cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of prerigor freezing and postrigor calcium chloride injection on the tenderness of callipyge longissimus

The effect of rapid prerigor freezing and postrigor freezing and postrigor calcium chloride injection on the tenderness of callipyge longissimus was studied. Ewe and wether lambs (n = 49; 1/2 Dorset x 1/2 Romanov) were grain-fed and slaughtered at approximately 250 d of age. Based on leg conformation scores, 23 of the carcasses had the callipyge phenotype. Within each phenotype, approximately one-half of the carcasses were chilled conventionally (24 h at -2 degrees C). At approximately 17 min postmortem, the remaining carcasses were submersed in liquid nitrogen for 15 min and then held at -2 degrees C for 4 d. At 1 d postmortem for carcasses chilled conventionally and at 4 d postmortem for carcasses frozen in liquid nitrogen, the longissimus muscles from both sides were removed. The longissimus from one side of each carcass was vacuum-packaged and aged (1 degrees C) conventionally for 7 or 14 d. The remaining muscles were injected with a 2.22% solution of food-grade calcium chloride at 5% by weight, vacuum-packaged, and aged as above. Liquid nitrogen freezing was effective in limiting sarcomere shortening (1.99 vs 1.63 microm; P .05) to that of normal, untreated carcasses after 14 d of postmortem storage.
Effect of Stroke on Joint Control during Reach-to-Grasp: A Preliminary Study

We investigated changes in control of inter-segmental dynamics underlying upper extremity dyscoordination caused by stroke. Individuals with stroke and healthy individuals performed a natural reach-to-grasp movement. Kinetic analysis revealed that both groups rotated the shoulder by muscle torque and used interaction torque to rotate the elbow. However, individuals with stroke used interaction torque less than healthy individuals, actively suppressing a substantial portion of it. This resulted in inefficient use of active control and dyscoordination of the upper extremity. The degree of interaction torque suppression and inefficiency of active control at the elbow positively correlated with stroke severity. The increased interaction torque suppression can be a strategy used by individuals with stroke to compensate for deficient feedforward control of this torque.
Hypovitaminosis D is Associated with Psoriasis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory and immune-mediated skin disease that affects over 7.2 million U.S. adults. Current treatment has improved clinical outcomes. Vitamin D is believed to affect the proliferation and regeneration of keratinocytes; therefore, its deficiency is a possible risk factor; however, there is still no definite evidence. The objective of this study was to synthesize existing data on the relationship between hypovitaminosis D and psoriasis. Methods A meta-analysis of relevant studies was conducted by doing a comprehensive search in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register through July 2018 to identify relevant cohort studies and to assess serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in adults with psoriasis. The primary outcome was the mean difference in serum 25(OH)D level between psoriatic patients and controls. Results The initial search identified 107 articles. Only ten studies met the criteria for full-paper review. Meta-analysis was conducted from ten prospective cohort studies involving 6,217 controls and 693 cases. The pooled mean difference in serum 25(OH)D level between psoriatic patients and controls was -6.13 ng/ml (95% CI, -10.93 to -1.32, p-value = 0.01). The between-study heterogeneity (I2) was 98%, p < 0.00001. Conclusion Our meta-analysis was the first study to establish the relation between vitamin D and psoriasis. The result found a significant relationship between low 25(OH) D levels and psoriasis, but did not establish a causal relationship. Further studies will be required to establish whether vitamin D supplementation benefits patients with psoriasis.
Numerical Sequence Prediction using Bayesian Concept Learning.

When people learn mathematical patterns or sequences, they are able to identify the concepts (or rules) underlying those patterns. Having learned the underlying concepts, humans are also able to generalize those concepts to other numbers, so far as to even identify previously unseen combinations of those rules. Current state-of-the art RNN architectures like LSTMs perform well in predicting successive elements of sequential data, but require vast amounts of training examples. Even with extensive data, these models struggle to generalize concepts. From our behavioral study, we also found that humans are able to disregard noise and identify the underlying rules generating the corrupted sequences. We therefore propose a Bayesian model that captures these human-like learning capabilities to predict next number in a given sequence, better than traditional LSTMs.
Enriching Propane/Propylene Mixture by Selective Propylene Hydroformylation: Economic and Environmental Impact Analyses

Industrial propylene hydroformylation (PHF) processes use polymer-grade propylene (99.99 wt% propylene) obtained from the energy-intensive distillation of propylene/propane mixtures produced in pro...
Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Presenting as a Skin Nodule: Case Report and Review of the Literature

AbstractCutaneous metastasis from renal cell carcinoma is unusual. A patient is described who presented with a solitary skin metastasis 6 months after unilateral radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. In most instances, once cutaneous involvement is manifest the disease is widespread and has a poor prognosis. The skin should be examined during tumor evaluation as part of the physical examination and skin lesions in patients with renal cell carcinoma should be evaluated aggressively to rule out cutaneous metastasis.
Real-Time, Simultaneous DAS, ADMIRE, and SLSC Imaging Using GPU-Based Processing

