cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Urate transport via anion exchange in dog renal microvillus membrane vesicles

The transport of urate was evaluated in brush border membrane vesicles isolated from the dog renal cortex. It was previously shown that uphill urate and p-aminohippurate (PAH) uptake into these membrane vesicles results from imposing an outwardly directed OH- gradient. In the present study, the OH- gradient-stimulated uptake of urate was inhibited by external Cl-. In the absence of OH- gradients, imposing an outwardly directed Cl- gradient induced the transient accumulation of urate against its concentration gradient (overshoot), whereas imposing an inwardly directed Cl- gradient induced the transient uphill efflux of urate (undershoot). The effects of Cl- gradients on urate transport persisted when the diffusion potentials caused by the Cl- gradients were negated by superimposing K+ gradients in the presence of the K+ ionophore valinomycin. The dose-response curves for three different inhibitors were identical for the OH- and Cl- gradient-stimulated modes of urate uptake. The uptake of PAH was also stimulated by imposing an outwardly directed Cl- gradient. The dose-response curves for probenecid inhibition were identical for the OH- and Cl- gradient-stimulated modes of PAH uptake. Finally, the existence of a Na+ cotransport pathway for urate or PAH could not be demonstrated. We conclude that the principal mechanism for urate transport in dog renal microvillus membrane vesicles is via an anion exchanger with affinity for urate, PAH, OH-, and Cl-. This anion exchanger may play an important role in mediating organic anion reabsorption and secretion in the proximal tubule.
End-to-end LSTM-based dialog control optimized with supervised and reinforcement learning.

This paper presents a model for end-to-end learning of task-oriented dialog systems. The main component of the model is a recurrent neural network (an LSTM), which maps from raw dialog history directly to a distribution over system actions. The LSTM automatically infers a representation of dialog history, which relieves the system developer of much of the manual feature engineering of dialog state. In addition, the developer can provide software that expresses business rules and provides access to programmatic APIs, enabling the LSTM to take actions in the real world on behalf of the user. The LSTM can be optimized using supervised learning (SL), where a domain expert provides example dialogs which the LSTM should imitate; or using reinforcement learning (RL), where the system improves by interacting directly with end users. Experiments show that SL and RL are complementary: SL alone can derive a reasonable initial policy from a small number of training dialogs; and starting RL optimization with a policy trained with SL substantially accelerates the learning rate of RL.
Regular polytopes, root lattices, and quasicrystals

The icosahedral quasicrystals of five-fold symmetry in two, three, and four dimensions are related to the corresponding regular polytopes exhibiting five-fold symmetry, namely the regular pentagon (H 2 reflection group), the regular icosahedron {3,5} (H 3 reflection group), and the regular four-dimensional polytope {3,3,5} (H 4 reflection group). These quasicrystals exhibiting five-fold symmetry can be generated by projections from indecomposable root lattices with twice the number of dimensions, namely A 4 →H 2 , D 6 →H 3 , E 8 →H 4 . Because of the subgroup relationships H 2 ⊂ H 3 c H 4 , study of the projection E 8 →H 4 provides information on all of the possible icosahedral quasicrystals. Similar projections from other indecomposable root lattices can generate quasicrystals of other symmetries. Four-dimensional root lattices are sufficient for projections to two-dimensional quasicrystals of eight-fold and twelve-fold symmetries. However, root lattices of at least six-dimensions (e.g., the A 6 lattice) are required to generate two-dimensional quasicrystals of seven-fold symmetry. This might account for the absence of seven-fold symmetry in experimentally observed quasicrystals.
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was enacted by the US Congress in 1996, in response to concerns that Hawaii and other states might recognize same-sex marriage. The act contains two substantive provisions. Section 2 provides that no state is required to recognize or treat as valid a same-sex marriage entered into in any other state. Section 3 provides that, for purposes of federal law, only marriages between one man and one woman are recognized and treated as valid. However, this provision was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor (2013). Many states have enacted laws and constitutional provisions similarly providing that only marriages between one man and one woman shall be recognized and treated as valid in that state. In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the US Supreme Court held that these provisions violate the Fourteenth Amendment, that states must allow same-sex marriage, and that states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Thus, DOMA is no longer valid in any respect. Keywords: discrimination; equality; fundamental right to marriage; inequality; law; marriage; marriage equality; same-sex marriage; sexual orientation
“No shut-off” policies and natural gas consumption

Many U.S. states have regulations that prevent natural gas utility companies from turning off service to non-paying consumers. The goal of these policies, termed “no shut-off” (NSO) regulations, is to provide a guaranteed minimum level of residential comfort by reducing the marginal cost of consumption to zero for a period of time. This paper employs a difference-in-difference approach applied to residential U.S. Energy Information Administration data to evaluate whether NSO policies generate higher levels of gas usage. Our preferred specifications suggest that activation of a NSO policy increases natural gas consumption by between 4.7–4.8%, resulting in a total increase of between 66 and 67 billion cubic feet of natural gas consumed per winter season in covered states, at a value of as much as $950–970 million annually.
Cystathionine γ-synthase: Studies on the γ replacement reaction

