cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of synthetic sialyl 2-->1 sphingosine and other glycosylsphingosines on the structure and function of the "glycosphingolipid signaling domain (GSD)" in mouse melanoma B16 cells.

Mouse melanoma B16 cells are characterized by a high concentration of GM3 ganglioside, which has been identified as a melanoma-associated antigen and is present as a clustered microdomain organized with major signal transducers, c-Src, small G-protein (Rho A), and focal adhesion kinase (FAK), to form a “glycosphingolipid signaling domain” or “glycosignaling domain” (GSD) separable from cholesterol- and caveolin-enriched microdomain, “caveolae.” Cholesterol-binding reagents, filipin and nystatin, disrupt the structure and function of caveolae, but have no effect on GSD function [Iwabuchi, K., et al. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 33766−33773]. In this study, we searched for compounds which disrupt the structure and function of GSD in B16 cells. Such compounds should have structural features analogous to those of GM3, destroy or reduce clustering of GM3 in GSD, and inhibit GM3-dependent adhesion and signaling. The simplest compound so far found with these properties is sialyl α2→1 sphingosine (Sph). We describe...
Propane conversion on Cu-MFI zeolites

Abstract A highly exchanged copper-containing MFI zeolite can be prepared by thermal treatment of CuO H-MFI mechanical mixtures at 973 K in an O2 free environment. This material effectively catalyzes aromatization reactions of light paraffins and olefins. An unusually high selectivity for benzene is observed during propane conversion. The preparation technique appears to allow replacement of virtually all zeolitic protons with Cu+ ions. The high temperatures and presence of H-MFI favor the conversion of Cu2+ to Cu+ so the process is termed ‘reductive solid-state ion-exchange’. The participation of Cu+ cations in the aromatization mechanism is discussed.
Race differences in emotional adaptation of family caregivers.

Objectives: This study compares black and white caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) on two general measures of negative and positive emotion (depressive symptoms, positive mood) and two caregiving specific measures of negative and positive emotion (caregiver burden, caregiver satisfaction). We hypothesized that black caregivers would exhibit lower levels of negative emotion and higher levels of positive emotion over time than whites. Method: Three hundred ninety-six caregivers were recruited from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago, Illinois, as part of a longitudinal study of persons with AD. The analyses for this report are based on data from 307 caregivers who were interviewed quarterly over approximately 4 years from 1999 to 2002, an average of nine observations per person. Results: The results showed that black caregivers reported fewer depressive symptoms over time than whites ( = −0.14, p < 0.01) but this finding was only for those caregivers living with the care recipien...
Separate regulatory elements for the heat-inducible and ovarian expression of the drosophila hsp26 gene

Abstract We have constructed and transformed into the D. melanogaster germ line a series of hsp26 deletion variants. We show that the region −728 to +14 contains all of the cis -acting sequences necessary for the developmental and heat-inducible transcription of hsp26 . Sequences upstream of −341 are not required for heat-inducible expression but are required for ovarian expression. Conversely, sequences between −351 and −53 are unnecessary for ovarian expression but are needed for maximal heat-inducible expression. We conclude that most, or all, of the cis -acting regulatory sequences required for hsp26 gene expression during oogenesis are physically separable from those required for heat-inducible expression. These results suggest that different trans -acting factors bind at different regulatory sites in the 5′-flanking region of the gene, thus activating its transcription.
Encoding properties of haltere neurons enable motion feature detection in a biological gyroscope.

The halteres of dipteran insects are essential sensory organs for flight control. They are believed to detect Coriolis and other inertial forces associated with body rotation during flight. Flies use this information for rapid flight control. We show that the primary afferent neurons of the haltere’s mechanoreceptors respond selectively with high temporal precision to multiple stimulus features. Although we are able to identify many stimulus features contributing to the response using principal component analysis, predictive models using only two features, common across the cell population, capture most of the cells’ encoding activity. However, different sensitivity to these two features permits each cell to respond to sinusoidal stimuli with a different preferred phase. This feature similarity, combined with diverse phase encoding, allows the haltere to transmit information at a high rate about numerous inertial forces, including Coriolis forces.
Flow variability and the bankfull depth of sand‐bed streams of the American midwest

The bankfull depths of 15 midwestern sand-bed streams increase with increasing variability of flow. Depths are also well represented by a simple one-dimensional model of vertical floodplain accretion. Thus, the correlation between depth and flow variability may be explained by the ability of deep, sediment-laden flows to construct high floodplains. Bankfull depths are also strongly correlated with the average annual maximum flow. Apparently, the average annual maximum flow adequately represents the cumulative influence of varying flows on rivers studied here. These observations further validate the concept of a dominant channel-forming discharge of moderate return frequency in humid temperate climates.
A novel approach to gaseous field ion sources for focused ion beam applications

