cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Early Inflammation in Muscular Dystrophy Differs between Limb and Respiratory Muscles and Increases with Dystrophic Severity.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic, degenerative, striated muscle disease exacerbated by chronic inflammation. Mdx mice in the genotypic DMD model poorly represent immune-mediated pathology observed in patients. Improved understanding of innate immunity in dystrophic muscles is required to develop specific anti-inflammatory treatments. Here, inflammation in mdx mice and the more fibrotic utrn+/-;mdx Het model was comprehensively investigated. Unbiased analysis showed that mdx and Het mice contain increased levels of numerous chemokines and cytokines, with further increased in Het mice. Chemokine and chemokine receptor gene expression levels were dramatically increased in 4-week–old dystrophic quadriceps muscles, and to a lesser extent in diaphragm during the early injury phase, and had a small but consistent increase at 8 and 20 weeks. An optimized direct immune cell isolation method prevented loss of up to 90% of macrophages with density-dependent centrifugation previously used for mdx flow cytometry. Het quadriceps contain higher proportions of neutrophils and infiltrating monocytes than mdx, and higher percentages of F4/80Hi, but lower percentages of F4/80Lo cells and patrolling monocytes compared with Het diaphragms. These differences may restrict regenerative potential of dystrophic diaphragms, increasing pathologic severity. Fibrotic and inflammatory gene expression levels are higher in myeloid cells isolated from Het compared with mdx quadriceps, supporting Het mice may represent an improved model for testing therapeutic manipulation of inflammation in DMD.
Molecular regulators of HOXA9 in acute myeloid leukemia

Dysregulation of the oncogenic transcription factor HOXA9 is a prominent feature for most aggressive acute myeloid leukemia cases and a strong indicator of poor prognosis in patients. Leukemia subtypes with hallmark overexpression of HOXA9 include those carrying MLL gene rearrangements, NPM1c mutations, and other genetic alternations. A growing body of evidence indicates that HOXA9 dysregulation is both sufficient and necessary for leukemic transformation. The HOXA9 mRNA and protein regulation includes multi-layered controls by transcription factors (such as CDX2/4 and USF2/1), epigenetic factors (such as MLL-Menin-LEDGF, DOT1L, ENL, HBO1, NPM1c-XPO1, and polycomb proteins), microRNAs (such as miR-126 and miR-196b), long non-coding RNAs (such as HOTTIP), three-dimensional chromatin interactions, and post-translational protein modifications. Recently, insights into the dynamic regulation of HOXA9 have led to an advanced understanding of the HOXA9 regulome and provided new cancer therapeutic opportunities, including developing inhibitors targeting DOT1L, Menin, and ENL proteins. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling HOXA9 regulation and the pharmacological approaches that target HOXA9 regulators to treat HOXA9-driven acute myeloid leukemia.
Mechanisms underlying the antimotion sickness effects of psychostimulants.

Data related to the mechanism responsible for the antimotion sickness effects of psychostimulants such as amphetamine are examined. From the analysis of current literature and new evidence, the following three hypotheses are suggested: (1) selective enhancement of dopaminergic, but not noradrenergic, transmission is sufficient to account for amphetamine-induced resistance and, perhaps, for natural resistance to motion sickness; (2) the site of this enhanced dopaminergic transmission is probably within the basal ganglia; and (3) the neuropharmacology of the basal ganglia, but not of the brain-stem vestibular areas, can account for the therapeutic synergism of scopolamine and amphetamine. The therapeutic action of psychostimulants may be dissociable from some of their side effects, particularly cardiovascular effects related to peripheral norepinephrine release.
Poster: MAPP: The Berkeley Model and Algorithm Prototyping Platform

We describe the Berkeley Model and Algorithm Prototyping Platform (MAPP), designed to facilitate experimentation with numerical algorithms and models. MAPP is written entirely in MATLAB and is available as open source under the GNU GPL.
TOILET TRAINING A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD WITH AUTISM IN A NATURAL SETTING

Description de l'application en milieu naturel d'un programme comportemental a une adolescente autiste, dans le but de lui apprendre un meilleur controle sphincterien
DNA Replication of Induced Prophage in Haemophilus influenzae