Aperture Domain Model Image REconstruction (ADMIRE) is an adaptive imaging method that has been shown to reduce sources of ultrasound image degradation that include both off-axis scattering and multipath scattering. It does so by performing a model-based fit of the aperture domain data in order to reconstruct the data by only using model predictors that are within a specified region-of-interest. By doing so, model predictors that contribute to sources of acoustic clutter can be removed. Although ADMIRE can reduce sources of clutter, one of its drawbacks is its significant computational requirements. We have been working on improving the computational speed of ADMIRE through the use of parallel processing on GPUs, but we have yet to demonstrate real-time imaging with it. Therefore, in this work, we have interfaced our GPU-based implementation of ADMIRE with a Verasonics Vantage 128 ultrasound research system in order to perform real-time imaging. Moreover, we show how other methods including delay-and-sum (DAS) and short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) can also be computed and simultaneously displayed with ADMIRE.
Virologic outcomes of switching to dolutegravir functional mono- or dual therapy with a non-cytosine nucleoside analog: a retrospective study of treatment-experienced, patients living with HIV.

Dolutegravir (DTG) monotherapy results in virologic failure and the development of DTG resistance. Here, we evaluated virologic outcomes of patients switched to DTG functional mono- or dual therapy with a non-cytosine nucleoside analog (NA). This retrospective, single center study included treatment-experienced patients switched to regimens containing ≥ 2 antiretrovirals between 8/13/13–11/22/14 who were later found to be on DTG functional mono- or dual therapy with a non-cytosine NA based on historical genotypes. Eligible patients were either suppressed or viremic at baseline and had ≥ 2 HIV-1 RNA measurements at least 4 weeks apart following switch. Demographics, laboratory values and clinical parameters were extracted from the charts of all eligible patients during study treatment until 12/31/2018 and were summarized using descriptive statistics. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL following switch. Of 70 patients switched to DTG functional mono- or dual therapy, 39 were eligible; 19 (49%) were on DTG functional monotherapy and 20 (51%) were on DTG functional dual therapy with a non-cytosine NA. Historical genotypes indicated that all had an M184V/I, and 23 (59%) had an M184V/I and ≥ 1 additional NA mutation. The median duration of follow-up on study treatment was 50 weeks (range 12–244). Following switch, 32/39 (82%) patients achieved or maintained an HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL and 7 (18%) had persistent HIV-1 RNA ≥ 50 copies/mL. Five viremic patients were found to be on functional dual therapy with DTG plus a non-cytosine NA and 2 were on DTG functional monotherapy. Five of these patients had post-switch genotypes ordered as a part of routine clinical care and there was no evidence of treatment-emergent resistance. Five were switched to a different DTG-containing regimen and achieved HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL, 1 was switched to a non-DTG containing regimen and achieved HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL and 1 was lost-to-follow up at week 36. In this real-world cohort, the majority of whom had virus with the M184V/I and ≥ 1 additional NA mutation, switching to DTG functional mono-or dual therapy with a non-cytosine NA resulted in persistent HIV-1 RNA ≥ 50 copies/mL in 18%. None with post-switch genotypes developed treatment-emergent resistance.
Quantitative comparison between Matrix Pencil method and state-space-based methods for radar object identification

Approximating a function by a sum of complex exponentials to identify the nature of electromagnetic scatterers is treated with three model-based parameter-estimation methods. In particular, the Matrix Pencil Method and two State-Space-Based Harmonic-Retrieval methods are compared quantitatively. It is known that these methods generate very similar results in the absence of noise in the data and have only minor differences between them when the data is contaminated by noise. Since a quantitative comparison of the three methods has not been reported in the literature, this paper compares them by determining how accurately and quickly they predict the poles of the transient impulse responses of five electromagnetic systems: thin wire; perfectly conducting sphere; finite closed cylinder; dielectric sphere; composite metallic-dielectric sphere. It is important to note that these techniques are applied directly to the data and not to the covariance matrix, as noise statistics require additional information that is not available and the noise in electromagnetic scenes is generated typically by undesired signals in the form of a base-line shift in the measurement hardware instead of thermal background noise.
Resuming Bariatric Surgery Procedures During COVID-19 Pandemic: Early Surgical Outcomes at a Tertiary Referral Center in the Middle East

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, elective surgical procedures have been delayed. Even with the implementation of surgical societies' recommendations, patient safety remains a conce...
Chapter 19. Modulation of the Arachidonic Acid Cascade