Cystathionine γ-synthase from Salmonella catalyzes the γ replacement reaction in which O-succinyl-l-homoserine and l-cysteine form succinic acid and cystathionine, an important intermediate in methionine biosynthesis. In the absence of l-cysteine the enzyme catalyzes a γ elimination reaction in which O-succinylhomoserine is decomposed to α-ketobutyrate, NH3 and succinic acid. β-Mercaptopropionic acid, a non-competitive inhibitor of γ elimination, has been shown to be a substrate for the γ replacement reaction. The reaction product has been identified, by mass spectroscopy, as S-carboxyethyl-l-homocysteine. A kinetic study of this γ replacement reaction has demonstrated that β-mercaptopropionic acid has no effect on the enzyme's affinity for O-succinylhomoserine. It is suggested that the γ replacement reaction with l-cysteine is kinetically similar to that with β-mercaptopropionic acid.
ANALYSIS OF SUCCESS DRIVERS OF E-HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND USE: A NATIONAL LEVEL STUDY

e-Health, in form of websites that contain information on health, is emerging as an important resource for common people in some developed nations. The purpose of the study is to explore the critical factors that drive the e-Health infrastructure of nations and its usage. Research data from a set of more than 40 developed and developing nations were gathered from 8,000 websites to allow analysis of factors driving the e-Health growth. The results suggest that at a national level, cost of health care per capita and perception of health are significant in e-Health infrastructure regression, explaining more than 32-41% of the variability in e-Health infrastructure. Confidence in health care systems, perception of good health, health care costs, and human development index and health infrastructure also explain over 69-78% of the variability in e-Health use.
The Elderly Alcoholic: Some Diagnostic Problems and Considerations

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the problems associated with the diagnosis of alcoholism2 in the elderly. This is an area that has received little attention both clinically and with regard to research. Thus, there are no easy answers for the clinician who must identify and treat the elderly alcoholic. Thus, this chapter is designed to increase the clinicians awareness of the problem and to point to some of the specific issues associated with alcoholism in the elderly.
The practice of chemistry still needs to change

There is now over a 20-year history of green and sustainable chemistry efforts in the US, but for a majority of chemicals that have been synthesized, chemists and chemical engineers lack key information about what it takes to commercialize them, their toxicity to humans or the environment, their degradability (biological or otherwise), their ability to be recycled or reused, or their ability to be source renewably. While the depth, breadth, and variety of innovations in chemistry gives one hope that chemists and chemical engineers will make many significant advances in the next 20 years, there is still a need to incorporate systems and life cycle thinking into chemistry. This is especially true as one considers limitations in the supply of key elements chemists rely on very heavily. Recent advances in computational chemistry and machine learning show great promise for moving chemistry toward a more sustainable practice of chemistry.
Primary Reward Seeking in Frontotemporal Dementia (P05.111)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of primary reward seeking activities in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and their anatomic correlates. BACKGROUND: Several of the characteristic symptoms of bvFTD suggest abnormal processing of rewards. These include craving of sweet foods, overeating, apathy, and overspending. The use of alcohol and drugs of abuse and changes in sexual behavior have also been reported. Many of the regions that are vulnerable to degeneration in bvFTD, including ventromedial prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, and anterior insula, are also implicated in processing of rewards. Primary rewards, such as pleasant food, sex, and drugs, may be particularly salient to bvFTD patients. DESIGN/METHODS: Records were reviewed for patients with bvFTD who participated in research at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center. Information was gathered regarding change in seeking of primary rewards, particularly overeating/sweet food craving, hyper- or hyposexuality, and new or increased use of alcohol and drugs. We defined a primary reward seeking score from 0-3, with increased seeking of food, sexual, and drug reward each given one point. The anatomic correlates of these behaviors were determined by voxel-based morphometry (VBM). RESULTS: Of 93 patients reviewed, overeating or sweet craving occurred in 71 (76.3%), alcohol or drug use in 27 (29%), and hypersexuality was found in 13 (14%). Five (5.4%) were described as hyposexual. VBM was performed on 85 patients. Having a higher primary reward seeking score correlated with atrophy in the right ventral pallidum ( p CONCLUSIONS: Primary reward seeking behaviors are frequent in bvFTD and are associated with degeneration of reward circuit structures, suggesting either an enhanced sensitivity to primary reward or decreased sensitivity to negative consequences of their behavior. Supported by: NIH P01-AG1972403. Disclosure: Dr. Perry has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sturm has nothing to disclose. Dr. Miller has received personal compensation for activities with Allon Therapeuctics, Inc. and TauRx Therapeutics, Ltd. Dr. Miller has received research support from Novartis. Dr. Rosen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kramer has nothing to disclose.
FOWLP: Chip-First and Die Face-Down

