cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epigallocatechin-3-gallate delivers hydrogen peroxide to induce death of ovarian cancer cells and enhances their cisplatin susceptibility.

The green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has cancer chemopreventive properties against various types of cancers. The compound is known to attack various targets in transformed cells. In this report, we examined the action of EGCG on ovarian cancer cells. Eight ovarian cancer cell lines were tested (SKOV3, CAOV3, OVCAR3, OVCAR10, A2780, CP70, C30, and C200) and showed IC50s for EGCG at the micromolar range, including ones that are resistant to the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin. The ovarian cancer cells were sensitive to H2O2 at similar concentrations, and EGCG treatment led to enhanced intracellular H2O2. Neutralization with pyruvate, a scavenger of H2O2, suggests that the toxicity of EGCG may be mediated by oxidative stress from the free radical. Addition of Tempol, a superoxide dismutase mimetic, demonstrates that H2O2 might be generated endogenously from superoxide. The toxicity of cisplatin and the development of cisplatin resistance are major obstacles in treatment of ovarian cancer. We found that addition of EGCG amplified the toxicity of cisplatin. EGCG increased cisplatin potency by three to six-fold in SKOV3, CAOV3, and C200 cells, the latter being a cell line induced to have several hundred fold resistant to cisplatin above the parental line. Our findings suggest that EGCG may accentuate oxidative stress to inhibit growth of ovarian cancer cells and sensitize them to cisplatin. J. Cell. Physiol. 207: 389–396, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Transitions to vibro-fluidization in a deep granular bed

Abstract Granular media subjected to vibration can approximate fluid behavior with sufficient vibration acceleration. Unlike gas fluidization, the transition from a static bed to a liquid-like state is poorly defined and has primarily studied previously in shallow or 2D granular beds. Three granular states are identified in this work: the static, the quasi-static, and the vibro-fluidized state. These states are characterized for a deep granular bed through quantitative measurements of the power or torque required to rotate a vane within the granular media. In this study, the vane is rotated while the bed is subjected to vibration at 10 Hz with acceleration in the range 0 ≤ Γ = ω2 xmax/g ≤ 4.0. We define a critical dimensionless vibration acceleration, Γc, based on a dramatic decrease in vane power and the absence of a dynamic zero-shear rate torque, as the transition to vibro-fluidization. Typical of granular materials, significant hysteresis is observed in measuring these bed state transitions. These measurements of “granular rheology” provide a quantitative framework for defining these transitions.
An antibody to β amyloid and the amyloid precursor protein inhibits cell-substratum adhesion in many mammalian cell types

Abstract An epitope-specific antibody directed against the first 16 amino acids of the β amyloid protein (anti-BP16) immunoprecipitated the secreted form of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) from the conditioned medium of PC12 cells. This antibody caused neurite retraction in differentiated PC12 cells and inhibited cell-substratum adhesion in many neuronal and non-neuronal cell types. The inhibitory effect of anti-BP16 was abolished by preabsorption of the antibody with BP16 peptide. Antibodies directed against other domains of APP did not inhibit cell adhesion. The secreted form of APP may be important for cell adhesion in many different mammalian cell types.
The David Gordon Memorial Lecture: Finance without Financiers: Prospects for Radical Change In Financial Governance

In response to the financial crisis of 2007—2010, governments in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere have invested billions of dollars in financial institutions to prevent them from going bankrupt and from further disrupting the global economy. Despite these massive public bail-outs, a government and “elite” consensus has emerged that these nationalized or quasi-nationalized financial institutions should be privatized as soon as possible, and that, apart from modest changes in financial regulation, our economies should return to the status quo ante financial structure. I disagree. As the crisis reveals, “financier” dominated finance has a number of devastating flaws: it creates major externalities that contribute to financial and real economic instability; it promotes short-term investment strategies; it contributes to inequality; and it undermines economic efficiency and the achievement of social goals in the real economy. I argue that a better strategy for achieving economic recovery, restructuring...
Bortezomib-induced acute pancreatitis: Case report and review of the literature:

Acute pancreatitis is a rare complication of chemotherapy agents. We describe the case of a patient with multiple myeloma who developed acute pancreatitis after treatment with bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor commonly used in the treatment of this disease. We reviewed the available medical literature on this topic, and found other seven similar cases, all after intravenous bortezomib. Our case is the first one occurring with the subcutaneous route of administration.
Dependence of the binary-encounter-peak energy on the projectile core