Abstract Experiments have demonstrated that significantly increased angular current densities may be obtained from protrusions formed from ultrafine precipitates compared to the normal field ion specimens. The confinement of the ion-emitting region to the precipitates is an effective method of increasing the angular current density. This type of emitter may be a potential candidate for gaseous focused ion sources.
An Appraisal of Mitral Valve Echocardiograms Mimicking Mitral Stenosis in Conditions with Right Ventricular Pressure Overload

Of seven patients with pulmonary hypertension, two had marked and one had moderate retardation of the echocardiographic anterior mitral valve leaflet closing motion, suggestive of mitral stenosis. In each patient, however, mitral stenosis was excluded by hemodynamic or anatomic criteria. The reason for the abnormal mitral valve motion was considered to be a reduced rate of left ventricular diastolic filling. In the group of seven patients it was noted that the ratio of ventricular filling pressures (RVedP/LVedP) was inversely correlated with the anterior mitral valve leaflet closing slope. This observation supports the hypothesis that left ventricular diastolic filling may be secondarily altered by right ventricular overload, and that this impairment of left ventricular filling may result in alteration of the anterior mitral valve leaflet echogram mimicking mitral stenosis.
MALDI/TOF/MS and SEC Study of Astromol Dendrimers Having Cyano End Groups

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI/TOF/ MS), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and dilute solution viscometry were used to analyze the structure of three generations of Astromol (trademark of DSM) dendrimers having cyano end groups. The molecular weights, the defect contents, and the structures of the imperfect dendrimers were determined by MALDI/TOF/MS analysis with fractions collected using a SEC fraction collector. The peak broadening observed for these materials in SEC was studied by adding different co-solvents to the SEC mobile phase. The hydrodynamic radius of the dendrimers was measured both by dilute solution viscometry and by SEC universal calibration. Our radii data are comparable to previously published results for these dendrimers obtained by neutron scattering and support the opinion that dendrimers have compact spherical structures.
Evolving ideas of brain evolution.

Recent analyses of an old data set are starting to reveal patterns in the evolution of mammalian brains. The latest study shows that mammalian groups are characterized by basic similarities in brain proportions.
C3-C 4 Intermediate species in the genus Flaveria: leaf anatomy, ultrastructure, and the effect of O2 on the CO 2 compensation concentration.

Leaf anatomical, ultrastructural, and CO2-exchange analyses of three closely related species of Flaveria indicate that they are C3-C4 intermediate plants. The leaf mesophyll of F. floridana J.R. Johnston, F. linearis Lag., and F. chloraefolia A. Gray is typical of that in dicotyledonous C3 plants, but the bundle sheath cells contain granal, starch-containing chloroplasts. In F. floridana and F. chloraefolia, the chloroplasts and numerous associated mitochondria are arranged largely centripetally, as in the closely related C4 species, F. brownii A.M. Powell. In F. linearis, fewer mitochondria are present and the chloroplasts are more evenly distributed throughout the bundle sheath cytosol. There is no correlation between the bundle sheath ultrastructure and CO2 compensation concentration. (Γ) values of these C3-C4 intermediate Flaveria species. At 21% O2 and 25°C, Γ for F. chloraefolia, F. linearis, and F. floridana is 23-26, 14-19, and 8-10 μl CO2 l(-1), respectively. The O2 dependence of Γ is the greatest for F. chloraefolia and F. linearis (similar to that for C3-C4 intermediate Panicum and Moricandia species) and the least for F. floridana, whose O2 response is identical to that for F. brownii from 1.5 to 21% O2, but greater at higher pO2. The variation in leaf anatomy, bundle sheath ultrastructure, and O2 dependence of Γ among these Flaveria species may indicate an active evolution in the pathway of photosynthetic carbon metabolism within this genus.
Teleoperation to robotics at Langley Research Center

A popular conception of the evolution of remote manipulation is a progression from teleoperation to telerobotics and then to robotics. This is logical because in going from teleoperation to robotics there would appear to be a continuous decrease in manned workload, an increase in system complexity, and an increase in the amount of “intelligence” in the automated system. During the past 10 years NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has been involved in all three areas. The decision on which system is most suitable for a task depends not only on the task, but on the allocation of responsibility for intelligence or high level control. The operator may be responsible for all intelligence and control functions, they may be shared between the operator and the automated system, or they may be performed by an autonomous system. This paper discusses some of the experiences in each area in applications related to possible space tasks and some of the lessons learned.
Phonon Assignments in ZnSe and GaSb and Some Regularities in the Phonon Frequencies of Zincblende-Type Semiconductors

The lattice infrared-absorption spectra of ZnSe and GaSb reported in the literature are analyzed to obtain the values of the optical and the acoustical phonon energies at or near the Brillouin zone boundary. For ZnSe, which has an effective ionic charge of 0.7, the LO and TO phonons are found to have about the same energy near the zone boundary as anticipated by Keyes for compounds of intermediate ionicity. Mass ratio and effective ionic-charge effects in the critical-point phonon energies of the zincblende-type semiconductors are investigated with the presently available data. The difference in the values of the longitudinal and the transverse optical modes at the zone center is found to be a linear function of ionicity. If the observed infrared spectra of these compounds are analyzed on a four-phonon scheme, new correlations are obtained between the optical and the acoustical phonon energies. These correlations are discussed in terms of dispersion relations.
E. E. Schattschneider and the Responsible Party Model

