cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A low power ocean data recorder

An instrument has been designed to record vertical current information. It does this by sequentially monitoring pressure, temperature, and rotation sensors. The data is stored on a digital cassette tape recorder. In addition, it generates a signal for acoustically telemetering part of the data. This permits a check on performance without the need for recovery. The instruments can be readily adapted to a wide range of sensors. Its original use was in the long range floats used in the Mid Ocean Dynamics Experiment (MODE I).
Collection development based on patron requests: collaboration between interlibrary loan and acquisitions

Libraries are exploring new models of collaboration between interlibrary loan, collection development, and acquisitions. This paper presents two models in which libraries set aside acquisitions or other funds to purchase books requested by patrons through ILL processes. Workflows, scope criteria, and departmental relationships are described. The article reports on several aspects of the effectiveness of these models, such as turnaround time (comparable to traditional ILL loans), average cost per book ($37.00), and patron satisfaction (very high). The authors also address the subsequent circulation of titles and report on the bibliographers’ analysis of the relevance of the titles to the collection of one of the libraries.
Activated carbons modified with sewage sludge derived phase and their application in the process of NO2 removal

Abstract Highly porous wood-based activated carbon was treated with species extracted from the surface of pyrolyzed sewage sludge. Their deposition on the external surface was visible by a change of the color of the carbon and on internal surfaces, by a decrease in porosity. The as-received carbon and its impregnated counterpart were heat treated at 950 °C at an inert atmosphere. Data for the adsorption on NO2 was carried out from dry and moist (70% humidity) air. The results indicated that for all materials a significant amount of NO2 was reduced to NO and released from the system. Heat treatment increases the capacity possibly as a result of an increase in basicity. The addition of the inorganic phase has a positive effect only when adsorption is run in moist conditions and inorganic nitrates and nitrites were formed. Otherwise, the NO2 adsorbed and nitric and nitrous acids formed on the surface significantly increase the acidity of the carbons by the formation of oxygen-containing groups and organic nitrates.
The Importance of Long-Term Studies of Ecosystem Reassembly after the Eruption of the Kasatochi Island Volcano

Kasatochi Island is a small volcanic island in the central Aleutian Islands that erupted on 7 August 2008. An interdisciplinary team visited the island and its vicinity in the summer of 2009 to describe the immediate consequences of the eruptions on terrestrial, coastal, and benthic communities. The initial effects of the eruptions on soils, oceanic waters, benthic terrain, terrestrial plants, land birds, shore birds, nesting sea birds, arthropods, marine algae, and marine invertebrates were described. This overview summarizes the conventional understanding of mechanisms that drive the reassembly of devastated ecosystems and shows how studies of Kasatochi Island may enhance our understanding of succession. The presence of residual soils and low mortality among sea birds will hasten early recovery, but significant erosion (removal of tephra and marine sediments) must occur to permit a return to a fully functional ecosystem. Long-distance dispersal over seawater will be needed to replenish the plant communities. While scavenger arthropods survived, dispersal will be needed to generate complete insect communities. Land birds were killed and their habitats destroyed, so their re-colonization awaits vegetation development. Ecosystem recovery will be facilitated by allochthonous inputs of nutrients and by plant establishment. Monitoring how the biota returns to a new equilibrium and comparisons to adjacent islands will allow tests of assembly and biogeographic theory and further our understanding of terrestrial-marine interactions. The study of Kasatochi Island's recovery will produce a valuable story of ecosystem reassembly.
Implementation of multi-echo-based correlated spectroscopic imaging and pilot findings in human brain and calf muscle.

Purpose To implement a spatially-encoded Correlated Spectroscopic Imaging (COSI) sequence on 3T MRI/MRS scanners incorporating four echoes to collect four phase-encoded acquisitions per repetition time (TR), and to evaluate the performance and reliability of this four-dimensional (4D) Multi-Echo COSI (ME-COSI) sequence in brain and calf muscle.
Chronic pulsatile shear stress impacts synthesis of proteoglycans by endothelial cells: Effect on platelet aggregation and coagulation

Endothelial-derived proteoglycans are important regulators of the coagulation-pathway in vivo and our primary objective of this study was to determine whether chronic shear stress affected the synthesis, release, and activity of proteoglycans from bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC). BAEC were cultured under shear and proteoglycans were purified from BAEC conditioned media and analyzed using both anionic exchange and size exclusion chromatography. The overall amount of proteoglycans produced per cell was significantly greater for the high shear-treated samples compared to the low shear-treated samples indicating that the shear magnitude did impact cell responsiveness. While overall size and composition of the proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) side chains were not altered by shear, the relative proportion of the high and low molecular weight species was inversely related to shear and differed significantly from that found under static tissue culture conditions. Moreover, a unique proteoglycan peak was identified from low shear stress (5 +/- 2 dynes/cm(2)) conditioned media when compared to high shear conditions (23 +/- 8 dynes/cm(2)) via anionic exchange chromatography, suggesting that subtle changes in the GAG structures may impact activity of these molecules. In order to characterize whether these changes impacted proteoglycan function, we studied the effects of shear specific proteoglycans on the inhibition of thrombin-induced human platelet aggregation as well as on platelet-fibrin clot dynamics. Proteoglycans from high shear-treated samples were less effective inhibitors of both platelet aggregation and blood coagulation inhibition than proteoglycans from low shear-treated samples and both were less effective than proteoglycans isolated from static tissue culture samples. However, due to changes in the overall proteoglycan synthesis and release rate, the high and low shear-treated sample had essentially identical effects on these activities, suggesting that the cells were able to compensate for stress-induced proteoglycan changes. Our data suggests that shear stress, by altering proteoglycan synthesis and fine structure, may play a role in maintaining vascular hemodynamics and hemostasis.
Electrolyte and Fluid Transport in Mesothelial Cells.

