG cells on fibronectin or collagen I gels. Therefore, adhesion to collagen I or fibronectin resulted in rapid, widespread changes in cellular biosynthetic control. Expression of some genes was induced by ligation of beta1 integrins with antifunctional antibodies, whereas the expression of other genes was not induced. Most of the differentially expressed genes were up-regulated by adhesion to both fibronectin- and collagen I gel-coated substrates, but a few genes were selectively up-regulated on only one substrate. Furthermore, the up-regulated expression of some genes was detected within 3 hr, whereas changes in others required 6 hr. Discrete adhesive substrates and integrin molecules differentially affected the expression of a significant number of genes, suggesting that the cellular responses to adhesion were triggered through several signaling pathways.
Short-term effects of sea water on E-glass/vinylester composites

The use of ambient cured E-glass/vinylester composites is increasingly being considered for infrastructure applications both along the shore and offshore, thereby exposing the composite to a marine aqueous environment. The use of ambient cure potentially results in incomplete polymerization and susceptibility for degradation early in life. This study characterizes the mechanical response of E-glass/vinylester quadriaxial composites immersed in deionized water, sea water, and synthetic sea water. It is seen that there are substantial differences based on the solution type, with deionized water immersion causing the maximum drop in interlaminar shear performance and sea water causing the maximum reduction in tensile performance. The effect of cycling, simulating the tidal zone or the splash zone, is seen to be more pronounced in a resin-dominated response. Drying of specimens, even over prolonged periods of time, is not seen to result in complete regain of performance degradation due to sorption processes. A clear competition is seen between the phenomena of moisture-induced residual cure/postcure and physical (fiber-matrix debonding, microcracking, plasticization) and chemical (hydrolysis) aging. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2760–2767, 2002
Thymofibrolipoma in a Labrador Retriever

While thymomas are uncommon but well-known mediastinal masses, collagen-rich variants are exceedingly rare. Thymofibrolipoma and sclerosing thymoma tumor variants have been recently recognized in medical pathology, and thymofibrolipoma has been only rarely reported in dogs. A cranial thoracic mass was identified in a 6-year-old Labrador Retriever that was characterized by robust collagenous stroma dissected by thin cords of cytokeratin-positive neoplastic epithelial cells and bordered by mildly pleomorphic epithelial cells with occasional lymphocytic aggregates and rare Hassall corpuscles. To the authors’ knowledge, this is only the second report of thymofibrolipoma in veterinary medicine and the first to describe a variant with a mitotically active and relatively pleomorphic, adjacent thymic epithelial population.
Design and analysis of protocols for QoS and autonomous recovery in GMPLS controlled IP over WDM networks

This paper summarizes some new results and schemes within GMPLS framework that take full advantage of WDM/DWDM optical layer taking into consideration the limitations imposed by optical network. We focus on dynamically establishing light paths and autonomously recovering from failures in IP over WDM multilayer networks.
Transplantation tolerance: memories that haunt us.

Transplant tolerance, which allows grafts—allogeneic cells, tissues, or organs—to be accepted without host immunosuppression, can be achieved in mice but not in primates. In this issue of Science Translational Medicine , Nadazdin et al . report that a high pretransplant frequency of graft-reactive memory T cells may inhibit the induction of transplant tolerance in nonhuman primates and lead to transplant rejection. Knowing the frequency of allograft-specific memory T cells in potential transplant recipients could aid clinical decision-making by guiding selection of the antigenic profile of the donor organ or by influencing the type of tolerance-induction protocol pursued.
Cerebrospinal fluid choline levels are decreased in Parkinson's disease

We examined acetylcholinsterase (AChE) activity and choline levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in 16 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 9 control subjects of corresponding age: 8 were untreated Parkinson's patients; 4 were treated with carbidopa-levodopa (100/1,000 mg/day) for 20 +/- 3 months; and 4 were treated with carbidopa-levodopa (110/1,100 mg/day) for 28 +/- 18 months plus amantadine (200 mg/day) for 16 +/- 8 months. CSF choline levels (nmol/ml) were 2.97 +/- 0.79 (control subjects); 1.31 +/- 0.29 (untreated patients); 1.00 +/- 0.29 (carbidopa-levodopa treated); and 1.26 +/- 0.19 (carbidopa-levodopa/amantadine treated). Choline levels were significantly lower in untreated and treated patients compared to control subjects (p = 0.0001). AChE activity did not differ in Parkinson's disease patients as compared to control subjects. The reduced level of choline in CSF may reflect a deficit in choline transport into the brain or a decrease of choline-phospholipid output from the brain.
Proteomics and the Kidney