Shortly before his death in 1971 E. E. Schattschneider said, “I suppose the most important thing I have done in my field is that I have talked longer and harder and more persistently and enthusiastically about political parties than anyone else alive.” Schattschneider's claim is not boastful, but factual. Exactly fifty years ago he completed Party Government, a book that remains a “must” read for students of the U.S. party system. But Schattschneider did more than write books. As Chairman of the APSA-sanctioned Committee on Political Parties, he presided over a debate that resulted in the seminal report, Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System. Like Party Government, this also is a “must” read. Evron Kirkpatrick proclaimed it “a landmark in the history of political science as policy science” (1971). Clinton Rossiter said he would “recommend it … to all who are interested in moving toward stronger party government” (1960). Theodore J. Lowi ranked the Schattschneider committee report as “second only to the 1937 President's Committee on Administrative Management as a contribution by academics to public discourse on the fundamentals of American democracy” (1985). William Crotty believed it exercised “the most significant influence on the debate over the operation of political parties that occurred between the Progressive period and the party reform movement of the 1970s” (1980).The responsible party model has had a long life in part because of the passionate arguments Schattschneider made on its behalf.
The aqueous thermal boundary layer

This article reviews the available data, measurement techniques, and present understanding of the millimeter thick aqueous thermal boundary layer. A temperature difference between the surface and lower strata, δT, of the order of a few tenths to −1 °C have been observed. Techniques ranging from miniature mercury thermometers and electrical point sensors to optical interferometry and infrared radiometry have been employed. Many processes influence the temperature structure in this thin boundary layer. Among them are: the net upward heat flux due to evaporation and sensible heat transfer; infrared and solar radiation; and the turbulence near the interface due to wind mixing, wave breaking and current shear. Presence of solute and surface-active materials stimulate or dampen these mixing processes thereby influencing boundary-layer thickness and temperature structure.
Identification and isolation of a common tumor-associated molecule using monoclonal antibody☆

Abstract A monoclonal antibody, 16B-13, derived from the immunization of BALB/c mice with a lung tumor line, immunoprecipitates a common tumor-associated molecule with an apparent mol. wt of 37,000 from lactoperoxidase-ionated lung carcinoma, colon carcinoma, gastric carcinoma, brest carcinoma, melanoma and lymphona cells, but not from normal fibroblasts. Analysis by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of the cell surface-labeled 16B-13 antigen from a colorectal and a melanoma cell line reveals four components with similar mol. wts but with different isoelectric points. The antigen purified froma a colorectal carcinoma cell line by immunoaffinity chromatography was shown to be a 37,000 mol. wt polypeptide similar to that obtained by the lactoperoxidase-labeling procedure. However, the purified antigen from the melanoma cell line shows the presence of a 65,000 mol. wt polypeptide and the loss of the 37,000 mol. wt component as detected by Comassie blue staining and immunoprecipitation.
Thermal stability of poly(styrene) containing phosphorus in the mainchain

For many applications poly(styrene) must be treated to reduce its flammability. This is usually done by incorporating a flame retardant additive, usually an organohalogen compound, into the formulation as the polymer is being processed. A potentially very efficient way of introducing flame retardance would be to incorporate a suitable structural unit directly into the polymer. This can be done by using 2,4,4,5,5-pentaphenyl-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane as an initiator for styrene polymerization. The strained carbon–carbon bond of the phospholane undergoes homolysis at moderate temperatures to generate a diradical which initiates polymerization. The resulting polymer contains an O–P–O unit in the mainchain. Thermogravimetry indicates that the thermal stability of the polymer is quite comparable to that of poly(styrene) generated by conventional methods.
Engineering the K+ uptake regulatory pathway by MultiRound Gateway

Abstract In a previous study, we described improved versions of MultiRound Gateway vectors. Here, we engineered a calcineurin B-like (CBL) pathway for potassium (K + ) nutrition to demonstrate their effectiveness. Using the two improved entry vectors pL12R34H-Ap and pL34R12-Cm, and through 2–4 rounds of Gateway recombination reactions, we generated five pMDC99-derived binary vectors [pK21 (CIPK23 + CBL1), pK29 (CIPK23 + CBL9), pK31 (CIPK23 + CBL1 + AKT1), pK39 (CIPK23 + CBL9 + AKT1), and pK4 (CIPK23 + CBL1 + AKT1 + CBL9)], in which all four genes have the same pSuper promoter and tNos terminator. pK31, pK39 and pK4 were transformed into Arabidopsis . PCR analysis confirmed that all transgenes usually co-existed in the K31, K39 or K4 transgenic plants, and qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the transgenes were expressed at reasonably high levels. The eight overexpression lines, except K31-1, displayed significantly tolerant phenotypes to low-K + and low-K + combined with low-Ca 2+ compared to the wild type. Significant differences between the K31, K39 and K4 lines were not observed. These results indicate that the improved MultiRound Gateway vectors efficiently assembled multiple transgenes, which were stably inherited and expressed in transformed plants, even with the same promoter and terminator.
Self-consciousness considered within a theory of self.

