cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparative Effects of Englitazone and Glyburide on Gluconeogenesis and Glycolysis in the Isolated Perfused Rat Liver

Abstract Englitazone (CP 68,722, Pfizer) is a member of a family of drugs known as thiazolidinediones. One member of this family, troglitazone (Rezulin), is currently utilized in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have focused on the ability of englitazone to increase insulin sensitivity in various tissues. However, little information is available regarding the direct effect of englitazone on hepatic glucose metabolism in the absence of insulin. Therefore, the following studies were conducted to comparatively evaluate the effect of englitazone and glyburide (a representative sulfonylurea) on gluconeogenesis and glycolysis from various substrates in the isolated perfused rat liver (IPRL). In isolated perfused rat livers of 24-hr fasted rats infused with lactate (2 mM), englitazone (6.25 to 50 μM) produced a concentration-dependent decrease (32–93%) in hepatic gluconeogenesis. When dihydroxyacetone (1 mM) and fructose (1 mM) were used as metabolic substrates, englitazone inhibited gluconeogenesis by 31 and 15%, respectively, while increasing glycolysis by 42 and 50%. Similar effects on gluconeogenesis and glycolysis were observed with glyburide, even though the effects with glyburide were more acutely evident, reversible, and of a greater magnitude. Such data suggest alterations in hepatic glucose production may contribute to the decrease in plasma glucose concentrations observed in individuals treated with englitazone and glyburide. These alterations may include effects on several regulatory enzymes (e.g. fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, pyruvate kinase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase), which warrant further investigation.
Evaluations of Candidate Chemosterilants for Control of Two-Spotted Spider Mites

Seventy-two candidate chemicals were evaluated as chemosterilants for Tetranychus urticae Koch. Sixty-five materials had little or no effect on egg hatch but 6 caused some reduction in number of eggs deposited, and 7 were equal to or superior to apholate in reducing hatch. Also, 6 materials were toxic to the mites at the higher concentration, and 2 were highly phytotoxic.
Carcinoma in situ of penis Is distinction betweem erythroplasia of Queyrat and Bowen's disease relevant?

Because of the confusion and controversy that exists in terminology, we attempted to determine whether or not there were any differences in histomorphology or behavior between erythroplasia of Queyrat and Bowen's disease
Retrosternal hernia (Morgagni) with colonic perforation due to incarceration

Retrosternal (Morgagni) hernias in children are usually asymptomatic or may be associated with mild respiratory distress or gastrointestinal symptoms. Incarceration of bowel in a retrosternal hernia is unusual. This report describes a complete colonic obstruction with incarceration and perforation in a Morgagni hernia.
Prettyprinting in an interactive programming environment

Prettyprint algorithms designed for printing programs on paper are not appropriate in an interactive environment where the interface to the user is a CRT screen. We describe a data representation and an algorithm that allow the efficient generation of program displays from a parsed internal representation of a program. The displays show the structure of the program by consistent and automatic indentation. They show the program in varying levels of detail by replacing unimportant parts with ellipsis marks. The relative importance of program parts is determined jointly by the structure of the program and by the current focus of attention of the programmer.
Ultrasonic temperature control and measurement in microfluidic channels

This paper describes the design and operation of a system used for the accurate control and measurement of temperature in micro-fluidic channels. Ultrasonic transducers are used for both heating and measuring the temperature of fluids inside the channel. Heating is performed by exciting the transducer with a tone burst at a single frequency. The temperature measurement is done through non-invasive means by monitoring the velocity of a sound propagating through the channel. The whole system is automated for data collection using Labview. The system developed has the advantages of easy integration, simple operation and design along with a wide application domain. The same ultrasonic transducer can be used for both heating and temperature measurement leading to possibilities of closed loop temperature control in micro-channels. The system requires milli-watts of power for heating and has a nano-second response time for temperature measurement with an accuracy of 0.1 degrees.
High-risk cardiac operation: A viable alternative to heart transplantation

Abstract To determine if high-risk heart operation with circulatory support standby is an acceptable alternative to direct heart transplantation, we reviewed 21 patients who were accepted as heart transplant candidates but offered a heart operation because of the availability of circulatory support. Preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was 0.25 ± 0.08 (mean ± standard deviation), and New York Heart Association functional class was 3.4 ± 0.7. The patients underwent 16 bypass graft operations, 4 mitral and 2 aortic valve replacements, and 4 defibrillator implantations (combined procedures in 5 patients). An intraaortic balloon pump was placed in 12 patients. One patient required biventricular assist device support but was weaned in 11 days. Twenty patients were discharged 14.8 ± 11.5 days postoperatively. One patient died 15 days postoperatively of amiodarone-induced respiratory failure, and 1 died suddenly 2 months postoperatively. At 10.5 ± 6 months postoperatively, 19 patients (90%) are alive. Mean functional class is 1.9 ± 0.9. None of the patients has undergone transplantation, but 2 are awaiting donor organs. We conclude that in selected heart transplant candidates high-risk heart operation is a viable alternative to direct heart transplantation.
Human Lymphocyte Antigen Reactivity Modified by Neuraminidase