Mesothelial cells are specialized epithelial cells that line the serous cavities, including the pleural, pericardial, and peritoneal cavities in addition to internal organs [1]. While the mesothelium was first described more than a century ago, one of its critical essential functions, namely, its active roles in transerosal transport, in particular, cavity fluid secretion and re-absorption, was long overlooked. Only in last two decades compelling evidence accumulated that mesothelial cells actively transport electrolytes and fluid and, in turn, regulate liquid volume within the cavities. The mesothelium, on the basis of recent increasing experimental evidence, both in vitro and in vivo, is less permeable to electrolytes than was previously assumed, with ion permeability characteristics similar to those in epithelia [2, 3]. Herein this article we will review the expression and biophysical features of salt and fluid transport systems, both active and passive, that have been identified in mesothelial cells (Fig. 1, Tables 1 and ​and22). Fig. 1 Electrolyte and fluid transport systems reported in mesothelial cells. The location of ion transport systems is indicated in either the apical or basolateral membrane. The specific inhibitor for each transport pathway is shown. AQP, aquaporins. Please ... Table 1 Ion Channels and ATPases in Mesothelial Cells Table 2 Antiport and Symport Systems in Mesothelial Cells
Transport properties of macromolecules by Brownian dynamics simulation: vectorization of Brownian dynamics on the Cyber-205

Time consuming portions in the computation of transport properties of rigid and flexible molecules are the evaluation of subunit hydrodynamic interaction tensors Q and σ, and the procedure for satisfying subunit-subunit distance constraints. Vector algorithms to speed up these parts of the computation are given. Using these algorithms, a vector version of the Ermak-McCammon Brownian dynamics code has been developed on a Cyber-205. To demonstrate the order of speedups that can be achieved, the code was tested on a rigid “trimer” system comprising 24 spherical subunits with a fixed geometry. A speedup of about 14 times for the whole program, and of 45, 6, and 18 times for the computation of Q, σ, and for the procedure to enforce the constraints, respectively, were obtained.
Rate and Power Allocation for Layered Transmission With Superposition Coding

We consider layered transmission of a Gaussian source over a quasi-static fading channel. A broadcast strategy is used in which multiple layers of source data are superimposed, and each layer is allocated a different power and transmission rate. For a multiple-antenna system where either the transmitter or the receiver has a single antenna, we propose a low-complexity algorithm for minimizing the expected end-to-end distortion of the received signal. Numerical results for a Rayleigh fading channel are presented, and the performance gain over a time-sharing strategy is quantified. It is numerically shown that for a wide range of operating conditions, equal rate allocation is as good as unequal rate allocation.
The utility of geophysics—Oceanography

Oceanography, as a branch of science, has direct utilitarian sides, for (inter alia) it embraces all studies of the biology of animals that are the object of the commercial fisheries, and of the various events in the sea that affect navigation. The question whether a rational basis for forecasting the weather can be found in the variations that take place in the temperature of the sea is also much to the fore at present.
Exposure to subfreezing temperature and a freeze-thaw cycle affect freezing tolerance of winter wheat in saturated soil

