cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of evisceration on oxygen consumption by Stichopus parvimensis Clark (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)

Abstract Near Santa Barbara, California, autotomy of the principal viscera (evisceration) by the holothurian Stichopus parvimensis Clark occurs during October and November, but not during the remainder of the year. The loss of both respiratory trees significantly affects neither the pattern nor magnitude of oxygen consumption relative to that of intact animals. Intact S. parvimensis regulate oxygen consumption over the range of oxygen tensions from P 0 2 = 50 mm Hg to air saturation, while animals without viscera are independent of oxygen tension above a P 0 2 of 75 mm Hg.
Reply to comments on “A model for the effect of grain size on the yield stress of metals”

Abstract A rebuttal to a discussion (Kurzydlowski and Varin 1983) on a paper by Meyers and Ashporth (1982) is presented.
Chaos, intermittency and hysteresis in the dynamic model of a polymerization reactor

Abstract Experimental evidence of sustained oscillatory behavior for a lab-scale polymerization reactor was presented previously, and confirmed in modelling studies. A modified mathematical model for this process describing full scale reactors was later analyzed in detail. Bifurcation theory and numerical continuation techniques were used in locating complex dynamic structures. Results pointed to the possibility of chaotic behavior in the dynamics of the model analyzed. This paper is aimed at a more detailed investigation of the chaotic regime. The structure of the strange attractor is first illustrated and characterized using different methods (e.g. Poincare sections, Liapunov exponents, successive iterate maps,…). Numerical experiments in the chaotic regime are then conducted. These reveal the presence of numerous periodic windows with odd period oscillations; in some cases, chaos is seen to disappear and re-emerge through the intermittency mechanism. Also a mechanism of chaotic transition through hysterisis and preperiodicity is observed and is shown to be related to a tangent bifurcation similar to that leading to intermittency. It is believed to constitute a possible new universal route to the emergence of chaos.
Radiative tetrahedral lattices

Advanced graphics techniques for rendering photo-realistic scenes have seen little use in scientific visualization due to uncertainty as to whether the higher computational cost is worth the increased visual realism. This paper presents a new low-cost method, containing more visual cues for interpreting complex dynamic data. The method has been used to visualize neurobiology data with neuron synapse modeled as a radiative burst. Images are produced at the rate of 3 per minute for a 395 neuron simulation. Implementation of this method was accomplished using the Illumination Networks energy-balance rendering technique introduced at SIGGRAPH '89. Work is underway to parallelize the algorithm which should yield interactive speeds. Two exclusive features of this method are (1) the ability to represent dynamic changes in data by mapping these changes to brightness of polyhedral objects in an abstract data space; the light emitted by these objects into the surrounding scene forms another dimension for data interpretation, and (2) the ability to better represent complex data geometry on a finite resolution computer screen. Because objects emit light, their effects on the environment can be seen even if the objects are smaller than a pixel when mapped to the screen or are obscured by other objects in the scene.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Genetics of the antibody response to an endothelial transplantation antigen in the rat

Abstract Immunization of MAXX (RTI n ) rats with pooled spleen and lymph node cells from the BN (RTI n ) strain results in the formation of alloantibodies against a nonmajor histocompatibility complex (MHC) encoded transplantation antigen on peritubular capillary and venous endothelium of the kidney. Since ACI (RTI a ) strain animals did not respond to the antigen, the genetics of the in vivo humoral immune response to repeated immunization were investigated in 43 animals of the second filial generation from the responder MAXX and the nonresponder ACI strain, as well as in 13 animals produced by backcrossing (MAXX x ACI)FI and ACI. Because 38/40 RTI n -positive animals responded, while 16/16 RTI a/a recipients did not, it was shown that the RTI n haplotype was required for responsiveness. Using the intra-MHC recombinant strains DA.1I (RTI.A n B a D a E u and WRC (RTI.A n B n D a ), the immune response was mapped within the class II region of the MHC-complex. Effects of MHC-(in)compatibility between donor and recipient on the response were ruled out, since MAXX rats formed endothelial antibodies upon immunization with the MHC-incompatible BN.1L (RT1 1 , BN.1A (RTI a ), and WKY (RTI k ) cells, whereas ACI animals failed to produce endothelial antibodies after immunization with BN.1A cells. Furthermore, the response appears to be thymus dependent because congenitally athymic WAG/rnu (RTI u ) rats failed to produce endothelial antibodies, in contrast to the euthymic WAG/Rij (RT1 u ) strain.
Financial barriers to care among low-income children with asthma: health care reform implications.