The first fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) U.S. patent was filed by Infineon on October 31, 2001 (Hedler et al. in Transfer Wafer Level Packaging, 2001 [1]; Lau in Chip Scale Rev. 19:42–46, 2015 [2]), and the first technical papers were also published (at ECTC2006 and EPTC2006) by Infineon and their industry partners: Nagase, Nitto Denko, and Yamada (Brunnbauer et al. in IEEE/ECTC Proceedings, 547–551, 2006 [3]; Brunnbauer et al. in IEEE/EPTC Proceedings, 1–5, 2006 [4]). At that time, they called it embedded wafer-level ball (eWLB) grid array.
A Gravity Wave Drag Matrix for Complex Terrain

AbstractWe propose a simplified scheme to predict mountain wave drag over complex terrain using only the regional-average low-level wind components U and V. The scheme is tuned and tested on data f...
Soluble guanylate cyclase activation by nitric oxide

Since the discovery of nitric oxide (NO) formation in animals, it has become clear that this toxic, free radical, diatomic gas plays a central role in cellular function in eukaryotes. NO acts as a signaling agent in the cardiovascular system and other tissues. Using a low concentration of NO mitigates the toxicity problem but places a difficult chemical requirement on the NO receptor, the soluble isoform of guanylate cyclase (sGC). sGC contains a heme cofactor that binds and traps NO, thereby activating the enzyme to convert GTP to cGMP. The heme in sGC has unique ligand binding properties enabling sGC to act as a selective receptor for NO. The heme domain of sGC was found to be part of the H-NOX (Heme-Nitric oxide/Oxygen) family of proteins with homologues in both aerobic and anaerobic prokaryotes. Studies with H-NOX proteins has provided a molecular explanation for selective NO trapping at low concentrations. The structure/function picture that is emerging provides new clues to the activation mechanism. It is also become clear that the activation and deactivation of sGC is more complicated than the simple model of NO binding to the heme. As a physiological model is developed it must also account for activity properties of stimulators such as the FDA-approved Adempas®.
Bile Acid Malabsorption, Diarrhoea and Steatorrhoea

Interruption of the enterohepatic circulation by ileal resection or ileal disease causes bile acid malabsorption and diarrhoea. Large ileal resection (> 100cm) causes, in addition to bile acid malabsorption, significant steatorrhoea1–4. As a rule, the diarrhoea caused by short ileal resections responds to treatment with a bile acid binding resin, such as cholestyramine, while that caused by large ileal resections does not1, 2, 5. Faecal weight can sometimes be reduced by replacement of dietary fat with medium chain triglycerides2. These observations, together with experiments demonstrating that dihydroxy bile acids and fatty acids adversely affect intestinal electrolyte and water transport, have led to the concepts of ‘bile acid’ and ‘fatty acid’ diarrhoea6.
Forgiveness—An Ordered Pluralism

There are two kinds of forgiveness that appear as radically different from one another: one presents forgiveness as essentially earned through remorseful apology; the other presents it as fundament...
Difference Matters: Teaching Students a Contextual Theory of Difference Can Help Them Succeed.

Today’s increasingly diverse and divided world requires the ability to understand and navigate across social-group differences. We propose that interventions that teach students about these differe...
Conditional Teacher-student Learning

The teacher-student (T/S) learning has been shown to be effective for a variety of problems such as domain adaptation and model compression. One shortcoming of the T/S learning is that a teacher model, not always perfect, sporadically produces wrong guidance in form of posterior probabilities that misleads the student model towards a suboptimal performance. To overcome this problem, we propose a conditional T/S learning scheme, in which a "smart" student model selectively chooses to learn from either the teacher model or the ground truth labels conditioned on whether the teacher can correctly predict the ground truth. Unlike a naive linear combination of the two knowledge sources, the conditional learning is exclusively engaged with the teacher model when the teacher model’s prediction is correct, and otherwise backs off to the ground truth. Thus, the student model is able to learn effectively from the teacher and even potentially surpass the teacher. We examine the proposed learning scheme on two tasks: domain adaptation on CHiME-3 dataset and speaker adaptation on Microsoft short message dictation dataset. The proposed method achieves 9.8% and 12.8% relative word error rate reductions, respectively, over T/S learning for environment adaptation and speaker-independent model for speaker adaptation.
Tax-Efficient Structure or Tax Shelter? Curbing ETFs' Use of Section 852(b)(6) for Tax Avoidance