Self-consciousness is discussed as it manifests itself clinically in the young individual, in patients with neurosis, obsessive-compulsive-phobic symptomatologies, and in those with depression. It is thought that these different expressions of self-consciousness can be accommodated within a theory of the self constructed along a configurational model, in which consciousness is the “figure” for the “ground” constituted by the rest of the organism. As applied to intraorganismal functioning, these have previously been described as “awareness” and “being”. It is hypothesized that normally there is a gradual decrease in self-consciousness as the individual's identification with being increases. It is tentatively suggested that in the clinical conditions mentioned there is interference with this development and subsequent functioning.
The origin of the Welsh conjugated infinitive

Several issues of theoretical, typological, and historical interest are investigated. Conjugated infinitives (those with subject person agreement) are relatively rare but sufficiently well documented as to prompt some linguists to question the efficacy of the wordnonfinite. Moreover, the conjugated infinitives that have received attention in the literature share significant properties crosslinguistically, which cannot be accidental. Historically, however, they require salient triggering data in contrast to prototypical infinitives (those without person agreement), which spontaneously evolve from nominalizations with a goal role. The Welsh case is particularly interesting because the infinitive remains characterized byi“to” + verbal noun, and it is less than obvious that Welsh has a conjugated infinitive (CI). Reanalysis of inflected prepositions (e.g., Middle Welshi-daw“to him”) to infinitives with agreement (moderni-ddo“to-3SGM” ) yielded CIs. This reanalysis was forced by a semantic change of some control to causative verbs. The spread of the new CI to other predicates was enabled by a different kind of reanalysis, this one purely syntactic, raising yet another issue of general interest.
Differential measurements and an evaluation of the 59Co(n, α)56Mn reaction cross-section

Abstract The activation method is used to measure differential cross-sections for the 59 Co( n , α ) 56 Mn reaction in the threshold region from 5.07 to 9.98 MeV. The results from this investigation, along with other recent experimental data from the literature, are employed to adjust the ENDF/B-V evaluation for this reaction by means of the generalized least-squares method, thereby producing a new evaluation which better reflects contemporary knowledge of the cross-section over the energy range which has been explicitly addressed by differential experiments (5.5-18 MeV). Nuclear-model calculations are also performed in order to develop a physically reasonable differential cross-section shape for extrapolation toward threshold so that this evaluation spans the entire energy range required for ENDF/B (threshold—20 MeV). Attention is given in this work to covariances, in both the measurement and evaluation processes. Finally, the resulting differential evaluation is employed in calculations of fission-spectrum averaged cross-sections which are then compared with corresponding measured values from the literature.
Essay review: Primate visions, a model for historians of science?

Primate Visions has changed my life. Brought up near New York City, I thrilled to my trips to the Museum of Natural History. The great halls filled with skeletons of giant animals both extant and extinct, the dioramas depicting the lives of distant peoples, and, perhaps most wonderful of all, the great mammals of Africa moved me deeply, confirming my desire to study nature for myself. Reading Donna Haraway's account of the building of the Great Hall of Africa (chap. 3, "Teddy Bear Patriarchy: Taxidermy in the Garden of Eden, New York City, 1908--1936") profoundly disturbed my romantic vision of nature. No longer can I enter the museum with my child's mind. Her account of the killing, stuffing, and presentation of the mountain gorillas, her insight into "the Museum's task of regeneration o f . . . [an] urban public threatened with genetic and social decadence, threatened . . . [by] the new immigrants, threatened with the failure of manhood" (p. 29) has stolen my innocence. No longer can I look without suspicion at the display cases of butterflies or the dioramas of Native American families. Instead, I find myself asking about the hidden meanings, about the underlying visions of nature portrayed, wondering how I am being taken in, lulled into a social complacency by the museum display. And yet . . . . And yet I am still profoundly moved, as the romantic child I was and the wishfully thinking adult that I am; I am moved by the gorillas and the chimps and the whale skeletons; my eyes widen with wonder at the richness and grandeur of nature. But then Haraway calls my attention to the Museum entrance dominated by the statue of Teddy Roosevelt atop a horse, "father and protector of two 'primitive men,' an American Indian and an African, both standing, dressed as 'savages.'" Past the statue, just
Investigating pilot performance using mixed-modality simulated data link.