Winter wheat is sown in the autumn and harvested the following summer, necessitating the ability to survive subfreezing temperatures for several months. Autumn months in wheat-growing regions typically experience significant rainfall and several days or weeks of mild subfreezing temperatures at night, followed by above-freezing temperatures in the day. Hence, the wheat plants usually are first exposed to potentially damaging subfreezing temperatures when they have high moisture content, are growing in very wet soil, and have been exposed to freeze-thaw cycles for a period of time. These conditions are conducive to freezing stresses and plant responses that are different from those that occur under lower moisture conditions without freeze-thaw cycles. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of mild subfreezing temperature and a freeze-thaw cycle on the ability of 22 winter wheat cultivars to tolerate freezing in saturated soil. Seedlings that had been acclimated at +4°C for 5 weeks in saturated soil were frozen to potentially damaging temperatures under three treatment conditions: (1) without any subzero pre-freezing treatment; (2) with a 16-h period at −3°C prior to freezing to potentially damaging temperatures; and (3) with a freeze-thaw cycle of −3°C for 24 h followed by +4°C for 24 h, followed by a 16-h period at −3°C prior to freezing to potentially damaging temperatures. In general, plants that had been exposed to the freeze-thaw cycle survived significantly more frequently than plants frozen under the other two treatments. Plants that had been exposed to 16 h at −3° (without the freeze-thaw cycle) before freezing to potentially damaging temperatures survived significantly more frequently than plants that were frozen to potentially damaging temperatures without a subzero pre-freezing treatment. These results indicated that cold-acclimated wheat plants actively acclimate to freezing stress while exposed to mild subfreezing temperatures, and further acclimate when allowed to thaw at +4°C for 24 h. The cultivar Norstar had the lowest LT50 (temperature predicted to be lethal to 50% of the plants) of the 22 cultivars when frozen with either of the subzero pre-freezing treatments, but several cultivars had lower LT50 scores than Norstar when frozen without a subzero pre-freezing treatment. We conclude it may be possible to improve winterhardiness of wheat grown in saturated soil by combining the ability to effectively respond to mild subzero pre-freezing temperatures with a greater ability to withstand freezing to damaging temperatures without a subzero pre-freezing exposure.
Cytotoxicity of lymphokine-activated killer cells against human neuroblastoma cells: modulation by neuroblast differentiation.

The cytolytic activity of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells against human neuroblastoma (NB) cells was investigated using the continuous NB cell lines, IMR-32, Kelly, and two subclones of SK-N-SH, SH-SY5Y (neuroblastic phenotype), and SH-EP (non-neuronal phenotype). NB cells were found to be sensitive targets of LAK. Of the SK-N-SH subclones, the neuroblasts, SH-SY5Y, were more susceptible to LAK killing than were the non-neuronal cells, SH-EP. Pretreatment of the targets SH-SY5Y and SH-EP with the differentiating agents, retinoic acid (RA, 10 microM), herbimycin A (236 nM), or nerve growth factor (10 ng/ml), did not substantially alter LAK killing. Furthermore, these differentiating agents did not measurably affect LAK activity during the cytolysis assay or with 1-h preincubation of the LAK effectors. However, co-incubation of the LAK cultures over the 3-day activation period with RA (1 microM) or PGE2 (1 microM) inhibited cytolysis by 80%, suggesting that these agents interfere with an early activation step of LAK. These results support the potential use of LAK treatment for neuroblastoma, in combination with differentiation agents that do not affect neuroblastoma sensitivities toward LAK cells. However, some differentiation agents, (e.g., RA) and endogenous prostaglandins (e.g., PGE2) may interfere with LAK activation.
Trends in the Prevalence of Dental Fluorosis in the United States: A Review

This paper assesses, by comparing recent published evidence with Dean's pioneering work, whether an increase in the milder forms of dental fluorosis may have occurred since Dean's time. To the extent that the crude comparisons of recent research with historic studies are valid, the data indicate a slight trend toward more fluorosis today than would be expected based upon findings in the late 1930s and early 1940s. This suggested increase in fluorosis is not as clear-cut nor as widely accepted as the recent decline in the prevalence of dental caries. Thus, further study of the prevalence of fluorosis and caries in relation to fluoride ingestion will be required to help validate the trend, and to allow dental researchers and decision makers to plan for the future.
Better Data for a Better Internet

When people took to the streets across the UK in the summer of 2011, the Prime Minister suggested restricting access to digital and social media in order to limit their use in organizing. The resulting debate complemented speculation on the effects of social media in the Arab Spring and the widespread critique of President Mubarak's decision to shut off the Internet and mobile phone systems completely in Egypt (see the photo).
EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING STUDIES OF STAGED COMBUSTION USING A REACTOR ENGINEERING APPROACH

Abstract Combustion research, long dominated by mechanical engineers, is becoming increasingly a chemical engineering application. It is therefore desirable to have a well defined reactor in which to conduct combustion chemistry studies. A two zone laboratory reactor emulating a perfectly stirred reactor + plug flow reactor (PSR + PFR) sequence has been constructed and validated for use in high temperature normal and staged combustion studies. A premixed fuel/eed enters the backmixed primary zone. The effluent mixes with additional injected oxidant and/or steam, and then enters the linear flow secondary zone. Extracted gas samples from cooled probes located in each zone are subjected to several dedicated on-line stack gas analyzers, and separation/analyses by on-line gas chromatography. Detailed reaction mechanisms from the literature are incorporated into a PSR + PFR reactor engineering model. The experimental feed rates and measured temperatures are also input to the model. Good comparisons between mode...
Superconductivity and topological Fermi surface transitions in electron-doped cuprates near optimal doping

Abstract We discuss evolution of the Fermi surface (FS) topology with doping in electron-doped cuprates within the framework of a one-band Hubbard Hamiltonian, where antiferromagnetism and superconductivity are assumed to coexist in a uniform phase. In the lightly doped insulator, the FS consists of electron pockets around the ( π , 0 ) points. The first change in the FS topology occurs in the optimally doped region when an additional hole pocket appears at the nodal point. The second change in topology takes place in the overdoped regime ( ∼ 18 % ) where antiferromagnetism disappears and a large ( π , π ) -centered metallic FS is formed. Evidence for these two topological transitions is found in recent Hall effect and penetration depth experiments on Pr 2 - x Ce x CuO 4 - δ (PCCO) and with a number of spectroscopic measurements on Nd 2 - x Ce x CuO 4 - δ (NCCO).
Police Referrals of Crime Victims to Compensation Sources: An Empirical Analysis of Attitudinal and Structural Impediments