The energy of the binary-encounter peak has been determined for 0.6 MeV/u O, F, Si, Ti, Cu, and Br ions colliding with ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ targets. The projectiles all had the same charge q=7, while the atomic number Z of the projectiles ranged from 8 (almost totally ionized) to 35 (retaining 28 electrons). We observe that the binary-encounter-peak energy for fixed q increases as Z increases. This trend is opposite to that observed when Z is fixed and the charge q is varied, and it demonstrates that the binary-encounter-peak energy depends not only on the net projectile charge but on the projectile core as well. The experimental trend is qualitatively reproduced by an impulse approximation showing that this variation in the binary-encounter-peak energy may be attributed to the effect that the projectile core potential has on the electron elastic-scattering cross section.
Hybrid Approach to Adaptive OCR for Historical Books

Optical character recognition (OCR) technology is widely used to convert scanned documents to text. However, historical books still remain a challenge for state-of-the-art OCR engines. This work proposes a new approach to the OCR of large bodies of text by creating an adaptive mechanism that adjusts itself to each text being processed. This approach provides significant improvements to the OCR results achieved. Our approach uses a modified hierarchical optical flow with a second-order regularization term to compare each new character with the set of super-symbols (character templates) by using its distance maps. The classification process is based on a hybrid approach combining measures of geometrical differences (spatial domain) and distortion gradients (feature domain).
Development and evaluation of three mortality prediction indices for cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)

Kemp's ridley sea turtle is an endangered species found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the east coast of the USA. Cold-stunned Kemp's ridley turtles are often found stranded on beaches of Massachusetts and New York in November and December each year. When found alive, turtles are transported to rehabilitation centres for evaluation and treatment. Blood gas and chemistry analytes of major clinical relevance in sea turtles were selected to develop mortality prediction indices (MPI)s. Testing the diagnostic performance of various combinations of blood gas and chemistry analytes by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis resulted in the development of three mortality prediction indices. The sensitivity and specificity of the best performing MPI (based on three blood analytes: pH, pO2, and potassium) was 88 and 80%, respectively. Using ROC analysis, the area under the curve = 0.896 (95% confidence interval = 0.83-0.94). The use of validated MPIs based on four blood analytes (pH, pCO2, pO2, and potassium) could be useful for better diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cold-stunned sea turtles when admitted to rehabilitation facilities.
Does Advertising Exposure Affect Turnout

We identify an exogenous source of variation in exposure to campaign advertising in the 2000 presidential election, based on residence in battleground states. If exposure to campaign advertising makes a potential voter significantly more likely to vote, then we should see significantly greater turnout in battleground states. We do not. This result is robust to several specifications and evident in a natural experiment consisting of New Jersey residents. Conditional on existing campaign targeting strategies, campaigns do not affect the turnout decisions of the voters we study.
The combustion reactions of a pyrotechnic white smoke composition

A common method for the production of a white screening smoke consists of the pyrotechnic dispersion into the atmosphere of an aerosol of zinc chloride. The pyrotechnic mixtures employed for this purpose commonly contain zinc oxide, calcium silicide, and a chlorine-donating material such as hexachloroethane. The range of mixtures of this type currently employed in British smoke generators is zinc oxide 47%–29%, calcium silicide 7%–25%, and hexachloroethane 46%, higher proportions of the fuel, calcium silicide, producing faster-burning compositions. The pyrolysis of hexachloroethane and the reactions occurring between the principal constituents of this mixture, taken in pairs and as a whole, have been elucidated by the technique of differential thermal analysis. Hexachloroethane is pyrolyzed to carbon and chlorine via the intermediate formation of carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, and hexachlorobenzene. Calcium silicide reacts with hexachloroethane in four stages to form calcium chloride, carbon, and silicon, reaction intermediates in this process being identical with those in the hexachloroethane pyrolysis. Zinc oxide also reacts in a stepwise manner with hexachloroethane, finally producing zinc chloride, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide; reaction intermediates in this process are carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, phosgene, and a zinc oxychloride. The temperature of initial reaction in the ternary system is 50°–80° below that observed for the zinc oxide-hexachloroethane or the calcium silicide-hexachloroethane mixture, because of interaction of the two binary reaction schemes.
Space power facility for testing large space optical systems