ABSTRACT. Proteomics can be defined as “the systematic analysis of proteins for their identity, quantity, and function.” The central concept is “multiplexing,” i.e. , simultaneous analysis of all proteins in a defined protein population, rather than investigation of one protein at a time, as in traditional biochemistry. Two major approaches have been described: ( 1 ) mass spectrometry-based approaches and ( 2 ) protein micro-array approaches. The purpose of this Science Watch article is to describe the fundamental features of these two approaches and to speculate on how proteomics will be useful in nephrology and nephrology research in the coming years.
Stereopsis by constraint learning feed-forward neural networks

A neural network (NN) approach to the problem of steropsis is presented. The correspondence problem (finding the correct matches between pixels of the epipolar lines of the stereo pair from among all the possible matches) is posed as a noniterative many-to-one mapping. Two multilayer feedforward NNs are utilized to learn and code this nonlinear and complex mapping using the backpropagation learning rule and a training set. The first NN is a conventional fully connected net while the second is a sparsely connected NN with a fixed number of hidden layer nodes. All the applicable constraints are learned and internally coded by the NNs enabling them to be more flexible and more accurate than previous methods. The approach is successfully tested on several random-dot stereograms. It is shown that the nets can generalize their learned mappings to cases outside their training sets and to noisy images. Advantages over the Marr-Poggio algorithm are discussed, and it is shown that the NNs performances are superior. >
Alterations in the cell wall of spirillum serpens vhl early in its association with bdellovibrio bacteriovorus 109d

In both freeze-etched and critical-point dried preparations examined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, respectively, the outer surfaces of the cells of Spirillum serpens VHL assume a wrinkled appearance 10–15 min after challenge by Bdellovibrion bacteriovorus 109D. This wrinkling effect is believed (on circumstantial evidence) to be caused by the bdellovibrio's disruption of the cell wall lipoprotein of the Spirillum. With the exception of those topological changes caused by wrinkling, the outer membrane of the Spirillum cell wall retains a normal appearance as viewed in freeze-etched preparations, even after the Spirillum cell has been converted into a bdelloplast. Although the peptidoglycan layer of the Spirillum cell presumably is weakened somewhat by the invading Bdellovibrio, evidence obtained from freeze-fractured preparations of Spirillum bdelloplasts suggests that the peptidoglycan remains as a discrete cell wall layer, even though the Spirillum cell wall apparently has lost much of its rigidity. That the peptidoglycan backbone remains essentially intact, even after the Spirillum cell has been entered by the Bdellovibrio, is supported by the observation that the soluble amino sugar content of the culture medium, as determined by chemical analysis, does not rise even 5.0 h after the association of the Bdellovibrio with the Spirillum has begun.
The Emergence of Source-Message Orientation as a Communication Variable

In two experiments, persons were classified as source-oriented, intermediate, or message-oriented by a bipolar test Results of both experiments supported the prediction that source likability would increase attitude change more for source-oriented than for message-oriented persons. In Experiment I, the additional prediction that message informativeness would increase attitude change more for message-oriented than for source-oriented persons was supported only when the source was likable, when the source was unlikable, the results were reversed. In Experiment II, source expertness yielded no differences; however, its manipulation apparently was weak. Intermediate-oriented persons tended to respond in source-oriented ways to source variables and in message-oriented ways to message variables, indicating a need to conceptualize source-message orientation as a two-dimensional variable.
Integration of a bi-directional dc-dc converter model into a large-scale system simulation of a shipboard MVDC power system

To improve energy flexibility and deal with peak energy demand in shipboard power system, a bi-directional dc/dc converter is investigated for a notional U.S. Navy Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) shipboard power system. Surplus energy due to light electric load or ship-speed variation can be captured by energy storages distributed in 800V load zones and during heavy load or black starting condition, supplied to the rest of the 5kV MVDC system through the bi-directional dc/dc converters. This paper presents the controller optimization process using the Particle Swarm Optimization for an isolated-type bi-directional dc-dc converter. The control performance of the proposed controller is evaluated using small-signal average models and a large-scale simulation of the notional U.S. Navy MVDC system using the Real-Time Digital Simulator.
Pathogenic Features Associated with Increased Virulence upon Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Cross-Species Transmission from Natural Hosts

While simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) are generally nonpathogenic in their natural hosts, dramatic increases in pathogenicity may occur upon cross-species transmission to new hosts. Deciphering the drivers of these increases in virulence is of major interest for understanding the emergence of new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIVs). We transmitted SIVsab from the sabaeus species of African green monkeys (AGMs) to pigtailed macaques (PTMs). High acute viral replication occurred in all SIVsab-infected PTMs, yet the outcome of chronic infection was highly variable, ranging from rapid progression to controlled infection, which was independent of the dynamics of acute viral replication, CD4+ T cell depletion, or preinfection levels of microbial translocation. Infection of seven PTMs with plasma collected at necropsy from a rapid-progressor PTM was consistently highly pathogenic, with high acute and chronic viral replication, massive depletion of memory CD4+ T cells, and disease progression in all PTMs. The plasma inoculum used for the serial passage did not contain adventitious bacterial or viral contaminants. Single-genome amplification showed that this inoculum was significantly more homogenous than the inoculum directly derived from AGMs, pointing to a strain selection in PTMs. In spite of similar peak plasma viral loads between the monkeys in the two passages, immune activation/inflammation levels dramatically increased in PTMs infected with the passaged virus. These results suggest that strain selection and a massive cytokine storm are major factors behind increased pathogenicity of SIV upon serial passage and adaptation of SIVs to new hosts following cross-species transmission. IMPORTANCE We report here that upon cross-species transmission and serial passage of SIVsab from its natural host, the sabaeus African green monkey (AGM), to a new host, the pigtailed macaque (PTM), viral adaptation and increased pathogenicity involve strain selection and a massive cytokine storm. These results permit the design of strategies aimed at preventing cross-species transmission from natural hosts of SIVs to humans in areas of endemicity. Furthermore, our study describes a new animal model for SIV infection. As the outcomes of SIVsab infection in PTMs, African green monkeys, and rhesus macaques are different, the use of these systems enables comparative studies between pathogenic, nonpathogenic, and elite-controlled infections, to gain insight into the mechanisms of SIV immunodeficiency and comorbidities.
A Role for the Disintegrin Domain of Cyritestin, a Sperm Surface Protein Belonging to the ADAM Family, in Mouse Sperm–Egg Plasma Membrane Adhesion and Fusion

Sperm-egg plasma membrane fusion is preceded by sperm adhesion to the egg plasma membrane. Cell-cell adhesion frequently involves multiple adhesion molecules on the adhering cells. One sperm surface protein with a role in sperm-egg plasma membrane adhesion is fertilin, a transmembrane heterodimer (alpha and beta subunits). Fertilin alpha and beta are the first identified members of a new family of membrane proteins that each has the following domains: pro-, metalloprotease, disintegrin, cysteine-rich, EGF-like, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domain. This protein family has been named ADAM because all members contain a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain. Previous studies indicate that the disintegrin domain of fertilin beta functions in sperm-egg adhesion leading to fusion. Full length cDNA clones have been isolated for five ADAMs expressed in mouse testis: fertilin alpha, fertilin beta, cyritestin, ADAM 4, and ADAM 5. The presence of the disintegrin domain, a known integrin ligand, suggests that like fertilin beta, other testis ADAMs could be involved in sperm adhesion to the egg membrane. We tested peptide mimetics from the predicted binding sites in the disintegrin domains of the five testis-expressed ADAMs in a sperm-egg plasma membrane adhesion and fusion assay. The active site peptide from cyritestin strongly inhibited (80-90%) sperm adhesion and fusion and was a more potent inhibitor than the fertilin beta active site peptide. Antibodies generated against the active site region of either cyritestin or fertilin beta also strongly inhibited (80-90%) both sperm-egg adhesion and fusion. Characterization of these two ADAM family members showed that they are both processed during sperm maturation and present on mature sperm. Indirect immunofluorescence on live, acrosome-reacted sperm using antibodies against either cyritestin or fertilin beta showed staining of the equatorial region, a region of the sperm membrane that participates in the early steps of membrane fusion. Collectively, these data indicate that a second ADAM family member, cyritestin, functions with fertilin beta in sperm-egg plasma membrane adhesion leading to fusion.
Coherent perfect absorbers: Time-reversed lasers

An arbitrary body or aggregate can be made perfectly absorbing at discrete frequencies, if a precise amount of dissipation is added under specific conditions of coherent monochromatic illumination. This effect arises from the interaction of optical absorption and wave interference, and corresponds to moving a zero of the S-matrix onto the real wavevector axis. It is thus the time-reversed process of lasing at threshold. The effect may be demonstrated in a Si slab illuminated in the 500–900nm range. Coherent perfect absorbers form a novel class of linear optical elements—absorptive interferometers—which may be useful for controlled optical energy transfer.
Cyclo-oxygenase-2 contributes to central sensitization in rats with peripheral inflammation