Victim compensation funds are designed to aid people in recovering financially from criminal victimization. Somewhat surprisingly, the victim compensation fund in Texas currently has a large cash surplus and is underutilized. Police officers in Texas are responsible for providing victims information about compensation. A survey was distributed to police officers in Texas to determine their knowledge about the fund as well as factors that inhibit or predict referrals of victims to the crime victim fund. Results show that knowledge of the compensation fund, source of that knowledge, department size, college education, and perceptions of time constraints, victims, support for advising, and capability of victim liaison are all predictive of referrals. Implications of these findings and suggestions for increasing the referral rate are discussed.
Correlation studies of four submicron OH airglow bands during Spacelab simulation

The (7-2), (8-3), (5-1) and (6-2) bands of OH were observed from NASA's CV-990 aircraft during the Spacelab Simulation Mission. Both the average intensity and the fluctuations in intensity of each band were found to be strongly correlated to those of all other bands observed, suggesting that the excitation mechanisms for these bands are not independent processes. No significant correlation was observed between airglow intensity and latitude, azimuth, or local time for the ranges accessible during these flights. An additional ground-based experiment revealed a comparable correlation between the (6-0) and (8-3) bands.
Being a librarian: Metadata and metadata specialists in the twenty-first century

Purpose – This paper aims to forecast the changing roles of librarians – especially catalogers and metadata specialists – in today's technology‐driven research, teaching, and learning environments, in which information seekers behave more and more self‐sufficiently and move well beyond library collections in their pursuit of information.Design/methodology/approach – Places the roles of librarians and library collections in the larger context of knowledge management and campus information network processes, which occur in every knowledge community, with or without a library. Explores and provides examples of how knowledge creators can collaborate with information technology experts and librarians to transform how faculty members teach and conduct research; how students learn; and how libraries support these activities.Findings – Librarians need to make their collections and services much more visible through human and technological interconnections and greatly improved delivery of information content. Meta...
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Suppress TF-κB-dependent Agonist-driven Tissue Factor Expression in Endothelial Cells and Monocytes

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), such as trichostatin A (TSA), can regulate gene expression by promoting acetylation of histones and transcription factors. Human tissue factor (TF) expression is partly governed by a unique, NF-kappaB-related "TF-kappaB" promoter binding site. We find that TSA and four other HDACi (apicidin, MS-275, sodium butyrate, and valproic acid) all inhibit by approximately 90% TF activity and protein level induction in human umbilical vein endothelial cells stimulated by the physiologic agonists tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin-1beta, lipopolysaccharide, and HOSCN without affecting expression of the NF-kappaB-regulated adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and E-selectin. TSA and butyrate also blunt TF induction approximately 50% in vitro in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in vivo in thioglycolate-elicited murine peritoneal macrophages. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells, TSA attenuates by approximately 70% TNF-alpha stimulation of TF mRNA transcription without affecting that of ICAM-1. By electrophoretic mobility shift assay analyses, TNF-alpha and lipopolysaccharide induce strong p65/p50 and p65/c-Rel heterodimer binding to both NF-kappaB and TF-kappaB probes. TSA nearly abolishes TF-kappaB binding without affecting NF-kappaB binding. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay and a promoter-luciferase reporter system confirm that TSA inhibits TF-kappaB but not NF-kappaB activation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and small interfering RNA inhibitor studies demonstrate that HDAC3 plays a significant role in TNF-alpha-mediated TF induction. Thus, HDACi transcriptionally inhibit agonist-induced TF expression in endothelial cells and monocytes by a TF-kappaB- and HDAC3-dependent mechanism. We conclude that histone deacetylases, particularly HDAC3, play a hitherto unsuspected role in regulating TF expression and raise the possibility that HDACi might be a novel therapy for thrombotic disorders.
Aesthetic surgery of the facial skeleton

The goal of facial plastic surgical procedures is to improve or restore form and function. Success in facial surgical procedures requires a learned ability to analyze and diagnose problems and plan and execute procedures. Most esthetic plastic surgeons are taught about the facial skeleton and teeth but perform primarily soft tissue procedures. Although the soft tissues are the covering and final determinant in facial appearance, the underlying skeleton is the framework and predictor of facial beauty. Modification of the facial skeleton requires an in-depth and analytic knowledge of bony architecture and an artistic eye to anticipate change. This issue is a collection of articles emphasizing the importance of the facial skeleton in facial appearance.
π kinks in strongly ac driven sine-Gordon systems

We demonstrate that {pi} kinks exist in nonparametrically ac driven sine-Gordon systems if the ac drive is sufficiently fast. It is found that, at a critical value of the drive amplitude, there are two stable and two unstable equilibria in the sine-Gordon phase. The pairwise symmetry of these equilibria implies the existence of a one-parameter family of {pi}-kink solutions in the reduced system. In the dissipative case of the ac driven sine-Gordon systems, corresponding to Josephson junctions, the velocity is selected by the balance between the perturbations. The results are derived from a perturbation analysis and verified by direct numerical simulations. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
Business Ethics: Where Are We Going?