Importance The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes subsidies that reduce patient cost sharing for low-income families. Limited information on the effects of cost sharing among children is available to guide these efforts. Objective To examine the associations between cost sharing, income, and care seeking and financial stress among children with asthma. Design, Setting, and Participants A telephone survey in 2012 about experiences during the prior year within an integrated health care delivery system. Respondents included 769 parents of children aged 4 to 11 years with asthma. Of these, 25.9% of children received public subsidies; 21.7% were commercially insured with household incomes at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and 18.2% had higher cost-sharing levels for all services (eg, ≥$75 for emergency department visits). We classified children with asthma based on (1) current receipt of a subsidy (ie, Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program) or potential eligibility for ACA low-income cost sharing or premium subsidies in 2014 (ie, income ≤250%, 251%-400%, or >400% of the FPL) and (2) cost-sharing levels for prescription drugs, office visits, and emergency department visits. We examined the frequency of changes in care seeking and financial stress due to asthma care costs across these groups using logistic regression, adjusted for patient/family characteristics. Main Outcomes and Measures Switching to cheaper asthma drugs, using less medication than prescribed, delaying/avoiding any office or emergency department visits, and financial stress (eg, cutting back on necessities) because of the costs of asthma care. Results After adjustment, parents at or below 250% of the FPL with lower vs higher cost-sharing levels were less likely to delay or avoid taking their children to a physician’s office visit (3.8% vs 31.6%; odds ratio, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.01-0.39]) and the emergency department (1.2% vs 19.4%; 0.05 [0.01-0.25]) because of cost; higher-income parents and those whose children were receiving public subsidies (eg, Medicaid) were also less likely to forego their children’s care than parents at or below 250% of the FPL with higher cost-sharing levels. Overall, 15.6% of parents borrowed money or cut back on necessities to pay for their children’s asthma care. Conclusions and Relevance Cost-related barriers to care among children with asthma were concentrated among low-income families with higher cost-sharing levels. The ACA’s low-income subsidies could reduce these barriers for many families, but millions of dependents for whom employer-sponsored family coverage is unaffordable could remain at risk for cost-related problems because of ACA subsidy eligibility rules.
Source of the aeroallergen of soybean dust: A low molecular mass glycopeptide from the soybean tela

Abstract Airborne soybean allergens in the dust generated during the unloading of soybeans in the harbor caused asthma epidemics in Barcelona, Spain. The major allergen causing the epidemics was a glycopeptide
Anesthesiology in pulmonary surgery: Special problems☆

Abstract Among the special problems that confront the anesthesiologist in operations on the lungs are those related to (1) the maintenance of adequate respiration, (2) the maintenance of adequate circulation and (3) the selection of simple but efficient anesthesia equipment. The maintenance of adequate respiration necessitates the handling of such problems as those presented by pneumothorax, mediastinal shift, paradoxic respiration and respiratory obstruction. The maintenance of adequate circulation necessitates the handling of reflex and mechanical problems. The reflex phenomena, such as bradycardia, decrease in cardiac output and fall in blood pressure, are often thought to be related to the so-called vagovagal reflex. The mechanical problems are brought about by such factors as pressure or traction on the heart or great vessels, changes in the pressure relationships between the intrapleural and the intrapulmonary spaces, and hemorrhage. Anesthesia equipment should be kept simple in order that its efficiency may be assured.
Effect of Li2CO3-coating on the performance of natural graphite in Li-ion battery

The effect of Li2CO3-coating on the performance of natural graphite in a Li-ion battery was studied. It is shown that Li2CO3-coating can effectively increase reversibility of the initial forming cycle of Li/graphite half-cell. More interestingly, the Li2CO3-coating significantly suppresses self-delithiation of the lithiated graphite, which enhances storage performance of the Li-ion battery. The Li2CO3–coated graphite also shows higher capacity retention after long-term cycling.
Effects of ethanol on glycoprotein synthesis and secretion during inflammation-induced stimulation of hepatic glycoprotein secretion

Abstract The effects of ethanol on glycoprotein metabolism in liver slices obtained from rats whose synthesis and secretion of glycoproteins had been stimulated by turpentine-induced inflammation were investigated and compared to colchicine, a potent inhibitor of secretion. Inflammation resulted in a large stimulation in liver slices of [ 14 C]glucosamine and [ 14 C]leucine incorporation into medium proteins and a lesser stimulation into hepatocellular proteins. Both ethanol (10 m m ) and colchicine (50 μ m ), when present in the incubation medium, markedly decreased the appearance of glucosamine- and leucinelabeled proteins in the medium of both turpentine-stimulated and control livers. However, when microsomes were isolated and fractionated in a fraction rich in secretory contents and another rich in membrane components, the effects of these agents on the labeling of glycoproteins in these microsomal fractions differed. Colchicine did not affect the incorporation of either glucosamine or leucine into the membrane fraction but increased the labeling of the secretory fraction, whereas, ethanol decreased the labeling of both fractions. These effects were observed for both the stimulated and control slices. When protein synthesis was inhibited by cycloheximide in both types of slices, ethanol and colchicine decreased the secretion of glucosamine-labeled protein into the medium while increasing the specific activity of the glycoproteins of the secretory fraction without altering the labeling of the membrane fraction. When fucose, a terminal sugar, was used as a label, both agents decreased the secretion of fucose-labeled proteins into the medium while also causing a retention of labeled glycoproteins in the microsomal secretory fraction. These results indicate that the ethanol-induced inhibition of glycoprotein synthesis and secretion in the normal liver persists in the liver where synthesis and secretion have been greatly stimulated by inflammation.
Optimal gradient waveform design for projection imaging and projection reconstruction echoplanar spectroscopic imaging.