DNA synthesis during transition from the lysogenic state to the lytic cycle and throughout the latter has been studied in Haemophilus influenzae BC200 (HP1c1). Following exposure to ultraviolet light, there is a 30-min delay in DNA synthesis after which there is a rapidly increasing rate of phage DNA synthesis. The phage genome is replicated without extensive utilization of segments or of breakdown products of the bacterial chromosome. The mode of phage DNA replication was investigated by zonal sedimentation of labeled DNA in 5 to 20% neutral and alkaline sucrose gradients. Tritiated thymidine, incorporated during a 2-min pulse given at 38 min, chases rapidly into DNA, sedimenting like linear DNA of approximately 2 × 108 daltons, and then, at the expense of label in this peak, chases into slower-sedimenting phage DNA (2 × 107 daltons). The fast-sedimenting, rapidly labeled DNA satisfies certain criteria for being a concatenated replicative intermediate. Observations in the electron microscope revealed linear concatemers in the faster-sedimenting material and circular phage-sized DNA in the slower-sedimenting DNA. When induced cells are gently lysed with lysozyme and Brij 58 to maintain DNA-membrane associations and sedimented in neutral sucrose over a cesium chloride shelf, the concatemer is found with the cell-membrane-wall complex. Membrane-associated label chases to membrane-free material sedimenting like deproteinized HP1c1 DNA. When membrane-associated DNA from the cesium chloride shelf is deproteinized and resedimented in neutral sucrose, the sedimentation profile reveals that sedimentation rates of labeled DNA from this complex are indicative of sizes ranging from 2 × 108 daltons down to phage-sized pieces of 2 to 3 × 107 daltons. A model is presented which places HP1c1-DNA replication on the cell membrane where a concatemer of phage DNA is synthesized and subsequently degraded to phage-equivalent DNA. Phage-equivalent DNA is then either released from the membrane for packaging or is packaged while still membrane associated. Thus, the cell membrane is not only the site of DNA replication during which phage DNA is synthesized in multiple phage-equivalent concatemers but it is also the site at which these concatemers are selectively reduced to phage-sized pieces.
Drg-1 as a Differentiation-related, Putative Metastatic Suppressor Gene in Human Colon Cancer

A gene related to cell differentiation was identified by differential display as a candidate suppressor of metastases in colon cancer. This gene, with a full-length cDNA of 3 kb, is expressed in normal colon and primary colon cancer tissues and cell lines but not in their metastatic counterparts. A GenBank search found that it is identical to a recently cloned gene, differentiation-related gene-1 ( Drg-1 ), isolated from differentiated HT-29 colon cancer cells. Stable transfection of the SW620 metastatic colon cancer cell line with Drg-1 cDNA induced morphological changes consistent with differentiation and up-regulated the expression of several colonic epithelial cell differentiation markers (alkaline phosphatase, carcinoembryonic antigen, and E-cadherin). Moreover, the expression of Drg-1 is controlled by several known cell differentiation reagents, such as ligands of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (troglitazone and BRL46593) and of retinoid X receptor (LG268), and histone deacetylase inhibitors (trichostatin A, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, and tributyrin). A synergistic induction of Drg-1 expression was seen with the combination of tributyrin and a low dose of 5′-aza-2′-dexoycytidine (100 nm), an inhibitor of DNA methylation. Functional studies revealed that overexpression of Drg-1 in metastatic colon cancer cells reduced in vitro invasion through Matrigel and suppressed in vivo liver metastases in nude mice. We propose that Drg-1 suppresses colon cancer metastasis by inducing colon cancer cell differentiation and partially reversing the metastatic phenotype.
COVERAGE AND INDEPENDENCE - Defining Quality in Web Search Results

Web search results enjoy an increasingly greater importance in our daily lives. But what can be said about their quality, especially when querying a controversial issue? The traditional information retrieval metrics of precision and recall do not provide much insight in the case of the web. In this paper we examine new ways of evaluating quality in search results: coverage and independence. We give examples on how these new metrics can be calculated and what their values reveal regarding the two major search engines, Google and Yahoo.
An interval computation approach to backpropagation

A new learning algorithm is introduced to allow interval valued inputs. This procedure is based on gradient descent and error backpropagation. It has many advantages over the classical backpropagation including the possibility of dealing with missing values attributes. We establish a framework especially useful for applications with incertitude in the input. We propose a cost function reflecting a trade-off problem between the goal of including the target value into the interval valued output, and minimizing this interval size. Simulated numerical results are presented. >
Genetic and phenetic classification of bacteria.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a review of the numerical taxonomy (NT) of bacteria, with results of molecular taxonomic studies. The results of molecular taxonomic studies provide valuable information and are largely correlative with NT analyses. The combination of phonetic and genetic methods in microbial taxonomy provides a powerful tool for developing an objective, reproducible, and information-rich taxonomy for the bacteria. DNA-based composition and base-sequence measurements obtained by DNA/DNA hybridizations have confirmed relationships established by measurement of the expressed phenotype, using the methods of NT. In one of the first NT studies of bacteria, data were analyzed for staphylococcus strains, including Staphylococcus aureus, S. saprophyticus, S. lactis, S. roseus, and S. afermentans. The chapter mentions that new methods are needed to improve the resolution of relatedness based on phenotypic expression. Precise measurement of the gene product can be done by amino acid sequencing of proteins. Isozyme analysis and determination of allosteric regulation of branch-chain pathways approach the taxonomic precision of amino acid sequencing of enzyme proteins.
Differences between men and women in condom use, attitudes, and skills in substance abuse treatment seekers.

BACKGROUND: For substance abuse treatment-seekers engaging in high risk sexual behavior their inconsistent condom use may be related to their condom use attitudes and skills. OBJECTIVE: This study compared treatment-seeking male and female substance abusers in their reported barriers to condom use and condom use skills. METHODS: Men and women (N = 1105) enrolled in two multi-site HIV risk reduction studies were administered the Condom Barriers Scale Condom Use Skills and an audio computer-assisted structured interview assessing sexual risk behavior. RESULTS: Men endorsed more barriers to condom use especially on the Effects on Sexual Experience factor. For both men and women stronger endorsement of barriers to condom use was associated with less use of condoms. However the difference between condom users and non-users in endorsement of condom barriers in general is greater for men than women especially for those who report having casual partners. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the need to focus on gender-specific barriers to condom use in HIV/STI prevention interventions especially risk behavior intervention techniques that address sexual experience with condoms. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Results provide additional information about the treatment and prevention needs of treatment-seeking men and women. Copyright (c) American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.
Dissections of quotients of theta-functions

We prove a general theorem on dissections of quotients of theta-functions. As corollaries, we establish six q-series identities that were conjectured by M.D. Hirschhorn:
Upper Limits Set by Causality on the Rotation and Mass of Uniformly Rotating Relativistic Stars

Causality alone suffices to set a lower bound on the period of rotation of relativistic stars as a function of their maximum observed mass. That is, by assuming a one-parameter equation of state (EOS) that satisfies vsound 0.282+0.196(M/M-1.442). The limit does not assume that the EOS agrees with a known low-density form for ordinary matter, and if one adds that assumption, the minimum period is raised by a few percent: for a match at n = 0.1 fm-3, we find P(ms)>0.295 + 0.203(M/M-1.442). The minimizing EOS yields models with a maximally soft exterior supported by a maximally stiff core. An analogous upper limit set by causality on the maximum mass of rotating neutron stars requires a low-density match, and the limit depends on the matching density, m. We recompute it, obtaining a slightly revised value, M6.1(2×1014 g cm-3/m)1/2 M☉.
Prostaglandin F2α for Lactating Dairy Cows with a Palpable Corpus Luteum but Unobserved Estrus1,2,3

Two experiments in 17 dairy herds were for the effectiveness of prostaglandin F2 alpha (treatment) in reducing luteolysis and inducing intervals to conception of 308 cycling lactating dairy cows. Cows with unobserved estrus before first insemination (Experiment 1) and nonpregnant cows with unobserved estrus after insemination (Experiment 2) were eligible for treatment. Cows in Experiment 1 were assigned alternately either to an untreated control group of 85 or to a group of 138 that received 25 mg prostaglandin F2 alpha after detection of a corpus luteum by ovarian palpation. Cows were inseminated either at estrus or at 72 and 96 h posttreatment in the absence of detected estrus. Intervals from treatment to estrus, to first service, and to conception were longer for controls than for treated cows. Conception at first service was similar for controls (39%) and for treated (43%) cows. Procedures were similar for Experiment 2. Intervals from treatment to estrus and treatment to first service were longer for control cows, and treatment to conception tended to be longer for 39 controls than for 46 treated cows. Conception at first service was similar controls (52%) and treated (44%) cows. Prostaglandin F2 alpha was 91% effective for inducing luteolysis based on progesterone concentrations in blood serum. Successful treatment was dependent upon accurate diagnosis of a functional corpus luteum. Days from treatment to conception were reduced for cows with unobserved estrus if treated cows were inseminated at estrus or by appointment in the absence of detected estrus.
Utilization of an established rat hepatoma cell line for mutation studies

A selected strain of rat hepatoma cells was evaluated for its utility in the assay of mutation. We demonstrate that these cells have practical and theoretical advantages over most other mammalian cells utilized for the mutation assay at the HGPRT locus. Characteristics of the H4IIE cell line which enhance the ability of the HGPRT assay to detect mutation include: intrinsic metabolic capabilities; small cell size, and lack of mobility; colony-forming efficiency of 85-95%; a background mutation level between 0.9 and 3 mutants per 10(5) viable cells; and the ability to proliferate in medium containing 5% fetal bovine serum and 5% horse serum. The optimal expression period for the maximum frequency of mutants was investigated using UVC as the mutagenic agent, and found to plateau after 8-10 days. The metabolic capacity of this cell line was demonstrated using 2-aminoanthracene and cyclophosphamide, two types of mutagens requiring biotransformation for activity. We conclude that the use of the H4/HGPRT system could prove valuable in the mutagenic screening of suspect environmental agents.
Investigation of the Impact of Engine Injection Strategy on the Biodiesel NOx Effect with a Common-Rail Turbocharged Direct Injection Diesel Engine

An investigation of the impact of engine injection strategy on the biodiesel NOx effect was conducted with a common-rail turbocharged direct injection diesel engine at moderate speed and load. The fuels included a baseline ultralow sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) and a B40 (v/v) blend of a soybean methyl ester (SME)-based biodiesel and ULSD. When an engine is held at fixed speed and load, the increase of fuel consumption when biodiesel is used leads to two possible changes in injection strategy: (1) increase of injection pressure and (2) extension of injection duration. Either because of these differences in injection parameters or because of the inherent physics and chemistry of the diesel combustion process, combustion of the B40 blend leads to higher NOx emissions than for ULSD. Experiments seeking to investigate the impact of each of these two fuel injection parameters showed that neither was the dominating factor that determined the NOx increase. The observations in this work confirmed that either an incre...
Confidence intervals for dependent data

