cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Soil-Pile Response to Blast-Induced Lateral Spreading. II: Analysis and Assessment of the p–y Method

This paper presents an assessment of the potential of using the p–y analysis method for single piles and pile groups subjected to lateral spreading. The computed responses were compared with the results from the full-scale lateral spreading tests in Japan as presented in the Part I companion paper. The responses of the single piles subjected to lateral spreading were determined by imposing the known free-field soil movement profile to the Winkler spring model. The soil springs of nonliquefied soils used in this study were based upon standard p–y springs whereas zero spring stiffness was used for liquefied soils. For the case of pile groups, they were modeled as an equivalent single pile with a rotational spring at the pile head to simulate effect of pile head restraint. A decrease of soil spring stiffnesses using the p-multiplier approach was used to account for pile group effects. Based on the results of analyses, the computed responses of all sets of the test piles using a single set of baseline soil properties were in good agreement with the measured responses. These results suggest that the p–y analysis method may be used to estimate the behavior of piles subjected to lateral spreading.
Effects of Lowering Symmetry on the ESR Spectra of Radical Anions of Fullerene Derivatives and the Reduction Potentials

Radical anions of dibenzyl adducts of C60, 1,4-(C6H5CH2)2C60•- and 1,2-(C6H5CH2)2C60•-, give ESR spectra which have larger g values (2.0004 and 2.0001, respectively) and much smaller line widths (ΔHmsl = 2.5 and 3.3 G, respectively, at 213 K) than the g value (1.9984) and the ΔHmsl value (30.9 G at 213 K) of C60•-. An even smaller ΔHmsl value (0.17 G) and a larger g value (2.0011) are observed for the tetrabenzyl C60 adduct radical anion, 1,4,10,24-(C6H5CH2)4C60•- and this is ascribed to a large splitting of the degenerate t1u orbitals caused by introduction of four benzyl groups to C60. In this case, a hyperfine structure, due to two nonequivalent protons of only one benzyl group (aH1 = 0.31 G, aH2 = 0.11 G), is observed and this is consistent with the predicted localized spin density at the C2 position next to the C1 carbon to which a benzyl group is attached. The radical anions of the mono- and bisadducts formed in the Diels−Alder cycloaddition reaction of C60 with 9,10-dimethylanthracene show ESR sign...
TRPC1 is required for functional store-operated Ca2+ channels. Role of acidic amino acid residues in the S5-S6 region.

The exact role of TRPC1 in store-operated calcium influx channel (SOCC) function is not known. We have examined the effect of overexpression of full-length TRPC1, depletion of endogenous TRPC1, and expression of TRPC1 in which the proposed pore region (S5-S6, amino acids (aa) 557–620) was deleted or modified by site-directed mutagenesis on thapsigargin- and carbachol-stimulated SOCC activity in HSG cells. TRPC1 overexpression induced channel activity that was indistinguishable from the endogenous SOCC activity. Transfection with antisense hTRPC1 decreased SOCC activity although characteristics of SOCC-mediated current, ISOC, were not altered. Expression of TRPC1Δ567–793, but not TRPC1Δ664–793, induced a similar decrease in SOCC activity. Furthermore, TRPC1Δ567–793 was co-immunoprecipitated with endogenous TRPC1. Simultaneous substitutions of seven acidic aa in the S5-S6 region (Asp → Asn and Glu → Gln) decreased SOCC-mediated Ca2+, but not Na+, current and induced a left shift in E rev. Similar effects were induced by E576K or D581K, but not D581N or E615K, substitution. Furthermore, expressed TRPC1 proteins interacted with each other. Together, these data demonstrate that TRPC1 is required for generation of functional SOCC in HSG cells. We suggest that TRPC1 monomers co-assemble to form SOCC and that specific acidic aa residues in the proposed pore region of TRPC1 contribute to Ca2+ influx.
BASE DEFICIT DURING CITEIPC ARREST SECONDARY TO RESPIRATORY FAILURE IN IMMATURE PIGS

Recent studies suggest that NaHCO3 may be detrimental in treatment of cardiac arrest from ventricular fibrillation. The American Heart Association (AHA) recomnerds limited use of NaHCO3 (initial dose 1 mEq/kg). In children respiratory failure is the major cause of cardiac arrest; so these studies may not apply. The purpose of our study was to determine base deficit (-BE) at the time of cardiac arrest due to respiratory failure in immature pigs. 10 minipigs (8.0-9.5kg) were anesthetized with pentobarbital and ventilated. Catheters were placed in the aorta and pulmonary artery. The erdotracheal tubes were clamped (9.3±3.1 min) to produce asphyxia causing electromechanical dissociation (EMD) (Aortic pressure (PAo)<30 mmHg). (PAo), arterial blood gases and lactates were measured during a baseline (BL), at time of EMD and 3 min of EMD (EMD3) All piglets developed metabolic acidosis that would require at least 6 mEq/kg of NaHCO3 for partial correction (-BEx Weight in kg x0.3). We conclude that cardiac arrest secondary to respiratory failure results in a -BE which is not treated with resuscitation practiced according to current AHA guidelines.
Isolation of nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat and kinase resistance gene analogues from sugarcane (Saccharum spp.)