The use of modulated B 0 projection gradient waveforms is proposed for magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI) to shape the k-space sampling density function to match the profile of an applied reconstruction window function. This allows for a time-efficient means of maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio when, for example, a low-pass spatial filter, designed to reduce k-space truncation artifacts and corresponding point-spread function sidelobe energies, is implemented. Both the two-dimensional (2D) and 3D cases are investigated. To create the projection gradient waveforms, a design method is developed that uses nonlinear constrained optimization (NLCO) to minimize the variance of the reconstruction noise. The design is subject to both equality and inequality constraints, which include the maximum gradient magnitude and slew rate. It Is shown that NLCO can also be applied to twisting the projection trajectories for purposes of reducing the data acquisition time while still maintaining the desired sampling density. Applications to 1 H MRSI are investigated via simulations. Advantages and limitations of the new sampling schemes are discussed.
Lack of effect of the opioid antagonist, naltrexone, on the in situ growth of C-1300, N1E-115 and NS206 murine neuroblastoma tumor cell lines.

Abstract Attempts have been made to confirm previously reported results which demonstrated that the opioid antagonist, naltrexone, altered the in situ growth of murine neuroblastoma tumors. Adult male A/J mice were injected with tumor cells from three different cell lines of murine neuroblastoma; the spontaneously arising C-1300 line, the adrenergic clonal line NIE-115, and the cholinergic clonal line NS20Y. Naltrexone was administered daily in doses of 0.1, 0.4, or 10.0 mg/kg subcutaneously, to replicate the reported experimental design. In contrast to previous studies, we were unable to demonstrate any effect of naltrexone on in situ growth or other characteristics of tumors produced by the C-1300, NIE-115 or NS20Y murine neuroblastoma cell lines. Ligand binding studies have demonstrated the presence of high levels of opiate binding sites on membranes prepared from the NS20Y clonal cell line and low levels on the membranes of the C1300 tumor line.
Effective masses of the 4p excitons in solid Kr

Abstract We have measured the momentum dependent electron energy loss spectrum of solid Kr and evaluated the effective masses of the excitons for the first two principal quantum numbers of each excitonic series. We find that n = 1 excitons disperse more slowly than the n = 2 excitons of the same series indicating greater effective masses for n = 1 excitons than for n = 2 excitons within the effective mass model. For intermediate wave vectors, where the splitting of the heavy hole and light hole bands should be observable, we find no evidence for a splitting in the two bands, in conflict with band structure calculations.
Perceptual Analysis of Video Impairments that Combine Blocky, Blurry, Noisy, and Ringing Synthetic Artifacts

In this paper we present the results of a psychophysical experiment which measured the overall annoyance and artifact strengths of videos with different combinations of blocky, blurry, noisy, and ringing synthetic artifacts inserted in limited spatio-temporal regions. The test subjects were divided into two groups, which performed different tasks - 'Annoyance Judgment' and 'Strength Judgment'. The 'Annoyance' group was instructed to search each video for impairments and make an overall judgment of their annoyance. The 'Strength' group was instructed to search each video for impairments, analyze the impairments into individual features (artifacts), and rate the strength of each artifact using a scale bar. An ANOVA of the overall annoyance judgments showed that the artifact physical strengths had a significant effect on the mean annoyance value. It also showed interactions between the video content (original) and 'noisiness strength', 'original' and 'blurriness strength', 'blockiness strength' and 'noisiness strength', and 'blurriness strength' and 'noisiness strength'. In spite of these interactions, a weighted Minkowski metric was found to provide a reasonably good description of the relation between individual defect strengths and overall annoyance. The optimal value found for the Minkowski exponent was 1.03 and the best coefficients were 5.48 (blockiness), 5.07 (blurriness), 6.08 (noisiness), and 0.84 (ringing). We also fitted a linear model to the data and found coefficients equal to 5.10, 4.75, 5.67, and 0.68, respectively.
Hemoglobin Types of Macaca irus and Macaca mulatta Monkeys

Hemoglobin of 30 Macaca mulatta monkeys and of 15 Macaca irus monkeys consisted of one electrophoretic component similar to human hemoglobin A. Twenty-one M. irus monkeys had two types of hemoglobin. In 20 animals the hemoglobin resembled human hemoglobin AJ, and in one animal it resembled human hemoglobin AI.
Evaluating canopy temperature-based indices for irrigation scheduling