We revisit the problem of determining confidence interval widths for the comparison of means. For the independent two-sample (two-sided) case,?Goldstein and Healy (1995) draw attention to the fact that comparisons based on 95% error bars are not very effective in assessing the statistical significance of the difference in means and derive the correct confidence interval for such a comparison. We provide an extension to?Goldstein and Healy (1995) to account for the correlation structure and unequal variances. We use the results to develop rules of thumb for evaluating differences, in an exploratory manner, like?Moses (1987) and Cumming (2009), from the independent case. We illustrate the method for the simple comparison of two means in a real data set, provide R code that may be easily implemented in practice, and discuss the extension of the method to other applied problems.
The fluorescent toolbox for assessing protein location and function

Advances in molecular biology, organic chemistry, and materials science have recently created several new classes of fluorescent probes for imaging in cell biology. Here we review the characteristic benefits and limitations of fluorescent probes to study proteins. The focus is on protein detection in live versus fixed cells: determination of protein expression, localization, activity state, and the possibility for combination of fluorescent light microscopy with electron microscopy. Small organic fluorescent dyes, nanocrystals ("quantum dots"), autofluorescent proteins, small genetic encoded tags that can be complexed with fluorochromes, and combinations of these probes are highlighted.
Negative regulation of bcl-2 expression by p53 in hematopoietic cells

The p53 protein activates promoters containing p53 binding sites, and it represses other promoters. We examined the effect of p53 on bcl-2 expression in both the DHL-4 B cell line and the K562 erythroleukemia line. Transient transfection analyses revealed that wild-type p53 repressed the bcl-2 full-length promoter. The region of the bcl-2 promoter that was responsive to p53 was mapped to the bcl-2 P2 minimal promoter region, and we showed that p53 and the TATA binding protein bound to the bcl-2 TATA sequence. The TATA binding protein, p53, histone deacetylase-1 and mSin3a could be co-immunoprecipitated from K562 cell nuclear extract. The TATA binding protein and mSin3a could be recovered in a complex at the bcl-2 promoter TATA sequence, however, the formation of this complex was not dependent on the presence of p53. Treatment of K562 cells with the histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, resulted in an increase in bcl-2 promoter activity whether p53 was present or not. Therefore, we demonstrated that p53 and the histone deacetylases repress the bcl-2 promoter independently. Similar results were obtained when endogenous bcl-2 mRNA or protein levels were measured in response to either p53 or trichostatin A, and p53 expression resulted in enhanced apoptosis. RNase protection assays demonstrated that transcription from the endogenous 3' bcl-2 promoter was decreased by p53. The regions of p53 that were required for repression of the bcl-2 promoter were defined. We conclude that the TATA sequence in the bcl-2 P2 minimal promoter is the target for repression by p53, and that the interaction between p53 and TBP is most likely responsible for the repression. Mutation of p53 may play a role in the up-regulation of bcl-2 expression in some B cell lymphomas.
Photodynamic therapy agent with a built-in apoptosis sensor for evaluating its own therapeutic outcome in situ.

Identifying the extent of apoptosis in cells or tissues after cancer therapy in real time would be a powerful firsthand tool for assessing therapeutic outcome. We combined therapeutic and imaging functions in one agent, choosing photodynamic therapy (PDT) as an appropriate cancer treatment modality. This agent induces photodamage in irradiated cells and simultaneously identifies apoptotic cells by near-infrared fluorescence. This photodynamic therapy agent with a built-in apoptosis sensor (PDT-BIAS) contains a fluorescent photosensitizer used as an anticancer drug, connected to a fluorescence quencher by a caspase-3 cleavable peptide linker. We demonstrated that cleavage of the peptide linker by caspase-3, one of the executioner caspases involved in apoptosis, results in a detectable increase of fluorescence in solution and in cancer cells after PDT treatment. The apoptosis involvement and drug effectiveness were confirmed by Apoptag and cell viability (MTT) assays supporting the ability of PDT-BIAS to in...
Institutional features of health insurance programs and their effects on developing country health systems

Many developing countries are considering insurance as an option for increasing resource availability in the health sector in order to alleviate financial crisis. In addition to its impact on revenues, however, an insurance program also affects the efficiency and equity of health service delivery. This article examines these consequences of health insurance by reviewing a number of critical institutional characteristics of insurance programs in four developing countries—Brazil, China, Korea and Zaire—and assessing their impact on the efficiency and equity of the health sector. The characteristics highlighted in the article are: the system for reimbursing providers; the services covered by insurance; the role of the insurer; the extent of beneficiary cost-sharing; and, the extent of the population covered by the insurance program. Indicators of health sector efficiency and equity affected by these characteristics reviewed are: cost escalation; resource allocation; the use of specific medical technologies; and, equity of access to services. Efficiency and equity problems are found to arise from the financial incentives facing providers coupled with their powerful influence over both the supply and demand for personal health services. Experience suggests that these problems are magnified when an insurer serves merely as a financial conduit for reimbursing providers. Efficiency and equity goals can be more effectively promoted by an insurance institution which actively organizes the entry of consumers into the health system and removes the financial incentives that encourage providers to increase the volume and cost of services.
A method of testing for rating solar collectors based on thermal performance

Abstract This paper describes a proposed test method for determining the efficiency of solar collectors under specified outdoor “steady-state conditions. The prescribed series of tests should provide useful data for the rating of solar collectors based on thermal performance. A study was made of existing theory, measurement practices and a number of collector test procedures in use prior to the publication of the proposed method. The test apparatuses and major components have been prescribed so a liquid or air can be used as the transfer fluid. The energy of the fluid entering and leaving the collector is determined by making appropriate measurements and these quantities are than compared to the energy incident upon the collector (also determined by measurement) in order to calculate the collector efficiency. The series of tests to be conducted consists of determining the average efficiency for 15 min periods (integrating the energy quantities) over a range of temperature differences between the average fluid temperature (average of inlet and outlet) and the ambient air. The test apparatuses have been designed so that the temperature of the fluid entering the collector can be controlled to a selected value. This feature is used to obtain the data over the temperature range desired. At least sixteen “data points” are required for a complete test series and they must be taken symmetrical with respect to solar noon (to prevent biased results due to possible transient effects).
Site-specific mutagenesis in Legionella pneumophila by allelic exchange using counterselectable ColE1 vectors

To study the molecular pathogenesis of infection by Legionella pneumophila, a technique of site-specific mutagenesis by allelic exchange was evaluated. To develop this system, we optimized conjugal DNA transfer by isolating a mutant that functions 1000-fold more efficiently as a recipient than the wild type strain, identified two counter-selectable markers, rpsL and sacB, that function in L. pneumophila, and constructed a counterselectable Co1E1 vector. Allelic exchange of a L. pneumophila chrosomal gene was achieved at a frequency of 10−5 per transconjugant. The allelic exchange procedure itself did not alter the ability of L. pneumophila to infect macrophages, indicating that the system can be used to study this aspect of virulence.
A Pilot Study of Fourier-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography of Retinal Dystrophy Patients

Purpose To characterize the macular anatomy of retinal dystrophy eyes using high-speed, high-resolution, Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT). Design Case-control study. Methods Retinal dystrophy patients and normal age- and gender-matched controls underwent FD-OCT imaging using the RTVue (Optovue Inc, Fremont, California, USA). Vertical and horizontal 8-mm scans of 1024 lines/cross-section were obtained. Based on boundaries manually drawn on computer displays of OCT cross-sections, the thicknesses of the retina, inner retinal layer (IRL), and outer retinal layer (ORL) were averaged over both 5-mm (macular) and 1.5-mm (foveal) regions centered at the fovea. The IRL was the sum of nerve fiber layer (NFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), and inner plexiform layer (IPL) thicknesses. Total retinal thickness (RT) was measured between the internal limiting membrane (ILM) and the retinal pigment epithelium. ORL thickness was calculated by subtracting IRL thickness from RT. Results Fourteen patients (three retinitis pigmentosa, two cone-rod degeneration, two Stargardt disease, and seven normal controls) underwent FD-OCT imaging. Mean foveal RT was 271.3 ± 23.3 μm for controls and 158.4 ± 47.1 μm for retinal dystrophy patients ( P P P P = .06). Conclusion Eyes with retinal dystrophy had a small (11%) decrease in macular IRL and severe (45%) decrease in macular ORL compared to normal controls.
On the nonlocal aspect of propagation of the elastic Goodier-Bishop surface waves

Abstract Plane wave reflections at the free surface of a half-infinite elastic space are examined assuming long-range action of cohesive forces, and a grazing incidence of the waves. Using KroenerEringen constitutive equations, nonlocal elastic moduli are determined, and the difference-differential equations of motion for the displacement potential functions established. Satisfaction of the homogeneous boundary conditions determines the ratios of the amplitudes of the incident and reflected waves. A more detailed analysis of the grazing incidence of P-waves in a nonlocal medium confirms the existence of the Goodier Bishop waves in the entire Brillouin frequency zone, at least for three different ranges of the particle interactions, and some experimental data available.
Synergistic effects of vascular IL-17 and TNFα may promote coronary artery disease

Interleukin (IL)-17 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine originally described in T lymphocytes. Increased production of IL-17 has been linked to the induction of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules in various cell types, effects that likely contribute to a number of inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis. Importantly, in the same pathophysiological conditions production of TNFalpha is also up-regulated and recent studies suggest that cellular signaling pathways induced by IL-17 and TNFalpha converge. Recent studies showed that vascular endothelial and/or smooth muscle cells also express TNFalpha and IL-17, which can be up-regulated in pro-atherogenic pathophysiological conditions in the coronary arteries. TNFalpha has been shown to exert pro-inflammatory vascular effects (e.g., induction of oxidative stress, endothelial apoptosis, up-regulation of adhesion molecules and chemokines), however, the role of vascular IL-17 and its interaction with TNFalpha is much less understood. We propose that increased vascular IL-17 and TNFalpha levels can act synergistically to create a pro-inflammatory microenvironment promoting the development of atherosclerotic vascular disease.
Population dynamics of Pinus taeda L. based on nuclear microsatellites

Abstract Pinus taeda has historically large, interconnecting populations which extend along the US Atlantic seaboard from Maryland to Florida and westward to central Texas. Genetic divergence is greatest east and west of the Mississippi River Valley but there are no estimates of allelic diversity or diagnostic alleles. To test allelic diversity and detect diagnostic alleles, samples were drawn from grafted archives of natural stand selections from 1950 to 1970. The samples represented P. taeda prior to intensive plantation establishment and domestication. The eastern range had higher mean allelic diversity than western populations (10 versus 8.5 alleles per locus) even after adjustment for sample size and geographic area. A total of 46 unique alleles were detected; nine were considered diagnostic. There were more diagnostic alleles east of the Mississippi River Valley compared to the western part of the species’ range. Gene flow estimates for P. taeda were high, ranging from two to six migrants per generation per population. Cross-validation using Mississippi and Alabama samples supported the gene flow patterns, showing an admixture at the juncture of the Mississippi River Valley. Lower allelic diversity in the western range of P. taeda and higher number of diagnostic alleles in the eastern range are attributed to (1) a prevailing wind direction which facilitates viable pollen movement from west to east, and (2) a gradual contraction in western P. taeda population sizes over the past 5000–8000 years.
QCD at “low” Q2

Abstract This report describes recent data related to the exploration of strongly-bound systems and the behaviour of QCD in the non-perturbative regime. Despite the title, the measurements presented here all involve a hard scale, so that the reaction dynamics may be cleanly described by perturbative QCD calculations. Recent data provide new information on the distribution of partons within the proton, such as the spin-polarization of the quarks and the gluon density. Measurements of hard-exclusive processes offer additional insight into partonic correlations and orbital angular momentum. Finally, some examples are given of new data on hadron formation, another manifestation of non-perturbative QCD.
A procedure for optimal augmentation of multidimensional designs

The augmentation of an existing multidimensional design is discussed from the point of view of estimability of certain two-factor interactions which are nonestimable from the original design. A general procedure is proposed which achieves this with a minimal number of additional assemblies and which is optimal in a certain sense. The individual steps in this procedure are described in detail and illustrated by an example.
Adult Neural Function Requires MeCP2

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a postnatal neurological disorder caused by mutations in MECP2, encoding the epigenetic regulator methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2). The onset of RTT symptoms during early life together with findings suggesting neurodevelopmental abnormalities in RTT and mouse models of RTT raised the question of whether maintaining MeCP2 function exclusively during early life might protect against disease. We show by using an inducible model of RTT that deletion of Mecp2 in adult mice recapitulates the germline knock-out phenotype, underscoring the ongoing role of MeCP2 in adult neurological function. Moreover, unlike the effects of other epigenetic instructions programmed during early life, the effects of early MeCP2 function are lost soon after its deletion. These findings suggest that therapies for RTT must be maintained throughout life.
The hydrogen bonding in native cellulose.

Abstract The crystal structure of native cellulose has been investigated by X-ray methods, using the diffraction data from oriented specimens of Valonia cellulose, and rigid-body least-squares refinement procedures. Models containing chains with the same and with opposite sense have been refined against the observed intensity data. Both refined models contain the same hydrogen bonding network with one intermolecular and two intramolecular bonds per glucose residue. The refinement also indicates a small but significant preference for the model containing chains with the same sense.
Direct Imaging of Dehydrogenase Activity within Living Cells Using Enzyme-Dependent Fluorescence Recovery after Photobleaching (ED-FRAP)

Abstract Reduced nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NADH) is a key metabolite involved in cellular energy conversion and many redox reactions. We describe the use of confocal microscopy in conjunction with enzyme-dependent fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (ED-FRAP) of NADH as a topological assay of NADH generation capacity within living cardiac myocytes. Quantitative validation of this approach was performed using a dehydrogenase system, in vitro. In intact cells the NADH ED-FRAP was sensitive to temperature (Q 10 of 2.5) and to dehydrogenase activation by dichloroacetate or cAMP (twofold increase for each). In addition, NADH ED-FRAP was correlated with flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD + ) fluorescence. These data, coupled with the cellular patterns of NADH ED-FRAP changes with dehydrogenase stimulation, suggest that NADH ED-FRAP is localized to the mitochondria. These results suggest that ED-FRAP enables measurement of regional dynamics of mitochondrial NADH production in intact cells, thus providing information regarding region-specific intracellular redox reactions and energy metabolism.
Life and Action

In the ongoing discussion about practical rationality, one of the big questions has become: how does one go about conducting an argument about the forms that practical reasoning can take? Life and Action is thus of great interest not just because it advances substantive and novel views as to what those inference patterns are, but in that it puts on the table, by my count, five distinct methods of arriving at conclusions as to what reasoning about what to do can and must be.1 1 am here going to focus on methodological concerns, which means that much else that is worthy of discussion in this very rich book will be left to one side. Thompson's first method is derived from one of the several competing readings of Frege, associated with Tom Ricketts and Warren Goldfarb, and for right now, I am going to call it Logical Form Extraction. Its raw material is our grasp of the correctness and incorrectness of inference. (On the cluster of views that usually travel along with the method, there is no such thing as a logical alien, someone for whom a different logic than our own is correct, but Thompson is incidentally putting in place the pieces of an argument to the effect that, when it comes to practical rationality, what 'our' means is, us human beings; so there is no coverage for the rational space aliens that would be included in, say, a Kantian treatment.) Where Frege devoted his efforts to rendering explicit truth-functional and quantificational inferential potentials in a representation of the proposition, Thompson attempts, in two
Voice Initiation and Termination Times in Stuttering and Nonstuttering Children

The times needed to initiate and terminate voicing in response to series of short segments of 1000 Hz pure-tone auditory signal were studied for stuttering and nonstuttering children. The effects o...
Pulses of cholinergic receptor escape from atropine blocking reflect major natural periodicities.

Abstract 1. Semi-lunar variation in cardiac response to applied acetylcholine was reconfirmed. 2. Atropine completely blocked the effects of acetylcholine on the heart except for brief pulses of escape at 12-hr intervals which began at moonset and progressed through midday at 10 to 14-day intervals. 3. The direction of escape, i.e. inhibition or acceleration, reversed at the winter solstice and at both equinoxes. 4. Cholinergic receptors in the cardiac preparation seem to reflect the following: 12-hr intervals beginning at moonset, 24.8 hr, 10 to 14-day intervals, 14.8-day intervals and the equinoxes and solstices, 90-day intervals.
Relationship between single-peroral, one-week, and ninety-day rat feeding studies.

Abstract To facilitate the planning of critical dosage levels for 90-day and longer-term feeding studies and to predict their probable outcome, 20 materials, predominantly pesticides and surfactants, were fed for 7-day periods in the diets of rats. The lowest dosage level that resulted in minimum effect (MiE) for this period was compared to the single dose peroral LD50 and the MiE for 90 days for each material. The relationship between the single-dose peroral LD50 and the corresponding 90-day or 2-year study MiE was inefficient as compared to the MiE 7-day MiE 90-day and MiE 90-day MiE 2-year ratios. The coefficients of rank correlation for these latter ratios were +0.943 and +0.946. Therefore, the following formulas may be used to predict the most probable (median) minimum effect dosage level limit for inclusion of a material in the diet of rats for 2 years, as well as the limit which is predicted to include the MiE 95 times in 100: Predicted upper limit to achieve a minimum effect level (MiE) Value For 90-day feeding study For 2-year feeding study Median MiE 7 3.0 MiE 90 1.8 or MiE 7 5.4 95th percentile MiE 7 6.2 MiE 90 5.7 or MiE 7 35.3
A hybrid model for export market opportunity analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model for export market opportunity analysis by combining the marketing‐based overall market opportunity index (OMOI) with the economic‐based gravity model in order to more accurately assess export market potential, in total and for specific industries.Design/methodology/approach – Variables from the gravity and OMOI models are used to analyze export market opportunities for specific industries. Findings – Market size, economic intensity, geographic and language distance, and regional trade agreements (RTAs) are found to be strong predictors of export market attractiveness from a US firm's perspective. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is found to act as both a substitute for and a complement to exports. Cultural distance, based on Hofstede, is not a significant predictor for exports.Originality/value – The authors' hybrid model extends previous OMOI models and is applied to industry‐level analysis.
Structure and function of the ear in the marine catfish,Arius felis

1. Investigations were conducted on hearing capabilities and the structure of the inner ear in the marine catfish,Arius felis. 2. The gross morphology and ultrastructure of the saccule and lagena are similar to that found in other Ostariophysi. In contrast, the utricle inArius is very large and has a large otolith. The utricular sensory epithelium forms a band around the equatorial region of the rounded otolithic chamber rather than being on the equator as well as on the lower half of the chamber as in other fishes. 3. Behavioral audiograms, determined using avoidance conditioning techniques, showArius to be able to detect sounds from 50 to 1,000 Hz with best hearing sensitivity from 100 to 200 Hz. This is in contrast to the hearing abilities of other Ostariophysi which can detect sounds to over 3,000 Hz and which have best hearing sensitivity at about 500 to 1,000 Hz. 4. It is concluded that the auditory system inArius is adapted for hearing low frequency sounds used in the detection of objects in their environment through echolocation. It is suggested that the utricle may be important in this ability.
Ethnic Differences in the Prognostic Value of Coronary Artery Calcification for All-Cause Mortality