The space power facility is located at NASA's Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. It is the world's largest space simulation test facility with a test chamber that is 30.5m (100ft) in diameter by 37.2m (122ft) high. It has been used to test a variety of large space flight hardware and space systems for NASA, other government agencies, and the private sector over the last 20 years. Most of the design features of the facility provide unique characteristics that are ideally suited to meet the requirements of large space optical system thermal/vacuum testing. This paper describes the space power facility's unique characteristics and systems and how they meet these requirements. Future large space optical systems require a facility that can handle large, delicate hardware in a clean environment. Large high bay clean rooms are needed for pre-test build-up and checkout activities. A large test chamber with easy access is needed near the build-up area to minimize the risk of transporting the hardware into the chamber for thermal/vacuum testing. The space power facility's unique architecture with large high bays on each side of the test chamber is ideal for handling and processing large hardware and systems. Large space optical system testing requires a test environment that is as quiet as possible from a vibration standpoint. By nature of the construction of the space power facility, the vibration environment has been found to be extremely stable. Additionally, large space optical system testing must be performed at high-vacuum (< 1/spl times/10-5 Torr) conditions and many future systems require testing at cryogenic temperatures. The facility's high-vacuum system for pumping the test chamber has recently been upgraded with cryopumps and high-vacuum isolation valves to provide a contaminant-free, clean testing environment. To ensure that the facility upgrades has meet the demands of future test programs, an integrated systems test was performed to assess the operation and performance of the chamber and the new vacuum pumping system.
Phase-to-rate transformations encode touch in cortical neurons of a scanning sensorimotor system

Sensory perception involves the dual challenge of encoding external stimuli and managing the influence of changes in body position that alter the sensory field. To examine mechanisms used to integrate sensory signals elicited by both external stimuli and motor activity, we recorded from rats trained to rhythmically sweep their vibrissa in search of a target. We found a select population of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex that are transiently excited by the confluence of touch by a single vibrissa and the phase of vibrissa motion in the whisk cycle; different units have different preferred phases. This conditional response enables the rodent to estimate object position in a coordinate frame that is normalized to the trajectory of the motor output, as defined by phase in the whisk cycle, rather than angle of the vibrissa relative to the face. The underlying computation is consistent with gating by an inhibitory shunt.
Use of antisecretory agents as a trial of therapy.

Dyspepsia is a common clinical condition, and its diagnostic evaluation and treatment result in the expenditure of enormous healthcare resources each year. Studies indicate that the omeprazole test is the most sensitive and cost effective test for diagnosing gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) in patients with extra-oesophageal or more “classic” symptoms suggestive of GORD. Studies also indicate that a therapeutic trial of omeprazole in patients with dyspepsia results in greater symptom improvement and lower costs than treatment with less potent acid suppression.
Antioxidant administration attenuates mechanical ventilation-induced rat diaphragm muscle atrophy independent of protein kinase B (PKB Akt) signalling.

Oxidative stress promotes controlled mechanical ventilation (MV)-induced diaphragmatic atrophy. Nonetheless, the signalling pathways responsible for oxidative stress-induced muscle atrophy remain unknown. We tested the hypothesis that oxidative stress down-regulates insulin-like growth factor-1–phosphotidylinositol 3-kinase–protein kinase B serine threonine kinase (IGF-1–PI3K–Akt) signalling and activates the forkhead box O (FoxO) class of transcription factors in diaphragm fibres during MV-induced diaphragm inactivity. Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups: (1) control (Con), (2) 6 h of MV, (3) 6 h of MV with infusion of the antioxidant Trolox, (4) 18 h of MV, (5) 18 h of MV with Trolox. Following 6 h and 18 h of MV, diaphragmatic Akt activation decreased in parallel with increased nuclear localization and transcriptional activation of FoxO1 and decreased nuclear localization of FoxO3 and FoxO4, culminating in increased expression of the muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases, muscle atrophy factor (MAFbx) and muscle ring finger-1 (MuRF-1). Interestingly, following 18 h of MV, antioxidant administration was associated with attenuation of MV-induced atrophy in type I, type IIa and type IIb/IIx myofibres. Collectively, these data reveal that the antioxidant Trolox attenuates MV-induced diaphragmatic atrophy independent of alterations in Akt regulation of FoxO transcription factors and expression of MAFbx or MuRF-1. Further, these results also indicate that differential regulation of diaphragmatic IGF-1–PI3K–Akt signalling exists during the early and late stages of MV.
Single-stage optical numeric symbolic substitution

We discuss our cascaded correlator-based optical numeric processor and its projected performance (our goal is a numeric processor and not a general-purpose optical processor). We use symbolic substitution (for parallelism on long words and arrays of words), the modified signed-digit number representation (for speed, i.e. reduced carries), and a new encoding and substitution architecture to improve performance.
Dispersion and relaxation in the stress‐induced birefringence of amorphous selenium