Since the development of commercial versions of infrared sensors, they have been increasingly used to determine canopy temperature and schedule irrigations. However, some shortcomings of the technique have been identified, among them the sensitivity of canopy temperature measurements to weather fluctuations. Based on field and computer simulated data, an analysis of the suitability of crop water stress indices (CWSI's) developed from canopy temperature under variable weather conditions was done. Important day to day fluctuations of CWSI values determined using an empirical baseline (empirical CWSI) appeared common for nonstressed crops, particularly under low vapor pressure deficit conditions. These fluctuations generate uncertainty in the use of this empirical index to determine needs for irrigation. The use of an improved index (theoretical CWSI) requiring measurements of net radiation, soil heat flux and wind speed, and estimates of aerodynamic and canopy resistances reduced but did not eliminate these fluctuations. Results using a simulation model showed that the empirical CWSI provided late indication of irrigation needs, after some water stress has developed, which may limit its application for crops sensitive to water stress. These simulations also indicated that the theoretical CWSI was able to track the development of water stress and provide reasonable indication of irrigation needs. However, this result may not be fully realized in field applications where the determination of CWSI may be affected by various sources of variability which are not accounted for by the model.
Attenuation of acute inflammatory effects of silica in rat lung by 21-aminosteroid, U74389G.

Chemical alteration of the glucocorticoid, methylprednisolone, has led to the introduction of a new class of compounds called the 21-aminosteroids (21-ASs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the 21-AS, U74389G, on silica-induced acute lung injury. Male Fischer 344 rats were treated intraperitoneally with saline or U74389G in a total dose of 15 mg/kg divided into three injections of 5 mg/kg separated by 4 h. Following the first treatment, animals from the two groups were intratracheally instilled with silica (10 mg/100 g body wt in 0.5 ml of saline) or saline vehicle (0.5 ml). Twenty-four hours after the instillations, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed. In the animals not receiving U74389G, marked increases in total protein, (β-glucuronidase, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities and number of neutrophils (PMNs) were demonstrated in the BAL fluid of the silica-treated animals compared to their controls. Silica also caused dramatic increases in the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL) of lung tissue and BAL cells. The CL reaction was decreased by superoxide dismutase (SOD) andN-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME), a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor. In animals treated with U74389G, there was attenuation of the silica-induced increases in biochemical, cellular, and chemiluminescent indices of damage. This study demonstrates that U74389G significantly reduces acute lung injury caused by the intratracheal instillation of silica, and this drug may be of potential value for treatment of lung diseases in which damage caused by reactive oxygen species has been implicated.
Russia's second shift: Is housework hurting women's wages?

Though the USSR officially touted equal opportunity for women, women in Russia earned only 70 percent of men's wages. The combination of women's dual roles in society and inadequate investment by the Soviets in household time-saving devices are often cited as reasons for a lack of commitment and advancement in the labor market. With the recent transition towards a market economy, there is reason to think these effects may be changing. As women become increasingly freer to substitute between formal-sector and household work, the relative importance of commitment in explaining the gender-wage disparity may have diminished. Using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, this study hopes to shed light on whether differences in time allocated towards household production are capable of affecting wages.
Effects on weight reduction of strong monetary contracts for calorie restriction or weight loss.

Abstract Thirty-one severely obese adults participated in behavioral weight control groups. In three groups utilizing powerful monetary contracts, subjects deposited substantial sums of money which were returned contingent on either attendance, calorie restriction, or weight loss. Subjects in a fourth no-contract control condition made no monetary deposits. Weight and calorie contract groups lost an average of nearly 20 lb in 10 weeks. They did not differ from each other, but both produced significantly more weight loss than the attendance contract group. High dropout rates in the no-contract condition precluded statistical evaluation of this group. Results are discussed in terms of the potential clinical value of contracting procedures.
Constitutive relations for unsaturated flow in a fracture network

Abstract Modeling water flow in unsaturated fractured rocks is of interest to many areas of active research, including geological disposal of nuclear waste and subsurface contaminant transport. A commonly used approach for modeling water flow in unsaturated fractured rocks is the continuum approach, in which the constitutive relation models, originally developed for porous media, have often been borrowed to represent constitutive relations for the fracture continuum. While these models have been successfully used for soils and other porous media, their usefulness and limitations have not been investigated for the fracture continuum. The objectives of this study are: (1) to present an evaluation of the commonly used van Genuchten (VG) and Brooks–Corey models by mainly comparing these models with constitutive relations simulated from two-dimensional fracture networks, and (2) to develop improved constitutive relation models based on the evaluation results. We find that the VG model can reasonably well match the simulated water retention curves (except for a range of high saturations), but both the VG and Brooks–Corey models generally underestimate relative permeability values. Simulation results also indicate that a combination of a modified Brooks–Corey relative permeability–saturation relation (obtained by introducing a new expression for tortuosity) and the VG capillary pressure–saturation relation can generally represent the simulated curves, with no additional parameters for this combination needed other than those used in the VG model.
Acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) following treatment with dacarbazine for malignant melanoma