OBJECTIVE: General aviation (GA) pilot performance utilizing a mixed-modality simulated data link was objectively evaluated based on the time required in accessing, understanding, and executing data link commands. Additional subjective data were gathered on workload, situation awareness (SA), and preference. BACKGROUND: Research exploring mixed-modality data link integration to the single-pilot GA cockpit is lacking, especially with respect to potential effects on safety. METHODS: Sixteen visual flight rules (VFR)-rated pilots participated in an experiment using a flight simulator equipped with a mixed-modality data link. Data link modalities were text display, synthesized speech, digitized speech, and synthesized speech/text combination. Flight conditions included VFR (unlimited ceiling and visibility) or marginal VFR flight conditions (clouds 2,800 ft above ground level, 3-mile visibility). RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found in pilot performance, mental workload, and SA across the data link modalities. Textual data link resulted in increased time and workload as compared with the three speech-type data link conditions, which did not differ. SA measures indicated higher performance with textual and digitized speech data link conditions. CONCLUSION: Textual data link can be significantly enhanced for single-pilot GA operations by the addition of a speech component. APPLICATION: Potential applications include operational safety in future GA systems that incorporate data link for use by a single pilot and guidance in the development of flight performance objectives for these systems. Language: en
Social Power and the Advent of Action

Power—the ability to influence the outcomes of other people—is a key variable that regulates a wide range of human social interactions. Although previous research has demonstrated that power leads people to become approach-oriented, most studies have focused on how this orientation manifests itself in conscious, higher-order aspects of social behavior. The current study presents evidence that priming the concept of power has a direct influence on low level processes within the motor system. Participants performed a task in which they responded to auditory cues by moving their hand either toward the immediate environment (approach) or away from the environment (avoidance). Priming the concept of power facilitated the initiation of approach responses and, to a lesser degree, interfered with initiation of avoidance responses. This study supplements theories of power and approach, and fits with recent work suggesting fundamental links between cognitive processes and motor behavior.
Heavy drinking and health promotion activities

Empirical evidence suggests that individuals who consume relatively large amounts of alcohol are more likely to use expensive acute medical care and less likely to use preventive or ambulatory services than other individuals. The few studies that investigated the associations between heavy drinking and health promotion activities did not try to address omitted-variable biases that may confound the relationships. To fill this void in the literature, we examined the effects of heavy alcohol use on three health promotion activities (routine physical exam, flu shot, regular seatbelt use) using the US 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Although specification tests indicated that omitted variable bias was not present in the majority of the single-equation probit models, we cautiously interpret our findings as evidence of strong associations rather than causal effects. Among both men and women, heavy alcohol use is negatively and significantly associated with each of our three outcomes. These findings suggest that heavy drinkers may be investing less in health promotion activities relative to abstainers and other drinkers. Policy options to address the associated externalities may be warranted.
Potential renal sequelae in survivors of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome.

Although other hantaviruses are associated with renal manifestations, hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) has not been associated with such sequelae. The HCPS survivors were prospectively evaluated for renal complications. Subjects underwent yearly evaluation, laboratory studies, and 24-hour urine collection. Thirty subjects were evaluated after recovery from HCPS with the first follow-up at a median of 7.4 months after discharge. Subjects were a wide age range (18–51) but had an equal gender composition. Eighteen of 30 (60%) returned for > 1 evaluation. Half (15/30) had a 24-hour urine collection with > 150 mg of total protein and 6 had > 300 mg. Seven had a Cockcroft-Gault creatinine clearance (CrClCG) < 90 mL/min/1.73 m2 and 2 were < 60. Fifty-three percent met the definition of chronic kidney disease. Those treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation had less renal sequelae (P = 0.035). Our data suggest that renal sequelae may occur in HCPS. Further study of renal complications of New World hantavirus infections are needed.
Reduced-order modeling for hyperthermia: an extended balanced-realization-based approach

Accurate thermal models are needed in hyperthermia cancer treatments for such tasks as actuator and sensor placement design, parameter estimation, and feedback temperature control. The complexity of the human body produces full-order models which are too large for effective execution of these tasks, making use of reduced-order models necessary. However, standard balanced-realization (SBR)-based model reduction techniques require a priori knowledge of the particular placement of actuators and sensors for model reduction. Since placement design is intractable (computationally) on the full-order models, SBR techniques must use ad hoc placements. To alleviate this problem, an extended balanced-realization (EBR)-based model-order reduction approach is presented. The new technique allows model order reduction to be performed over all possible placement designs and does not require ad hoc placement designs. It is shown that models obtained using the EBR method are more robust to intratreatment changes in the placement of the applied power field than those models obtained using the SBR method.
Differential Gene Expression Detected by Suppression Subtractive Hybridization in the Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether-Induced Testicular Lesion