Human lymphocytes treated with neuraminidase (from Vibrio cholera) are more susceptible to lysis with antiserums directed against HL-A antigens in the cytotoxicity test than are the corresponding cells incubated in buffer. Enzymetreated cells are also lysed by antibodies other than those directed against HL-A, but control cells are not. The extra sensitivity to antibody disappears after 2 to 6 days in tissue culture.
Radial Compressive Properties of an Aortic Stent Graft

The long-term fixation characteristics of stent grafts used to treat aortic aneurysms are likely related to the nature of its apposition to the aortic wall after deployment. But we only have a rudimentary understanding of the mechanisms involved and the factors that determine the nature of deployment of these implants. One factor that has been shown to be of particular relevance is oversizing — the % difference between the size of the graft to that of the aorta in which it is deployed (oversizing implies the former is larger) [1]. Other proposed factors include the angulation in the aortic neck and stent design. Naturally, issues of mechanics are central to this problem. Computational models of the mechanics involved, if developed with rigor, can be useful for gaining insights into the mechanisms involved and for interrogating the interactions among these multiple factors.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Immune responses of mice to vaccinia virus recombinants expressing either Listeria monocytogenes partial listeriolysin or Brucella abortus ribosomal L7/L12 protein

The Brucella abortus L7/L12 gene encoding ribosomal protein L7/L12 and the Listeria monocytogenes partial hly gene encoding the protective region of the hemolysin (partial listeriolysin, pLLO) were cloned into vaccinia virus by homologous recombination to produce recombinants WRL7/L12 and WRpLLO, respectively. The ability of these recombinants to induce humoral, cell mediated and protective immune response in mice was assessed. Although mice inoculated with WRL7/L12 recombinant produced antibodies specific to vaccinia virus and L7/L12 antigens, they were not protected against a virulent challenge with B. abortus 2308 strain. In contrast, mice inoculated with WRpLLO were protected against a challenge with virulent L. monocytogenes. Stimulation with purified fusion listeriolysin protein (MBP-LLO), but not with unrelated control protein (MBP), induced splenocytes from WRpLLO-inoculated mice to secrete significantly higher amounts of IFN-γ than saline inoculated mice. Mice inoculated with either WRpLLO or WRL7/L12 recombinants produced predominantly IgG2a isotype antibody responses, indicative of a Th1 type of immune response. The protective potential of the WRpLLO recombinant correlated with the level of IFN-γ produced in these mice.
A quantitative magnetic resonance imaging study of cerebral and cerebellar gray matter volume in primary unipolar major depression: Relationship to treatment response and clinical severity

The authors investigated whether there were differences in cerebral and cerebellar gray and white matter volumes in depressed patients compared to controls, and whether this was associated with treatment response to fluoxetine. Brain magnetic resonance images were obtained from 38 unipolar depressed patients and 20 age, gender, and educationally matched comparison subjects. Patients were divided into groups of "responders" and "nonresponders" based on change in 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) after an 8-week standardized trial of fluoxetine, 20 mg/day. There were no group mean differences in cerebral or cerebellar tissue volumes between patients and controls, or responders and nonresponders. For nonresponders to fluoxetine treatment, cerebral and cerebellar gray matter volume, and total cerebellar tissue volume decreased as baseline HDRS increased. The results suggest an association between gray matter volume and severity of illness in nonresponders to fluoxetine treatment.
Microfractures and their role in deformation of a quartz arenite from the central Appalachian foreland

Abstract Microfractures are pervasive in the Massanutten Sandstone, a quartz arenite exposed in a doubly-plunging synclinorium in the central Appalachian foreland. They are present as fluid inclusion planes (FIPS) and microveins parallel the FIPS. FIPS occur in three orthogonal sets: horizontal; vertical and normal to the fold axis; and vertical and parallel to the fold axis. The geometry, distribution and age of FIPS relative to other microstructures shows that microfractures developed during folding. Microfracturing followed layer-parallel shortening by dislocation flow and was coeval with the peak of pressure solution that marked the final stages of folding. Microfracture densities are extremely high (> 160 mm −1 ) in many samples. Rapid closure of microfractures suppressed brecciation and prevented microfractures from propagating unstably to form joints. Microfracture opening accounts for significant finite strain with extensional strains of up to 11.1% and associated volume increases of over 16.0%. The general lack of shortening microstructures indicates that a net volume increase is likely and that the Massanutten Sandstone may have served as a sink for dissolved phases from adjacent units undergoing volume-loss deformation.
PLUS and portability evaluation

PORTABILITY is the ability of a single program to run on multiple platforms without having to change it. PLUS is an authoring system designed for cross-platform courseware development for Macintosh computers and IBM PC and compatible computers running Microsoft’s Windows. PLUS’s portability was tested, and the results are reported in this article. The viability of the procedures used to do these tests also is discussed.
Differential effects of age on mitotically active and inactive bone marrow stem cells and splenic T cells in mice