ANLL followed a brief period of aplastic anemia in a man treated intensively 4 years and 3 months previously with dacarbazine as "adjuvant" therapy for malignant melanoma. This is the first reported instance in which the latency between drug exposure and onset of leukemia strongly implicates dacarbazine as a leukemogenic agent.
Temporary elevation of the intraocular pressure by cauterization of vortex and episcleral veins in rats causes functional deficits in the retina and optic nerve.

Abstract Purpose . To evaluate visual function in rats with chronic elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods . Chronic ocular hypertension was induced in the left eye of 14 adult Brown Norway rats by cauterizing 3 vortex veins and 2 major episcleral veins; the right eye served as a non-operated control. A control group ( n =5) was sham operated on the left eye. Prior to surgery, the IOP was measured with a Tonopen, the pupil light reflex (PLR) evaluated with a custom-made computerized pupillometer and electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded simultaneously from both eyes post surgically: IOP was measured on weeks 1, 3, 5 and 8 post-operatively, pupil light reflexes on weeks 1, 4 and 8 post-operatively, and ERGs on weeks 4 and 8 post-operatively. Sixty five days postoperatively, rats were euthanized and optic nerves and eye globes were prepared for histological analysis. Results . Seven days after surgery 5/14 rats developed significant elevation of the IOP in operated eyes (control eyes: 25·1±0·5mmHg; operated eyes: 34·1±0·6mmHg; mean±SEM; p =0·0004; Paired t -test). Elevation of the IOP was sustained at 3 ( p =0·002) and 5 ( p =0·007) weeks postoperatively. However, IOP values did not significantly differ between control and operated eyes 8 weeks postoperatively ( p =0·192, Paired t -test). Sham operated animals showed no elevation of the IOP 7 days postoperatively. When the ratio between consensual and direct PLR (PLR ratio =consensual/direct PLR; pupil of unoperated eye recorded) was examined in rats which developed elevation of the IOP, preoperative values were 92·2±4% (mean±SEM), 1 week postoperatively 65±4% (significantly different from preoperative values, p n =5), 4 weeks postoperatively 60·6±3·2% ( p n =5). By 8 weeks postoperatively, pupil responses had essentially recovered 75·4±6·9% ( p >0·05, n =5). Rats whose IOP values did not rise after surgery and sham operated rats did not develop pupil deficits 4 weeks postoperatively. Rats with elevated IOP displayed a significant decrease in ERG amplitudes in operated eyes at 4 weeks (a-wave operated /a-wave control (a-wave ratio)=42±14% (mean±SEM); b-wave operated /b-wave control (b-wave ratio)=43±16%) but not at 8 weeks postoperatively (a-wave ratio=88±8·4%; b-wave ratio=82·9±9%). Sham operated and rats whose IOP values remained non-elevated after surgery did not develop ERG deficits 4 weeks after surgery. Histological analysis did not reveal any damage in the eyes of animals with elevated intraocular ocular pressure with the exception of one rat, which still had ERG and pupil deficits at the end of experiment. Conclusions . Development of ERG and PLR deficits are proportional to the elevation of the IOP in the rat model of chronic ocular hypertension. Functional monitoring of the ERG and PLR are useful objective techniques for the detection of retina and optic nerve deficits.
The behavior genetics of personality and the NEAD study

Abstract The striking behavior-genetic findings of the NEAD study of adjustment in adolescence ( Reiss, Neiderhiser, Hetherington, & Plomin, 2000 )—namely, high heritability (h2), substantial effects of shared family environment (c2) for some traits, and near-vanishing effects of non-shared environment (e2)—were largely confirmed in an independent analysis of the NEAD data. The considerable contribution of monozygotic twins to these results was established, suggesting the importance of nonadditive genetic variance in the adjustment domain. Prenatal maternal effects were tested for, and not found to make a statistically significant contribution to individual differences in adjustment.
Loss of nutrient-independence for germination by fungal propagules incubated on soils or on a model system imposing diffusive stress