It has been widely accepted that prostaglandins are involved in peripheral mechanisms of hyperalgesia. Several lines of evidence suggest that prostaglandins also contribute to the mechanisms underlying hyperalgesia at the level of the spinal cord. The nociceptive flexor reflex of the hind limb was used to test the hypothesis that products of cyclo-oxygenase contribute to the increased excitability of spinal neurons during hyperalgesia induced by peripheral injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) into the hind paw. The reflex was evoked by electrical stimulation of the sural nerve at an intensity that activated A- and C-fibers, and muscle potentials were recorded in hamstring muscles in decerebrate, spinalized rats. Intrathecal administration of (S)-ibuprofen (1-100 nmol) dose-dependently attenuated the flexor reflex in CFA treated rats but had no effect in untreated rats. (R)-Ibuprofen had no effect on the reflex in either control or CFA-treated rats at the dose tested (100 nmol). Western blots of lumbar spinal cord extracts showed increased levels of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 protein in the dorsal spinal cord of rats with peripheral inflammation; no change occurred in the level of COX-1. These results indicate that products of COX-2 contribute to the increased excitability of the spinal cord during persistent peripheral inflammation.
An improved heat-stable glutamine-free chemically defined medium for growth of mammalian cells

A heat-stable chemically defined medium, free of glutamine, is described for the growth of mammalian cells in suspension culture. The presence of L-alanine in the defined medium permitted the omission of glutamine. A 22-fold increase in the population of a substrain of mouse L cells was obtained (3.4 × 106 cells/ml) in six days with no medium replenishment during incubation. Maximum yields (27 × 106 cells/ml) were obtained by daily medium replacement and venting of cultures. Growth was also improved in a line of cat kidney cells and HeLa cells, and in another substrain of L cells.
Improving the yield of target quality omega size pams mandrels by modifying emulsion components

Poly(a-methylstyrene) (PAMS) shells are made by microencapsulation and used in the fabrication of a large variety of targets for the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program. Although this process has previously been developed into production mode, the yield of shells with acceptable sphericity and wall uniformity in the OMEGA size range (800-1000 μm) has been poor (∼ 18%). We have made improvements in the yield of these shells by modifying the composition of the outer water solution (W2) in the microencapsulation emulsion. This improvement was achieved by increasing the concentration of Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) from 0.3% to 1.0% and an addition of 0.1% Poly Acrylic Acid (PAA). These modifications were aimed at increasing the interfacial surface tension in the emulsion but also appear to have played a role in density matching the components in the PAMS emulsion. These modifications improved the out of round (OOR) and non-concentricity (NC) of the PAMS mandrels resulting in as increase in the yield of target quality batches based on these basic criteria from 18% to over 80%. Meanwhile, the vacuole content and the surface finish of the PAMS shells were not adversely affected by these changes.
Solving the drift control problem

We model the problem of managing capacity in a build-to-order environment as a Brownian drift control problem. We formulate a structured linear program that models a practical discretization of the...
Urodynamic and Histological Correlates of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

The tissue obtained from transurethral prostatectomies was evaluated histologically and correlated to the clinical findings in 81 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. A median of 9 hematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue slides per patient were examined, each containing from 1 to 15 curettings. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the following histology: predominantly stromal hyperplasia (39 patients), predominantly glandular hyperplasia (29 patients), and equal proportions of stromal and glandular hyperplasia (mixed group, 19 patients). There was no significant difference among the groups in patient age and duration of symptoms. The weight of resected tissue was significantly lower in the stromal group (median 16 mg.), compared to the glandular group (median 20 gm.) and the mixed group (median 25 gm.). Additionally, 29 of the 81 patients had chronic inflammation characterized by multifocal infiltrates of lymphocytes. These patients had significantly larger prostates (median 25 gm.) compared to those without lymphocytic infiltration (median 15 gm.). Sixty-five patients had a 3-month followup examination. Preoperatively there was no difference among the groups in maximum flow at uroflowmetry but at 3-month followup the stromal group had a median maximum flow of 13 ml. per second compared to 16.8 ml. per second in the glandular group and 21.5 ml. per second in the mixed group. These findings document histologically what has been reported from a clinical perspective: the clinical prostatism/benign prostatic hyperplasia complex is a spectrum of histological entities, and the small prostate with predominantly stromal hyperplasia responds less favorably to transurethral resection as determined by urodynamic evaluation.
Is There a Gender-Specific Full Body Sagittal Profile for Different Spinopelvic Relationships? A Study on Propensity-Matched Cohorts