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are a popular alternative to mutual funds for investing in a diversified pool of securities. One reason for ETFs’ popularity is that they are far more tax-efficient than mutual funds. Unlike mutual funds, most ETFs make virtually no capital gains distributions — which would be taxable to the recipient shareholders — in a typical year. The reason is the way that ETFs are able to take advantage of section 852(b)(6), which permits regulated investment companies (RICs) to deliver appreciated portfolio securities to redeeming shareholders without recognizing any gain. Because of the way they are structured, ETFs are able to redeem institutional investors “in-kind” in the normal course of their operations, while mutual funds generally need to satisfy shareholder redemptions in cash. The original purpose of section 852(b)(6) was to enable traditional mutual funds to satisfy redemptions in-kind under extraordinary circumstances in which cash redemptions could cause the funds undue harm. But ETFs now use section 852(b)(6) to avoid recognition of virtually any of their investment gains. This use provides ETF investors with an unwarranted tax break that mutual fund investors and direct investors in securities do not enjoy, and it constitutes a costly and indefensible tax expenditure. To eliminate this inequitable and expensive loophole in the current law, section 852(b)(6) ought to be revised in a way that prevents ETFs from continuing to use the measure to circumvent any and all capital gains taxation. This article recommends amending section 852(b)(6) to incorporate a rule that would reduce an ETF’s basis in its remaining portfolio securities by the amount of its excluded gain on an in-kind-redemption distribution. Under the proposed rule, an ETF would subsequently recognize portions of the previously-excluded gain when it sells portfolio securities in taxable sales. As a result, ETFs would no longer be able to escape ever recognizing any of their investment gains. Instead, taxation of much of their gain would merely be deferred — not avoided for all time.
Sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure: meaningfully engaging the perfect triangle

To improve sexual health, even in this charged political moment, necessitates going beyond biomedical approaches, and requires meaningfully addressing sexual rights and sexual pleasure. A world whe...
Ethical considerations of maternal-fetal intervention in a twin pregnancy discordant for anomalies.

Recent evidence suggests prenatal fetoscopic tracheal occlusion (FETO) may improve the survival and long-term morbidity of neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, yet little guidance exists ...
Promoting Excellence in Surgical Educational Research: A Review of Research Methods

Surgery offers a rich and exciting setting for conducting educational research. Surgical educators need to understand basic concepts in educational research in order to design and conduct research studies as well as to become critical consumers of journal articles that report educational research findings. Furthermore, many educational research techniques apply to program evaluation, a necessary part of every educator’s toolkit. This chapter is divided into two halves. The first offers an overview of foundational concepts involved in the design of educational research studies. To that end, the differences between quantitative and qualitative studies are described and the five key questions are addressed: (1) What is the main purpose of the research being conducted?; (2) How is the number of research participants determined?; (3) What are the key methods for collecting data from research participants?; (4) How are research data analyzed?; and (5) How are research data reported? The second half of the chapter discusses in detail two published articles; one that follows the quantitative design and one that uses the qualitative research design. The application of the five key elements are discussed for each article in a practical manner.
How to Play the “Playing God” Card

When the phrase “playing God” is used in debates concerning the use of new technologies, such as cloning or genetic engineering, it is usually interpreted as a warning not to interfere with God’s creation or nature. I think that this interpretation of “playing God” arguments as a call to non-interference with nature is too narrow. In this paper, I propose an alternative interpretation of “playing God” arguments. Taking an argumentation theory approach, I provide an argumentation scheme and accompanying critical questions that capture the moral concerns expressed by “playing God” arguments. If I am right, then “playing God” arguments should be understood, not as a warning to leave God’s creation or nature alone, but rather as an invitation to think carefully about all the ways in which the use of new technologies could go seriously wrong.
Quantitative capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectrometry reveals the N-glycome developmental plan during vertebrate embryogenesis

Glycans are known to be involved in many biological processes, while little is known about the expression of N-glycans during vertebrate development. We now report the first quantitative studies of both the expression of N-linked glycans at six early development stages and the expression of N-glycosylated peptides at two early development stages in Xenopus laevis, the African clawed frog. N-Glycans were labeled with isobaric tandem mass tags, pooled, separated by capillary electrophoresis, and characterized using tandem mass spectrometry. We quantified 110 N-glycan compositions that spanned four orders of magnitude in abundance. Capillary electrophoresis was particularly useful in identifying charged glycans; over 40% of the observed glycan compositions were sialylated. The glycan expression was relatively constant until the gastrula-neurula transition (developmental stage 13), followed by massive reprogramming. An increase in oligomannosidic and a decrease in the paucimannosidic and phosphorylated oligomannosidic glycans were observed at the late tailbud stage (developmental stage 41). Two notable and opposing regulation events were detected for sialylated glycans. LacdiNAc and Lewis antigen features distinguished down-regulated sialylation from up-regulated species. The level of Lewis antigen decreased at later stages, which was validated by Aleuria aurantia lectin (AAL) and Ulex europaeus lectin (UEA-I) blots. We also used HPLC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry to identify 611 N-glycosylation sites on 350 N-glycoproteins at the early stage developmental stage 1 (fertilized egg), and 1682 N-glycosylation sites on 1023 N-glycoproteins at stage 41 (late tailbud stage). Over two thirds of the N-glycoproteins identified in the late tailbud stage are associated with neuron projection morphogenesis, suggesting a vital role of the N-glycome in neuronal development.
Accuracy of Provocative Tests for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Purpose Prior literature on the diagnostic accuracy of commonly used provocative tests for suspected carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is affected by research biases. The objectives of our study were to measure and compare the diagnostic accuracy of 4 commonly used provocative tests for CTS using electrodiagnostic study as the reference standard. Methods We prospectively evaluated 85 hands in 55 patients with suspected CTS. Tinel sign, Phalen’s test, Durkan’s test, and Phdurkan test (a combination of wrist flexion and carpal compression) and subsequent electrodiagnostic testing were performed on all patients. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated using electrodiagnostic findings as the reference standard. McNemar test was used to compare differences in paired outcomes between provocative tests. Results Tinel sign had a sensitivity of 0.47 and specificity of 0.56. Phalen’s test had a sensitivity of 0.50 and specificity of 0.33. Durkan’s test had a sensitivity of 0.71 and specificity of 0.22. Phdurkan test had a sensitivity of 0.84 and specificity of 0.11. Median time to a positive Phdurkan test result was 3 seconds. McNemar tests showed significant differences (P Conclusions Commonly performed provocative tests for suspected CTS differ in sensitivity and specificity. As the examination maneuver becomes more provocative, the test becomes more sensitive and less specific for CTS. Type of study/level of evidence Diagnostic III.
How Mensky’s Continuous Measurement can Emerge from GRW on Larger Time Scales