Abstract Nutrient independent conidia of Cochliobolus victoriae and sclerotia of Sclerotium cepivorum, Macrophomina phaseolina , and Verticillium dahliae were incubated aseptically on sand through which a dilute salts solution percolated at a flow rate sufficient to inhibit germination. Propagules were then transferred to a static salts solution to assess germination. Conidia of C. victoriae and sclerotia of S cepivorum became nutrient-dependent (6% germination in salts solution) after 9 and 15 days on sand, respectively. Thirty-five days of diffusive stress were required to attenuate the nutrient-independence of M. phaseolina sclerotia. Sclerotia of V. dahliae lost little of their nutrient-independence even after 45 days of diffusive stress. Viability of C. victoriae and S. cepivorum was reduced after 45 days of diffusive stress, but viability of V. dahliae and M. phaseolina was not. Conidia of C. victoriae gradually became nutrient-dependent when incubated for several weeks on each of five soils. A loam and two sandy loam soils were more effective in decreasing the nutrient-independence of conidia than were two clay loams. Sclerotia of M. phaseolina also lost nutrient-independence when incubated on four of the five soils. Interruption of artificially imposed diffusive stress resulted in increased [ 14 C]exudation from conidia of C. victoriae and sclerotia of M. phaseolina . Germinability on salts solution of C. victoriae conidia previously made nutrient-dependent was significantly increased, when the conidia were kept at 4°C for 3.5 days before germination assay. Conidia of C. victoriae made nutrient-dependent and then incubated on soils labeled with [ 14 C]glucose, absorbed twice as much 14 C from a loam and two sandy loam soils as from two clay loam soils. Following incubation on four of the five 14 C-labeled soils, the germinability of the conidia in the absence of nutrients was significantly increased over that of conidia not incubated on these soils. The results suggest that a continued minimal stress may be needed to maintain the nutrient-dependence of some fungal propagules in soil. Interruption of nutrient stress appears to allow nutrient-dependent propagules an opportunity to recoup nutrients from the soil solution or to reorganize endogenous energy reserves whereby the potential for germination is increased.
Nontraditional Epidemiologic Approaches in the Analysis of Gene Environment Interaction: Case-Control Studies with No Controls!

Although case-control studies are suitable for assessing gene-environment interactions, choosing appropriate control subjects is a valid concern in these studies. The authors review three nontraditional study designs that do not include a control group : 1) the case-only study, 2) the case-parental control study, and 3) the affected relative-pair method. In case-only studies, one can examine the association between an exposure and a genotype among case subjects only. Odds ratios are interpreted as a synergy index on a multiplicative scale, with independence assumed between the exposure and the genotype. In case-parental control studies, one can compare the genotypic distribution of case subjects with the expected distribution based on parental genotypes when there is no association between genotype and disease ; the effect of a genotype can be stratified according to case subjects' exposure status. In affected relative-pair studies, the distribution of alleles identical by descent between pairs of affected relatives is compared with the expected distribution based on the absence of genetic linkage between the locus and the disease ; the analysis can be stratified according to exposure status. Some or all of these methods have certain limitations, including linkage disequilibrium, confounding, assumptions of Mendelian transmission, an inability to measure exposure effects directly, and the use of a multiplicative scale to test for interaction. Nevertheless, they provide important tools to assess gene-environment interaction in disease etiology.
Prostaglandin E2 potentiates a TTX-resistant sodium current in rat capsaicin-sensitive vagal pulmonary sensory neurones

Capsaicin-sensitive vagal pulmonary neurones (pulmonary C neurones) play an important role in regulating airway function. During airway inflammation, the level of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) increases in the lungs and airways. PGE2 has been shown to sensitize isolated pulmonary C neurones. The somatosensory correlate of the pulmonary C neurone, the small-diameter nociceptive neurone of the dorsal root ganglion, contains a high percentage of tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium currents (TTX-R INa). Therefore, this study was carried out to determine whether these channel currents are involved in the PGE2-induced sensitization of pulmonary C neurones. We used the perforated patch-clamp technique to study the effects of PGE2 on the TTX-R INa in acutely cultured capsaicin-sensitive pulmonary neurones that were identified by retrograde labelling with a fluorescent tracer, DiI. We found that the pulmonary neurones sensitive to capsaicin had a higher percentage of TTX-R INa than that of capsaicin-insensitive pulmonary neurones. PGE2 exposure increased the evoked TTX-R INa when experiments were performed at both room temperature and at 37°C. Furthermore, stimulation of the adenylyl cyclase/protein kinase A pathway with either forskolin or Sp-5,6-DCl-cBiMPS potentiated the TTX-R INa in a manner similar to that of PGE2. We conclude that these modulatory effects of PGE2 on TTX-R INa play an important role in the sensitization of pulmonary C neurones.
Contribution of persistent sodium currents to spike-frequency adaptation in rat hypoglossal motoneurons.

In response to constant current inputs, the firing rates of motoneurons typically show a continuous decline over time. The biophysical mechanisms underlying this process, called spike-frequency ada...
Intracavity pulse compression with glass: a new method of generating pulses shorter than 60 fsec

The introduction of a glass prism in a ring dye laser is shown to provide simultaneous wavelength selection and pulse compression.
In vitro evidence against the anterior pituitary as a site of negative feedback of prolactin.