The stress-induced birefringence (or piezobirefringence) of amorphous Se has been measured at room temperature for wavelengths between 1.15 and 0.77 μm. A ‘bond model’ is proposed to explain the long-wavelength photoelastic properties of this material. The dispersion in the piezobirefringence was fitted to the two-parameter phenomenological expression of Wemple and DiDomenico. The relaxation of the piezobirefringence under constant stress, and the recovery of the isotropy after return to zero stress have also been measured at room temperature. From the relaxation curves the birefringence relaxation time for the last Maxwellian element has been determined. Die durch mechanische Spannung induzierte Doppelbrechung von amorphem Se wurde bei Zimmertemperatur fur Wellenlangen zwischen 1,15 und 0,77 μm gemessen. Zur Erklarung der fotoelastischen Eigenschaften dieses Materials bei grosen Wellenlangen wird ein “Valenz-Bindung-Modell” vorgeschlagen. Die Dispersion der Spannungsdoppel-brechung wird durch Anpassung des phanomenologischen Zweiparameter-Ausdrucks von Wemple und DiDomenico beschrieben. Die Relaxation der Spannungsdoppelbrechung bei konstanter Spannung und die Wiederherstellung der Isotropie nach Wegnahme der Spannung werden bei Zimmertemperatur gemessen. Aus den Relaxationskurven wird die Relaxationszeit fur das letzte Maxwell-Element bestimmt.
Geochemical characteristics of crustal anatexis during the formation of migmatite at the Southern Sierra Nevada, California

We provide data on the geochemical and iso- topic consequences of nonmodal partial melting of a thick Jurassic pelite unit at mid-crustal levels that pro- duced a migmatite complex in conjunction with the intrusion of part of the southern Sierra Nevada batho- lith at ca. 100 Ma. Field relations suggest that this pelitic migmatite formed and then abruptly solidified prior to substantial mobilization and escape of its melt products. Hence, this area yields insights into potential mid-crustal level contributions of crustal components into Cordil- leran-type batholiths. Major and trace-element analyses in addition to field and petrographic data demonstrate that leucosomes are products of partial melting of the pelitic protolith host. Compared with the metapelites, leucosomes have higher Sr and lower Sm concentrations and lower Rb/Sr ratios. The initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of leucosomes range from 0.7124 to 0.7247, similar to those of the metapelite protoliths (0.7125-0.7221). However, the leucosomes have a much wider range of initial eNd values, which range from � 6.0 to � 11.0, as compared to � 8.7 to � 11.3 for the metapelites. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of the leucosomes, migmatites, and metapelites suggest disequilibrium partial melting of the metapelite protolith. Based on their Sr, Nd, and other trace-element characteristics, two groups of leucosomes have been identified. Group A leucosomes have rela- tively high Rb, Pb, Ba, and K2O contents, Rb/Sr ratios (0.15<Rb/Sr<1.0), and initial eNd values . Group B leucosomes have relatively low Rb, Pb, Ba, and K2O contents, Rb/Sr ratios (<0.15), and initial eNd values. The low Rb concentrations and Rb/Sr ratios of the group B leucosomes together suggest that partial melting was dominated by water-saturated or H2O-fluxed melt- ing of quartz + feldspar assemblage with minor involvement of muscovite. Breakdown of quartz and plagioclase with minor contributions from muscovite resulted in low Rb/Sr ratios characterizing both group A and group B leucosomes. In contrast, group A leuco- somes have greater contributions from K-feldspar, which is suggested by: (1) their relatively high K con- centrations, (2) positive or slightly negative Eu anoma- lies, and (3) correlation of their Pb and Ba concentrations with K2O contents. It is also shown that accessory minerals have played a critical role in regu- lating the partitioning of key trace elements such as Sm, Nd, Nb, and V between melt products and residues during migmatization. The various degrees of parent/ daughter fractionations in the Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd iso- topic systems as a consequence of nonmodal crustal anatexis would render melt products with distinct iso- topic signatures, which could profoundly influence the products of subsequent mixing events. This is not only important for geochemical patterns of intracrustal dif- ferentiation, but also a potentially important process in generating crustal-scale as well as individual pluton- scale isotopic heterogeneities.
Gain length fitting formula for free-electron lasers with strong space-charge effects

We present a power-fit formula, obtained from a variational analysis using three-dimensional free-electron laser theory, for the gain length of a high-gain free-electron laser's fundamental mode in the presence of diffraction, uncorrelated energy spread, and longitudinal space-charge effects. The approach is inspired by the work of Xie [Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 445, 59 (2000)], and provides a useful shortcut for calculating the gain length of the fundamental Gaussian mode of a free-electron laser having strong space-charge effects in the 3D regime. The results derived from analytic theory are in good agreement with detailed numerical particle simulations that also include higher-order space-charge effects, supporting the assumptions made in the theoretical treatment and the variational solutions obtained in the single-mode limit.
Intergenerational Continuity and Change in Rural Lives: Historical and Developmental Insights

Sudden forms of drastic social change have attracted the attention of developmentalists in recent years through their compelling hum an consequences. Examples include economic depressions, wars, and political transformations. This study focuses on a less visible but no less profound social change and its developmental im plications for children, the declining rural population. Using a sample of Iowa fathers (USA) who grew up on farm s, we compared the family experience and children of men who followed either the path of farm ing or of nonfarm em ployment. Farm children experience greater social inter-dependency with other family members, and this reinforces their feeling of social significance- they mattered for others and also shared responsibility for others. A s might be expected, farm youth acquired stronger attachments to their local community and family which were expressed in subsequent agricultural activities and goals. The antecedents and correlates of rural preferences begin to tell the story of...
Gingival overgrowth in children: epidemiology, pathogenesis, and complications. A literature review

Gingival overgrowth is the enlargement of the attached gingiva due to an increased number of cells. The most prevalent types of gingival overgrowth in children are drug-induced gingival overgrowth, hereditary gingival fibromatosis (HGF), and neurofibromatosis I (von Recklinghausen disease). Gingival overgrowth induced by drugs such as phenytoin, nifedipine, and cyclosporin develops due to an increase in the connective tissue extracellular matrix. According to epidemiologic studies, it is more prevalent in male children and adolescents. There is an additive effect of those drugs on the degree of gingival overgrowth. Genetic heterogeneity seems to play an important role in the development of the disease. Functional difficulties, disfigurement, increased caries, and delayed eruption of permanent teeth are the main complications of drug-induced gingival overgrowth. HGF is the most common syndromic gingival enlargement in children. This autosomal dominant disease usually appears at the time of eruption of permanent dentition. Histologically, it is characterized by highly collagenized connective tissue. The most important complications are drifting of teeth, prolonged retention of primary dentition, diastemata, and poor plaque control. Neurofibromatosis I is an autosomal dominant disease more common in mentally handicapped individuals. Gingival overgrowth is caused by the formation of plexiform neurofibromas in the connective tissue of the gingiva. Plexiform neurofibromas are pathognomonic of the disease and consist of hypertrophic nerves arranged as lobules in the connective tissue. Complications of the disease are multiple and severe due to neurofibromas and their occasional malignant transformation.
Towards a Brain-Computer Interface for Dexterous Control of a Multi-Fingered Prosthetic Hand

Advances in brain-computer interfaces (BCI) have enabled direct neural control of robotic and prosthetic devices. However, it remains unknown whether cortical signals can be decoded in real-time to replicate dexterous movements of individual fingers and the wrist. In this study, single unit activity from 115 task-related neurons in the primary motor cortex (Ml) of a trained rhesus monkey were recorded, as it performed individuated movements of the fingers and wrist of the right hand. Virtual multi-unit ensembles, or voxels, were created by randomly selecting contiguous subpopulations of these neurons. Non-linear hierarchical filters using artificial neural networks (ANNs) were designed to asynchronously decode the activity from multiple virtual ensembles, in real-time. The decoded output was then used to actuate individual fingers of a robotic hand. An average real-time decoding accuracy of greater than 95 % was achieved with all neurons from randomly placed voxels containing 48 neurons, and up to 80% with as few as 25 neurons. These results suggest that dexterous control of individual digits and wrist of a prosthetic hand can be achieved by real-time decoding of neuronal ensembles from the Ml hand area in primates.
Evaluating the Potential of Aerial Infrared as a Lek Count Method for Prairie Grouse

Abstract Wildlife biologists use counts of birds attending traditional breeding grounds (i.e., leks) to develop indices of population trends in several grouse species. Standardized lek counts for sage-grouse Centrocercus spp. provide information about population trends by allowing comparison of counts across their range. In contrast, biologists lack a standard lek-count method for prairie grouse Tympanuchus spp.. The lack of a standard lek-count method limits our ability to make rigorous spatial and temporal comparisons or to estimate population trends. Recent use of cooled infrared cameras in aerial surveys and their increased affordability make this technology attractive for monitoring prairie grouse populations. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of aerial infrared (AIR) technology for estimating abundance of prairie grouse by comparing AIR lek counts with ground-based lek counts of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse T. phasianellus columbianus in Idaho. We used both methods simultaneously to count ...
Walk, Wade, or Swim? Vertebrate Traces on an Early Permian Lakeshore

A new vertebrate track site in the Lower Permian Wellington Formation in north-central Oklahoma is described wherein tracks are found on a single dolomite bedding plane that can be traced along more than 1.6 km of disconnected outcrops. In excess of 1,400 tetrapod tracks, including 16 trackways, are documented. Because of extramorphological factors, it was not possible to identify ichnogenera with certainty, but five distinct morphotypes are described, and their possible affinities with known Permian ichnotaxa are given. All tracks appear to be undertracks of vertebrates walking on all fours, wading on their back legs, or swimming. It is proposed that one of these morphotypes was made by a web-footed trackmaker. Aspects of the ichnofauna and lithologic features suggest a lacustrine paleoenvironment for the track site, and could warrant further subdivision of the redbed ichnofacies.
Fertilization in the Mouse