In this paper we will show how “weighted path integral” proposed by Mensky and Kent can emerge out of Ghirardi Rimini Weber (GRW) model.
Principled simulation of agent-based models in epidemiology

Abstract After more than a century of sustained work by mathematicians, biologists, epidemiologists, probabilists, and other experts, dynamic models have become a vital tool for understanding and describing epidemics and disease transmission systems. Such models fulfill a variety of crucial roles including data integration, estimation of disease burden, forecasting trends, counterfactual evaluation, and parameter estimation. These models often incorporate myriad details, from age and social structure to inform population mixing patterns, commuting and migration, and immunological dynamics, among others. This complexity can be daunting, so many researchers have turned to stochastic simulation using agent-based models. Developing agent-based models, however, can present formidable technical challenges. In particular, depending on how the model updates state, unwanted or even unnoticed approximations can be introduced into a simulation model. In this article, we present computational methods for approximating continuous time discrete event stochastic processes based on a discrete time step to speed up complicated simulations which also converges to the true process as the time step goes to zero. Our stochastic models is constructed via hazard functions, and only those hazards which are dependent on the state of other agents (such as infection) are approximated, whereas hazards governing dynamics internal to an agent (such as immune response) are simulated exactly. By partitioning hazards as being either dependent or internal, a generic algorithm can be presented which is applicable to many models of contagion processes, with natural areas of extension and optimization. Author summary Stochastic simulation of epidemics is crucial to a variety of tasks in public health, encompassing intervention evaluation, trend forecasting, and estimation of epidemic parameters, among others. In many situations, due to model complexity, time constraints, unavailability or unfamiliarity with existing software, or other reasons, agent-based models are used to simulate epidemic processes. However, many simulation algorithms are ad hoc, which may introduce unwanted or unnoticed approximations. We present a method to build approximate, agent-based models from mathematical descriptions of stochastic epidemic processes which will improve simulation speed and converge to exact simulation techniques in limiting cases. The simplicity and generality of our method should be widely applicable to various problems in mathematical epidemiology and its connection to other methods developed in chemical physics should inspire future work and elaboration.
Diversion colitis

Management of the patient with diversion colitis is dependent upon both patient and disease-related factors. Patients in whom diversion is not permanent, who desire stoma closure, and who have an acceptable surgical risk should undergo re-establishment of intestinal continuity. Asymptomatic, high-risk surgical candidates need only undergo periodic, regular endoscopic surveillance of both the functional and nonfunctional large bowel according to currently accepted screening guidelines. Most symptomatic patients in whom the diversion is permanent can be treated successfully with steroid enemas, 5-aminosalicylic acid enemas or suppositories, or short-chain fatty acid enemas. If diversion is permanent, medical treatment is unsuccessful, and symptoms persist, acceptable surgical candidates should undergo resection of the excluded bowel.
USA--Rhode Island

Although Rhode Island is a small state, its coastline is more than 650 km long with part of it bordering the Atlantic Coast and part along Narragansett Bay. This extensive shoreline has a variety of coastal protection artificial structures. In addition, a recent disastrous (1938) hurricane has contributed to increasing the awareness in this state of the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of certain coastal engineering protection structures. State shore structures of a remedial or protective nature are provided by Federal financial assistance of not more than 50% for private shorelines, 70% for publicly owned shorelines, and 100% when protecting Federal property (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1981).
Fast-Track Protocols

It is increasingly clear that the application of systematic and evidence-based perioperative protocols can help make patients more comfortable and hasten their recovery. Many also believe that patient care should be straightforward and that patients should not be subjected to the discomfort and indignity of unnecessary procedures, worthless rituals, and therapies that are not supported by scientific evidence. Clinical pathways should address several aspects of postoperative care including: the return of bowel function, increasing activity levels, maximizing patient comfort, and eliminating superfluous maneuvers.
RESPONSES FROM THE VISUAL CORTEX OF UNANESTHETIZED MONKEYS.