BACKGROUND: Resistance gene analogues (RGAs) have been isolated from many crops and offer potential in breeding for disease resistance through marker-assisted selection, either as closely linked or as perfect markers. Many R-gene sequences contain kinase domains, and indeed kinase genes have been reported as being proximal to R-genes, making kinase analogues an additionally promising target. The first step towards utilizing RGAs as markers for disease resistance is isolation and characterization of the sequences. RESULTS: Sugarcane clone US01-1158 was identified as resistant to yellow leaf caused by the sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) and moderately resistant to rust caused by Puccinia melanocephala Sydow & Sydow. Degenerate primers that had previously proved useful for isolating RGAs and kinase analogues in wheat and soybean were used to amplify DNA from sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) clone US-01-1158. Sequences generated from 1512 positive clones were assembled into 134 contigs of between two and 105 sequences. Comparison of the contig consensuses with the NCBI sequence database using BLASTx showed that 20 had sequence homology to nuclear binding site and leucine rich repeat (NBS-LRR) RGAs, and eight to kinase genes. Alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences with similar sequences from the NCBI database allowed the identification of several conserved domains. The alignment and resulting phenetic tree showed that many of the sequences had greater similarity to sequences from other species than to one another. CONCLUSION: The use of degenerate primers is a useful method for isolating novel sugarcane RGA and kinase gene analogues. Further studies are needed to evaluate the role of these genes in disease resistance. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Brain serotonin content - Increase following ingestion of carbohydrate diet.

In the rat, the injection of insulin or the consumption of carbohydrate causes sequential increases in the concentrations of tryptophan in the plasma and the brain and of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin-containing neurons may thus participate in systems whereby the rat brain integrates information about the metabolic state in its relation to control of homeostatis and behavior.
On the Theory of Testing for Unit Roots in Observed Time Series

This paper provides a framework for testing for a unit root in an observed time series against some alternatives considered previously by Anderson (1948). Some new tests for the unit root null hypothesis for the errors affecting a classical regression model against the non-stationary (including explosive) alternative hypothesis are developed. The previous results of Sargan and Bhargava (1983) and the new test statistics are then applied to test the simple random walk and the random walk with a constant drift null hypotheses against stationary and non-stationary one-sided alternatives. In each case, the test statistic is simplified in order that it could be viewed as a von Neumann type ratio and the exact significance points are tabulated. Finally, the unit root null hypotheses are tested using U.S. data on the velocity of money and the Michigan PSID.
Method of measuring oligonucleotide-metal affinities: interactions of the thrombin binding aptamer with K+ and Sr2+.

We report a new, mass spectrometry-based method for measuring affinity constants for specific metal ion binding to DNA, particularly for quadruplex DNA. This method, which is applicable to other systems, utilizes the gas-phase signal fractions, as determined by mass spectrometry, from the bound and unbound species as input into a mathematical model that determines various parameters, one of which is the binding affinity constant. The system used to develop and test the model was the thrombin-binding aptamer, an appropriate quadruplex structure that binds both K+ and Sr2+ cations. Using this method, we measured the binding constants of potassium and strontium cations with the quadruplex structure to be 5000 and 240 nM, respectively. We then applied the method to measure the change in enthalpy of the binding of strontium cations to the thrombin binding aptamer. The ΔH for this interaction is −71 kJ/mol (−17 kcal/mol). The binding constant measurements are consistent with earlier measurements on the same sys...
Inertial confinement fusion: Review and perspective

Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) refers to the extraction of energy from fusion reactions ignited in small fuel pellets by the deposition of energy at extremely high power. The pellets of thermonuclear fuel, nominally deuterium and tritium, are compressed to densities on the order of one thousand times liquid density before the center reaches ignition temperature and burn propagates outward. Each pellet will produce an energy yield the equivalent of hundreds of pounds of explosive. For such a system to be a potential producer of electric power, it is necessary that an efficient source of sufficient power density and coupling properties to drive the implosion be developed. A target capable of producing high gain from this deposited power must be designed and manufactured. And a reactor which effectively contains the explosions and transfers the energy to usable form must be built. This paper surveys progress in ICF research in these areas from 1972 through 1983.
Torsion-rotation levels of the OH stretch fundamental of CD3OH