To the murine spermatozoon, its conspecific egg in vivo must seem as remote and screened by obstacles as was the Holy Grail to the Knights of Chivalry. In order that the egg be fertilized, the sperm must overcome obstacles found in the female reproductive tract and surrounding the egg itself as well as prepare itself for the membrane fusion events that lead to its entry into the egg’s cytoplasm. In the laboratory, the technique of in vitro fertilization removes most of the naturally occurring impediments posed by the female reproductive tract and provides almost unobstructed access for the sperm to the egg and an unobstructed view for the investigator. The process by which the sperm and egg interact from time of initial contact to formation of male and female pronuclei may, as a result, be studied in detail. In the mouse, successful in vitro fertilization of isolated eggs was accomplished over 20 years ago (Whittingham, 1968). In the intervening period, clarification of the sequence of the reactions involved in mouse sperm—egg interaction leading to fertilization has begun, and the number and complexity of those reactions are now more fully appreciated. However, too much emphasis on in vitro experiments may serve to obscure the biology of fertilization. Section 2 of this chapter is, therefore, concerned with the natural route taken by the sperm to reach the egg and the ensuing events as fertilization occurs in vivo. Section 3 then describes in vitro studies aimed at understanding the reactions involved in direct sperm—egg interaction that culminates in fertilization of the egg. It is hoped that information gained from both in vivo and in vitro studies will permit the construction of a unifying description of the process of fertilization in the mammal.
Angiotensin II inhibits HCO-3 absorption via a cytochrome P-450-dependent pathway in MTAL.

The role of ANG II in the regulation of ion reabsorption by the renal thick ascending limb is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that ANG II (10−8 M in the bath) inhibits HCO 3 − absorption by 40% in the isolated, perfused medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) of the rat. The inhibition by ANG II was abolished by pretreatment with eicosatetraynoic acid (10 μM), a general inhibitor of arachidonic acid metabolism, or 17-octadecynoic acid (10 μM), a highly selective inhibitor of cytochrome P-450 pathways. Bath addition of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE; 10−8 M), the majorP-450 metabolite in the MTAL, inhibited HCO 3 − absorption, whereas pretreatment with 20-HETE prevented the inhibition by ANG II. The addition of 15-HETE (10−8 M) to the bath had no effect on HCO 3 − absorption. The inhibition of HCO 3 − absorption by ANG II was reduced by >50% in the presence of the tyrosine kinase inhibitors genistein (7 μM) or herbimycin A (1 μM). We found no role for cAMP, protein kinase C, or NO in the in...
Electrochemical techniques and their applications for chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) of metal films

The introduction of mechanically fragile low-k dielectrics in copper interconnects has severely limited the usable down pressure of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) for processing such structures. The CMP strategies emerging from this development in recent years have consequently become more reliant on the slurry chemistry to achieve planarization, while the mechanical function of CMP has assumed a comparatively reduced role. At the same time, the novel (and often chemically complex) barrier materials, as well as the multilevel copper lines (of highly variable widths) included in the new interconnect architectures have presented several additional challenges in the chemical design of metal CMP. The strict requirements of controlling surface defects while maintaining adequate material selectivity are particularly notable in this regard. Electrochemistry plays a vital role in these processing issues, because the chemical steps of CMP are largely governed by electrochemical reactions. Thus, electrochemical techniques are now recognized as essential tools for designing and evaluating the chemical protocols necessary to tackle the new challenges of metal CMP. This chapter focuses on these electrochemical aspects of metal CMP, and discusses the primary utilities as well as the phenomenological backgrounds of a number of related experimental techniques. The electrochemical basis of metal CMP is discussed to illustrate the corrosion–erosion characteristics of these systems. The experimental techniques considered in this discussion include potentiodynamic polarization, potentiostatic perturbation, open circuit voltage and galvanic measurements, impedance spectroscopy, electrochemical noise analysis, as well as pulsed voltage and triboelectrochemical methods. Illustrative experimental results of these techniques are presented to address various CMP aspects of Ta, TaN, Ru, Co, Mn, Al, and Cu.
Software defined digital beam forming processor