Is the business community engaging in increasingly unethical behavior, or does it only appear to be because of more publicity and more regulations? Whatever the reality, corporations must choose between accepting more government interference, more consumer lawsuits, and more public ill will, or integrating ethical considerations into corporate guidelines. If they choose the latter course, the integration cannot be merely surface gloss or tokenism. Schools of business can contribute to developing an awareness of ethics by making changes in the curricula required of future managers.
The formation of soot from aromatic hydrocarbons in diffusion flames of hydrocarbon-hydrogen mixtures

Rates of particle formation in the thermal decomposition of aromatie hydrocarbons in diffusion flames of hydrocarbonhydrogen mixtures have been measured. Particle formation rate-time carves have a similar form for all hydrocarbons investigated and possess a characteristic maximum. The particle formation rate at the maximum is of the order of 10 14 particles per cubic centimeter per second. The overall activation energy of the particle formation process determined from the temperature coefficient of the rate was between 140 and 180 kcal/mole.
Cyclic AMP-stimulated protein kinase activity in rabbit peripheral myelin

Cyclic AMP-sensitive protein kinase activity has been found in suspensions of purified rabbit peripheral myelin. The enzyme phosphorylated the P0, “Y”, X, P1, and P2 myelin proteins. Kinase activity, which was maximal at physiological pH, 2.5 mM Mg2+, and 2 νM cAMP, was stimulated three-fold over basal levels by cyclic AMP. Addition of calcium or EGTA had no effect on the enzyme activity in the presence or absence of cyclic AMP. Cyclic GMP also did not stimulated endogenous or exogenous protein phosphorylation. Theophylline, an inhibitor of 3′,5′-cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity, increased protein kinase activity in the presence of cyclic AMP. These data show that PNS myelin proteins can be phosphorylated in situ by a protein kinase system whose activity is stimulated selectively by cyclic AMP.
Substrate specificity of human thymine-DNA glycosylase on exocyclic cytosine adducts.

The environmental carcinogen glycidaldehyde (GDA) and therapeutic chloroethylnitrosoureas (CNUs) can form hydroxymethyl etheno and ring-saturated ethano bases, respectively. The mutagenic potential of these adducts relies on their miscoding properties and repair efficiency. In this work, the ability of human thymine-DNA glycosylase (TDG) to excise 8-(hydroxymethyl)-3,N4-ethenocytosine (8-hm-ɛC) and 3,N4-ethanocytosine (EC) was investigated and compared with ɛC, a known substrate for TDG. When tested using defined oligonucleotides containing a single adduct, TDG is able to excise 8-hm-ɛC but not EC. The 8-hm-ɛC activity mainly depends on guanine pairing with the adduct. TDG removes 8-hm-ɛC less efficiently than ɛC but its activity can be significantly enhanced by human AP endonuclease 1 (APE1), a downstream enzyme in the base excision repair. TDG did not show any detectable activity toward EC when placed in various neighboring sequences, including the 5′-CpG site. Molecular modeling revealed a possible steric clash between the non-planar EC exocyclic ring and residue Asn 191 within the TDG active site, which could account for the lack of TDG activity toward EC. TDG was not active against the bulkier exocyclic adduct 3,N4-benzethenocytosine, nor the two adenine derivatives with same modifications as the cytosine derivatives, 7-hm-ɛA and EA. These findings expand the TDG substrate range and aid in understanding the structural requirements for TDG substrate specificity.
Comments on hematogenous metastatic patterns in humans as revealed by autopsy

An attempt is made to clarify some general concepts of hematogenous metastatic patterns in humans, by the use of autopsy data. The significance and problems associated with 'false negative' reports are assessed. By the use of metastatic efficiency indices in which the incidence of specific target organ involvement is related to organ blood-flow, 'seed-and-soil' effects are discriminated from the effects of differential cancer cell delivery. An analysis of autopsy data from cases with a history of colorectal carcinoma is used to illustrate the importance of metastasis from metastases in the genesis of hematogenous metastatic patterns in humans.
The production of ethanol by immobilized yeast cells

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were immobilized in calcium alginate beads for use in the continuous production of ethanol. Yeasts were grown in medium supplemented with ethanol to selectively screen for a culture which showed the greatest tolerance to ethanol inhibition. Yeast beads were produced from a yeast slurry containing 1.5% alginate (w/v) which was added as drops to a 0.05M CaCl2 solution. To determine their optimum fermentation parameters, ethanol production using glucose as a substrate was monitored in batch systems at varying physiological conditions (temperature,pH, ethanol concentration), cell densities, and gel concentrations. The data obtained were compared to optimum free cell ethanol fermentation parameters. The immobilized yeast cells were examined in a packed-bed reactor system operated under optimized parameters derived from batch-immobilized yeast cell experiments. Ethanol production rates, as well as residual sugar concentrations were monitored at different feedstock flow rates. (Refs. 13).
Infection Parameters in the Sand Fly Vector That Predict Transmission of Leishmania major