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of coronary artery calcium (CAC), a known marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, in a large, ethnically diverse cohort of 14,812 patients for the prediction of all-cause mortality. Background Disparities in case fatality rates for heart disease among ethnic groups are well known. In 2001, rates of death from heart disease were 30% higher among African Americans (AA) than non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Some of this variability may be due to differing pathophysiological mechanisms and effects of underlying atherosclerosis. Methods Ten-year death rates from all causes (total deaths = 505) were compared using risk-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models in AA (n = 637), Hispanic (HS, n = 1,334), Asian (AS, n = 1,065), and NHW (n = 11,776) populations. Results Ethnic minority patients were generally younger (0.3 to 4 years), more often persons with diabetes (p Conclusions Consistent with population evidence, AA with increasing burden of subclinical coronary artery disease were the highest-risk ethnic minority population. These data support a growing body of evidence noting substantial differences in cardiovascular risk by ethnicity.
Technological linkages, market structure, and production policies

Abstract Proponents of industrial policy argue that key industries merit subsidies because they generate beneficial externalities. We show that policy must reflect both technological linkages and market power in the target industries, the interaction of which may produce an optimal policy including both subsidies and taxes on target industries. The optimal policy combination may not be politically or administratively feasible. If so, we show that it may not be desirable to subsidize output in the externality-generating activity on either a fixed or per-unit basis. Thus, technological linkages alone do not lead to the presumption that the externality-generating activity should be subsidized.
Replication of the dihydrofolate reductase genes on double minute chromosomes in a murine cell line

The purpose of this study is to determine the kinetics of the replication of intrachromosomal versus extrachromosomal amplified dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) genes. Previous studies reported that the DHFR gene, when carried intrachromosomally on a homogeneously staining region, replicates (as a unit) within the first 2 h of the S phase of the cell cycle. We wished to determine if the extrachromosomal location of the amplified genes carried on double minute chromosomes effects the timing of their replication. Equilibrium cesium chloride ultracentrifugation was used to separate newly replicated (BUdR-labeled) DNA from bulk DNA in a synchronized cell population. Hybridization with the cDNA for the DHFR gene allowed us to determine the period of time within the cell cycle in which the DHFR DNA sequences were replicated. We found that, in contrast to intrachromosomal dihydrofolate reductase genes that uniformly replicate as a unit at the beginning of the S phase of the cell cycle, dihydrofolate reductase genes carried on double minute chromosomes (DMs) replicate throughout the S phase of the cell cycle. These results suggest that control of replication of extrachromosomal DNA sequences may differ from intrachromosomal sequences.
Vibrational relaxation and spectral evolution following ultrafast OH stretch excitation of water

Abstract Ultrafast anti-Stokes Raman measurements of OH stretching excitations (3000–3600 cm−1) in water show an ∼0.4 ps spectral evolution from the red to the blue that is similar to what is seen in the Raman spectrum of water heated to 90 °C. The lifetime of OH stretching excitations T1=0.7 ps. A small portion of the spectrum on the blue edge of the band decays more slowly with T1=1.1 ps. A previous measurement of T1≈0.3 ps for water [J. Chem. Phys. 117 (2002) 1708] is reinterpreted shown to consistent with the present work.
ROLE OF SERUM IgA, IgG2(G2) and IgG4(G4) IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INFECTION

Oxelius et al reported that combined deficiency of IgA, G2 and G4 is associated with recurrent respiratory tract infections, whereas IgA deficiency without IgG subclass deficiency is asymptomatic. They suspect G2 deficiency results in defective responses to polysaccharides, increasing susceptibility to infection. Studies in our laboratory indicated that isolated deficiency of G4 results in similar susceptibility to infection. To investigate IgA-G2-G4 interrelationships, we measured serum G2 and G4 in 59 subjects who had a primary diagnosis of IgA deficiency. We found G2 decreased ( 5 mg/ml) in 9. G4 was decreased ( 0.8 mg/ml) in 1. Thus IgA deficiency commonly is associated with disturbed synthesis or catabolism of G2 and/or G4. In 9 of 17 with severely depressed G2, G4 was also severely depressed. Similarly, 9 of 15 with severely depressed G4 also had very low G2. One patient had IgA deficiency and frequent infections without either G2 or G4 deficiency. One with hyper IgE syndrome had depressed G2 and very high G4. Forty-four G4 deficient patients in whom IgA levels were unknown were also studied. These had a high incidence (64%) of G2 deficiency, 30% severe. It is apparent that determination of IgG subclasses, particularly G2 and G4, is important in the evaluation of patients with recurrent infection, especially if levels of IgA are low or when levels of all major immunoglobulin classes are normal.
Urban Homicide: A Multilevel Analysis Across Chicago's Census Tracts

In recent reviews of the literature on violent criminal offending and victimization, a call has been issued for analytic models that integrate individual-level data with data from the social and ge...