Abstract The infrared absorption of CD 3 OH in the OH stretch region has been observed at 0.025-cm −1 resolution. Seventeen excited-state torsion-rotation levels E ′ nτK have been determined with the aid of combination differences and Loomis-Wood diagrams. Of these levels, seven belong to n = 2 and nine to n = 1. No levels for which n = 0 could be determined. Analysis of the observed levels yields a hindering potential barrier in the excited state of 407 cm −1 .
Analysis of farnesyl transferase activity during hormone-induced maturation of Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Preincubation of Xenopus laevis oocytes with insulin or insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) resulted in inhibition of farnesyl transferase (FTase) activity measured both in vivo (after microinjection of tritiated farnesyl pyrophosphate and Ras-CVIM into oocytes) and in extracts using a filtration assay. FTase activity measured in oocyte extracts was inhibited 55% after a 20 min treatment of oocytes with 1 microM insulin or 10 nM IGF-1. The apparent IC(50) for inhibition of oocyte FTase by IGF-1 is 0.3 nM. The observed decrease in FTase activity was apparently not due to translocation of enzyme from cytosol to membrane, since activities measured both in soluble extracts and resuspended crude pellets displayed comparable levels of inhibition following hormone treatment. Using a hexapeptide (TKCVIM) as substrate, FTase activity was also inhibited 65% when oocytes were pretreated with 10 nM IGF-1. Two FTase inhibitors [(alpha-hydroxyfarnesyl) phosphonic acid (HFPA) and chaetomellic acid A (CA)] effectively inhibited Xenopus oocyte FTase by 80-90% when added to assay mixtures (IC(50) values of 338 +/- 96 nM HFPA and 232 +/- 80 nM CA) or after incubation of oocytes in drug before preparation of soluble extracts for assay (IC(50) values of 7 +/- 6 nM HFPA and 328 +/- 128 nM CA). The farnesyl transferase inhibitors were observed to slow the time course of oocyte maturation but did not block the IGF-1-induced maturation response. J. Exp. Zool. 286:193-203, 2000.
The condensin complex is required for proper spindle assembly and chromosome segregation in Xenopus egg extracts

Chromosome condensation is required for the physical resolution and segregation of sister chromatids during cell division, but the precise role of higher order chromatin structure in mitotic chromosome functions is unclear. Here, we address the role of the major condensation machinery, the condensin complex, in spindle assembly and function in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. Immunodepletion of condensin inhibited microtubule growth and organization around chromosomes, reducing the percentage of sperm nuclei capable of forming spindles, and causing dramatic defects in anaphase chromosome segregation. Although the motor CENP-E was recruited to kinetochores pulled poleward during anaphase, the disorganized chromosome mass was not resolved. Inhibition of condensin function during anaphase also inhibited chromosome segregation, indicating its continuous requirement. Spindle assembly around DNA-coated beads in the absence of kinetochores was also impaired upon condensin inhibition. These results support an important role for condensin in establishing chromosomal architecture necessary for proper spindle assembly and chromosome segregation.
Extrusion reactions of carbon dioxide from orthoesters and derivatives: An ab initio study of some cyclic carbenes

Abstract ab initio Calculations showed that the loss of carbon dioxide from cyclic dioxocarbene 1 can proceed via a synchronous process with activation energy: ΔG ≠ = ca. 7.1 kcal/mol (MP2/6-31G ** ). The corresponding unsaturated analog 2 was calculated to be more stable: ΔG ≠ = ca. 25 kcal/mol (MP2/6-31G ** ) and its aromatic character was probed.
I-Deals: A Competence Development Strategy Servant Leaders Employ to Manage Individuals and Groups

Taking from a multilevel perspective, this study proposed that idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) are employed by servant leaders to enhance employee and group confidence and performance. Drawing from s...
Teaching an information organization course with Nordic DC metadata creator

Exploration and use of Dublin Core metadata tools in a graduate library course, Organization of Information, suggests applications of these tools in similar courses as an introduction to cataloging. Students used the Nordic DC metadata creator to catalog and classify both Internet and traditional information objects. Because links available from the Nordic DC metadata creator and Dublin Core home pages make cataloging resource materials easily available, students had less difficulty integrating their knowledge and those resources to create cataloging records than their counterparts in prior courses did. Practice with the Dublin Core tools, observation of their use by student catalogers, and the potential for gaining experience with more sophisticated tools available in the Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC) project encouraged Bowling Green State University to participate in CORC.
Navigational errors made by growth cones without filopodia in the embryonic xenopus brain

We have developed an exposed brain preparation for observing growth cone pathfinding behavior while performing in vivo pharmacological manipulations, and we used it to test whether Xenopus retinal growth cones need filopodia to navigate. Time-lapse video observation showed that cytochalasin B acted quickly and reversibly when applied; cytochalasin B-treated growth cones lacked filopodia, but had active lamellipodia and continued to advance slowly. Whereas normal retinotectal axons visualized with horseradish peroxidase turn caudally in the mid-diencephalon to reach the tectum, cytochalasin B-treated axons grew past the normal turning point and, instead, continued straight within the diencephalon. In dose-response experiments, pathfinding became abnormal in the same concentration range in which filopodia disappeared. These results suggest that filopodia are necessary for retinal growth cones to respond to guidance signals in the diencephalon.
Extracellular space in the central nervous system of the leech, Mooreobdella fervida.