To identify parameters of Leishmania infection within a population of infected sand flies that reliably predict subsequent transmission to the mammalian host, we sampled groups of infected flies and compared infection intensity and degree of metacyclogenesis with the frequency of transmission. The percentage of parasites within the midgut that were metacyclic promastigotes had the highest correlation with the frequency of transmission. Meta-analysis of multiple transmission experiments allowed us to establish a percent-metacyclic “cutoff” value that predicted transmission competence. Sand fly infections initiated with variable doses of parasites resulted in correspondingly altered percentages of metacyclic promastigotes, resulting in altered transmission frequency and disease severity. Lastly, alteration of sand fly oviposition status and environmental conditions at the time of transmission also influenced transmission frequency. These observations have implications for transmission of Leishmania by the sand fly vector in both the laboratory and in nature, including how the number of organisms acquired by the sand fly from an infection reservoir may influence the clinical outcome of infection following transmission by bite.
Fluridone reveals root elongation differences among alfalfa germplasms

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a deep-rooted perennial that may be able to remove nitrate from subsoil beneath the rooting zone of annual crops. Alfalfa cultivars with rapid and deep root elongation would be beneficial for reducing future nitrate contamination of ground water supplies. The objectives of this research were to (i) develop a protocol using the herbicide fluridone {1-methyl-3-phenyl-5-[3-(trifluromethyl) phenyl]-4(1H)-pyridinone} as a marker for indicating alfalfa root penetration in soil, and (ii) determine the variability in rate of geotropic root elongation within and among diverse alfalfa germplasms. Fluridone caused rapid, distinctive bleaching of alfalfa leaves at a rate of 25 mg a.i. kg -1 soil, without being fatal. When transplanted after onset of fluridone symptoms, alfalfa recovered and resumed normal growth and flowering. Alfalfa populations did not differ in sensitivity to fluridone. Decomposition of roots from a fluridone-treated plant did not cause symptom development in other plants. Individual plants within alfalfa germplasms differed by 56 d in onset of symptoms, indicating a similar difference in root activity at 80 cm depth in soil. Mean geotropic root elongation rate for 12 diverse germplasms ranged from 1.12 to 1.40 cm d -1 . Populations selected for unique root morphological traits were significantly faster in geotropic root elongation rate than their nonselected parental populations. Our method permits in situ identification of plants with rapid geotropic root elongation rates within heterogeneous populations and has proven useful in germplasm selection.
Isotopic spin selection rules XII: The mirror reactions 6Li(d, n)7Be and 6Li(d, p)7Li

Abstract It is remarked that the mirror reactions 6Li(d, n)7Be and 6Li(d, p)7Li leading to the fist excited states of the mirror nuclei form an excellent testing place for the prediction following the assumption of charge-independence that such mirror reactions have equal intrinsic probability. This is because the reactions are almost non-resonant which makes for the good operation of the isotopic spin rules and because the protons are emitted well above the Coulomb barrier which makes the interpretation of the experimental neutron to proton branching ratio rather simple. It is also remarked that the experiment may be performed without observing the neutrons and protons by using the gamma rays from the excited states to label the two transitions; all higher excited states are unstable to heavy particle emission and so do not yield gamma rays, The branching ratio is determined at 31 deuteron energies between 200 Kev and 1.8 Mev. Over the whole range it agrees to within 15% with that expected from charge in...
Plasticity genes and plasticity costs: a new approach using an Arabidopsis recombinant inbred population.

Summary • Earlier flowering is triggered by vernalization in some but not all Arabidopsis ecotypes, often reflecting allelic variation at the FRIGIDA (FRI) locus. Using a recombinant inbred (RI) population polymorphic at FRI, we examined fitness consequences of variation for plasticity. • Flowering and fitness were scored for 68 RI genotypes following full and partial vernalization treatments. Within-environment and mixed-model anovas estimated variance components for a genotype effect and a G × E term, respectively. Selection analyses examined whether delayed bolting increases fitness; a plasticity costs analysis asked whether increased plasticity lowers fitness. We also explored whether trait QTL had environment-specific effects, colocated in the immediate vicinity of FRI, or overlapped with fitness QTL. • Selection may favor fri alleles and constitutive early flowering, especially in conditions that only partially vernalize plants. Plasticity costs, detected only after partial vernalization and only marginally significant, were nonetheless consistent with FRI-FLC function. • We discuss how information about QTL with environment-specific effects, fitness QTL, and knowledge about plasticity genes can improve interpretation of selection or plasticity cost analyses.
High-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation for advanced testicular cancer