Abstract Design Retrospective review. Objective To evaluate gender-related differences in compensatory recruitment to progressive sagittal malalignment. Summary of Background Data Recent research has elucidated compensatory mechanisms recruited in response to sagittal malalignment, but gender-specific differences in compensatory recruitment patterns is unknown. Methods Single-center study of patients with full body x-rays. A female group was propensity matched by age, body mass index (BMI), and pelvic incidence (PI) to a male group. Patients were then stratified into five groups of progressive PI–lumbar lordosis (LL) mismatch ( 30°). Differences between PI-LL groups were assessed with analysis of variance, and between genders by unpaired t test. Knee flexion to pelvic tilt (PT) ratio was computed and compared between genders. Multivariate regression to develop predictive models for PT was performed for each gender, first with spinopelvic parameters and subsequently with inclusion of lower limb parameters. Results A total of 942 patient visits were included: 471 females (mean age 54 years, BMI 27, PI 51°) and 471 males (mean age 52 years, BMI 27, PI 51°). At the lowest level of malalignment, females had greater PT and less knee flexion. With progressive malalignment, females continued to exhibit a pattern of greater pelvic retroversion and less knee flexion compared to males. Hip extension was higher in females with progressive PI-LL mismatch groups. Both genders progressively recruited knee flexion and pelvic retroversion with increased PI-LL mismatch, except that at the higher PI-LL mismatch groups, only males continued to recruit knee flexion (all p Conclusions With progressive sagittal malalignment, men recruit more knee flexion and women recruit more pelvic tilt and hip extension. Knee flexion is a possible mechanism to gain pelvic tilt for females whereas for males, knee flexion is an independent compensatory mechanism.
Fast estimators for redshift-space clustering

Redshift-space distortions in galaxy surveys happen along the radial direction, breaking statistical translation invariance. We construct estimators for radial distortions that, using only fast fourier transforms (FFTs) of the overdensity field multipoles for a given survey geometry, compute the power spectrum monopole, quadrupole and hexadecapole, and generalize such estimators to the bispectrum. Using realistic mock catalogs we compare the signal to noise of two estimators for the power spectrum hexadecapole that require different number of FFTs and measure the bispectrum monopole, quadrupole and hexadecapole. The resulting algorithm is very efficient, e.g. the BOSS survey requires about 3 min for $\ensuremath{\ell}=0,2,4$ power spectra for scales up to $k=0.3\text{ }h\text{ }{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ and about 15 additional min for $\ensuremath{\ell}=0,2,4$ bispectra for all scales and triangle shapes up to $k=0.2\text{ }h\text{ }{\mathrm{Mpc}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ on a single core. The speed of these estimators is essential as it makes possible for one to compute covariance matrices from large number of realizations of mock catalogs with realistic survey characteristics, and paves the way for improved constraints of gravity on cosmological scales, inflation and galaxy bias.
A study on the relation between poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) depolymerases or oligomer hydrolases and molecular weight of polyhydroxyalkanoates accumulating in Cupriavidus necator H16

Cupriavidus necator H16 has nine genes of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) depolymerases or oligomer hydrolases (intracellular PHB mobilization enzymes). In this study, we evaluated the relation between these genes and the accumulation, consumption, and molecular weight of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) accumulating in strain H16 and in a recombinant C. necator strain, KNK-005, which harbors an NSDG mutant of the PHA synthase gene (phaCAc) from Aeromonas caviae. PhaZ6 had a significant influence on the molecular weight of PHA when palm kernel oil was used as a carbon source. The 005dZ6 strain (ΔphaZ6 mutant of KNK-005) could produce ultra-high-molecular-weight poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHHx) with weight-average molecular weight (Mw) >3.0×10(6) (approximately double that of KNK-005). Under PHA consumption conditions, deletion of phaZ1 and phaZ2 had a significant and slight attenuating effect, respectively, on the reduction in PHA content of KNK-005 cells. Regardless of the PHA consumption, its Mw did not decrease. Thus, 005dZ126 (the ΔphaZ1ΔphaZ2ΔphaZ6 triple mutant of KNK-005) is a promising strain capable of producing PHBHHx of ultra-high-molecular-weight and barely degrades PHBHHx enzymatically intracellularly. This is the first report examining the relation between intracellular PHB mobilization enzymes and molecular weight of PHAs accumulating in C. necator H16 and the derivatives.
Use of an End-User Decision Model to Improve Robustness in Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