Publisher Summary The chapter deals with conscious, unanesthetized monkeys as well as features the mapping of visual responses on the lateral, but especially on the mesial cortical surfaces with the use of various frequencies of brief, diffuse photic stimuli. In the mapping of the visual cortex by the evoked potential technique, prominent rhythmical activity was noted, especially in the alert monkey. This chapter also features an analysis of these fast oscillatory rhythms, although this activity without precise damping characteristics can only generally be considered oscillatory in type. The response of the visual cortex to peripheral stimulation, in addition to the mapping of the responsive area, has been investigated in various animals, especially in the cat and monkey. In the monkey, the pattern of the visual cortical response has been studied, mainly in preparations under barbiturate anesthesia. The chapter also deals with a detailed description of the lambda wave, its mapping on both the mesial and lateral cortical surfaces and the possible relationship of this waveform to the evoked visual response.
Priming of cytotoxic T lymphocytes by DNA vaccines: requirement for professional antigen presenting cells and evidence for antigen transfer from myocytes.

MHC class I molecule-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses are induced following either intramuscular (i.m.) injection of a DNA plasmid encoding influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) or transplantation of myoblasts stably transfected with the NP gene, the latter indicating that synthesis of NP by myocytes in vivo is sufficient to induce CTL. The present study was designed to investigate the role of muscle cells and involvement of professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in priming CTL responses following DNA vaccination. Parent → F1 bone marrow (BM) chimeric mice were generated whose somatic cells include muscle cells bearing both parental MHC haplotypes, while their professional APCs express only the donor MHC haplotypes. Upon injection of NP DNA, or after infection with influenza virus, CTL responses generated in the chimeras were restricted to the donor MHC haplotype. Thus cells of BM lineage were definitively shown to be responsible for priming such CTL responses after infection or DNA immunization. Moreover, expression of antigen by muscle cells in BM chimeric mice after myoblast transplantation is sufficient to induce CTL restricted only by the MHC haplotype of the donor BM. This indicates that transfer of antigen from myocytes to professional APCs can occur, thus obviating a requirement for direct transfection of BM-derived cells.
Cassini at Saturn: The First Results

The international Cassini-Huygens Mission is a joint mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Space Agency, with the Italian Space Agency as a major partner. The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on October 15, 1997, and was inserted into orbit around the planet Saturn on July 1, 2004. The Huygens Probe separated from the Cassini Orbiter on December 26, 2004 and coasted to a descent by parachute through the atmosphere of Titan to the surface on January 14, 2005. This chapter summarizes the primary science results to date from both the orbiter and the probe. Many of the analyses are preliminary in nature, and some may be revised as additional data enables better characterization of Saturn and its system of rings, magnetosphere and satellites. The initial results summarized in this chapter include images and other data from a close encounter of Phoebe prior to Saturn orbit insertion, from ring studies and magnetospheric studies during orbit insertion and the first year in orbit, from studies of Titan during the first several flybys and from the Huygens Probe mission, and from close flybys of several of Saturn’s icy satellites. The results also include discovery of several new satellites and a new radiation belt between the rings and Saturn’s atmosphere.
Using an IFS Informed Intervention to Treat African American Families Surviving Sexual Abuse: One Family's Story

Abstract The author provides a case study of Internal Family Systems model when providing therapy for an African American single mother who is working to heal with a female child who has been sexually abused. The author presents a format to challenge issues of power, privilege and oppression through the incorporation of Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS). She explores both the historical context and cultural implications for African American families who are surviving sexual abuse. This study provides implications for future research concerning the use of IFS to challenge issues related to oppression, doi: 10.1300/J086vl9n03_03
Investigation of γ-ray induced polymer formation in the carboranes—VIII: Oligomerization of o-carborane

Abstract The γ-ray radiolysis of pure o-carborane in the solid state at 31†C resulted in the formation of three gaseous products and three solid products. The gases produced were hydrogen, methane and ethylene. The three solid products were determined to be the adduct dimer and trimer of o-carborane and icosaborane-16, B20H16. The G-value for disappearance of the monomer indicated a chain process was involved. A possible mechanism of the radiolysis is discussed as well as the implication the nature of the dimer and trimer of o-carborane have on the radiolysis of organo-substituted carboranes.
Abdominal pruritus in pregnancy.

Abstract Uncomplicated abdominal pruritus during pregnancy was found in 65 out of 365 pregnant women, an incidence of 13 per cent. Two antihistamine drugs applied topically—Thephorin and Pyribenzamine—were effective in controlling this symptom in nine out of ten patients.
Shamans, Witches and Maya Priests: Native Religion and Ritual in Highland Guatemala

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Krystyna Deuss Year: 2007 Pages: 334 Publisher: Guatemalan Maya Centre ISBN: 978-0-9507847-2-4 (soft cover). Prices: $50.00 USD(soft cover).
Scheduling Trips During the Slack Season: An Aspect of the Economics of Seasonal Tourism

The trip scheduling problem faced by a firm providing transport to tourists visiting a specific location in the slack season has received scant theoretical attention in the tourism literature. Therefore, we conduct a stochastic analysis of the slack season trip scheduling problem. We first describe a general model that accounts for the common features of sightseeing trips to city attractions and to locations such as fiords and lakes. Second, we determine the long run fraction of time that the transport providing firm is unable to satisfy the demand for trips. Third, we ascertain the long run fraction of demand that is lost to the transport providing firm. Finally, we generalize the analysis and consider the case in which a key exogenously given variable is random and not constant.
Bacterial growth in the cold: evidence for an enhanced substrate requirement.

Growth responses and biovolume changes for four facultatively psychrophilic bacterial isolates from Conception Bay, Newfoundland, and the Arctic Ocean were examined at temperatures from - 1.5 to 35°C, with substrate concentrations of 0.15, 1.5, and 1,500 mg of proteose peptone-yeast extract per liter. For two cultures, growth in 0.1, 1.0, and 1,000 mg of proline per liter was also examined. At 10 to 15°C and above, growth rates showed no marked effect of substrate concentration, while at - 1.5 and 0°C, there was an increasing requirement for organic nutrients, with generation times in low-nutrient media that were two to three times longer than in high-nutrient media. Biovolume showed a clear dependence on substrate concentration and quality; the largest cells were in the highest-nutrient media. Biovolume was also affected by temperature; the largest cells were found at the lowest temperatures. These data have implications for both food web structure and carbon flow in cold waters and for the effects of global climate change, since the change in growth rate is most dramatic at the lowest temperatures.
Adhesion, Friction and Mechanical Properties of CF3- and CH3-Terminated Alkanethiol Monolayers: A Comparative Study

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have received considerable recent attention as molecular-level lubricants in, for example, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).[1] Of particular interest as tribological films have been SAMs terminated by fluorocarbon groups, because of their inert nature and enhanced thermal stability. Surprisingly however, fluorocarbon films were shown to actually produce higher coefficients of friction (relative to CH3 -terminated films) in atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies. Subsequent work has concluded that the increased van der Waals radius of the fluorine groups (∼45%) causes a steric disruption of the order of the molecular surface giving rise to an increased friction.[2] We present results from a direct comparison of the adhesive, mechanical and frictional properties of SAMs terminated by CF3 and CH3 groups using both Interfacial Force Microscopy[3] (IFM) and the AFM. IFM results are shown for a two micron tungsten tip interacting with C16 alkylthiol molecules assembled on Au(111) single-crystal surfaces. AFM results involve a ∼20 nm tip interacting with the same two molecules assembled on Au films deposited on mica surfaces. A direct AFM comparison is accomplished by using a “nanografting technique”.[4]Copyright © 2005 by ASME
THE EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS OF SPITE IN FINITE POPULATIONS

Spite, the shady relative of altruism, involves paying a fitness cost to inflict a cost on some recipient. Here, we investigate a density dependent dynamic model for the evolution of spite in populations of changing size. We extend the model by introducing a dynamic carrying capacity. Our analysis shows that it is possible for unconditionally spiteful behavior to evolve without population structure in any finite population. In some circumstances spiteful behavior can contribute to its own stability by limiting population growth. We use the model to show that there are differences between spite and altruism, and to refine Hamilton’s original argument about the insignificance of spite in the wild. We also discuss the importance of fixing the measure of fitness to classify behaviors as selfish or spiteful.
Resveratrol Inhibits the Expression and Function of the Androgen Receptor in LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells

Androgens via their receptor (AR) may play a role in prostate cancer etiology. This study focuses on the inhibitory effects of resveratrol on androgen action in the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. We found that resveratrol represses different classes of androgen up-regulated genes at the protein or mRNA level including prostate-specific antigen, human glandular kallikrein-2, AR-specific coactivator ARA70, and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. This inhibition is likely attributable to a reduction in AR contents at the transcription level, inhibiting androgen-stimulated cell growth and gene expression. This study suggests that resveratrol may be a useful chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic agent for prostate cancer.
El pensamiento de la continuidad y el problema de la cultura cristiana. Creencia, temporalidad y la antropología del cristianismo

Se abre la discusion acerca de las razones por las que la antropologia del cristianismo no ha prosperado. Existen problemas en el plano teorico: la mayoria de las teorias antropologicas ponen el enfasis en la continuidad como opuesta a la discontinuidad y al cambio, lo que se vuelve problematico en lo que al cristianismo se refiere, ya que muchos tipos de cristianismo acentuan el cambio radical y esperan que suceda. Confrontados con aquellas personas que manifiestan que el cambio radical cristiano ha ocurrido en sus vidas, los antropologos desconfian y tratan de explicar los elementos cristianos de sus culturas. Resulta dificil para los antropologos dar credito a las aseveraciones cristianas sobre la conversion, debido a que los modelos de cambio de la antropologia y del cristianismo se basan en modelos diferentes de temporalidad y de creencia. A menos que los antropologos reconsideren su compromiso casi exclusivo con el pensamiento de la continuidad y los modelos de temporalidad y de creencia que lo sustentan, la antropologia del cristianismo continuara enfrentando dificultades para su desarrollo.
Production of lymphotoxin and tumor necrosis factor by human neonatal mononuclear cells.

ABSTRACT: Lymphotoxin (LT) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) are cytokines with many common biologic effects including antiviral activity and induction of fever and the acute phase response; despite common effects, they are molecularly distinct. Because neonates are unduly susceptible to viral infection and frequently fail to mount a febrile response to infection, we hypothesized that neonatal cells would produce less LT and TNF than adult cells. We analyzed LT and TNF production by blood mononuclear cells and purified T cells using Northern blot analysis to detect specific messenger ribonucleic acid and specific assays to detect LT and TNF protein in culture superna-tants. Compared to LT, TNF messenger ribonucleic acid and protein were produced more rapidly both by total mononuclear cells and by T cells in response to mitogen stimulation. Although there was intersubject variability, adult and neonatal mononuclear cells and T cells (n = 6) produced similar amounts of LT and TNF messenger ribonucleic acid and protein with similar kinetics. In experiments with phytohemagglutinin-stimulated mononuclear cells from ten additional subjects, supernatant LT was somewhat greater in neonatal cultures (neonatal = 62.8 ± 60.5, adult = 13.2 ± 10.7 units/ml, p < 0.05), and TNF was somewhat greater in adult cultures (neonatal = 708 ± 429, adult = 1987 ± 392 pg/ml, p < 0.01) at 24 h; results at 48 h and 72 h were similar. Thus, neonatal MC produced as much or more LT than did adult MC. Although the decreased production of TNF by neonatal MC was statistically significant, these cells did produce substantial amounts of this cytokine. Because the reduction in TNF production by neonatal MC in response to nonspecific stimuli was modest, it is unlikely to be the principal mechanism but may contribute to the diminished febrile response and increased susceptibility to infection of the human neonate.
Distribution of rare earth elements and oxyhydroxide phases within a weathered felsic igneous profile in Hong Kong

Abstract Variation in type and abundance of oxyhydroxide phases and the fractionation of rare earth elements (REE) within a weathered felsic pyroclastic profile in Hong Kong were investigated in order to assess the key factors and micro-environmental conditions controlling their distribution during weathering at rock and mineral scales. Three types of oxyhydroxide phases (Fe-, Mn- and Ce-rich) were recognized based on their most abundant elements. The Fe-rich types appeared in all samples at different stages of weathering. The Mn-rich types, however, were limited to samples at advanced stages of weathering, while the Ce-rich types were found solely in samples from oxyhydroxide-rich zones. Fractionation of REE likely started at the early stages of weathering, but became evident only at the advanced stages. Characteristics of REE patterns, especially the direction (negative or positive) and extent of Ce-anomalies, correlated very well with the appearance and abundance of Mn-oxyhydroxides, and were attributed to the co-existence of distinct micro-environmental conditions within the profile. These conditions resulted from two major competing processes, “leaching and fixation” and “oxidation (precipitation) and reduction (dissolution)”, which operated simultaneously within the profile at any given stage of weathering.
Homocysteine, Alzheimer's Disease, and Cognitive Function

While others have been reﬂecting on the end of the 20th centuryand the dawning of a new millennium (artiﬁcial constructs thatthey are), I have been contemplating the passing of two moreimmediately meaningful periods of time. The ﬁrst is the year 1999,which was designated the “International Year of Older Persons” bythe United Nations General Assembly.
Hyperdynamic pulsatile flow and ventricular dilation in experimental communicating hydrocephalus

Background In communicating hydrocephalus (CH), where either there is no obvious physical blockage within the subarachnoid space, or the obstruction can be variable in location, explanations for the symptoms and clear-cut effective treatments have been elusive. A few investigators have begun to stress the importance of pulsatile vascular and CSF dynamics. While it is known that pulsatile flow through the cerebral aqueduct is often significantly elevated in hydrocephalus, a clear link between abnormal pulsations and ventriculomegaly has been yet to be established. The purpose of this study was to characterize the temporal changes in intracranial pulsatility in a novel model of CH.