High-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with autologous stem cell support has been studied in both the salvage and first-line setting in advanced germ cell tumor (GCT) patients with poor-risk features. While early studies reported significant treatment-related mortality, introduction of peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, recombinant growth factors and better supportive care have decreased toxicity; and in more recent reports treatment-related deaths are observed in <3% of patients. Two to three cycles of high-dose carboplatin and etoposide is the standard backbone for HDCT, given with or without additional agents including ifosfamide, cyclophosphamide and paclitaxel. Three large randomized Phase III trials have failed to show a benefit of HDCT over conventional-dose chemotherapy (CDCT) in the first-line treatment of patients with intermediate- or poor-risk advanced GCT, and to date the routine use of HDCT has been reserved for the salvage setting. Several prognostic models have been developed to help predict outcome of salvage HDCT, the most recent of which applies to both CDCT and HDCT in the initial salvage setting. Patients that relapse after HDCT are usually considered incurable, and additional therapy is provided with palliative intent.
Psychological Symptomatology in Spouses and Adult Children of Alcoholics: An Examination of the Hypothesized Personality Characteristics of Codependency

The concept of codependency has been advanced to explain certain psychological traits purported to be characteristic of spouses and adult children of alcoholics. To test the validity of this hypothesized syndrome, 97 female subjects living with either an alcoholic (SA), a psychiatric patient (SP), or dentistry patient (SD) were studied; approximately 50% of subjects had a positive family history (FH+) for alcoholism. All subjects were administered an extensive battery of psychological tests. The results revealed significantly greater levels of psychological symptomatology among the SA and FH+ subjects, in part consistent with the hypothesized symptomatology of codependency.
The modulation of Pavlovian memory

Exposure to stressful experiences as well as sex differences in the brain are known to influence the acquisition of new memories. This review focuses on acquisition of two types of Pavlovian learning paradigms: hippocampal-independent delay conditioning and hippocampal-dependent trace conditioning and their modulation by exposure to stressful experience and sex differences in the brain. We concentrate on two sets of findings: the first is that exposure to an acute stressful experience enhances Pavlovian conditioning in the male rat, while exposure to the very same experience dramatically impairs conditioning in female rat. The sexually-opposed effects of stress on conditioning are mediated by differing hormonal substrates (adrenal versus ovarian steroids) and possibly by differing anatomical and biochemical pathways. The second set of findings is that training with hippocampal-dependent trace conditioning enhances the survival of newly generated neurons in the adult hippocampal formation. The same amount of training with hippocampal-independent delay conditioning does not affect their survival. In addition, females acquire the trace task faster than males and generate more new neurons. As with the stress effects on learning, these sex effects are influenced by hormonal status. It is our contention that identifying the hormonal and neuronal processes that modulate associative memory formation will provide insight into the processes of memory formation itself.
Medicaid Prescriber Compliance with Joint National Committee VI Hypertension Treatment Guidelines

BACKGROUND:Since the early 1970s, the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC) has been tasked with the formulation of national guidelines for the management of hypertension. These were significantly changed in 1993 with publication of JNC-5. JNC-6 kept many basic treatment recommendations (i.e., initiation of therapy with a thiazide diuretic or β-blocker), partly in response to the low adoption rate of the treatment recommendations of JNC-5.OBJECTIVE:To describe single-drug outpatient therapy of hypertension and temporally correlate these therapies with the publication of JNC-5 and JNC-6.METHODS:The electronic records of randomly selected New York State Medicaid recipients without hospitalization who had a diagnosis of hypertension and who were receiving only 1 antihypertensive medication were analyzed for 1994, 1997, and 1999. This analysis identified the medications selected for monotherapy of hypertension and compared these therapies wit...
Analysis of chick (Gallus gallus) middle ear columella formation

Background: The chick middle ear bone, the columella, provides an accessible model in which to study the tissue and molecular interactions necessary for induction and patterning of the columella, as well as associated multiple aspects of endochondral ossification. These include mesenchymal condensation, chondrogenesis, ossification of the medial footplate and shaft, and joint formation between the persistent cartilage of the extracolumella and ossified columella. Middle and external ear defects are responsible for approximately 10% of congenital hearing defects. Thus, understanding the morphogenesis and the molecular mechanisms of the formation of the middle ear is important to understanding normal and abnormal development of this essential component of the hearing apparatus. Results: The columella, which arises from proximal ectomesenchyme of the second pharyngeal arch, is induced and patterned in a dynamic multi-step process. From the footplate, which inserts into the inner ear oval window, the shaft spans the pneumatic middle ear cavity, and the extracolumella inserts into the tympanic membrane. Through marker gene and immunolabeling analysis, we have determined the onset of each stage in the columella’s development, from condensation to ossification. Significantly, a single condensation with the putative shaft and extracolumella arms already distinguishable is observed shortly before initiation of five separate chondrogenic centers within these structures. Ossification begins later, with periosteum formation in the shaft and, unexpectedly, a separate periosteum in the footplate. Conclusions: The data presented in this study document the spatiotemporal events leading to morphogenesis of the columella and middle ear structures and provide the first gene expression data for this region. These data identify candidate genes and facilitate future functional studies and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of columella formation.
Activation of enhancer elements by the homeobox gene Cdx2 is cell line specific