This paper will explore how product robustness can be improved by incorporating enduser decision making in the early design stages of complex multi-disciplinary products. The end-user decision making will be incorporated into the product design models through novel decision and game theory methods. Improvement of product robustness using these models will be shown through the use of three example products. The product’s robustness will be represented by the variations of the product’s performance due to the variations of the endusers. These variations of performance will be captured numerically through the performance’s standard deviation. One of the examples, the complex product of a building, will be examined in-depth through the Vacate-GT evacuation simulator. Vacate-GT is an evacuation simulator that incorporates the mathematical methods of decision and game theory to determine the decisions of evacuees in the exit and velocity decision making process. Monte Carlo simulations will be performed on multiple building designs to determine their robustness to variations of the end-users. These simulations will showcase how designs can be optimized in the early design stages to be more robust to variations in the end-user population. This paper will prove that the use of decision and game theories to incorporate end-user uncertainties into models enables the designer to create more robust products.
Examining and Reducing the Influence of Sampling Errors on Feedback-Driven Optimizations

Feedback-driven optimization (FDO) is an important component in mainstream compilers. By allowing the compiler to reoptimize the program based on some profiles of the program's dynamic behaviors, it often enhances the quality of the generated code substantially. A barrier for using FDO is that it often requires many training runs to collect enough profiles to amortize the sensitivity of program optimizations to program input changes. Various sampling techniques have been explored to alleviate this time-consuming process. However, the lowered profile accuracy caused by sampling often hurts the benefits of FDO. This article gives the first systematic study in how sampling rates affect the accuracy of collected profiles and how the accuracy correlates with the usefulness of the profile for modern FDO. Studying basic block and edge profiles for FDO in two mature compilers reveals several counterintuitive observations, one of which is that profiling accuracy does not strongly correlate with the benefits of the FDO. A detailed analysis identifies three types of sampling-caused errors that critically impair the quality of the profiles for FDO. It then introduces a simple way to rectify profiles based on the findings. Experiments demonstrate that the simple rectification fixes most of those critical errors in sampled profiles and significantly enhances the effectiveness of FDO.
Improved techniques for cardiovascular monitoring in rats as applied during endotoxemia

We describe a new combination of techniques for measurements of systemic blood pressure, central venous pressure, pulmonary arterial (PA) pressure, PA wedge pressure, and cardiac output in the rat. Application of the method to the conscious rat in a septic shock (Escherichia coli endotoxin iv injection) model demonstrated a response pattern of decreased cardiac output and stroke volume, increased total peripheral vascular resistance and heart rate, and transiently decreased systemic arterial pressure. In the pulmonary circulation, a very brief hypertension and a sustained increase in pulmonary vascular resistance were observed, but changes in PA wedge pressure were small. The soft PA catheter (0.3 mm ID, 0.6 mm OD) had no undue effects on cardiovascular function. We suggest that this combined technique could be useful for many cardiovascular studies in the rat, not only as related to shock research.
Fetal cytokine expression in utero detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

ABSTRACT: Cytokine expression at the maternal-fetal interface is well documented. Some authors have postulated the existence of a bidirectional cytokine signaling mechanism that is critical to the maintenance of normal pregnancy. The role of the fetus (versusfetally derived placental tissues) in this process is unknown. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction techniques, we studied paired maternal and fetal samples from 16 pregnancies (including two twin pregnancies) for the presence of tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-1β mRNA. We demonstrate that mRNA for both of these cytokines can be detected in both maternal and fetal blood as early as the 21st wk of gestation. These results support a potential role for the fetus in the bidirectional cytokine signaling of pregnancy.
Radiation Noise Source Modeling and Application in Near-Field Coupling Estimation

Near-field coupling in mixed digital/RF circuit design is critical to system sensitivity for modern high speed electronic systems. This paper presents radiation noise source modeling methods and applies equivalent noise source models to near-field coupling estimations. The noise source can be either modeled by physics-based dipole moment model or Huygens's equivalent model with data obtained from near-field scanning. The fundamental principles of both methods are first studied by simulation. A clock buffer integrated circuit is first modeled as a dipole moment model. The tangential fields on Huygens's box can be calculated by a dipole moment model with negligible multiple scattering effect assumption. The noise coupling then can be obtained by surface integration of Poynting vector at the RF antenna receiving port by full-wave simulation.