The ganglia and connectives of the ventral nerve cord of a leech (Mooreobdella fervida) were subjected to fixation by freeze substitution. This method is believed to preserve the water distribution in the tissue more faithfully than conventional fixation, but has the disadvantage that only the superficial 10 to 15 μU of these structures can be examined. Electron micrographs of this material showed the following differences from nervous tissue fixed by immersion in an osmium tetroxide solution. The lamellae of the packet glia cells were narrower and the extracellular spaces between them were wider than in conventionally fixed material. The cytoplasm of the lamellae was finely granular and lacked the vacuoles which characterize this tissue when fixed by immersion. In the neuropil the nervous elements tended to be separated by glial material which sometimes consisted of a single sheet, but often of several lamellae with rather more extracellular space than in conventionally fixed material. In the connectives thin axons were present in bundles containing little or no glia but surrounded by glial lamellae. The fibers had a rounded appearance and these axon fields showed an appreciable extracellular space. The large axons showed irregular but generally more rounded profiles than in conventionally fixed material. They were usually individually enveloped by glial lamellae with rather ample space between them. In the neuropil and the connective fixed by immersion in OsO4 solutions the extracellular space consisted of the narrow 100 to 150 A spaces between the tissue elements typical for OsO4 fixed material.
Compartmentation of sucrose during radial transfer in mature sorghum culm

The sucrose that accumulates in the culm of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and other large tropical andropogonoid grasses can be of commercial value, and can buffer assimilate supply during development. Previous study conducted with intact plants showed that sucrose can be radially transferred to the intracellular compartment of mature ripening sorghum internode without being hydrolysed. In this study, culm-infused radiolabelled sucrose was traced between cellular compartments and among related metabolites to determine if the compartmental path of sucrose during radial transfer in culm tissue was symplasmic or included an apoplasmic step. This transfer path was evaluated for elongating and ripening culm tissue of intact plants of two semidwarf grain sorghums. The metabolic path in elongating internode tissue was also evaluated. On the day after culm infusion of the tracer sucrose, the specific radioactivity of sucrose recovered from the intracellular compartment of growing axillary-branch tissue was greater (nearly twice) than that in the free space, indicating that sucrose was preferentially transferred through symplasmic routes. In contrast, the sucrose specific radioactivity in the intracellular compartment of the mature (ripening) culm tissue was probably less (about 3/4's) than that in free space indicating that sucrose was preferentially transferred through routes that included an apoplasmic step. In growing internodes of the axillary branch of sorghum, the tritium label initially provided in the fructose moiety of sucrose molecules was largely (81%) recovered in the fructose moiety, indicating that a large portion of sucrose molecules is not hydrolysed and resynthesized during radial transfer. During radial transfer of sucrose in ripening internodes of intact sorghum plants, much of the sucrose is transferred intact (without hydrolysis and resynthesis) and primarily through a path that includes an apoplasmic step. In contrast, much of the sucrose is transferred through a symplasmic path in growing internode (axillary branch) tissue. These results contrast with the probable symplasmic path in mature culm of the closely related species, sugarcane. Phylogenetic variability exists in the compartmental path of radial transfer of sucrose in culms of the andropogonoid grasses.
Induction of multiple births in beef cows with FSH: calving rate and subsequent performance

Abstract One-hundred-sixty-six purebred Angus cows comprising three replicates were synchronized using prostaglandin, superovulated using a series of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) injections and artificially inseminated. Multiple birth rate was 27% (six sets of twins, one set each of triplets and quadruplets), 12% (one set of twins) and 10% (seven sets of twins and one set of triplets) in replicates 1, 2 and 3, respectively, for a combined multiple birth rate of 15.74%. Type of birth affected gestation length with twins, triplets and quadruplets having 6, 14 and 12 day shorter gestations than singles, and also affected birth weight with weights decreasing by 8, 15 and 21 kg, respectively, as number of offspring born increased from one through four. Type of rearing greatly influenced weaning weights (P
Inflammatory response following neutrophil recovery postchemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia cases without evidence of infection: role of homing of neutrophils

Neutropenic sepsis is a common clinical entity occurring in postchemotherapy patients. Infection may not be the cause of fever in such patients after neutrophil-count recov- ery. Herein, we present two patients who developed fever during the neutropenic phase of induction chemotherapy and were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics until they were no longer febrile and had recovered their neutrophil count. Being off antibiotics, they redeveloped fever within 48-72 hours. These fevers seemed to be secondary to postinfectious inflammatory response and not infection, supported by the fact that adequate antibiotic treatment was given and the collected fluid contained neutrophils but the cultures were negative. We hypothesize an explanation for this phenomenon based on the "homing of neutrophils" to bone marrow, which involves chemoattraction of CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR)-4 expressed on neutrophils towards the chemokine stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1 (CXCL12) expressed constitutively by bone marrow. Literature has shown that elevation of SDF-1 levels at injured/inflamed sites might create a similar gradient. This gradient results in the migration of neutrophils to the sites of previous injury/inflammation, leading to the formation of sterile abscesses. Based on our cases, we also conclude that antibiotics do not prevent the formation or treat such sterile "abscesses"; however, the drainage of these "abscesses" and treatment with anti-inflammatory agents are useful in such cases.
Foundations of the Crazy Bastard Hypothesis: Nonviolent physical risk-taking enhances conceptualized formidability☆ , ☆☆

article i nfo Wilson and Daly's Young Male Syndrome thesis seeks to explain why young men are disproportionally involved in both violence and non-violent activities entailing a risk of injury or death. One interpretation of this thesis, which we term the Crazy Bastard Hypothesis, holds that the correlation between violence and other forms of physical risk-taking occurs because the latter behaviors inherently index the general propensity to take risks with one's life. In violent conflicts, individuals who are indifferent to the prospect of injury or death constitute dangerous adversaries, and valuable allies. Voluntary physical risk-taking may thus serve a signaling function such that risk-prone individuals are perceived as more formidable than risk-averse individuals. Prior work has demonstrated that relative formidability is represented using the dimensions of conceptualized size and strength, providing an avenue for testing the Crazy Bastard Hypothesis. In multiple studies conducted in two disparate societies, we demonstrate that physically risk-prone men are envisioned to be larger, stronger, and more violent than risk-averse men. A separate study reveals that such conceptualizations are unlikely to reflect actual correlations between size/strength and physical risk- proneness, and are instead plausibly interpreted as revealing the contribution of observed physical risk- proneness to assessments of relative formidability.
Host resistance to Trichinella spiralis infection in rats and mice: species-dependent effects of cyclophosphamide exposure.

Abstract Host resistance to Trichinella spiralis infection was compared in male rats (F344) and female mice (C57BL/6J) following various cyclophosphamide (CY) treatment schedules. Doses of CY given to mice were adjusted by body surface area to be comparable to rat doses. Adult parasite elimination was not affected by oral administration of 1.5, 3 or 6 mg CY/kg per day to rats or 1.05, 2.1 or 4.2 mg CY/kg per day to mice for 10 days. In ratsm resistance was suppressed by a single oral dose of 80 mg/kg given the day prior to infection, but was not affected at 20 or 40 mg/kg. A single oral dose of 14, 28 or 56 mg CY/kg did not affect parasite expulsion in mice. Rats were also given four daily intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of 20, 40 or 80 mg CY/kg per day and mice received 14, 28 or 56 mg CY/kg per day. Infected rats did not survive at the two higher dose levels and parasite expulsion was suppressed at 20 mg/kg per day; parasite expulsion was suppressed in mice by four i.p. injections of 56 mg CY/kg per day, but not by lower doses. In rats, doses of CY which suppressed adult parasite expulsion also severely suppressed the proliferative response of mesenteric lymph node cells (MLNC) to an extract of T. spiralis (TsE). However, significant suppression of TsE-driven blastogenesis occurred at a dose of CY which did not affect parasite expulsion, indicating that the proliferative response in rats was more sensitive to suppression than actual parasite elimination. In contrast, the proliferative response to the T cell mitogen concanavalin A was elevated in the MLNC of CY-exposed rats. This was determined to be related to the interval between CY dosing and the day of assay rather than to an effect of infection with T. spiralis. Mouse MLNC proliferative responses to TsE were not suppressed by CY treatment, even at levels of CY which suppressed adult parasite expulsion. Mice differed from rats in that CY exposure did not affect the proliferative response to concanavalin A in infected animals. The species-dependent differences observed in these studies may have been secondary to the greater sensitivity of rats to CY. Nonetheless, these results highlight the potential for species-specific responses to chemical exposure and underscore the need for additional comparative studies of host resistance in rats and mice.
Population pharmacokinetics in geriatric psychiatry

Although geriatric patients are the major recipients of drugs, most research during drug development is conducted in healthy younger adults. Safe and effective drug therapy in the elderly requires an understanding of both drug disposition and response in older individuals. One of the major issues in studying the elderly relates to the ability to study a large number of people in a minimally invasive way. Population pharmacokinetics can be used to model drug concentrations from a large population of sparsely sampled individuals. Population pharmacokinetics characterizes both the interindividual (between-subject) and intraindividual (within-subject) variability, and can identify factors that contribute to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability. Population pharmacokinetics can be used to aid in designing large clinical trials by simulating virtual data based on the study design. It can also be used to assess consistency of drug exposure and evaluate its effect on clinical outcome. This article reviews the methods used in pharmacokinetic modeling, as well as providing examples of population pharmacokinetic modeling, highlighting its application to geriatric psychiatry.
Absorbing boundary technique for open channel flows

SUMMARY An absorbing boundary condition is formulated and applied to the one-dimensional open channel flow equations in conjunction with an explicit MacCormack scheme. The physical flow domain has been truncated by introducing an artificial pseudo-boundary. By using an appropriate boundary condition on a truncated domain, it is shown that, for flow containing shocks, the solution can be accelerated to its stationary profile with no loss of accuracy. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Recent advances in the genetics and pathogenesis of Parkinson disease

The identification of three genes and several additional loci associated with inherited forms of levodopa-responsive PD has confirmed that this is not a single disorder. Yet, analyses of the structure and function of these gene products point to the critical role of protein aggregation in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra as the common mechanism leading to neurodegeneration in all known forms of this disease. The three specific genes identified to date--alpha-synuclein, Parkin, and ubiquitin C terminal hydrolase L1--are either closely involved in the proper functioning of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway or are degraded by this protein-clearing machinery of cells. Knowledge gained from genetically transmitted PD also has clear implications for nonfamilial forms of the disease. Lewy bodies, even in sporadic PD, contain these three gene products, particularly abundant amounts of fibrillar alpha-synuclein. Increased aggregation of alpha-synuclein by oxidative stress, as well as oxidant-induced proteasomal dysfunction, link genetic and potential environmental factors in the onset and progression of the disease. The biochemical and molecular cascades elucidated from genetic studies in PD can provide novel targets for curative therapies.
Gifted Education and the Deskilling of Classroom Teachers

Regular classroom teachers were interviewed about their perceptions of the development of a pullout gifted program in their district. Teachers' satisfaction with the selection process, their interactions with parents about the gifted program, and the ways in which the gifted program affected their conceptions of giftedness and of their own classrooms were examined. The article explores the extent to which the labeling process required teachers to accept, interpret, and justify a largely externally- made decision that affected teachers' classrooms. The article concludes with a discussion of the ways in which discrete gifted programs and teacher education programs that prepare gifted teachers may contribute to the deskilling of regular classroom teachers and a diminished sense of their ability and responsibility for meeting the educational needs of all children within heterogeneous classrooms.
A METHOD TO EXTRACT THE REDSHIFT DISTORTION β PARAMETER IN CONFIGURATION SPACE FROM MINIMAL COSMOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS

We present a method to extract the redshift-space distortion β parameter in configuration space with a minimal set of cosmological assumptions. We show that a novel combination of the observed monopole and quadrupole correlation functions can remove efficiently the impact of mild nonlinearities and redshift errors. The method offers a series of convenient properties: it does not depend on the theoretical linear correlation function, the mean galaxy density is irrelevant, only convolutions are used, and there is no explicit dependence on linear bias. Analyses based on dark matter N-body simulations and Fisher matrix demonstrate that errors of a few percent on β are possible with a full-sky, 1 (h –1 Gpc)3 survey centered at a redshift of unity and with negligible shot noise. We also find a baryonic feature in the normalized quadrupole in configuration space that should complicate the extraction of the growth parameter from the linear theory asymptote, but that does not have a major impact on our method.
Malignant melanoma: incidence issues and their effect on diagnosis and treatment in the 1990s

The incidence of melanoma is increasing at a rate faster than that for any other cancer in the United States and worldwide. Several factors show that this increase in incidence is real and not due to artifact. The rapid increase is not attributable to better overall counting of the cases of cancer (because the incidence of other cancers is decreasing). Furthermore, it is not due to changes in histologic criteria. Finally, the mortality rate from melanoma continues to increase at a time when survival rates are also increasing. This apparent paradox can be true only if the actual incidence is increasing at an even faster rate than the death rate. This dramatic increase in the incidence of melanoma highlights the need for improved methods of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment as melanoma becomes increasingly important as a public health issue.
Analytical Assessment of Simultaneous Parallel Approach Feasibility from Total System Error

In a simultaneous paired approach to closely-spaced parallel runways, a pair of aircraft flies in close proximity on parallel approach paths. The aircraft pair must maintain a longitudinal separation within a range that avoids wake encounters and, if one of the aircraft blunders, avoids collision. Wake avoidance defines the rear gate of the longitudinal separation. The lead aircraft generates a wake vortex that, with the aid of crosswinds, can travel laterally onto the path of the trail aircraft. As runway separation decreases, the wake has less distance to traverse to reach the path of the trail aircraft. The total system error of each aircraft further reduces this distance. The total system error is often modeled as a probability distribution function. Therefore, Monte-Carlo simulations are a favored tool for assessing a "safe" rear-gate. However, safety for paired approaches typically requires that a catastrophic wake encounter be a rare one-in-a-billion event during normal operation. Using a Monte-Carlo simulation to assert this event rarity with confidence requires a massive number of runs. Such large runs do not lend themselves to rapid turn-around during the early stages of investigation when the goal is to eliminate the infeasible regions of the solution space and to perform trades among the independent variables in the operational concept. One can employ statistical analysis using simplified models more efficiently to narrow the solution space and identify promising trades for more in-depth investigation using Monte-Carlo simulations. These simple, analytical models not only have to address the uncertainty of the total system error but also the uncertainty in navigation sources used to alert an abort of the procedure. This paper presents a method for integrating total system error, procedure abort rates, avionics failures, and surveillance errors into a statistical analysis that identifies the likely feasible runway separations for simultaneous paired approaches.
Comments on Cavanagh and Mather (1989): Coming up short (and long)

Cavanagh and Mather (1989) reviewed literature concerning the possible distinction between short- and long-range processes in motion perception and concluded that the distinction cannot be supported. Instead, they proposed that motion perception be considered on the basis of detectors for first-order (luminance, color) and second-order (first-order motion, texture, stereo) stimulus attributes. They supported their position with studies of motion based on second-order stimuli. The present paper contends that when experiments permitting the investigation of both processes in the same display are included and when criteria are examined in their totality rather than one-by-one, the original short-range/long-range distinction can be retained. Furthermore, it is argued that the first-order/second-order distinction does not represent a theoretical advancement and that studies of second-order motion can be interpreted in terms of the older distinction. It is concluded that the short-range/long-range distinction is useful and should not be abandoned.
The Colorado homeless mentally ill: Users and nonusers of services: An empirical investigation of “difficult to treat” characteristics

This study examines the mental health problems of a selected case sample of homeless mentally ill (HMI) men and women in Colorado. The HMI sample was selected to compare those HMI who utilize mental health services (N = 46) with those who do not (N = 50) with respect to psychopathology and to characteristics related to being “difficult to treat.” Findings show that although the HMI current users are slightly more dysfunctional than the non-users, the rates of serious disorders are high among both HMI groups. HMI current users of mental health services, particularly voluntary users, were found to have fewer “difficult to treat” characteristics than the nonusers.
The Sessing Scale for Assessment of Pressure Ulcer Healing

OBJECTIVE: To describe a new observational scale, the Sessing scale, for measuring the progression of pressure ulcers. CRITERION STANDARDS: Changes in Shea stage and the diameter of healing pressure ulcers. SUBJECTS: A cohort of 84 nursing home residents with pressure ulcers. RESULTS: There were strong relationships between changes in healing as measured by the Sessing Scale and those measured by the Shea Scale (Spearman's r = 0.90; P < .0001), and between changes in the Sessing scale compared with changes in ulcer diameter (Spearman's r = 0.64; P < .001). Test-retest reliability was good (Kappa = 0.84) in a sample of 50 subjects. CONCLUSION: The Sessing scale is a simple, easy to use, observational instrument with validity and reliability for the assessment of progression of pressure ulcers in a clinical or research setting. Findings indicate that the Sessing scale, with its description of granulation tissue, infection, drainage, necrosis, and eschar, measures an important domain of wound healing that is independent and perhaps as important to clinicians and researchers as either Shea stage or ulcer size.
Surface tracks on polymers: A means to probe material properties at the nanometer scale?

Abstract The morphology and the dimensions of nanometer-sized craters and crater rims induced by individual MeV heavy ions impacting polymer surfaces have been systematically investigated by means of scanning force microscopy. We demonstrate that the morphology of the surface tracks varies systematically with temperature, molecular weight ( M w ) and tacticity of polymer thin films. Such parameters influence chain mobility and the characteristic relaxation times of the polymer, which appear to be key factors determining the final shape and size of observed holes and hillocks. Because of the correlation of the impact features with the thermal and rheological properties of polymers, the problem can be inverted and the surface track morphology may be used to identify physical parameters of the targets. This procedure has been applied to model polymer films. It was possible to identify a critical target temperature above which a sharp change in crater morphology is observed in the scanning force microscopy images. We propose this temperature to be the glass transition temperature. Also, crater size decreases steeply with increasing molecular weight up to a critical M w above which crater dimensions change very little. The transition region is around M c ′ , the critical molecular weight at which entanglement coupling of macromolecular chains becomes important.
THE ACCUMULATION OF CALCIUM IONS BY SARCOTUBULAR VESICLES.

The accumulation of Ca++ by microsomal (sarcotubular) preparations of rabbit skeletal muscle in the presence of oxalate, and the concurrent splitting of nucleoside triphosphate, displayed moderate nucleotide specificity in the sequence ATP > GTP, CTP, ITP > UTP > (ADP) > ATetraP for the former, ATP > (ADP) > ITP > GTP > CTP > UTP > ATetraP for the latter process. The "calcium pump" was weakly inhibited by caffeine, and was inhibited together with the ATPase by pyridoxalphosphate. Carnosine had no effect as such nor in the presence of pyridoxalphosphate except at high concentration; thiourea and p-chloromercuribenzoate were inhibiting while iodoacetate was inactive. Ca++ accumulation and ATPase were inhibited by atabrine (not tested on ATPase), dinitrophenol, and amytal. High concentrations of oligomycin and rutamycin inhibited Ca++ uptake while slightly stimulating ATPase. Antimycin A stimulated the Ca++ uptake. These results are discussed in the light of their possible relation to partial reactions in oxidative phosphorylation. The Ca++ uptake and relaxing factor activities did not behave identically throughout. This is in part ascribed to changes in reactivity of actomyosin in the relaxation test, in part to the participation of relaxing substances other than the calcium pump.
Myelin proteins: Degradation in rat brain initiated by metabolites causative of maple syrup urine disease

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), an inborn error of metabolism in humans, is expressed as an inability to oxidatively decarboxylate the branched-chain alpha-keto acids derived from leucine, isoleucine and valine. Rats 14 days old were injected intracranially with a solution containing leucine, alpha-ketoisocaproate, and tracer amounts of 3H-lysine. Myelin isolated from these rat brains at 28 days of age had a washed dry weight 85 per cent of controls. The protein content of the myelin prepared from treated and control rats was identical, as were the specific activities of the individual proteins separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Myelin protein from treated rats was deficient in myelin high molecular weight proteins including glycoproteins, and degradation products of these proteins were observed in myelin of treated rats. MSUD associated metabolites in man may initiate a process leading to the proteolytic degradation of myelin proteins, thereby producing abnormal myelin sheaths.
Assembly, testing, and installation of the fast RPC muon trigger upgrade for PHENIX

Abstract Many important questions remain to be answered about the origin of the proton spin. A new fast resistive plate chamber (RPC) based trigger system is being developed for the PHENIX muon spectrometer arms that will allow, for the first time, the measurement of the flavor structure of the quark polarization in the proton through the observations of W-bosons in polarized proton–proton collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The new PHENIX muon trigger will improve the efficiency by which the data acquisition system can identify potential W events by approximately two orders of magnitude. W-bosons can be detected through the appearance of a high-energy muon in one of the two existing muon spectrometers. The trigger upgrade is based on new front-end electronics for the muon tracking chambers and RPCs that will be installed in three stations of both muon arms starting with prototype chambers in 2008. Components of the RPCs are being fabricated at many different locations around the world. After they are shipped to BNL, these components will be tested and then the RPC modules will be assembled at a newly completed facility. Once assembled, these modules will be extensively tested and joined in half octant units for installation into the PHENIX spectrometer. Prototype chambers have been assembled and tested.
How large predators manage the cost of hunting

Being a large carnivore is not easy. First, there is the food, the energy they need to survive, which by definition consists mainly of other animals. This means that meeting daily energetic needs is not as easy as just going out and gathering plants that are waiting around to be found and eaten. Large carnivores often prey on animals that are bigger than themselves and that try to avoid being killed. Foraging by carnivores becomes a two-player game of stealth and fear ( 1 ), making it more difficult and thus energetically costly for carnivores to catch enough to stay alive. Large carnivores must balance the energy spent seeking and subduing prey with the energy they get back when they catch something—which does not happen as often as one might think ( 2 – 4 ). Two reports in this issue, by Scantlebury et al. ( 5 ) on page 79 and by Williams et al. ( 6 ) on page 81, look at how two carnivores, cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ; see the first photo) and pumas ( Puma concolor ; see the second photo), tread the fine line of energy losses and gains in order to survive.
A Lifespan Approach to Neuroinflammatory and Cognitive Disorders: A Critical Role for Glia

Cognitive decline is a common problem of aging. Whereas multiple neural and glial mechanisms may account for these declines, microglial sensitization and/or dystrophy has emerged as a leading culprit in brain aging and dysfunction. However, glial activation is consistently observed in normal brain aging as well, independent of frank neuroinflammation or functional impairment. Such variability suggests the existence of additional vulnerability factors that can impact neuronal-glial interactions and thus overall brain and cognitive health. The goal of this review is to elucidate our working hypothesis that an individual’s risk or resilience to neuroinflammatory disorders and poor cognitive aging may critically depend on their early life experience, which can change immune reactivity within the brain for the remainder of the lifespan. For instance, early-life infection in rats can profoundly disrupt memory function in young adulthood, as well as accelerate age-related cognitive decline, both of which are linked to enduring changes in glial function that occur in response to the initial infection. We discuss these findings within the context of the growing literature on the role of immune molecules and neuroimmune crosstalk in normal brain development. We highlight the intrinsic factors (e.g., chemokines, hormones) that regulate microglial development and their colonization of the embryonic and postnatal brain, and the capacity for disruption or “re-programming” of this crucial process by external events (e.g., stress, infection). An impact on glia, which in turn alters neural development, has the capacity to profoundly impact cognitive and mental health function at all stages of life.