Young and old BALB/c mice and thymectomized young mice were subjected to continuous exposure of 6-thioguanine (6-TG), and the numbers of their bone marrow spleen colony-forming units (CFU-S) and in vitro culture colony-forming units (CFU-C) and the number and mitogen-induced proliferative activity of their splenic T cells were determined at various time intervals. The results indicated that (a) old mice have seven times more 6-TG-resistant (6-TGr) CFU-S than young mice, (b) the mitogen-induced proliferative activity of 6-TGr T cells is comparable to that of 6-TG-sensitive (6-TGs) T cells of both young and old mice, and (c) 6-TGr CFU-S and T cells are resistant to 6-TG because they are mitotically inactive and not because they are drug-resistant mutants.
Decolorization of polymeric dyes by a novel Penicillium isolate

Abstract A novel polymeric dye-degrading fungal strain ATCC 74414 was isolated. Taxonomic identification including morphological and cultural characterization indicated that this isolate was a strain of Penicillium. Strain ATCC 74414 aerobically decolorized both Poly R-478 and Poly S-119 in liquid media containing 0.01% of polymeric dyes. The decolorization rate was examined in three distinct liquid media: Schenk and Hildebrandt-K2SO4 medium (SHK), potato dextrose broth (PDB), and half Murashige-Skoog medium (HMS). Strain ATCC 74414 rapidly decolorized R-478 in SHK medium but the color was subsequently released from the mycelial mass into the medium after 2–3 days, indicating that the decolorization in SHK medium could be due to adsorption of Poly R-478 by the mycelia. In contrast, in HMS and PDB media ATCC 74414 decolorized Poly R-478 more steadily, and the dye was initially adsorbed onto the mycelia and was subsequently decolorized without being released into the medium. Strain ATCC 74414 also decolorized Poly S-119 steadily in SHK, HMS and PDB media. It appears that the decolorization process involved initial mycelial adsorption of dye compounds, which was probably followed by biodegradation through microbial metabolism, and the decolorization may be affected by medium constituents. Although aerobic decolorization may not necessarily lead to complete mineralization of dyes, these results have suggested the potential of strain ATCC 74414 in bioremediation of dye-contaminated water and soil.
Individual differences in autonomic activity affects brainstem auditory frequency-following response amplitude in humans

Innervation of the cochlea by sympathetic fibers suggests that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) may influence auditory information processing. The brainstem frequency-following response (FFR) and spontaneous skin conductance activity (SCA) were measured while subjects discriminated between long (rare) and short (frequent) duration tones. When subjects were divided into three groups on the basis of SCA, those with low SCA variability had larger FFR amplitudes. These results agree with the only other study to report ANS effects on brainstem auditory evoked responses [28]. It is proposed that individual differences in autonomic response patterns may account for some of the amplitude variation reported in brainstem evoked potential studies.
Measurement of the absolute levels of IgE antibodies in patients with ragweed hay fever.

Abstract The effect of immunotherapy with aqueous ragweed pollen extract on changes in IgE antibody was analyzed in 40 untreated patients with ragweed hay fever and compared to changes in 63 treated patients. Treated patients received cumulative doses prior to and during treatment ranging from 1.4 × 10 5 to 4.8 × 10 6 protein nitrogen units (PNU). IgG antibody to ragweed antigen E (AgE) was measured by radioimmunoprecipitation, while IgE antibody to allergens in crude ragweed extract was measured by the radioallergosorbent test (RAST). The RAST procedure was calibrated using a serum whose content of IgE antibody in nanograms per milliliter had been determined by immunoabsorption, and with this method the absolute quantities of IgE antibodies to ragweed allergens could be measured. Control experiments indicated that the IgG antibodies in the sera of the treated patients did not interfere with the measurements of IgE antibodies. The levels of IgE antibody in serum varied from less than 5 ng/ml to approximately 3,000 ng/ml. IgE antibodies decreased from October, 1973, to July, 1974, and rose sharply from July to October, 1974, following the pollination season. In both untreated and treated patient groups the magnitudes of the decreases were related (p
A Computational Fluid Dynamics/Bulk-Flow Hybrid Method for Determining Rotordynamic Coefficients of Annular Gas Seals

This paper presents a new computational fluid dynamics (CFD)/bulk-flow hybrid method to determine the rotordynamic characteristics of annular gas seals. The method utilizes CFD analysis to evaluate the unperturbed base state flow, an averaging method to determine the base state bulk-flow variables, and a bulk-flow perturbation method to solve for the fluid forces acting on an eccentric, whirling rotor. In this study the hybrid method is applied to a hole-pattern seal geometry and compared with experimental data and numerical and analytical methods. The results of this study show that the dynamic coefficients predicted by the hybrid method agree well with the experimental data, producing results that are comparable with a full, three-dimensional, transient, whirling rotor CFD method. Additionally, the leakage rate predicted by the hybrid method is more agreeable with experiment than the other methods. The benefit of the present method is the ability to calculate accurate rotordynamic characteristics of annular seals that are comparable to results produced by full, transient CFD analyses with a simulation time on the order of bulk-flow analyses.
Read Annotation Pipeline for High-Throughput Sequencing Data