The solvent ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) produces the same testicular lesions in rodents and human testis cultures, whose onset is characterized by apoptosis of pachytene spermatocytes. To identify gene changes early in the lesion and determine the possible involvement of cells other than the spermatocytes, we employed a suppression subtractive hybridization technique using whole testes from mice treated 8 h previously with 500 mg/kg EGME to generate two subtracted mouse testis cDNA libraries enriched for gene populations either up-regulated or down-regulated by EGME. A total of 70 clones were screened, and 6 of them were shown by Northern blotting to be differentially expressed in the EGME lesion. The three clones with increased expression after EGME treatment were identical to t-complex testis expressed gene 1 (tctex1), a gene encoding ribosomal protein S25, and a heretofore uncharacterized mouse testis expressed sequence tag. Three other genes suppressed by EGME were tctex2, alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase gene, and another uncharacterized mouse testis expressed sequence tag. Predicted peptide sequences of these clones contain multiple motifs for phosphorylation, glycosylation, and myristoylation. In situ hybridization with the antisense RNA probes further supported the expression changes of these six clones and localized the changes in multiple germ cell stages as well as other cell types (Sertoli, interstitial and peritubular cells). These data at the gene expression level are the first to demonstrate the early involvement in this lesion of cell types other than the dying spermatocytes.
Growth of the Zygomaticomaxillary Suture in Pigs After Sectioning the Zygomatic Arch

Isolation of the zygomaticomaxillary suture from the remainder of the growing skull by surgically sectioning the zygomatic arch and interfering with the regional muscle and fascial attachments produced growth reductions ranging from 30.9% to 87.5%. This indicated that the suture is an area of compensation rather than of primary growth initiation.
Rejoinder to Reed's Comment on ‘An Empirical Theory of Rational Nominating Behaviour Applied to Japanese District Elections’

We are again pleased to respond to commentary on our article ‘An Empirical Theory of Rational Nominating Behaviour Applied to Japanese District Elections’, which appeared in the April 1999 issue of the Journal (pp. 259–89). Unlike an earlier comment by Gary Cox,Gary W. Cox, ‘A Comment on Browne and Patterson, “An Empirical Theory of Rational Nominating Behaviour Applied to Japanese District Elections” ’, British Journal of Political Science (1999), 565–9. See also our reply to Cox: ‘A Rejoinder to Cox's Comment on “An Empirical Theory of Rational Nominating Behaviour Applied to Japanese District Elections” ’, British Journal of Political Science, 29 (1999), 569–75. Professor Reed'sSteven R. Reed, ‘What Is Rational and Why Should We Care? A Comment on Browne and Patterson’, British Journal of Political Science, 30 (2000), 538–40. focuses upon his belief that the nominating behaviour of Japanese parties cannot be explained by a decision process based on rational calculation. Rather, he believes that Japanese nominations result from an on-going learning process based on ‘trial and error’ experimentation by party leaders. The substance of Reed's comment is that we ‘fail to address [his] learning hypothesis’ and that our interpretation of the Japanese nominating process is both theoretically implausible and empirically deficient. In the short space available to us we are not able to address all of Reed's misinterpretations of our work. Thus, we shall content ourselves here by offering some general comments on the issues he has raised.
An Analytic Approach to the Valuation of American Path Dependent Options

In this paper, we propose a general method for pricing and hedging non-standard American options. The proposed method applies to any kind of American-style contract for which the payoff function has a Markovian representation in the state space. Specifically, we obtain an analytic solution for the value and hedge parameters of path-dependent American options such as barrier options. The solution includes standard American options as a special case. The analytic formula also allows us to identify and exploit two key properties of the optimal exercise boundary-homogeneity in price parameters and time-invariance â¬ for American options. In addition, some new put-call â¬Ssymmetryâ¬? relations are also derived. These properties suggest a new, efficient and integrated approach to pricing and hedging a variety of standard and non-standard American options. From an implementation perspective, this approach avoids the current practice of repetitive computation of options prices and hedge ratios. Our implementation of the analytic formula for barrier options indicates that the proposed approach is both efficient and accurate in computing option values and option hedge parameters. In some cases, our method is faster by about four orders of magnitude than existing numerical methods with equal accuracy. In particular, the method overcomes the difficulty that existing numerical methods have in dealing with prices close to the barrier, the case where the barrier matters most.
Host-plasmid interactions in recombinant strains of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824

Plasmid-containing strains of Clostridium acetobutylicum produced higher levels of solvents and lower levels of acids than wild-type cells in controlled pH 4.5 batch fermentations. This effect was observed regardless of whether or not the plasmids contained C. acetobutylicum genes. The effect was less prevalent in higher pH fermentations and apparently independent of the actual DNA sequences contained on these plasmids. The plasmid-containing strains were found to have lower growth-rates and higher solventogenic enzyme activities than wild-type cells. However, similar activity levels were found for both butyrate-pathway enzymes.
Mathematical theory and numerical analysis of bioluminescence tomography

Molecular imaging is widely recognized as the main stream in the next generation of biomedical imaging. Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) is a rapidly developing new area of molecular imaging. The goal of BLT is to provide quantitative three-dimensional reconstruction of a bioluminescent source distribution within a small animal from optical signals on the surface of the animal body. In this paper, a mathematical framework is established for BLT. Solution existence and uniqueness are established. Continuous dependence of the solution is demonstrated with respect to data. Stable BLT schemes are studied, leading to error estimates and convergence of the methods. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the algorithmic performance.
RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY FOR LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCER PROVIDES DURABLE CANCER CONTROL WITH EXCELLENT QUALITY OF LIFE: A STRUCTURED DEBATE

Purpose: To cure localized prostate cancer, the entire prostate must be eliminated, which is what all forms of treatment must achieve. Although there is no better way to cure localized disease than total surgical removal, the challenge is whether this can be accomplished with acceptable morbidity.Materials and Methods: To evaluate quality of life following radical retropubic prostatectomy, patient reported outcomes of 62 men who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy at this institution were recorded during the first 18 months of followup. By 18 months 93% of the patients were dry (wearing no pads) and 93% to 98% characterized urinary bothersomeness as none or small. Potency, defined as the ability to achieve unassisted intercourse with or without the use of sildenafil, improved gradually and by 18 months 86% of the patients were potent and 84% considered sexual bothersomeness as none or small. In an effort to improve the outcome of radical prostatectomy, the surgical procedures on these 62 patients w...
Retail managers' perspectives on the effectiveness of corporate e-personalisation initiatives

Factors, such as costs to acquire customers and poor marketing campaigns, have allowed well-established brick-and-mortar retailers to have distinct advantages in e-tailing over pure plays. Although established reputations and extensive business experience play major roles, the effectiveness of the corporate customisation, especially e-personalisation, via sound CRM-based initiatives are extremely important in this success. Through appropriate multivariate analyses, the basic elements of customisation were tested and all found statistically significant through the viewpoints of retailer managers' perspective. There is little doubt that the competitive processes and/or core competencies vital to businesses should focus on areas where CRM initiatives would have their best affects, especially concerning customer retention and loyalty.
Endocannabinoid signalling selectively targets perisomatic inhibitory inputs to pyramidal neurones in juvenile mouse neocortex

Retrograde synaptic signalling has long been recognized as a fundamental feature of neural systems. However, the cellular specificity and functional consequences of fast retrograde communication are not well understood. We have focused our efforts on understanding the role that endocannabinoids play in regulating synaptic inhibition in sensory neocortex. Recent studies have implicated endocannabinoids as the retrograde signalling molecules that underlie depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition, or DSI. This short-term form of presynaptic depression is triggered by postsynaptic depolarization and is likely to play an important role in information processing. In the present study we investigated the cellular and synaptic specificity of endocannabinoid signalling in sensory cortex using whole-cell recordings from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurones (PNs) in acute brain slices. We report that GABAergic interneurones that are depolarized by muscarinic receptor stimulation provided the majority of DSI-susceptible inputs to neocortical PNs. This subclass of interneurones generated large, fast postsynaptic currents in PNs which were transiently suppressed by either postsynaptic depolarization or a brief train of action potentials. Neocortical DSI required activation of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) but not metabotropic glutamate or GABA receptors. Using focal drug application, we found that the DSI-susceptible afferents preferentially synapse on the perisomatic membrane of PNs, and not on the apical dendrites. Together, these results suggest that endocannabinoid-mediated DSI in the cortex can transiently and selectively depress a subclass of PN inputs. Although the physiological implications remain to be explored, this suppression of somatic inhibition may alter the excitability of principal neurones and thereby modulate cortical output.
Treatment of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and Role of the Pharmacist

Abstract Outbreaks of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in developing countries and recent headlines of an American traveling with a resistant variant of tuberculosis have brought XDR-TB into the spotlight. The World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified XDR-TB as a serious public health threat and are mandating increased efforts at control of tuberculosis. Although XDR-TB is believed to be no more infectious than other variants of tuberculosis, infection with and spread of XDR-TB are concerning because of the ineffectiveness, toxicity, and cost of the available tuberculosis treatment options. Pharmacists may not be aware of the recent trends in tuberculosis resistance or of the impact that they can have on educating the public about this disease. To gain a better understanding of this disease and the potential roles for pharmacists in public health awareness of tuberculosis and in the care of patients with and at risk for this disease, we undertook an extensive search of the Internet, including Web sites of tuberculosis advocacy groups, and of MEDLINE from January 1968-March 2008. Currently, XDR-TB infection is uncommon in the United States, but if history is any indication, there is a high potential for an outbreak or epidemic. The XDR-TB variant has emerged from mismanaging multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, treating tuberculosis with too few drugs, using less effective second-line drugs, and not educating patients about the dangers of nonadherence. With only limited hopes of a novel effective drug combination regimen, use of available antimycobacterial drugs needs to be optimized. Pharmacists can be key players in the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis by promoting adherence, assessing patients for risk factors for resistant disease, providing information about disease control and prevention, and monitoring for effectiveness, adverse effects, and drug interactions.
The Behavior of Ion Implanted Silicon During Ultra-High Temperature Annealing