Publisher Summary Prostaglandins are biosynthesized from arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid serves as a precursor for a virtual cascade of acidic lipids, each possessing distinct and profound pharmacological activities. Prostacycline (PGX) is both a potent inhibitor of platelet aggregation and an arterial vasodilator. The endoperoxides decompose into the fatty acid HHT. This transformation is probably a non-enzymatic artifact and no biological activity. Another fatty acid, HETE, formed from arachidonic acid by a platelet lipoxygenase has been found to exhibit chemotactic activity for neutrophils and eosinophils. Agonists design to exploit the potential therapeutic uses of the prostaglandins. Prostaglandin activities are to modulate the enzymes that control the tissue levels. Anti-inflammatory steroids exhibit potent inhibitory effects on prostaglandin production in rheumatoid synovial. Bradykinin releases prostaglandins from phospholipid in a variety of systems, an effect thought to augment the activities of this peptide. The local anaesthetic tetracaine and psychotropic drug meprobamates are reported to inhibit prostaglandin biosynthesis at the phospholipase level. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAI) agents owe their pharmacological activity to the inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis (PGBS). Both aspirin and dexamethasone depress the acute inflammatory response to carrageenin in rats. Deplete of arachidonic acid suggests that the activities other than PGBS inhibition contribute to the anti-inflammatory effects of both steroids and NSAl agents. Inhibition of PGBS by a series of NSAl agents appear to be better correlated with the analgesic effects than with the anti-inflammatory activity.
Finite Element Modeling of Structural Foam and Head Impact Interaction with Vehicle Upper Interior

Finite element modelling (FEM) and analysis of 15 mph spherical headform impact with component sections of upper interior structures of a pasenger compartment is presented. The finite element model validations are carried out through very good correlations of the predicted headform responses to those obtained from laboratory tests of spherical headform impact with vehicle components in unpadded and padded configurations. Such techniques can demonstrate the capacity of a well-defined model to help predict headform responses and the effect of adding foam padding and structural design changes on so called Head Injury Criteria (HIC). It is concluded that the application of finite element technique to head impact design issues has great potential for understanding structural design attributes and their effect on HIC measurements. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 875168.
Isolation and molecular characterization of a cDNA encoding the 23-kDa subunit of human RNA polymerase II.

Abstract We have shown that antibodies against native calf thymus RNA polymerase II and antibodies against its 23-kDa subunit cross-reacted with the 23-kDa subunit of human RNA polymerase II. Immunoglobin G (IgG) against the 23-kDa subunit of calf thymus RNA polymerase II inhibited transcription in vitro from the adenovirus major late promoter. By immunoscreening of a human placenta lambda gt11 cDNA library with IgG against native CT RNA polymerase II and with IgG against its 23-kDa subunit, we isolated and characterized a full length 1.2-kilobase cDNA. We also generated oligonucleotide probes from a sequence of amino acid residues obtained by a modified peptide microsequencing procedure. The cDNAs isolated both from oligoscreening and immunoscreening were identical. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence analysis indicates a polypeptide of 197 amino acid (23 kDa). The in vitro translation product of human cDNA HP-23 was precipitated by IgG against the 23-kDa subunit of CT RNA polymerase II. The amino acid sequence deduced from HP-23 showed no obvious homology with Escherichia coli RNA polymerase subunits or with any of its sigma factors.
Examination of the role of dendritic cells, macrophages and B cells in the function of vaccine adjuvants. (VAC6P.944)

Vaccines are vital in the fight against infectious diseases. Many vaccines are successful because of adjuvants added to their formulations or in the case of live attenuated vaccine because the adjuvant is inherent, however they have been used with little understanding of their mechanisms. PorB, a TLR2 agonist, is the major outer membrane protein of Neisseria meningitidis with potent adjuvant activity. In this study we investigated the role of individual antigen-presenting cell (APC) types in the adjuvant activity of PorB with comparisons to other vaccine adjuvants. WT mice and MyD88 APC floxed mice were immunized three times two weeks apart with ovalbumin (OVA) and either PorB, Alum, MF-59, MPL or CpG. We confirmed MyD88 deletion by qPCR on the purified cells and by measuring cytokines after stimulation with TLR ligand. Analysis of serum indicated that MyD88 in B cells, macrophages and dendritic cells is important for the production of PorB/OVA induced anti-OVA IgG. Alum, a MyD88 independent adjuvant, was able to induce strong anti-OVA IgG in mice that lacked MyD88 in any of these APCs. Interestingly the adjuvant activity of MF-59, which may be MyD88 dependent, were not affected by deletion of MyD88 in the different APC cell types, suggesting that if MyD88 is involved in its adjuvant activity, it must be due to stimulation of other cell types. These insights will aid in vaccine development by allowing more intelligent and judicious use of these and other vaccine adjuvants.
The ABC transporter Mrp4/Abcc4 is required for Leydig cell protection from chemotherapeutic drugs (844.1)

The thiopurines are widely used to treat a variety of diseases such as pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, adult promyelocytic leukemia, and irritable bowel disease. In both human and rodents, one toxic consequence attributed to 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) is detrimental reproductive effects related to impaired testosterone (T) production. The ABC transporter Mrp4 plays a protective role against 6MP toxicity as it exports 6MP nucleotide metabolites. As Mrp4 is highly expressed in human and rodent Leydig cells (LCs), we hypothesize it protects LCs against 6MP by extruding nucleotides from cells, promoting LC survival to maintain normal T synthesis. Administration of 6MP to Mrp4+/+ and Mrp4-/- mice produced a strong reduction in LCs, testicular T levels, and increased LC death in Mrp4-/- mice. However, as LCs are post-mitotic, the mechanism of death is unrelated to 6MP nucleotide incorporation into DNA. We show that cultured Mrp4-/- LCs are highly susceptible to 6MP, exhibiting cytotoxicity at doses 6-fold l...
VEP in the definition of eloquent cortical areas

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the usefulness and limitations of visual evoked potentials (VEP) for the definition of visual cortex. Repetitive visual stimuli elicit visual evoked potentials; patterned stimuli and unpatterned achromatic stimuli. Patterned stimuli can be applied monocularly or confined to one hemifield or quadrant. Various physical parameters define the occurrence and latencies of the visually evoked potentials, and need to be standardized to yield reproducible and comparable results. Unpatterned stimuli elicited by flashes of light are more variable than response to patterned stimuli. A series of alternating negative and positive waves can be recorded over the midoccipital region, of which wave IV is the most conspicuous positivity and probably analogous to P100. Two recent studies using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that the generator of P100 is located in the striate area; the primary visual cortex. Using a current dipole model and superimposition on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images, it could be demonstrated that the generator of P100m was located at the lateral bottom of the calcarine fissure, comprising a smaller part of the striate cortex than that proposed by the cruciform model that locates the generator over a wider area of the striate cortex including the calcarine and interhemispheric cortices.
Selective Utilization of Pyrimidine Deoxyribonucleosides for Deoxyribonucleic Acid Synthesis in Pneumococcus

When pyrimidine deoxyribonucleosides are supplied to growing cultures of Diplococcus pneumoniae, they are selectively used for incorporation into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Differently labeled molecules of deoxyuridine, thymidine, and deoxycytidine were used to study the precursor pathways of this organism. Each of these preformed pyrimidine deoxynucleosides is incorporated intact (i.e., without cleavage of the glycosidic bond) and is predominantly recoverable as DNA thymidine. During the utilization of deoxycytidine and deoxyuridine by pneumococci, large proportions of the available precursor are converted to free thymidine, which is secreted back into the growth medium. The biochemical pathways for selective incorporation into DNA and the regulation of concentrations of intracellular thymidine compounds by excretion of free thymidine are discussed.
Energy-efficient reconfigurable computing using Spintronic memory

Reconfigurable computing platforms enable rapid prototyping of arbitrary logic, but purely spatial fabrics suffer from issues with scalability and power consumption. Novel reconfigurable frameworks are being developed which similarly allow arbitrary function mapping, but do so with a mixture of spatial and temporal computing, improving scalability and energy efficiency over purely spatial fabrics. Embedded memories within these frameworks enable rapid function evaluation through lookup table operations, making the memory read/write behavior and power consumption critical design considerations. Emerging nonvolatile nanoscale memories demonstrate enhanced cell density, reliability, and read access performance over modern memory devices, promising vast improvements in energy efficiency for memory-based reconfigurable hardware platforms. Using Spintronic memory, an average 5% improvement in EDP over FPGA can be achieved in a memory-based framework, and tailoring the mapping to exploit features of spintronic memory can further improve EDP an average 1.6%.
Fast hierarchical implementation of sequential tree-reweighted belief propagation for probabilistic inference

Maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) inference on Markov random fields (MRF) is the basis of many computer vision applications. Sequential tree-reweighted belief propagation (TRW-S) has been shown to provide very good inference quality and strong convergence properties. However, software TRW-S solvers are slow due to the algorithm's high computational requirements. A state-of-the-art FPGA implementation has been developed recently, which delivers substantial speedup over software. In this paper, we improve upon the TRW-S algorithm by using a multi-level hierarchical MRF formulation. We demonstrate the benefits of Hierarchical-TRW-S over TRW-S, and incorporate the proposed improvements on a Convey HC-1 CPU-FPGA hybrid platform. Results using four Middlebury stereo vision benchmarks show a 21% to 53% reduction in inference time compared with the state-of-the-art TRW-S FPGA implementation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the fastest hardware implementation of TRW-S reported so far.
5.1. Introduction

Publisher Summary Magnetic resonance has been a powerful tool in the study of defects in solids. Its power comes in no small part from the fact that it probes the microscopic structure of defects. The information content in a magnetic resonance spectrum is sufficiently rich to allow the drawing of important conclusions regarding defect structure. Both nuclear and electron resonance can easily distinguish different elements as the resonance signals for different elements occur at different magnetic fields for a specific irradiation frequency. The essential features of magnetic resonance arise from the fact that nuclei of many elements and electrons are characterized by intrinsic magnetic moments. The magnitude of this magnetic moment is different for different nuclei and can be used to identify the nucleus. This chapter introduces the basic phenomenon of magnetic resonance. It also derives an expression relating the electromotive force (emf) generated in the coil to the voltage across a tuned circuit containing the coil.
Warts and All: Ethical Dilemmas in Implementing the Coteaching Model

In diesem Beitrag werden die ethischen Dilemmata untersucht, mit denen Forschende konfrontiert wurden, die sich zwischen ihren eigenen philosophischen Perspektiven und denen ihrer Kollegen und Kollegen aus dem Feld auftaten. Ethische Probleme wurden dabei auf drei verschiedenen Ebenen sichtbar: wahrend der Durchfuhrung des "Coteaching", im Zusammenhang mit unseren Forschungsbemuhungen zum Coteaching und im Rahmen der Diskussion unserer Ergebnisse. Statt zu einer spezifischen Schlussfolgerung zu gelangen, thematisiert dieser Artikel die Probleme und ihre jeweilige Komplexitat. Unsere Absicht ist es, durch einen solchen Metalog den Dialog unter den Lehrern und Lehrerinnen voran zu treiben, die eine Einbettung des Coteaching in schon vorhandene traditionelle Programme planen. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0604181
A comparison of bone loss from different skeletal sites during acute calcium deficiency in mice

Severe Ca deficiency was produced by the combined stresses of a Ca-deficient diet and lactation in female mice. Alveolar bone loss was assessed by changes in alveolar crest height and in quantity of supporting trabecular bone. Changes in the femur were measured by changes in mineral content and in the cross-sectional area of the midshaft region, and in vertebrae by changes in mineral content. A similar decrease in bone was observed in all sites during progression of Ca deficiency with a similar increase during recovery. Maximum bone loss amounted to more than 50 per cent. Alveolar bone loss was characterized by a reduction in trabecular bone without loss of alveolar crest height.
Electroencephalographic observations on patients undergoing cortisone and ACTH therapy.

THE influence of adrenocorticotropin and of cortisone on the brainwave pattern has been casually considered in many studies which have dealt with the clinical aspects and influence of these substances on various diseases for which they have been tried. In 1947 Grenell and McCrawley (1) reported an “increase in amplitude and some change in frequency of brain waves” after administration of adrenocortical extract to experimental animals and humans. Boland and Headley (2) elicited an increase in alpha frequency following cortisone administration. In 1949 Thorn (3) reported a decrease of slow activity and an increase of fast activity along with the general improvement of the electroencephalogram patterns when compound E was given to patients with Addison's disease. There are, however, very few detailed reports with serial electroencephalograms which deal with the effects of these hormones on the brainwave patterns, and the workers on the subject have come to different conclusions.
A synthetic, self-oscillating vocal fold model platform for studying augmentation injection.

Summary Objective To design and evaluate a platform for studying the mechanical effects of augmentation injections using synthetic, self-oscillating vocal fold models. Study Design Basic science. Methods Life-sized, synthetic, multilayer, self-oscillating vocal fold models were created that simulated bowing via volumetric reduction of the body layer relative to that of a normal, unbowed model. Material properties of the layers were unchanged. Models with varying degrees of bowing were created and paired with normal models. Following initial acquisition of data (onset pressure, vibration frequency, flow rate, and high-speed image sequences), bowed models were injected with silicone that had material properties similar to those used in augmentation procedures. Three different silicone injection quantities were tested: sufficient to close the glottal gap, insufficient to close the glottal gap, and excess silicone to create convex bowing of the bowed model. The above-mentioned metrics were again taken and compared. Pre- and post-injection high-speed image sequences were acquired using a hemilarynx setup, from which medial surface dynamics were quantified. Results The models vibrated with mucosal wave–like motion and at onset pressures and frequencies typical of human phonation. The models successfully exhibited various degrees of bowing which were then mitigated by injecting filler material. The models showed general pre- to post-injection decreases in onset pressure, flow rate, and open quotient and a corresponding increase in vibration frequency. Conclusion The model may be useful in further explorations of the mechanical consequences of augmentation injections.
An Investigation of Gain Enhancement of Microstrip Antenna by Using Inhomogeneous Triangular Metamaterial

Metamaterial have been shown to enhance specific performance parameters of low profile antennas. In this paper we investigate appreciably enhancement of the gain a radiation pattern of a low profile micro strip patch antenna by placing a metamaterial slab above it (as a super strate) using CST MWS simulator. This paper proposes a metamaterial super strate surface as a reflective surface for micro strip patch antenna (MPA). The MTM structure was a combination of the triangular SRR (TSRR) and the wire strip (WS) to obtain negative values of permittivity a permeability. The gain of the MPA with MRS is around 5 dB higher than that of conventional MPA on FR4 substrate. These improvements were due to negative refraction characteristics of LHM structure that converts into super-lens, when placed in front of the antenna. The small spacing between MRS and the patch surface was another merit in the present design, which was as low as ?/10 as it results in low profile antenna design, that will suits in modern wireless communication system.
Reproductive responses of male microtus montanus to photoperiod, melatonin, and 6-MBOA

Juvenile male Microtus montanus were examined for the effects of photoperiod, melatonin, and the naturally occurring reproductive stimulant 6-MBOA on growth and sexual maturation. 6-MBOA, present in sprouting grass, is an important environmental cue used for the initiation of reproduction in natural populations of this species. Long photoperiod (16:8) was stimulatory to body, testes, and seminal vesicle growth, while short photoperiod (8:16) inhibited these parameters. The pineal hormone melatonin, administered via daily afternoon injections (5 micrograms), was also inhibitory to all of the above parameters as well as to serum testosterone. 6-MBOA, administered via injection (0.0001-100 micrograms) or dietary means (0.1 or 1.0 microgram/gm unsifted chow), appeared unable to augment the rate of maturation in long-photoperiod-stimulated animals. When short-photoperiod animals were treated with high doses of the compound (100 micrograms injected or 1.0 micrograms/gm sifted chow), body and gonadal growth was inhibited to a greater extent than when animals were exposed to short photoperiod alone, and serum LH was reduced. Lower doses of the compound had no effect. Melatonin-treated animals experienced less maturational inhibition when simultaneously given a low dose of 6-MBOA-coated chow (1.0 micrograms/gm unsifted chow). A higher dose of 6-MBOA (1.0 micrograms/gm sifted chow) was ineffective in preventing the response to melatonin. These results indicate that 1) male M. montanus utilize photoperiod, rather than 6-MBOA, as a primary environmental cue, 2) high doses of 6-MBOA can be inhibitory under short photoperiod, 3) juvenile male voles are highly sensitive to the inhibitory effects of exogenously administered melatonin, and 4) 6-MBOA can partially prevent the inhibitory effects of melatonin on growth and sexual maturation.
Purity Analysis of the Pharmaceuticals Naproxen and Propranolol: A Guided-Inquiry Laboratory Experiment in the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory

Counterfeiting and adulteration of prescription drugs, herbal products, and food supplements are a global challenge, causing serious economic loss to drug marketers and health implications for humans. Accordingly, accurate determination of the purity of pharmaceuticals is critical for the quality assurance of prescription drugs. Herein, the first purity analysis of pharmaceuticals naproxen and propranolol in a guided-inquiry laboratory experiment (GILE) setting as part of an undergraduate instrumental analysis laboratory course is reported. The students were able to independently design analytical procedures to determine the purity and percentage composition of suspected adulterated naproxen samples with minimal supervision of the instructor. The results of the determined percentage compositions of naproxen by the students favorably compared with the known compositions of naproxen in their GILE samples provided by the instructor, with a root-mean-square percent relative error of 3.24%. The majority of the...
The Gendering of Modernism

Women Artists and Writers: Modernist (im)positionings by Bridget Elliott and Jo-Ann Wallace, London and New York: Routledge, 1994, 204 pp., 63 b. & w. illus., £15.99 Women artists and the Parisian avant-Garde: Modernism and ‘feminine’ art, 1900 to the late 1920s, by Gill Perry, Manchester and New York: University of Manchester Press, 1995, 186 pp., 32 col. plates, 71 b. & w. illus., £16.99 Seeing and Consciousness: Women, Class and Representation by Gen Doy, Oxford and Washington, DC: Berg Publishers, 1995, 205 pp., 54 b. & w. illus., £14.99
Fundamental Behavior of Steel Beam-Columns and Columns under Fire Loading: Experimental Evaluation

This paper presents the results of experimental investigations conducted to determine the fundamental behavior of steel members under fire loading. A total of eleven full-scale steel members were tested under combined thermal and structural loading. First, five A992 steel beam-columns (W10×68) were tested to determine their fundamental moment-curvature responses at elevated temperatures and different axial load levels. The experimental approach involved the use of radiant heating and control equipment to apply the thermal loading, and close-range photogrammetry combined with digital image processing techniques to measure the deformations (curvature) in the heated zone. Next, six A992 steel wide-flange (W8×35 and W14×53) columns were tested to determine their inelastic buckling behavior and axial load-displacement responses at elevated temperatures. A self-reacting test frame was designed to subject the column specimens to axial loading and heating. The thermal loading was applied by using the same type of...
Identification of three class II antigens, DR7, MB2, and MT3, from a homozygous human cell line

The class II antigens from a homozygous DR7 human B cell line were isolated by immunoprecipitation with human alloantisera or monoclonal antibodies. Three class II light chains and three class II heavy chains were identified. The heavy and light chain subunits of the DR7 antigen were distinct from those of the MB2 antigen as assessed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. A third light chain in addition to the DR7 and MB2 subunits was precipitated by some alloantisera containing MT3 antibodies. The monoclonal antibodies examined immunoprecipitated one or more of the three class II antigens. The MB2 antigen appeared to be the same as the major antigen recognized by L227 and the DS7 antigen precipitated by SG171.
Uterine epithelial cell regulation of DC-SIGN expression inhibits transmitted/founder HIV-1 trans infection by immature dendritic cells.

Background Sexual transmission accounts for the majority of HIV-1 infections. In over 75% of cases, infection is initiated by a single variant (transmitted/founder virus). However, the determinants of virus selection during transmission are unknown. Host cell-cell interactions in the mucosa may be critical in regulating susceptibility to infection. We hypothesized in this study that specific immune modulators secreted by uterine epithelial cells modulate susceptibility of dendritic cells (DC) to infection with HIV-1.
Maladies of our souls: identity and voice in the writing of academic international relations