Mapping reads to a reference sequence is a common step when analyzing allele effects in high throughput sequencing data. The choice of reference is critical because its effect on quantitative sequence analysis is non-negligible. Recent studies suggest aligning to a single standard reference sequence, as is common practice, can lead to an underlying bias depending the genetic distances of the target sequences from the reference. To avoid this bias researchers have resorted to using modified reference sequences. Even with this improvement, various limitations and problems remain unsolved, which include reduced mapping ratios, shifts in read mappings, and the selection of which variants to include to remove biases. To address these issues, we propose a novel and generic multi-alignment pipeline. Our pipeline integrates the genomic variations from known or suspected founders into separate reference sequences and performs alignments to each one. By mapping reads to multiple reference sequences and merging them afterward, we are able to rescue more reads and diminish the bias caused by using a single common reference. Moreover, the genomic origin of each read is determined and annotated during the merging process, providing a better source of information to assess differential expression than simple allele queries at known variant positions. Using RNA-seq of a diallel cross, we compare our pipeline with the single reference pipeline and demonstrate our advantages of more aligned reads and a higher percentage of reads with assigned origins.
Novel effects in transient optical reflectivity from bounded nonlocal media via exciton polaritons

Abstract We report results of a theoretical investigation of time-dependent reflectivity from a semi-infinite, spatially dispersive medium subject to an incident pulse of finite duration. A damped oscillatory decay in the tail of transient reflectivity after the pulse cut-off is predicted, sensitive to the material and to the specific additional boundary conditions (ABC's). Physically the origin is in relaxation processes which dephase the emitted light on a time scale larger than the cut-off time of the pulse and shorter than the spontaneous dipole relaxation time. For laser frequency at the exciton resonance the transients are enhanced; near to resonance a double peak occurs due to dispersion of polariton group velocity.
Container vessel fleet deployment for liner shipping with stochastic dependencies in shipping demand

Abstract The problem of optimal container vessels deployment is one of great significance for the liner shipping industry. Although the pioneering work on this problem dates back to the early 1990s, only until recently have researchers started to acknowledge and account for the significant amount of uncertainty present in shipping demand in real world container shipping. In this paper, new analytical results are presented to further relax the input requirements for this problem. Specifically, only the mean and variance of the maximum shipping demand are required to be known. An optional symmetry assumption is shown to further reduce the feasible region and deployment cost for typical confidence levels. Moreover, unlike previous work that tends to ignore stochastic dependencies between the shipping demands on the various routes (that are known to exist in the real world), our models account for such dependencies in the most general setting to date. A salient feature of our modeling approach is that the exact dependence structure does not need to be specified, something that is hard, if not simply impossible, to determine in practice. A numerical case study is provided to illustrate the proposed models.
Fluorometric estimation of surface associated microbial abundance

Surface associated microbes have historically been difficult to accurately and effectively enumerate. In the current study, we propose a rapid and simple method for estimating abundance of surface associated microbial cells by fluorescence of SYBRGreen stained bacteria and in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence of benthic diatoms in 24 and 48-well microtiter plates. The effectiveness of this high-throughput technique is demonstrated by assessing sensitivity of a clinical strain of Vibrio cholerae, a benthic bacterial isolate and the benthic microalgae Cylindrotheca closterium to three antibiotics — tylosin, lincomycin and ciproflaxacin. We report on the significant linear relationships between spectral chl a fluorescence and cell abundance and between microalgal growth rates derived from cell counts and fluorescence. Additionally, we provide a simplified and improved method for preparation of a silica gel matrix (SGM), which is an ideal plating media for fluorescence applications. These findings indicate that spectrofluorometry is an inexpensive tool for rapidly estimating abundance of surface associated microbiota and can be employed for assessing antibiotic sensitivity.
Modeling Electrical Properties of Gold Films at Infrared Frequency Using FDTD Method

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithm is applied to analyze the electrical properties of gold films, whose relative permittivity is described by the Lorentz-Drude model in infrared and optical frequencies. The skin depth and reflectivity are calculated using the frequency-dependent FDTD method. The results are compared to analytical solutions and an excellent agreement is reported.
Investigation of the Saluretic and Kaliuretic Properties of a Diuretic Agent in Swine by In Vivo Whole Body Counting

A simple and concise analytical technique was developed for the determination of the kaliuretic and saluretic properties of diuretic agents in large animals. Whole body liquid scintillation counting, in conjunction with the radioactive isotopes 24 Na and 42 K, was utilized to determine directly the retention of the isotopes in swine during control and diuretic treatment. A radioactive tracer was orally administered and allowed to equilibrate in the animals, and control or drug treatment was initiated. Animals were counted at selected time intervals. The per cent retention of the radioactive isotope was calculated for each whole body tracer determination. Control and treated data were compared for the loss of sodium and potassium due to diuretic action. The diuretic agent, furosemide, was found to exhibit a marked saluretic activity in swine, while causing a small loss in potassium.
Multiple exciton generation in semiconductor quantum dots and novel molecules: Applications to third generation solar photon conversion:

In order to utilize solar power for the production of electricity and fuel on a massive scale, it will be necessary to develop solar photon conversion systems that have an appropriate combination of high efficiency (delivered watts/m2) and low capital cost ($/m2). One potential, long-term approach to high efficiency is to utilize the unique properties of quantum dot nanostructures to control the relaxation dynamics of photogenerated carriers to produce either enhanced photocurrent through efficient photogenerated electron-hole pair multiplication or enhanced photopotential through hot electron transport and transfer processes. To achieve these desirable effects it is necessary to understand and control the dynamics of hot electron and hole relaxation, cooling, charge transport, and interfacial charge transfer of the photogenerated carriers with femtosecond (fs) to ns time resolution.
Paleomolecular biology unravels the evolutionary mystery of vertebrate UV vision.

From the detection of a changing traffic light to the relaxing sight of Vincent van Gogh's ”Sunflower,” color vision plays an important role in our lives. But, to the eyes of a hummingbird or goldfish, we humans are partially color-blind, as they can see what is known as UV, to which we are simply blind. How did we lose this sensitivity, or, alternatively, how did they acquire it? In this issue of PNAS, Shi and Yokoyama (1) use techniques of paleomolecular biology to unravel the mystery of the evolution of UV vision in vertebrates. Vision starts when visual pigments are activated by the absorption of photons. A visual pigment is composed of a protein called opsin and a chromophore. The light sensitivity of a visual pigment is determined by the interaction between opsin and chromophore and is tuned to a particular wavelength of maximum absorption called λmax. Humans have four different visual pigments with the respective λmax being 414, 497, 530, and 560 nm. Thus, lights in the spectrum of ≈400–700 nm are visible, whereas those 700 nm (IR) are invisible to us (Fig. 1 A ). Fig. 1. Evolution of vertebrate visual pigments. ( A ) Variation in λmax of the five groups of visual pigments across vertebrates (2, 33). The arrows show the λmax for the human visual pigments. ( B ) Phylogenetic relationships of the five groups of visual pigment genes (2, 33). ( C ) Evolution of the vertebrate UV vision. Circles indicate extant organisms, and squares indicate ancestral species. Black filled symbols indicate UV vision, purple filled symbols indicate violet vision, and open symbols indicate nonfunctional SWS1 genes. The arrow shows the root of the tree and the common ancestor of vertebrates. The phylogeny follows (1, 11, 34). The UV/violet vision …
Comment on “Asymptotic fractal and multifractal properties of turbulent dissipative fields”

Abstract General solutions of Bershadskii and Tsinober's inequality for generalized dimensions D ( q ) of a multifractal are given. It is prove that all scale-similar (and statistically homogeneous) measures with finite q th order moments even for q negative have a D ( q ) satisfying the inequality for all q .
Schizophrenia-like GABAergic gene expression deficits in cerebellar Golgi cells from rats chronically exposed to low-dose phencyclidine

One of the most consistent findings in schizophrenia is the decreased expression of the GABA synthesizing enzymes GAD(67) and GAD(65) in specific interneuron populations. This dysfunction is observed in distributed brain regions including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. In an effort to understand the mechanisms for this GABA deficit, we investigated the effect of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist phencyclidine (PCP), which elicits schizophrenia-like symptoms in both humans and animal models, in a chronic, low-dose exposure paradigm. Adult rats were given PCP at a dose of 2.58 mg/kg/day i.p. for a month, after which levels of various GABAergic cell mRNAs and other neuromodulators were examined in the cerebellum by qRT-PCR. Administration of PCP decreased the expression of GAD(67), GAD(65), and the presynaptic GABA transporter GAT-1, and increased GABA(A) receptor subunits similar to those seen in patients with schizophrenia. Additionally, we found that the mRNA levels of two Golgi cell selective NMDAR subunits, NR2B and NR2D, were decreased in PCP-treated rats. Furthermore, we localized the deficits in GAD(67) expression solely to these interneurons. Slice electrophysiological studies showed that spontaneous firing of Golgi cells was reduced by acute exposure to low-dose PCP, suggesting that these neurons are particularly vulnerable to NMDA receptor antagonism. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that chronic exposure to low levels of PCP in rats mimics the GABAergic alterations reported in the cerebellum of patients with schizophrenia (Bullock et al., 2008. Am. J. Psychiatry 165, 1594-1603), further supporting the validity of this animal model.
The effect of coronary artery occlusion on the cardiovascular response to an aversive stress.

The cardiovascular response to a controlled aversive stress was investigated both before and during acute myocardial ischemia. Classical aversive conditioning (a 30-s tone reinforced with a 1-s shock) served as the model of stress while anterior wall myocardial ischemia was induced by the occlusion (hydraulic occluder) of the left anterior descending coronary artery. The conditional response consisted of significant increases (P < 0.01) in mean arterial pressure (AP, 13.8 ± 1.9 mm Hg, 14.3%), left ventricular (LV) dP/dtmax (1300 ± 324 mm Hg/s, 34.7%) and heart rate (HR, 44 ± 4 beats/min, 46.8%). Mean coronary vascular resistance significantly (P < 0.01) increased first (CVR, 0.52 ± 0.18 mm Hg/ml/min, 17.2%), then decreased (0.77 ± 0.14 mm Hg/ml/min, 25.5%). In contrast, during acute myocardial ischemia both the HR and d(LVP)/dtmax conditional response were significantly reduced (P < 0.01) by 58 and 54%, respectively (HR, 20.7 ± 3.8 beats/min, d(LVP)/dt, 756 ± 226 mm Hg/s). In addition, the initial CVR increase was virtually eliminated (0.13 ± 0.10 mm Hg/ml/min, 74.0% reduction) while the CVR decrease was significantly reduced (P < 0.01) by 48% (0.40 ± 0.15 mm Hg/ml/min) during the coronary occlusion. The mean AP response, however, was not affected by myocardial ischemia. The preconditional stimulus cardiovascular variables were similarly unaffected by the coronary artery occlusion. Thus, coronary artery occlusion attenuated both the coronary and cardiac response elicited by an aversive stress. The mechanism mediating this inhibition of the conditional response remains to be determined but may involve the activation of vagal depressor reflexes during the acute ischemia.
Insights on vortex-induced, traveling waves on long risers

This paper is based on portions of a keynote presentation, which explored the boundaries of what is understood about the vibration behavior of long cylinders excited by vortex shedding. The source of data is a recent field experiment on a long flexible cylinder, densely instrumented with fiber optic strain gauges. The paper emphasis is on previously unknown or unexplained phenomena and in some cases offers provocative insights as opposed to conclusive proofs. Three particular topics are covered: (i) the occurrence of peak strain and fatigue damage rates at unexpected locations, (ii) the dominance of traveling wave rather than standing wave response, and (iii) the appearance of stable cylinder trajectories, such as figure eights and crescents in pure traveling wave regions. Potential explanations are offered and areas for promising additional research are proposed.
The Discrimination and Durability of an Ethanol Cue in Young and Mid-Aged Female Mice

Young adult (6 months) and mid-aged (12 months) C57BL/6 mice both learned to discriminate ethanol (ETOH, 1.0 g/kg) although criterion performance occurred later for mid-aged mice. ETOH discrimination improved with increasing dose (0.25-1.0 g/kg) and the dose-response function was unaffected by age. The ETOH cue had declined by 40 min postinjection for young mice not unlike a previous report for young rats. In contrast, the ETOH cue remained discriminable at 40 min for mid-aged mice, an effect perhaps due to their slower rate of ETOH metabolism and accountable for the previously reported reduction in ethanol consumption by mid-aged mice. Retention tests and reacquisition training both indicated that the ETOH cue can be retained by both age groups for at least 60 days without discrimination training or food deprivation. The present study suggests that the ethanol discriminative cue in mid-aged mice does not differ from that in young adult mice in potency but is more long lasting, the latter perhaps being related to their reduced ethanol consumption. Of significance from a therapeutic perspective, is that the ETOH cue remained discriminable for 2 months in both age groups (i.e., approximately 1/12 of their total life span).
Transport of Ocean Sediments by Debris Flow: ABSTRACT

Debris flow, a gravity-transport mechanism commonly observed on land, may be a significant agent of high-density mass transport of sediment in the oceans. Debris flow is distinguished from other mass-transport agents by the mechanism of support of granular solids in the flow. Support is provided mainly by the strength of the debris, but also by buoyant forces. Strength is derived from the fluid phase of the debris (clay minerals plus water), which acts as a plastico-viscous material. Suspension of granular solids by this mechanism does not depend on flow conditions and occurs if the debris is moving very slowly or even not at all. Movement of a debris flow depends on a critical thickness of the debris as well as the internal-friction angle. The slope angle required for de ris flow typically is less than the 18-37° required for normal grain flows or avalanching. Thus, debris flow may carry large amounts of sediment in suspension while moving sluggishly down a gentle slope. The amount of clay, relative to granular solids, necessary completely to support sand-size material is on the order of 10% or less. Thus, sandy debris-flow deposits may be texturally similar to current-deposited sands. End_of_Article - Last_Page 622------------
Controlled assembly of jammed colloidal shells on fluid droplets

Assembly of colloidal particles on fluid interfaces is a promising technique for synthesizing two-dimensional microcrystalline materials useful in fields as diverse as biomedicine, materials science, mineral flotation and food processing. Current approaches rely on bulk emulsification methods, require further chemical and thermal treatments, and are restrictive with respect to the materials used. The development of methods that exploit the great potential of interfacial assembly for producing tailored materials have been hampered by the lack of understanding of the assembly process. Here we report a microfluidic method that allows direct visualization and understanding of the dynamics of colloidal crystal growth on curved interfaces. The crystals are periodically ejected to form stable jammed shells, which we refer to as colloidal armour. We propose that the energetic barriers to interfacial crystal growth and organization can be overcome by targeted delivery of colloidal particles through hydrodynamic flows. Our method allows an unprecedented degree of control over armour composition, size and stability.
USC orthogonal multiprocessor for image processing with neural networks