SummaryAnterior pituitaries of male rats were incubated for 4 hr in vitro and the amount of prolactin released when the medium was changed every 30 min was compared to the amount released when the prolactin was permitted to accumulate in the incubating medium. There were no consistent differences. Addition of various doses of ovine prolactin did not affect the release of rat prolactin in vitro. These results suggest that the anterior pituitary is not the site at which prolactin feeds back to inhibit its own secretion.
Recovery quantification and onset of recrystallization in aluminium alloys

Novel forming processes for light metal alloys utilize recovery and recrystallization to extend their total elongation and enhance formability. To attain optimum efficiency in such processes, it is necessary to understand and quantify the kinetics of recovery and recrystallization in work-hardened metal alloys. An electron backscatter diffraction based method, using local average orientation spread, is shown to identify the end of recovery as well as the onset of recrystallization. Local average orientation spread results from dislocation flux and storage during plastic deformation and hence, captures the evolution of static recovery process. The method has been demonstrated using pre-strained Al–Mg alloys. The recovery kinetics is shown to be consistent with results from dislocation density based recovery models. In addition, a direct observation of the coexistence of static recrystallization and recovery illustrates competing processes for energy minimization.
Parallel Savings Based Heuristics for the Delivery Problem

The delivery problem consists of finding a set of routes for a fleet of capacitated vehicles to satisfy the cargo delivery requirements of customers. The vehicles are located in a central depot, and have to fulfill the delivery requirements in a sequence that minimizes total delivery costs. Each vehicle tour starts and terminates at the central depot, and each node is supplied by exactly one vehicle. All vehicles have the same cargo carrying capacity. The paper presents parallel savings algorithms PSAs for generating feasible solutions to this problem. The new algorithms combine the savings approach, with matching based procedures. In computational tests the heuristic produces better solutions than the best known solutions for six problems out of a standard set of 14 difficult test problems. Augmented Lagrangian based lower bounding procedures are developed, and used to evaluate the quality of the solutions generated by PSAs. The lower bounds generated by the augmented Lagrangian are the tightest bounds known for delivery problems. The performance of the PSAs is also compared to tour partitioning based heuristics which have better worst case error bounds. The average quality of solutions generated by PSAs is shown to be significantly superior on large sets of test problems.
The Myc 3' Wnt responsive element regulates neutrophil recruitment after acute colonic injury in mice.

Background The Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulates intestinal development, homeostasis, and regeneration after injury. Wnt/β-catenin signaling drives intestinal proliferation by activating expression of the c-Myc proto-oncogene (Myc) through the Myc 3′ Wnt responsive DNA element (Myc 3′ WRE). In a previous study, we found that deletion of the Myc 3′ WRE in mice caused increased MYC expression and increased cellular proliferation in the colon. When damaged by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), the increased proliferative capacity of Myc 3′ WRE−/− colonocytes resulted in a more rapid recovery compared with wild-type (WT) mice. In that study, we did not examine involvement of the immune system in colonic regeneration.
Biosynthesis of Monensin

The biosynthesis of monensin by Streptomyces cinnamonensis was studied by using 14 C-labeled glucose, acetate, propionate, butyrate, and methionine. The results indicated that the antibiotic is synthesized from five acetate, seven propionate, and one butyrate molecules. The o -methyl group of monensin is derived from methionine, whereas the terminal hydroxymethyl group is incorporated from acetate.
Variation in the Susceptibility of Drosophila to Different Entomopathogenic Nematodes

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in the genera Heterorhabditis and Steinernema are lethal parasites of insects that are of interest as models for understanding parasite-host interactions and as biocontrol agents for insect pests. EPNs harbor a bacterial endosymbiont in their gut that assists in insect killing. EPNs are capable of infecting and killing a wide range of insects, yet how the nematodes and their bacterial endosymbionts interact with the insect immune system is poorly understood. Here, we develop a versatile model system for understanding the insect immune response to parasitic nematode infection that consists of seven species of EPNs as model parasites and five species of Drosophila fruit flies as model hosts. We show that the EPN Steinernema carpocapsae, which is widely used for insect control, is capable of infecting and killing D. melanogaster larvae. S. carpocapsae is associated with the bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila, and we show that X. nematophila induces expression of a subset of antimicrobial peptide genes and suppresses the melanization response to the nematode. We further show that EPNs vary in their virulence toward D. melanogaster and that Drosophila species vary in their susceptibilities to EPN infection. Differences in virulence among different EPN-host combinations result from differences in both rates of infection and rates of postinfection survival. Our results establish a powerful model system for understanding mechanisms of host-parasite interactions and the insect immune response to parasitic nematode infection.
Reexamining the evidence for inpatient glucose control: New recommendations for glycemic targets