Cdx2 is a caudal-related homeodomain transcription factor that is expressed in complex patterns during mouse development and at high levels in the intestinal epithelium of adult mice. Cdx2 activates transcription of intestinal gene promoters containing specific binding sites. Moreover, Cdx2 has been shown to induce intestinal differentiation in cell lines. In this study, we show that Cdx2 is able to bind to two well defined enhancer elements in the HoxC8 gene. We then demonstrate that Cdx2 is able to activate transcription of heterologous promoters when its DNA binding element is placed in an enhancer context. Furthermore, the ability to activate enhancer elements is cell-line dependent. When the Cdx2 activation domain was linked to the Gal4 DNA binding domain, the chimeric protein was able to activate Gal4 enhancer constructs in an intestinal cell line, but was unable to activate transcription in NIH3T3 cells. These data suggest that there are cell-specific factors that allow the Cdx2 activation domain to function in the activation of enhancer elements. We hypothesize that either a co-activator protein or differential phosphorylation of the activation domain may be the mechanism for intestinal cell line-specific function of Cdx2 and possibly in other tissues in early development.
The Double Standard in the English Divorce Laws, 1857–1923

The Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 included a double standard in its provisions. While a wife's adultery was sufficient cause to end a marriage, a woman could divorce her husband only if his adultery had been compounded by another matrimonial offense. The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1923 granted a wife the right to divorce her husband for adultery alone and thus removed the double standard with respect to the grounds for divorce born English statutes. Although the 1923 act was contemporaneous with other reforms extending the legal rights of women, an analysis of the public debates regarding divorce reform indicates that the statute was not based solely on a desire to provide equitable matrimonial relief for husbands and wives. The belief that male adultery contributed to such sod problems as prostitution, illegitimacy, and the spread of venereal disease was as significant in the passage of the 1923 act as the demand for equal access to divorce for men and women.
A tightly associated serine/threonine protein kinase regulates phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity.

withantibodies raised tothe85-kDa subunit. Tryptic phosphopeptide maps indicate thatp85frompolyomavirus middleT-transformed cells is phosphorylated invivoatthree sites phosphorylated invitro bytheassociated serine kinase. The85-kDa subunit ofPtdlns 3-kinase isphosphorylated invitro on serineata stoichiometry ofapproximately 1 molof phosphate permolofp85.Thisphosphorylation results ina three- tosevenfold decrease inPtdlns 3-kinase activity. Dephosphorylation withprotein phosphatase 2A reversestheinhibition. Thissuggests thatthe association ofprotein phosphatase 2Awithmiddle T antigen may function toactivate Ptdlns 3-kinase. Inmammaliancells, phosphoinositide (PtdIns) 3-kinase associates withalmost allactivated protein-tyrosine kinases inresponsetotheappropriate stimulus (4). Association of PtdIns 3-kinase witha tyrosine-phosphorylated protein correlates withsynthesis ofphosphatidylinositol-3,4-bisphosphate(PtdIns-3,4-P2) and phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns-3,4,5-P3) and withcellgrowthand transformation. Studies ofcells transfected withmutantsof polyomavirus middle Tantigen (mT)(9,17,34,37), ablgene products (35), thecolony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (31), andtheplatelet-derived growthfactor (PDGF)receptor (8, 29)havedemonstrated thesecorrelations. Mostcells expressing mutantproteins thataredefective inPtdIns 3-kinase association synthesize reduced levels ofPtdIns-3,4-P2 andPtdIns-3,4,5-P3 andareimpaired intransformation and mitogenesis. Cells transfected withmutantsofabl(35) and mT (20)thatassociate withPtdIns 3-kinase butdo not transform havereduced levels ofPtdIns-3,4-P2 andPtdIns3,4,5-P3 compared withtransformed cells. Thelevel ofthese lipids isa better predictor ofcell transformation thanisthe association ofPtdIns 3-kinase withoncoproteins. PtdIns 3-kinase hasbeenpurified fromratliver (5), bovine brain(23,24), mouse fibroblasts (12), andbovinethymus (30). Theenzyme purified fromratliver isa heterodimer of an 85-kDaandone oftwo110-kDa proteins. Itphosphorylates theD-3hydroxyl ofphosphoinositides toproduce phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PtdIns-3-P), PtdIns-3,4P2,andPtdIns-3,4,5-P3 (2,5,36). ThecDNA encoding the 85-kDasubunit ofPtdIns 3-kinase hasbeencloned (12, 24, 32).Two distinct cDNAshavebeenobtained frombovine brain, 85aand851(24). Bothclones encodeproteins with twoSH2domainsandan SH3domain.Bothproteins also contain adomainhomologous tothecarboxy terminus ofthe breakpoint cluster region gene product andtheGTPaseactivating proteins forthesmallGTP binding proteins rho andrac (10).