In this paper, we propose a software defined reconfigurable digital beam forming (DBF) system. The system produces 43-degrees beam-width with 22.7 dB main-to-side-lobe ratio (MSLR) and steer the beam with beam pointing accuracy of ±2 degrees with just 4 element antenna array. The proposed system is realized on the latest field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and digital signal processor (DSP). One of the two FPGAs performs data acquisition and down sampling while the other FPGA performs beamforming and sidelobe cancellation. The Texas Instruments (TI) DSP is used for online FPGA parameters configuration. Special purpose software is developed for online configuration and to display processing results. The system operates with 4-channels input IF signals taken from off the shelf radar simulator. To achieve the desired (MSLR), Dolph-Chebyshev's window is used to manipulate the signal after phase adjustment. After performing the side-lobe cancellation and beamforming by FPGA, the output is sent to computer via Compact Peripheral Computer Interconnect (CPCI) where the direction of arrival (DOA) of target and beam pattern is displayed.
Abstract 1724: BRAF inhibition is enhanced by BH3-mimetic through BIM induction.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Vemurafenib (Vem) is a highly selective inhibitor of mutant BRAF, FDA-approved for the treatment of patients with BRAF-positive advanced melanoma. While response rates to Vem are high, the emergence of resistance is common, placing high priority in the development of strategies to enhance Vem efficiency. Navitoclax is a BH3-mimetic that binds and inactivates the anti-apoptotic proteins BCL-2, BCL-xl, and BCL-w and leads to apoptosis in tumors with low expression of another anti-apoptotic protein, MCL-1. Our data demonstrates that treatment of BRAF-mutant melanoma patients with Vem is associated with decreased expression of MCL-1 in addition to an increase in the pro-apoptotic, BH3-only protein BIM in serial biopsy samples. Therefore, we hypothesize that the combination of PLX-4720 (Vem analog) with navitoclax will result in increased anti-tumor activity. To test our hypothesis, we performed cell viability studies, Annexin:PI and ELISA apoptosis assays in addition to protein and mRNA analysis. In-vivo studies were performed in two BRAF mutant xenograft models using navitoclax and PLX-4720. In-vitro, our cell viability studies demonstrated that concurrent treatment with PLX-4720 and navitoclax results in an additive viability reduction in BRAF mutant but not in BRAF WT cell lines. The decrease in cell viability correlated to downmodulation of MCL-1 and BIM induction after PLX-4720 treatment, with further enhancement of BIM expression and PARP cleavage after adding navitoclax. In vivo, the navitoclax enhanced the efficacy of PLX-4720 in both xenograft models. The combination of a selective BRAF inhibitor with a BH3-mimetic may be a promising therapeutic strategy to enhance the clinical efficacy of BRAF inhibitors. Citation Format: Dennie T. Frederick, Roberto A. Salas Fragomeni, Taylor Hoff, Zachary A. Cooper, James W. Mier, Jennifer A. Wargo, Ryan J. Sullivan. BRAF inhibition is enhanced by BH3-mimetic through BIM induction. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1724. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1724
Dynamics and impact of cotton fruit abscission and survival

Cotton fruit from a given location on the plant were assigned to cohorts. The quantity and causes of fruit abscission in each cohort were monitored in three management systems. The proportion of fruit abscission caused by insect pests was largest in the early season cohorts, whereas physical stresses caused increasingly more fruit abortion in later cohorts. Plants tolerate insect-induced fruit abortion by retaining more of the surviving fruit within the same cohort. When a cohort was severely injured, fruit survivorship was increased in subsequent cohorts to compensate for the loss. Fruit production, abscission, and retention were normally distributed, and the patterns were consistent enough to suggest that a cohort technique may be a useful modelling approach.
Globalizing the Economics Curriculum: A View from Japan

In recent years Japanese universities have been under pressure to internationalize their curricula and make undergraduate studies more cross-disciplinary. Many “reforms” have involved simple adjustments to existing programs; only a few institutions have gone so far as to develop entirely new programs of study. Senshu University, a leading private university in Tokyo, has undertaken a bold commitment to use economics as a foundation for integrated global studies. Senshu's experience suggests that there is an important role for using economic studies to internationalize undergraduate education.
Laser Welding of Fascial Grafts and its Potential Application in Tympanoplasty: An Animal Model:

This study evaluates the welding effect of argon laser on fascial grafts and its potential application in tympanoplasty. An animal model was designed so that surgically induced perforations of the lumbar fascia of the animals were grafted in an underlay fashion. Each graft was "spot welded" around the circumference of the perforation using a hand-held argon laser. Various lasing parameters were used on different grafts. Control perforations were grafted but not welded. A total of 96 perforations was studied. Weld sites were evaluated both histologically and by tensile strength measurement at the end of surgery, and at 7, 14, and 21 days postoperatively. Comparison with controls showed a higher tensile strength for welded grafts, which was most significant in the early postoperative period (p < 0.001). Histologically, it seems that the basic mechanism of fascial welding involves liquification and denaturation of extravasated proteins at the weld sites. Correlation between the extent of thermal damage on the tissues and the various lasing parameters is described. Based on the well-documented safety of argon laser in otologic surgery, and the successful welding of fascial grafts in this study, argon laser may prove beneficial in welding temporalis fascia grafts in tympanoplasty.
Vortex dynamics in spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates

A time-dependent Lagrangian formalism and a variational trial function is used to study the dynamics of a two-component vortex in a spin-orbit coupled Bose-Einstein condensate.
Root Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of Rice Cultivars with High Yield and High Nitrogen Use Efficiency

The difference of root morphological and physiological characteristics of low-yielding and low N-efficiency, high- yielding and medium N-efficiency, high-yielding and high N-efficiency rice cultivars was investigated using six representative japonica varieties under their optimum N levels. The results showed that the high-yielding genotypes showed distinct advantages over the low-yielding ones in root dry weight, root volume, total and active absorbing surface areas of root system, root oxidation ability of α-NA, and root bleeding intensity at each growth stage, indicating that the increase of productivity was accompanied by the improvement of root morphological traits and the enhancement of root physiological activities. Cultivars with different N-efficiency displayed diverse root morphological and physiological characteristics, even though they were all on a high-yielding level. Comparing with medium N-efficiency genotypes, the high N-efficiency ones showed lower root dry weight, root volume, root bleeding intensity and root total absorbing surface area for populations, but for single plants, the root dry weight, root volume, root bleeding intensity, active absorbing surface area and α-NA oxidation amount were superior in a significant or extremely sig-nificant degree. The results above suggest that the coordination of high-yielding with high N-efficiency could be achieved through controlling population growth properly, facilitating the concordant development of plant population and individuals, and endeav-oring to improve the single stem root quality after heading.
Taking Northern Irish Identity on the Road: The Smithsonian Folklife Festival of 2007

In the two weeks surrounding the July 4th holiday, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival is held annually on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Organized as an exhibition to increase and diffuse knowledge about grassroots culture, the event attracts considerable media attention. Focusing on ‘living cultural heritage from across the United States and around the world,’ it works to energize the ‘efforts of featured tradition bearers and organizations to continue their own research, education, cultural conservation and advocacy’ in their locales.2 With motivations like these, it is clear that the Smithsonian sees culture as vibrant and viable, full of the ‘pushes and pulls’ that enable it to exist with richness and color. However, other agendas come into play in the actual ‘performance’ of culture, and those enacting it on the international stage may have particular reasons for representing it through lenses that do not necessarily tell ‘the whole story.’
Testing Simple and Composite Hypotheses

This chapter focuses on the testing simple and composite hypotheses. A hypothesis, or a statistical hypothesis, is a nonempty set of joint density functions of some observable random variables. If a hypothesis consists of just one density function, it is called—a simple hypothesis; if it consists of more than one density function, then it is called—a composite hypothesis. The chapter illustrates the problems involving a simple hypothesis and a composite hypothesis or involving both composite hypotheses. It discusses a case where the hypothesis tested is simple and the alternative is composite. There are two methods of approaching hypothesis testing: one method is a purely rational approach, in which it is decided what properties the test of hypothesis should have and then the test is derived, which has those properties. A second method of obtaining tests is based on intuitive. The chapter discusses t-test, which is one of the more important tests in the field of statistical inference. The Analysis of Variance refers to a class of tests, which deal with several normal populations. These tests have a great deal of practical value, especially in research work in social and agricultural sciences.
Early Detection of Idiopathic Scoliosis in Adolescents.

The early detection of idiopathic scoliosis has been advocated since the 1950s and ’60s, concurrent with the development in the modern era of ambulatory spinal orthoses to treat scoliosis in adolescents. This led to the development of screening programs for specific populations, as evidenced by school screening programs in the United States and public health systems in Europe and Asia. Over time, the value of population screening in terms of optimal health care and economics has been debated in the popular press, by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and by professional societies. Recent studies on the effectiveness of bracing to prevent the progression of scoliosis, improved delineation of “at-risk populations,” and refined orthotic management programs with emphasis on the use of compliance monitors have influenced the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS), the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to update their position on screening for scoliosis and has led to a joint position statement on the topic. ### Screening for the Early Detection of Idiopathic Scoliosis in Adolescents This Statement was developed as an educational tool based on the opinion of the authors. It is not a product of a systematic review. Readers are encouraged to consider the information presented and reach their own conclusions. The AAOS, SRS, POSNA, and AAP believe that there has been additional useful research in the early detection and management of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) since the review performed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in 2004. This information should be available for use by patients, treating health care providers, and policy makers in assessing the relative risks and benefits of the early identification and management of AIS. The AAOS, SRS, POSNA, and AAP believe that there are documented benefits of earlier detection and non-operative management of AIS, earlier …