Drawing primarily, but not exclusively on the work of Julia Kristeva and Roland Barthes on language, writing, and ‘the subject’, I examine the issue of identity and writing in international relations. I argue that what has come to be labeled ‘critical’ or ‘radical’ constructivism rather insistently points in the direction of opening up spaces for discussing our own writing and exploring our own voices in what we write, though this has not been actively pursued. Sociologist Avery Gordon uses the phrase ‘making common cause’ to argue that our encounters with the social world ‘must strive to go beyond the fundamental alienation of turning social relations into just things we know and toward our own reckoning with how we are in these stories, with how they change us’. It seems to me that this is not possible without giving attention to the issue of voice, specifically the voice we use when we write about international relations. To speak of voice is to raise many interesting and important questions, to ponder...
Epidural Analgesia: A Viable Option for Pain Control

Epidural analgesia is an important intervention for both acute and chronic pain management. It has been in use since the early 1900s, but the technique using local application of opiate analgesics has only been in use since the late 1970s (Moulin & Coyle, 1986). Today, many patients receive epidural analgesia for postoperative pain control, and its use for acute or chronic pain management in a hospital, pain clinic, or home setting also continues to increase. Epidural analgesia is also being utilized to manage acute pain in the pediatric client. Epidural analgesia requires meticulous techniques, beginning with placement of the epidural catheter and continuing with administration of medications and nursing management of the catheter. Nursing assessment and development of protocols along with preoperative and postoperative patient and family teaching are vital components of the total plan of care. The nurse practitioner (NP) or other health care provider must be cognizant of safety considerations, whether in the hospital environment, pain clinic, or home setting.
Organotypic slice cultures for analysis of proliferation, cell death, and migration in the embryonic neocortex.

Abstract Dynamic cellular interactions during neocortical neurogenesis are critical for proper cortical development, providing both trophic and tropic support. Although cell proliferation and programmed cell death have been characterized in dissociated primary cell cultures, many in vivo processes during cortical neurogenesis depend on cell–cell interactions and therefore on the three-dimensional environment of the proliferating neuroblasts and their progeny. Here we describe a murine organotypic neocortical slice preparation that retains major morphological and functional in vivo characteristics of the developing neocortex and is viable (exhibits very low levels of cell death) for up to three days. Moreover, this slice preparation is amenable to direct experimental manipulation of potential diffusible regulators of neurogenesis. Using a variety of biochemical and physiological methods including time-lapse and quantitative confocal microscopy, we demonstrate that this system can be used effectively to investigate cellular mechanisms important for brain growth and maturation, including neurogenesis, apoptosis, and neuronal migration.
Excess linear series on an algebraic curve

We prove that the dimensions of the varieties WTd of complete linear series of degree d and dimension at least r on a curve satisfy the inequal- ities dim Wjj > dimWJ — (r — 1). In particular, a curve with oo2 g\'s must have a g?_1- In (4) it was seen that new results in the theory of linear systems on an algebraic curve could be obtained by using properties of ample vector bundles. The purpose of the present note is to make some further observations along the same lines. Specifically, for any curve C of genus g, we denote by Wr = Wd(C) the variety of complete linear systems of degree d and dimension at least r on C. Our goal is to prove
Tumor Boundary Optical Labeling Using Fluorescence

We describe a method of fluorescent labeling of tumor boundaries that uses an enzyme involved in the wound healing process to link infrared-labeled substrate into the tumor boundary.
Repression of the c-myb Gene by WT1 Protein in T and B Cell Lines

The c-myb gene is primarily expressed in immature hematopoietic cells, and it is overexpressed in many leukemias. We have investigated the role of negative regulatory sites in the c-myb promoter in the Molt-4 T cell line and in the DHL-9 B cell line. A potential binding site for either the EGR-1 or WT1 protein was identified by in vivo footprinting in the 5′-flanking region of c-myb in a region of negative regulatory activity in T cells. We showed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay Western that WT1, EGR-1, and Sp1 bound to this site. A mutation of this site which prevented protein binding increased the activity of the c-myb promoter by 2.5-fold. In the DHL-9 B cell line, this site was nonfunctional; however, we found a potential EGR-1/WT1 site located more 3′ in a region of negative regulatory activity. We showed that WT1, EGR-1, and Sp1 bound to this site, and that mutation of this site increased the activity of the c-myb promoter by 3.2-fold. Cotransfection of a WT1 expression vector repressed the activity of the c-myb promoter in both cell lines, and this repression was relieved when the EGR-1/WT1 sites were removed. Cotransfection of either an EGR-1 or Sp1 expression vector had no significant effect on the activity of the c-myb promoter. We conclude that WT1 is a negative regulator of c-myb expression in both T and B cell lines.
Contour abnormalities of the abdomen after breast reconstruction with abdominal flaps: the role of muscle preservation.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether contour abnormalities of the abdomen after breast reconstruction with abdominal flaps are related to the harvest of the rectus abdominis muscle. Abdominal contour was analyzed in 155 women who had breast reconstruction with abdominal flaps; 1
Supplementing Bacillus sp. RS1 with Dechloromonas sp. HZ for enhancing selenate reduction in agricultural drainage water.

Abstract Cost and efficiency are two important factors considered in the remediation of Se-contaminated agricultural drainage water through bacterial reduction of soluble Se(VI) to insoluble Se(0). Bacillus sp. RS1 isolated from rice straw was assessed for its ability to use inexpensive molasses to reduce Se(VI) in agricultural drainage water containing NO 3 − levels of 0, 50, 100, 250, and 500 mg/L. The results showed that Se(VI) (1000 μg/L) was almost entirely reduced to Se(IV) (62.7%) and Se(0) (36.4%) by Bacillus sp. RS1 in synthetic agricultural drainage (SAD) water without the presence of NO 3 − . The reduction Se(VI) to Se(0) was limited in the SAD water with NO 3 − levels of 100, 250, and 500 mg/L. The addition of Dechloromonas sp., a NO 3 − reducer, to the SAD water not only increased NO 3 − removal, but also enhanced Se(VI) reduction by Bacillus sp. RS1. During an 8-day experiment, 98–99% of the added Se(VI) was reduced to Se(0) with small amounts of Se(IV) and Se(-II) in the SAD water containing 100 and 250 mg/L NO 3 − . The addition of Dechloromonas sp. HZ to the natural agricultural drainage water also significantly increased the reduction of Se(VI) (748 μg/L) by Bacillus sp. RS1, with a production of Se(0) (65%) and Se(-II) (32%). These results suggest that a combination of Bacillus sp. RS1 with Dechloromonas sp. HZ has great potential with the use of inexpensive molasses to remediate Se-contaminated agricultural drainage water containing relatively high NO 3 − levels.
Strategic Role Taking and Political Struggle: Bearing Witness to the Iraq War

U.S. and Canadian peace activists traveled to Iraq as a social movement tactic, in the buildup to the war and during the war itself, in an attempt to sustain or increase peace activism at home. Based on interviews with fourteen peace activists, this study analyzes how the presence of antiwar activists in Iraq serves two social movement goals. First, their presence in Iraq bestowed activists increased access to media, bolstering their ability to reframe the war within mainstream media accounts. Second, by traveling to Iraq, activists furnished themselves with stories of the hardships and suffering of war to share with audiences at home. By retelling these narratives, activists provide opportunities and obligations for audience members to imaginatively take the role of Iraqi civilians, in the hope that audience members will practice moral reasoning and be consequently moved to act against the war. To provide these role-taking opportunities, peace activists must also engage in a political struggle over “otherhood” by countering official attempts to dehumanize Iraqis.
Patinkin on Keynes and Meltzer

Abstract Don Patinkin's discussion of alternative interpretations of Keyne's General Theory gave considerable weight to an author's motivation, particularly mine. Patinkin also restates his view that the General Theory offers a short-run disequilibrium approach. I suggest that textual interpretation in economics should not consider motives because better methods are available and are now used. I propose three standards. Applying these standards, I find little support for Patinkin's interpretation of the General Theory . Although my interpretation better meets the three standards, I conclude that the General Theory does not have a single correct interpretation.
The Isolation, Characterization, and Identification of the Crystalline Inclusions of the Large Free-Living Amebae

Amoeba proteus, Amoeba dubia, and Chaos chaos all contain similar plate-like and bipyramidal cytoplasmic crystals. Isolated crystals, purified by recrystallization from water, yield plate-like crystals which have been shown to be identical with synthesized carbonyl diurea (triuret) with regard to physicochemical properties, elemental analysis, x-ray diffraction patterns, infrared spectra, and optical properties. The birefringent plates found in the cytoplasm are carbonyl diurea. While the exact composition of the isotropic plates and of the bipyramids is not clear at present, the major constituent of these crystal types is also carbonyl diurea. It is suggested that carbonyl diurea is a nitrogen excretion product, not previously found in living organisms, and probably represents an end product of purine metabolism in amebae.
Pegasus, PONI and the iPad: A Thirty Year Strategic Alliance Creates an Environment for Technical Innovation and Enhanced Academic Support at Southern Methodist University

ABSTRACT Southern Methodist University's libraries and central IT staff have been working hand in hand for more than 30 years to provide high quality information technology tools in support of the University's academic mission. The technology might change, the players might change, but the commitment of these two units goes above and beyond to serve University goals. Not intended to document every technological change on campus, this article focuses on the various stages in this fruitful relationship, and explores the organizational, cultural and environmental factors that have sustained this strategic alliance and fostered its growth over the years.
Stripping cross-sections for fast, low charge state ions

Abstract The n -body classical trajectory Monte Carlo method has been used to estimate the cross-sections for electron loss from fast, low charge state ions after collision with BeF 2 . The two ions investigated were 20 MeV/u (2.6 GeV) Xe q+ and 40 MeV/u (8.4 GeV) Bi q+ , q =1–12. The systems were chosen because of their relevance to the HYLIFE-II scenario. Single and multiple electron loss cross-sections for up to 10 stripped electrons were computed for each ion charge state. Multiple electron loss accounts for up to 50% of the total cross-section for these low charge state systems. To simulate the charge state evolution of the ions in a reactor focusing chamber, the calculated cross-sections were incorporated into rate equations assuming a BeF 2 target density of 5×10 13 molecules/cm 3 . At a position 3 m into the reactor chamber, incident Xe + and Bi + charge states are reduced to less than 1% of the total flux with the dominant charge states being Xe 8+ and Bi 6+ , respectively.