Ultra-high temperature annealing is emerging as a promising technique for annealing ion implanted layers with a view to maximizing electrical activation while minimizing dopant diffusion. In order to ensure successful implementation, several materials-related problems have been under study. Since the time scale of the process is short, diffusion in the amorphous phase may dominate the final profile. In general, the residual disorder after anneal can be higher than with current anneal processes. However, the short time scale of the process curtails the opportunity for movement of dislocations into regions where the electrical behavior of a device would be affected. An additional effect of the limited time scale is the ability of silicon to plasto-elastically support the high strain-rates that may arise during the anneal.
Difficulties in assessing the presence, duration, severity, extent, and evolution of acute myocardial ischemia and infarction: ischemic ST-segment counterpoise as a plausible explanation

Two vexing problems in electrocardiographic (ECG) diagnostics continue to defy successful resolution: (a) the pervas ive low sensi tivity of the stress ECG [1] and ( b ) the inadequate performance of the various ECG indices in accurately evaluating and monitoring acute ischemia and acute myoca rdial infar ction (MI) [2] . The first probl em plagues all forms of stress testing (exercise and pharmacological) with an embarrassingly high rate of discordant results of stress ECG (false negative) and coupled imaging techniques, the first failing to detect and size up stressinduced ischemia whereas the second succeeding to do so and, thus, is considered the gold standard. The second problem is encountered in emergency departments, wards, and coronary care units of hospitals where patients are evaluated for acute myocardial ischemia or MI and where the attributes of the ST-segment deviations cannot be relied upon to provide insight on the presence or attributes of acute myocardial ischemia and MI. This necessitates the resort to non–ECG modalities (myocardial biomarkers, imaging techniques) to diagnose underlying pathology. The inadequate performance of ECG leads to delays in making a diagnosis, with consequent delay in implementing other tests (eg, cardiac catheterization) and appropriate therapies (eg, thrombolytic drugs, revascularization procedures), failure in risk stratification, and problematic monitoring of a clinical situation’s evolution. By attributes of the ST-segment deviations, I refer to their presence, amplitude, lead distribution, polarity (ST-segment depression or ST-segment elevation), and evolution (progression or resolution). By attributes of the acute myocardial ischemia and MI, I refer to the presence, age, severity,
Multicast traffic grooming in wavelength-routed WDM mesh networks using dynamically changing light-trees

In this paper, we address the online multicast traffic grooming problem in wavelength-routed wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) mesh networks with sparse grooming capability. We develop a multicast dynamic light-tree grooming algorithm (MDTGA) that can support multihop traffic grooming by taking advantage of light-trees. In this algorithm, a light-tree can be dropped, branched, and extended when a route is to be established for a new request; a light-tree can also be contracted when some branches carry no effective traffic after requests depart from the network. The difficulty of the algorithm lies in the dynamic characteristic of light-trees. We implement MDTGA on a new auxiliary-graph model. For the purpose of comparison, we also implement a lightpath-based grooming algorithm by putting a constraint on the optical-splitting capability of the nodes. Through extensive simulations, we find that MDTGA has much better performance than the lightpath-based algorithm.
Hypothalamic expression of genes for appetite regulators and estrogen α, estrogen β and leptin receptors in obese dams and their fetuses.

Under- and over-nutrition during gestation may influence fetal hypothalamic development resulting in individuals predisposed to adverse health effects. This study examined fetuses from obese and control ewes to determine whether dam obesity alters hypothalamic expression of fetal appetite regulatory genes. A second objective was to contrast the expression of appetite regulatory genes in ewes that become the most obese to those that remained in moderate body condition on the same energy-rich diet. Multiparous, western white-faced ewes were weighed and individually fed 100% (control) or 150% (obese) of National Research Council requirements from day 60 before mating until day 75 of gestation. At day 75 of gestation, fetuses were collected and weighed. Hypothalamic tissue from fetal lambs and dams was collected and frozen for mRNA extraction. Dam obesity (P ⩾ 0.16), fetal sex (P ⩾ 0.44) or their interaction (P ⩾ 0.42) did not affect the relative expression of fetal hypothalamic regulators of appetite, including neuropeptide Y, agouti-related protein, pro-opiomelanocortin, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript and receptors for leptin. Maternal obesity at day 75 of gestation in ewes did not affect developmental mechanisms responsible for the expression of fetal appetite regulatory genes and would not be expected to predispose offspring to adult-onset obesity through disrupted appetite regulation at this developmental time point. In the ewe, appetite regulatory genes did not differ (P > 0.20) with ewe adiposity; however, expression of estrogen receptor α, but not β (P = 0.37), in the medial basal hypothalamus was greater (P = 0.04) in obese than in control ewes.