This paper presents the architectural features and imaging applications of the Orthogonal MultiProcessor (OMP) system, which is under construction at the University of Southern California with research funding from NSF and assistance from several industrial partners. The prototype OMP is being built with 16 Intel i860 RISC microprocessors and 256 parallel memory modules using custom-designed spanning buses, which are 2-D interleaved and orthogonally accessed without conflicts. The 16-processor OMP prototype is targeted to achieve 430 MIPS and 600 Mflops, which have been verified by simulation experiments based on the design parameters used. The prototype OMP machine will be initially applied for image processing, computer vision, and neural network simulation applications. We summarize important vision and imaging algorithms that can be restructured with neural network models. These algorithms can efficiently run on the OMP hardware with linear speedup. The ultimate goal is to develop a high-performance Visual Computer (Viscom) for integrated low- and high-level image processing and vision tasks.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Rheumatic "Activity" as Judged by the Presence of Aschoff Bodies in Auricular Appendages of Patients with Mitral Stenosis II. Clinical Aspects

Clinical data have been correlated with heart muscle biopsy findings in 183 patients undergoing operation for mitral stenosis. It was not possible to relate the finding of Aschoff lesions to the usual clinical or laboratory evidences of rheumatic carditis, although older patients and those exhibiting auricular fibrillation were least likely to be histologically "active." The possible significance of these findings is discussed.
Laparoscopic Surgery for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Results of the Past Decade

Laparoscopic colectomy is one of the most difficult laparoscopic procedures. Surgeons attempting to perform laparoscopic surgery for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) must have significant experience with IBD and advanced laparoscopic skills. Surgical management for IBD may be treated with a range of laparoscopic procedures that vary in complexity. After 10 years of experience, studies comparing laparoscopy versus laparotomy are favoring laparoscopy when evaluating reduction in postoperative ileus, pain, and length of hospitalization, disability, and cosmesis. The indications and contraindications for laparoscopic surgery for IBD are evolving as surgical expertise and equipment improve.
Uncertainty and culture in bank loan decisions

Abstract Simulations of loan applications were evaluated by senior bank executives in terms of their prospects for approval and risk to determine the influence of organizational culture and payback uncertainty on loan decisions. The influence of the participating banker's decision style, based on the Jungian typology, was also determined. Eight simulated loans were constructed that had four types of cultures and high or low uncertainty in pay back prospects. Evaluations of the ratings of these loans found that culture was a more important determinant of loan approval and risk assessment than either uncertainty or the banker's personal decision style. Bankers in an analytic culture were inclined to approve loans. In a consultative or speculative culture bankers were more apprehensive but would make these same loans. In a charismatic culture bankers were unsure about the advisability of making the same loans. The implications of these findings for improved practice in bank loan decision making are discussed.
The crosslinking of phosphorylase kinase.

Abstract Phosphorylase kinase from rabbit skeletal muscle has been crosslinked with dimethylsuberimidate and the products have been examined by SDS-gel electrophoresis. Identification of crosslinked species was made from their molecular weights and from their susceptibility to digestion by specific proteolytic enzymes. Evidence was obtained for the occurrence of crosslinked species, and hence for the occurrence of preexisting subunit contacts, of the types γδ, βγ, βγ 2 , ββ, αβ, and αα. These findings permit definite conclusions as to the quaternary structure of phosphorylase kinase.
Characterization of Photoactive Centers in N-Doped In2O3 Visible Photocatalysts for Water Oxidation

N-doped In2O3 films and powders were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for photoelectrochemical water splitting. The synthetic process was followed in detail by FTIR and UV−vis spectroscopy and the In complex was characterized by X-ray crystallography. NMR, XPS, and EPR were combined in an effort to track the N speciation at each step of the synthesis. The structural, optical and photoelectrochemical properties of the final products (films and powders) were analyzed. Compared to undoped In2O3, N-doped In2O3 showed an increased absorption in the 350−500 nm range with a red shift in the band gap transition. Electrodes prepared from NH4Cl exhibit higher photoactivity compared to the electrodes prepared from urea. NMR, XPS, and EPR results showed that inert amino- and nitrate-type species adsorbed on the surface were produced from urea and NH4Cl, which count toward the N atomic percent but do not increase the activity of In2O3. However, a nitrate-type species in interstitial sites and a paramagnetic s...
Disclosure and Its Reciprocity as Predictors of Key Outcomes of an Initial Sales Encounter

This study reports findings from an experiment designed to investigate how verbal exchange between a salesperson and a prospect influences sales outcomes of an initial sales encounter. One hundred ninety-six salesperson-customer dyads were videotaped controlling for sales situation variables. Findings provide support for the idea that elements of task and social disclosure differentially influence customer perceptions of interaction quality and business relationship potential. In addition, the study illustrates a methodology that can be used to investigate dyadic interchange.
Roles of the Developmental Regulator unc-62/Homothorax in Limiting Longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans

The normal aging process is associated with stereotyped changes in gene expression, but the regulators responsible for these age-dependent changes are poorly understood. Using a novel genomics approach, we identified HOX co-factor unc-62 (Homothorax) as a developmental regulator that binds proximal to age-regulated genes and modulates lifespan. Although unc-62 is expressed in diverse tissues, its functions in the intestine play a particularly important role in modulating lifespan, as intestine-specific knockdown of unc-62 by RNAi increases lifespan. An alternatively-spliced, tissue-specific isoform of unc-62 is expressed exclusively in the intestine and declines with age. Through analysis of the downstream consequences of unc-62 knockdown, we identify multiple effects linked to aging. First, unc-62 RNAi decreases the expression of yolk proteins (vitellogenins) that aggregate in the body cavity in old age. Second, unc-62 RNAi results in a broad increase in expression of intestinal genes that typically decrease expression with age, suggesting that unc-62 activity balances intestinal resource allocation between yolk protein expression and fertility on the one hand and somatic functions on the other. Finally, in old age, the intestine shows increased expression of several aberrant genes; these UNC-62 targets are expressed predominantly in neuronal cells in developing animals, but surprisingly show increased expression in the intestine of old animals. Intestinal expression of some of these genes during aging is detrimental for longevity; notably, increased expression of insulin ins-7 limits lifespan by repressing activity of insulin pathway response factor DAF-16/FOXO in aged animals. These results illustrate how unc-62 regulation of intestinal gene expression is responsible for limiting lifespan during the normal aging process.
Instruction-level reverse execution for debugging

The ability to execute a program in reverse is advantageous for shortening debug time. This paper presents a reverse execution methodology at the assembly instruction-level with low memory and time overheads. The core idea of this approach is to generate a reverse program able to undo, in almost all cases, normal forward execution of an assembly instruction in the program being debugged. The methodology has been implemented on a PowerPC processor in a custom made debugger. Compared to previous work -- all of which use a variety of state saving techniques -- the experimental results show 2.5X to 400X memory overhead reduction for the tested benchmarks. Furthermore, the results with the same benchmarks show an average of 4.1X to 5.7X time overhead reduction.
Design of neural network systems from custom analog VLSI chips

Custom analog CMOS VLSI components have been designed to allow the construction of neural networks with arbitrary architectures. A wide-range, all-enhancement-mode, MOS analog four-quadrant multiplier has been employed to implement the scalar vector product of the vector of neuron outputs and the vector of the corresponding weights. A nonlinear MOSFET floating element is used to model nonlinear conductive elements; this extends the modeling of the synaptic weights to nonlinear elements. A neuron is realized by a simple CMOS operational amplifier which is compatible with the I/O of the analog multiplier. The neural system can be expanded modularly to large dimensions. SPICE simulations demonstrate the functionality of the all-MOS feedback neural nets using a two-neuron prototype as an example. >
Discovery Sampling and Selection Models

Various aspects of Bayesian inference in selection and size biased sampling problems are presented, beginning with discussion of general problems of inference in infinite and finite populations subject to selection sampling. Estimation of the size of finite populations and inference about superpopulation distributions when sampling is apparently informative is then developed in two specific problems. The first is a simple example of truncated data analysis, and some details of simulation based Bayesian analysis are presented. The second concerns discovery sampling in which units of a finite population are selected with probabilities proportional to some measure of size. A well known area of application is in the discovery of oil reserves, and some recently published data from this area is analysed here. Solutions to the computational problems arising are developed using iterative simulation methods. Finally, some comments are made on extensions, including multiparameter superpopulations, semi-parametric models and problems of dealing with missing data in discovery sampling.
Harmonic phase coupling for battlefield acoustic target identification

Target identification using battlefield acoustic sensor arrays is an important problem for the Army. Acoustic signatures of targets of interest, such as tanks and trucks, exhibit time-varying patterns of harmonic amplitudes that facilitate target ID. In this paper, harmonic phase coupling is shown to also be present in these acoustic signatures though issues remain to fully exploit these relationships for target ID. With all else being equal, frequencies with simple harmonic relationships, such as 2 to 1 or 3 to 2, are preferred to produce stable features. Also, naive use of FFT approaches to estimate phase leads to erratic estimates. Cramer-Rao bounds (CRB) are presented and provide insights into the limitations of the accuracy of phase coupling estimates and suggests the value of developing nonstationary methods.
RED-Transaction and Goal-Model Based Analysis of Layered Security of Physical Spaces

We propose a systems analysis framework based on goal modelling and transactions for improved decision-making about security solution architectures - with a specific focus on layered security of physical spaces and assets. The framework assists in defining more complete security strategies as well as analyzing tradeoffs between security and other factors such as cost and privacy. Using the conceptual transaction or requirements-execution-delivery (or RED) Transaction model as the basis, we provide a dynamic virtual structure and methodology for security analysis. The benefit is that the implemented security can be optimized based on the value to the various stakeholders and to minimize the benefit to the attacker.