Purpose To review the risks of hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients, data supporting the benefits of treating hyperglycemia, and recommendations from the 2009 American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American Diabetes Association consensus statement on the management of inpatient hyperglycemia. Summary Inpatient hyperglycemia is common, costly, and associated with poor clinical outcomes in many disease states. Despite inconsistencies in clinical trial results, good glucose management in the hospital remains important. Target blood glucose concentrations (BGs) were recently modified to somewhat higher values with the expectation that the benefit of treatment will persist with a lower risk of hypoglycemia, which is itself another marker of poor outcome in critically and noncritically ill patients. In the intensive care unit (ICU), the threshold to start treatment is a BG of ≤180 mg/dL. I.V. insulin is the treatment of choice in critically ill patients because of its rapid onset and offset of action. Once i.v. insulin is started, the BG should be maintained between 140 and 180 mg/ dL; a lower BG target (110–140 mg/dL) may be appropriate in selected patients. Targets of 180 mg/dL are no longer recommended. In noncritically ill patients, premeal BG targets are <140 mg/dL; random BGs of <180 mg/dL are recommended. Scheduled subcutaneous insulin is the treatment of choice for hyperglycemia in noncritically ill patients; use of sliding-scale insulin is strongly discouraged. To avoid hypoglycemia, insulin regimens should be reassessed if BG falls to <100 mg/dL. Conclusion Poor glycemic control in the hospital setting is a quality-of-care, safety, and cost issue. Safe and effective strategies to implement optimal glycemic control require multidisciplinary involvement. Insulin given i.v. in the ICU or subcutaneously on an as-scheduled regimen in other parts of the hospital is the treatment of choice.
Designing FIR digital transport processors using simple spectral transformations

Filters synthesized with only delays, adders, and subtracters, called transport processors, are discussed. Typically, transport processor design techniques utilize parallel and cascaded subfilters in order to meet required frequency specifications. A standard procedure for designing linear-phase FIR filters is to design a lowpass linear phase filter with a desirable frequency response characteristic and then transform that filter into a highpass, bandpass, or band reject filter by using simple spectral transformations. >
Damage diagnosis using time series analysis of vibration signals

A novel time series analysis is presented to locate damage sources in a mechanical system, which is running in various operational environments. The source of damage is located by solely analyzing the acceleration time histories recorded from a structure of interest. First, a data normalization procedure is proposed. This procedure selects a reference signal that is `closest' to a newly obtained signal from an ensemble of signals recorded when the structure is undamaged. Second, a two-stage prediction model (combining auto-regressive (AR) and auto-regressive with exogenous inputs (ARX) techniques) is constructed from the selected reference signal. Then, the residual error, which is the difference between the actual acceleration measurement for the new signal and the prediction obtained from the AR-ARX model developed from the reference signal, is defined as the damage-sensitive feature. This approach is based on the premise that if there were damage in the structure, the prediction model previously identified using the undamaged time history would not be able to reproduce the newly obtained time series measured from the damaged structure. Furthermore, the increase in residual errors would be maximized at the sensors instrumented near the actual damage locations. The applicability of this approach is demonstrated using acceleration time histories obtained from an eight degrees-of-freedom mass-spring system.
Automatic Construction of Dental Charts for Postmortem Identification

Identification of deceased individuals based on dental characteristics is receiving increased attention, especially with the large volume of victims encountered in mass disasters. An important problem in automated dental identification is automatic classification of teeth into four classes (molars, premolars, canines, and incisors). An equally important problem is the construction of a dental chart, which is a data structure that guides tooth-to-tooth matching. Dental charts are the key for avoiding illogical comparisons that inefficiently consume the limited computational resources and may mislead decision making. Labeling of the teeth is a challenging task which has received inadequate attention in the literature. We tackle this composite problem using a two-stage approach. The first stage utilizes low computational cost, appearance-based features for assigning an initial class. The second stage applies a string matching technique, based on teeth neighborhood rules, to validate initial teeth-classes and, hence, to assign each tooth a number corresponding to its location in the dental chart. Based on a large test dataset of 507 bitewing and periapical films that contain 2027 teeth, the proposed approach achieves classification accuracy of 87%. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach works very fast, and achieves high performance compared to other approaches suggested in the literature.
Neonatal massive small bowel resection: How much the multidisciplinary approach does impact on the outcome?

T. Capriati 1,∗, G. Torre1, F. Fusaro3, C. Grimaldi4, M. Candusso1, D. Elia2, J. De Ville De Goyet4, M. Rollo5, F. Chiusolo6, P.M.S. Schingo7, A. Diamanti1 1 Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit Nutrition Unit, Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy 2 Artificial Nutrition Unit, Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy 3 Department of Medical and Surgical Neonatology, Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, IRCCS Rome, Rome, Italy 4 Hepatobiliary Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, Roma, Italy 5 Department of Surgery and Transplantation Center, Interventional Radiology Unit, Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy 6 Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Department D.E.A.-A.R.C.O. Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy 7 Department of Radiology, Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy