cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improving the Administration of Justice

NO MORE important duty confronts the American lawyer than that of improving the administration of justice. The development of the law in all its branches is, of course, his concern; but he has already done a fairly good job in the development of the sub stantive law. This he has done because the substantive law arises out of the life of the people, and changing conditions of life are quickly mirrored in statutes and court decisions. The procedural or adjective law, how ever, dealing with the functioning of the courts, is the creation of more or less arbitrary rules or statutes; and change in this is dependent upon conscious effort on the part of courts and lawyers. Those who under stand the existing system of procedural rules are in clined to be satisfied with it because anything seems simple to one who understands it, and any change in volves effort and disturbance of habit; and those who do not understand it are generally lacking in the ability to suggest improvements. The result is that court pro cedure in most of our states has not kept pace with the progressive age in which we are living. Where technical common law procedure has been abandoned, codes of procedure have been overloaded with statutory rules, resulting generally in a procedure more compli cated and cumbersome than that of the common law itself.
Endogenous opioid regulation of hippocampal function.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the anatomy and physiology of opioids in the hippocampus. It also discusses the roles of opioids in learning and memory processes and epileptogenesis. Endogenous opioid peptides modulate neural transmission in the hippocampus. Proenkephalin-derived peptides have been demonstrated to act at mu and delta opioid receptors to inhibit GABA release from inhibitory interneurons, resulting in the increased excitability of hippocampal pyramidal cells and dentate gyrus granule cells. Prodynorphin-derived peptides primarily act at presynaptic kappa opioid receptors to inhibit excitatory amino acid release from perforant path and mossy fiber terminals. Opioid receptors reduce membrane excitability by modulating ion conductances; and in this way, they may decrease voltage-dependent calcium influx and transmitter release. Synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus also is modulated by endogenous opioids. Enkephalins facilitate long-term potentiation, whereas dynorphins inhibit the induction of this type of neuroplasticity. Opioids may play important roles in hippocampal epilepsy. Recurrent seizures induce changes in the expression of opioid peptides and receptors. Also, enkephalins have proconvulsant effects in the epileptic hippocampus, whereas dynorphins may function as endogenous anticonvulsants.
What’s Past is Prologue: Future Messages of Cosmic Evolution

Even before the first search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) experiment was conducted, people have been pondering what reply we might send if some day we discover an extraterrestrial civilization. Some have suggested that the United Nations would be the international body of choice for deciding such a question and that would seem one appropriate starting point. The challenge that the international SETI community has faced is gaining a space on the already full agenda of the United Nations; indeed, the preface to the existing SETI protocols endorsed by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and the International Institute of Space Law explicitly acknowledges the difficulty of gaining the attention of the United Nations. If some day we detect direct evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, all that may well change, but what are we do to in the meantime?
Mechanisms of rapid glucocorticoid feedback inhibition of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis

Stress activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis culminates in increased circulating corticosteroid concentrations. Stress-induced corticosteroids exert diverse actions in multiple target tissues over a broad range of timescales, ranging from rapid actions, which are induced within seconds to minutes and gene transcription independent, to slow actions, which are delayed, long lasting, and transcription dependent. Rapid corticosteroid actions in the brain include, among others, a fast negative feedback mechanism responsible for shutting down the activated HPA axis centrally. We provide a brief review of the cellular mechanisms responsible for rapid corticosteroid actions in different brain structures of the rat, including the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and in the anterior pituitary. We propose a model for the direct feedback inhibition of the HPA axis by glucocorticoids in the hypothalamus. According to this model, glucocorticoids activate membrane glucocorticoid receptors to induce endocannabinoid synthesis in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and retrograde cannabinoid type I receptor-mediated suppression of the excitatory synaptic drive to PVN neuroendocrine cells. Rapid corticosteroid actions in the hippocampus, amygdala, and pituitary are mediated by diverse cellular mechanisms and may also contribute to the rapid negative feedback regulation of the HPA neuroendocrine axis as well as to the stress regulation of emotional and spatial memory formation.
Linking operational clustered taxonomic units (OCTUs) from parallel ultra sequencing (PUS) to nematode species

DNA-sequence-based approaches such as single nematode PCR and sequencing have been successfully used in nematode species diagnostics. Here, we use SSU rDNA sequences generated from an artificially-assembled community of nematodes of known identity and relative abundance to assess a relationship between nematode species and operationally clustered taxonomic units (OCTUs). OCTUs that formed at 95% similarity underestimated species richness by ca 30%, and all expected species were recovered only at 99% OCTU similarity. Although the number of OCTUs formed at 99% similarity was considerably higher than the actual number of nematode species, a pattern of the distribution of OCTUs within each species allowed an assignment of OCTUs to specific species. The pattern was highly predictable and helped to discern rather than obscure species recognition. The patterns and parameters that emerged from the control nematode dataset were then used to test our approach on environmental samples of nematodes obtained from a tropical rainforest in Costa Rica.
Prenatal diagnosis of hemophilia involving grandpaternal mosaicism.

Our Factor VIII and RFLP analyses identified previously unreported grandpaternal hemophilia A mosaicism in a male who transmitted the disease allele to 2 of 4 daughters and 2 of 4 grandsons. An uncommon flanking polymorphic DXS52 allele cosegregated with this grandpaternal mutant allele. This and other reports of mosaic hemophilia A carriers indicate that parental mosaicism can explain unusual segregation of loe Factor VIII activities and DNA polymorphism in about 1% of hemophilia A pedigrees. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cyclometalated 6-Phenyl-2,2′-bipyridyl (CNN) Platinum(II) Acetylide Complexes: Structure, Electrochemistry, Photophysics, and Oxidative- and Reductive-Quenching Studies

Three cyclometalated 6-phenyl-4-(p-R-phenyl)-2,2′-bipyridyl (CNN-Ph-R) Pt(II) acetylide complexes, Pt(CNN-Ph-R)(CCPh), where R = Me (1), COOMe (2), and P(O)(OEt)2 (3), have been synthesized and studied. Compounds 1 and 3 have been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography and are found to exhibit distorted square planar geometries about the Pt(II) ions. The electrochemical properties of the compounds, as determined by cyclic voltammetry, have also been examined. Complexes 1−3 are brightly emissive in fluid CH2Cl2 solution and in the solid state with λemmax of ca. 600 nm and lifetimes on the order of ca. 500 ns in fluid solution. The emissions are assigned to a 3MLCT transition. The complexes undergo oxidative quenching by MV2+ with quenching rates near the diffusion-controlled limit (kq ∼ 1.4 × 1010 M−1 s−1) in CH2Cl2 solution. Reductive-quenching experiments of complexes 1−3 by the amine donors N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylphenylenediamine (TMPD), phenothiazine (PTZ), and N,N,N′,N′-tetra...
Style Matters: Helping Students Develop Good Style.

Style is distinct from correctness be cause it is concerned not with observing the conventions of a language, but with choosing among alternate sentence structures and word choices that are equally correct to produce graceful, clear writing. Nor is style a decorative overlay on the content of writing. Style is the very expression of content. The two can hardly be separated. Just as there is no such thing as a "neutral" dialect?everybody speaks a dialect, whether aware of it or not?there is no such thing as writing without style. Even technical documents, which are er roneously considered style-less, are written with style. Technical writers, just like novelists, essayists, and poets, make stylistic decisions?choosing pre cise words, deciding how much infor mation to put in a sentence, avoiding awkward repetitions of sounds. Style encompasses more than I can attempt to cover in this article. Besides word choice, figurative language, and sound, style also involves relationships among sentences and between the flow of information and the reader's expec tations. Although I will be touching on some of these aspects of style, I want to focus on the sentence. It is the easiest unit to work with and tells us most of what we need to know.
0.13-/0.15-μm production reticle process window qualification procedure for 200-mm manufacturing fab

The increasing complexity of Resolution Enhancements Techniques (RET) in optical lithography requires careful qualification of new reticle designs when they arrive at the wafer fab before commiting them to printing product. In order to qualify the reticle designs at the wafer level, process window qualification (PWQ) is performed by inspecting wafers printed with the reticles to be qualified. The output from the wafer inspection tool provides information on the regions of marginality within the reticle field or features within the die which can have a smaller than expected process window. tsmc Fab 6, an advanced high volume production foundry fab, uses an effective and efficient standardized PWQ procedure to qualify new incoming reticle designs described herein.
Studies with glucosyl transferase mutants of the T-even bacteriophages.

Abstract Amber and non-amber T-even gt phages and their gt + revertants have been isolated and characterized extensively for amount of glucosylation and growth on various Escherichia coli restrictive hosts. From these studies we conclude that what determines the pattern of T-even gt restriction is the existence on the T-even gt DNA of specific nucleotide sequences, which when not properly glucosylated can serve as substrates for the E. coli restricting enzymes. Evidence is presented that the gt mutations affect the structural genes that code for the glucosyl transferase enzymes, that methylation plays no role in the restriction of gt DNA by the r 6 and r 2,4 restricting functions of E. coli , that glucosylation does not affect the process by which T4 excludes T2, and that even in permissive host cells the absence of glucosylation hinders gt phage growth by an as yet undetermined mechanism.
The orangutan adult alpha-globin gene locus: duplicated functional genes and a newly detected member of the primate alpha-globin gene family.

Abstract We have cloned and sequenced the complete alpha 1- and alpha 2-globin genes of the orangutan, and here we compare them to the homologous genes of the human. The pattern of similarity apparent among the genes is most consistent with a model of gene correction operating on the primate alpha-globin cluster. This correction breaks down in both human and orangutan in the 3'-untranslated region at 14 base pairs downstream from the termination codon. The unit evolutionary period values calculated for either the replacement substitution or the silent substitutions are only slightly higher than the previously established molecular clock predicts. The 7-base-pair insertion in intron 2 of the human alpha 1-globin gene is not present in either orangutan gene, suggesting that this insertion is not the cause of the sequence divergence in the 3'-untranslated regions of primate alpha 2- and alpha 1-globin genes. Finally, blotting hybridization and partial DNA sequencing reveal a newly detected member of the primate alpha-globin gene family, which is located downstream from the duplicated adult alpha-globin genes.
Sodium appetite induced in rats by chronic administration of a thiazide diuretic

Characteristics of hydrochlorothiazide (HCZ)-induced sodium appetite were examined in rats fed with low sodium diet to which HCZ was added. Compared with controls, HCZ induced a robust appetite for 0.1 and 0.3 M NaHCO3. The intake of 0.3 M NaCl was only about one half that of NaHCO3, but was still greatly above control. In both cases, the intake of the sodium solution exceeded that of water, so the rats were taking a hypertonic mixture. The appetite was evident in both Sprague-Dawley and Long-Evans rats, but appeared to be more stable in the latter strain over at least 1 month. The diuretic and natriuretic effect of HCZ was sustained over this period. Plasma renin activity was elevated substantially in HCZ-treated rats, but aldosterone concentration was decreased. Administration of HCZ in food is a simple and reliable method for inducing a sustained, substantial, and need-based salt appetite in rats.
Precipitation in an as-atomized nickel-based superalloy powder

The microstructure of argon-atomized Rene 95 powder has been characterized by a combination of transmission and scanning-transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Specimen preparation techniques have been developed in order to obtain samples suitable for such analyses, and similar but complementary micro-structural features are revealed by each technique. Dendritic and cellular structures, both on the surface of the powder particles and in the interior, are delineated by fine precipitates. These have been identified as MC-type carbides, containing Nb and Ti, with some Cr, Ni, Mo and W.
Nerve growth factor combined with vascular endothelial growth factor enhances regeneration of bladder acellular matrix graft in spinal cord injury-induced neurogenic rat bladder.

OBJECTIVE To determine the combined effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on regeneration of the bladder acellular matrix graft (BAMG) in spinal cord injury (SCI)-mediated neurogenic bladder in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS In all, 40 female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. At 8 weeks after spinalization surgery (neurogenic bladder), they were divided into five groups consisting of untreated controls and those whose bladders were injected with either no growth factor, NGF (2 µg/rat), VEGF (2 µg/rat) or both at partial BAMG replacement surgery. After 8 weeks, bladder function was assessed by urodynamic studies and the bladders were harvested for histological examination. Smooth muscle induction, collagen and nerve fibre regeneration were assessed immunohistochemically using antibodies to smooth muscle actin (α-actin), Masson’s trichrome and protein gene product 9.5, respectively. RESULTS Bladder capacity and compliance were significantly increased in all BAMG groups 8 weeks after surgery compared with that before bladder replacement surgery. Bladder capacity and compliance were much higher in the VEGF and NGF combined group than in the control, or NGF and VEGF alone groups. There was no significant difference in the residual volume ratio among all groups. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report showing that NGF has a significant synergistic effect on the development, differentiation and functional restoration of the BAMG when administered with VEGF in neurogenic bladder. Our results indicate that NGF may be a useful cytokine for enhancing the regeneration of a functional bladder following acellular matrix grafting in a neurogenic rat model.
Morgan Freeman’s Black Male Body as Unforgiven

This short introductory reflection focuses on the image of Morgan Freeman’s dead body in the 1992 Western remake of the movie Unforgiven. The performance is part eulogy, effigy, and epitaph for the...
Distributed Algorithm for Lifetime Maximization in a Delay-Tolerant Wireless Sensor Network with a Mobile Sink

We propose an algorithm for maximizing the lifetime of a wireless sensor network when there is a mobile sink and the underlying application can tolerate some amount of delay in delivering the data to the sink. The algorithm is distributed, and in addition, mostly uses local information. Such an algorithm can be implemented by parallel and/or distributed execution and the overhead of message passing is low. It is also possible to embed the algorithm into a network protocol so that the sensor nodes and the sink can run it directly as part of the network operation. We give a proof of the algorithm's optimality and the boundedness of the queue sizes, both in the long-run average sense. The proof is based on analyzing a Lyapunov drift.
Follow-Up Comparison of Short-Term Versus 1-Year Antithyroid Drug Therapy for the Thyrotoxicosis of Graves' Disease*

We have treated 68 thyrotoxic patients with Graves' disease with a single daily dose of 30 mg methimazole until they were clinically euthyroid and their plasma thyroid hormone concentrations were within normal limits. Sixteen of 56 patients (29%) treated 4.8 ± 0.2 months (mean ± SEM; range, 1.5–8.5) for their initial attack of thyrotoxicosis have remained in remission for 54.4 ± 7.7 months (range, 12–105). Twenty-seven of the patients who relapsed were treated with a subsequent 1- yr course of methimazole. Five of these patients (19%) have maintained a remission for 29.6 ± 10.8 months (range, 3–66); the remainder relapsed after 7.1 ± 2.3 months (range, 1–50). If the patients lost to follow-up while known to still be in remission are excluded, the sustained remission rate is 12 of 52 (23%) for initial short term therapy and 3 of 25 (12%) for the subsequent 1-yr of antithyroid treatment. The results of short term antithyroid drug treatment in 12 patients previously treated with long term antithyroid drugs o...
OPAvion: mining and visualization in large graphs

Given a large graph with millions or billions of nodes and edges, like a who-follows-whom Twitter graph, how do we scalably compute its statistics, summarize its patterns, spot anomalies, visualize and make sense of it? We present OPAvion, a graph mining system that provides a scalable, interactive workflow to accomplish these analysis tasks. OPAvion consists of three modules: (1) The Summarization module (Pegasus) operates off-line on massive, disk-resident graphs and computes graph statistics, like PageRank scores, connected components, degree distribution, triangles, etc.; (2) The Anomaly Detection module (OddBall) uses graph statistics to mine patterns and spot anomalies, such as nodes with many contacts but few interactions with them (possibly telemarketers); (3) The Interactive Visualization module (Apolo) lets users incrementally explore the graph, starting with their chosen nodes or the flagged anomalous nodes; then users can expand to the nodes' vicinities, label them into categories, and thus interactively navigate the interesting parts of the graph.In our demonstration, we invite our audience to interact with OPAvion and try out its core capabilities on the Stack Overflow Q&A graph that describes over 6 million questions and answers among 650K users.
Phase correction at millimeter wavelengths using observations of water vapor at 22 GHz

We present results from phase correction efforts at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory millimeter array (OVRO). A brief description of the theory of phase correction is followed by a description of the water line monitors (WLMs) constructed and placed on each of the six antennas of the array. A summary of the current software in place is also included. We present examples of data corrected using this technique and the first image created using radiometric phase correction at OVRO. The phase correction system is undergoing further development and will soon be made available for general observing at the array. A brief discussion of application of the technique for future arrays (e.g. MMA, LSA, etc.) is included as a conclusion to this contribution.
A comparison of improved cooling and hypercubic smearing for topology on dynamical Asqtad lattices

Abstract We present a comparison of two highly optimized methods for extracting the topological charge density of a lattice based on smoothing away non-topological fluctuations. The methods are Improved Cooling and Hypercubic Smearing. We find that while the two methods differ significantly in their philosophy and formulation, they produce surprisingly similar results after a few sweeps. This supports the notion that, at least after the initial sweeps, the surviving topological information they produce is physical.
Induced mood and curiosity

It has been suggested that a decline in curiosity is one characteristic manifested by depressed individuals. However, no experimental research has examined the relationship between depression and curiosity. In this study, the Velten mood induction procedure was utilized to examine the relationship between curiosity and affect, and to investigate the effects of induced mood on ratings of surprise, perceived value of information, and desire for additional knowledge. A total of 39 female and 21 male undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three mood conditions: a depression mood condition, an elation mood condition, or a neutral mood condition. Results indicated that subjects made temporarily depressed reported significantly less state curiosity, perceived value of information, and desire for additional knowledge than elated or neutral subjects. Implications of these findings are discussed.
SOME FACTORS INVOLVED IN TRIMETHYLAMINE N‐OXIDE (TMAO) DEMETHYLATION IN POST MORTEM RED HAKE MUSCLE

The pH optimum for demethylation of TMAO in minced red hake muscle at –5C was approximately 7.0. This value was higher than the pH optimum for the crude soluble enzyme in an anaerobic system utilizing flavin and NADH and for an aerobic system with ferric iron and ascorbate but was similar to the pH optimum observed with the flavin-NADH system in the presence of air. Both the anaerobic and aerobic flavin-NADH systems had sufficient activity in the presence of optimal concentrations of cofactors to account for all of the demethylation of TMAO observed in minced muscle. Comparison of concentrations of flavins and NADH and their rate of change during storage at temperatures both below and above freezing with previously determined kinetic constants suggest that this cofactor system may be critical in determining the rate of TMAO demethylation in post mortem red hake muscle. The extent of TMAO breakdown at –5C caused by the iron-ascorbate system was barely sufficient to account for the amount of DMA produced in the minced muscle. With the relatively low concentrations of iron and ascorbate present in the tissue, this system seems unlikely to be a major factor in TMAO degradation in situ.
Wall Shear Stress Inference From Two and Three-Dimensional Turbulent Boundary Layer Velocity Profiles

A method is developed to infer a local wall shear stress from a two-dimensional turbulent boundary layer velocity profile using all near-wall data with the Spalding single formula law of the wall. The method is used to broaden the Clauser chart scheme by providing for the inclusion of data in the laminar sublayer and transition region, as well as the data in the fully turbulent near-wall flow region. For a skewed velocity profile typical of pressure driven three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer flows, the method is extended to infer a wall shear stress for a three-dimensional turbulent boundary layer.
Spontaneous extrusion of an intraocular lens implant.

Abstract A 51-yeir-old man with ankylosing spondylitis had intracapsular cataract extraction and anterior chamber lens implantation in the left eye in 1985. He had localized sclerokeratitis around the corneal section and a protracted anterior uveitis in the immediate postoperative period. He developed a spontaneous extrusion of the implant in 1991 (six years later). The extrusion was through a site 1.5 mm posterior to the previous surgical section. There was no corneal decompensation or corneal melt and no history of trauma. Signs of localized scleritis were present. It is suggested that anterior clamber lens implantation should be avoided under these circumstances.
New Alternately Colored FRET Sensors for Simultaneous Monitoring of Zn2+ in Multiple Cellular Locations

Genetically encoded sensors based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) are powerful tools for reporting on ions, molecules and biochemical reactions in living cells. Here we describe the development of new sensors for Zn2+based on alternate FRET-pairs that do not involve the traditional CFP and YFP. Zn2+ is an essential micronutrient and plays fundamental roles in cell biology. Consequently there is a pressing need for robust sensors to monitor Zn2+ levels and dynamics in cells with high spatial and temporal resolution. Here we develop a suite of sensors using alternate FRET pairs, including tSapphire/TagRFP, tSapphire/mKO, Clover/mRuby2, mOrange2/mCherry, and mOrange2/mKATE. These sensors were targeted to both the nucleus and cytosol and characterized and validated in living cells. Sensors based on the new FRET pair Clover/mRuby2 displayed a higher dynamic range and better signal-to-noise ratio than the remaining sensors tested and were optimal for monitoring changes in cytosolic and nuclear Zn2+. Using a green-red sensor targeted to the nucleus and cyan-yellow sensor targeted to either the ER, Golgi, or mitochondria, we were able to monitor Zn2+ uptake simultaneously in two compartments, revealing that nuclear Zn2+ rises quickly, whereas the ER, Golgi, and mitochondria all sequester Zn2+ more slowly and with a delay of 600–700 sec. Lastly, these studies provide the first glimpse of nuclear Zn2+ and reveal that nuclear Zn2+ is buffered at a higher level than cytosolic Zn2+.
Pulmonary involvement by chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma is a specific pathologic finding independent of inflammatory infiltration

Pulmonary infiltrates in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) are usually secondary to infection, but a subset is due to pathologic infiltration of malignant lymphocytes into the lung parenchyma. In cases with both CLL/SLL and inflammatory infiltrates, it is unknown whether the CLL infiltrate represents a nonspecific "passenger effect" secondary to ongoing inflammation or pathologic leukemic pulmonary infiltration (LPI). We reviewed 49 lung biopsies taken from 38 patients with CLL/SLL. LPI was found in 2 of 21 cases (9.5%) with acute inflammation, 0 of 10 cases of chronic inflammation and in 7 of 18 cases (38.8%) without any pathologic findings of acute or chronic inflammation (p = 0.01). These results demonstrate that LPI identified in biopsies with concurrent inflammation is uncommon, and that most inflammatory infiltrates in patients with CLL do not cause "passenger effect" CLL infiltration. Therefore, LPI usually represents a specific pathologic process. We conclude that bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsy is an effective tool for guiding treatment decisions for symptomatic patients with CLL with pulmonary infiltrates. Moreover, LPI by CLL is not a bystander effect secondary to acute inflammation, but instead represents a distinct pathologic process in a subset of patients.
EFFECT OF SHORT TERM SEX STEROID THERAPY ON SOMATOMEDIN-C GENERATION IN GROWTH HORMONE DEFICIENT CHILDREN

Sex steroids (SS) are known to stimulate linear growth and increase somatomedin-C (Sm-C) levels in normal children. To determine if SS potentiate the Sm-C response to growth hormone (GH) or if this increase is secondary to SS enhanced GH secretion, we investigated the effects of short term SS therapy on immunoreactive Sm-C levels in GH deficient children. Six males were treated with oxandrolone (0.125 mg/kg/d) and 4 females with ethinyl estradiol (0.25 ug/kg/d) before and during GH therapy (0.1 IU/kg/d). Sm-C levels were determined before starting therapy (basal), three days after beginning SS, three days after combined GH + SS, and three days after GH alone.
Perspectives on dilution jet mixing

A microcomputer code which displays 3-D oblique and 2-D plots of the temperature distribution downstream of jets mixing with a confined crossflow has been used to investigate the effects of varying the several independent flow and geometric parameters on the mixing. Temperature profiles calculated with this empirical model are presented to show the effects of orifice size and spacing, momentum flux ratio, density ratio, variable temperature mainstream, flow area convergence, orifice aspect ratio, and opposed and axially staged rows of jets.
Fine-needle aspiration of cystic pancreatic mucinous tumor: oncotic cell as an aiding diagnostic feature in paucicellular specimens.

In juxtaposition with imaging studies, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration has gained popularity in the initial evaluation of pancreatic masses, especially cystic lesions of pancreas. Cystic pancreatic mucinous tumors include mucinous cystic neoplasm and intraductal papillary mucinous tumor, both of which have been known to have a low malignant potential and a high rate of association with invasive adenocarcinoma. As such, preoperative diagnosis is of great significance in guiding patient management. Although fine-needle aspiration cytological diagnosis of pancreatic tumor in cellular specimens has been well described, as with other cystic lesions, the yield of diagnostic cells from needle aspiration of cystic pancreatic mucinous tumors is typically low. Cytological diagnosis from these paucicellular specimens remains challenging. An additional compounding problem is the high frequency of gastrointestinal mucin and epithelial contamination. The diagnostic morphology and criteria in these paucicellular specimens have not been well addressed in the literature. The cytopathologists' ongoing efforts tend to improve the diagnostic accuracy. In this current study, oncotic cells, characterized by cytoplasmic swelling and karyolysis, were analyzed from 17 cases of cystic pancreatic mucinous tumor, of which the diagnosis was either confirmed by surgical resection or supported by cell block and/or increased CEA. Oncotic cells were found in variable amounts in almost all the cystic pancreatic mucinous tumors in this series. None of the five fine-needle aspirations intended for aspirations of hypoechoic nonlesional pancreas, which yielded either gastrointestinal tract material only or admixture of gastrointestinal and normal pancreatic components, was found to contain oncotic cells, evidencing the utility of oncotic cell as a surrogate morphologic marker in aiding the diagnosis of cystic pancreatic mucinous tumor as well as its differentiation from gastrointestinal contaminant, particularly in paucicellular specimens. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Influence of the Gonads on Cortisol Secretion in Female Rhesus Macaques

Circadian and ultradian patterns of plasma cortisol were assessed in four intact female rhesus macaques during both the late follicular (days 9-10) and midluteal (days 21-22) phases of the menstrual cycle and compared to patterns in four ovariectomized macaques. Blood samples were drawn from a remote site at 15-min intervals for 24 h via an indwelling catheter. Measures of estrogen and progesterone were obtained for each subject. For purposes of data analyses, group cortisol measurements were collapsed across hourly intervals and submitted to analysis of variance. Pulsatile characteristics of cortisol release were determined for each subject using the PULSAR computer program. Circadian cortisol patterns, present in all three groups, were characterized by a progressive rise during early morning hours (0300-0600 h), followed by a decline of short duration. All groups then displayed an unexpected midday peak (0900-1400 h), at which time cortisol levels reached their daily zenith. In each of the three groups,...
Infectious Causes of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in the United States and many other regions of the world. Our understanding of the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer, from the precursor adenomatous polyp to adenocarcinoma, has evolved rapidly. Colorectal carcinogenesis is a sequential process characterized by the accumulation of multiple genetic and molecular alterations in colonic epithelial cells. However, the development of colorectal cancer involves more then just a genetic predisposition. External or environmental factors presumably play a significant role, and inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, alcohol consumption, and a diet high in fat and low in fiber have all been implicated as risk factors for the development of either colonic adenomas or carcinomas. We are becoming increasingly aware of microbes as causes of malignancies. This article reviews the various microbes that have been associated with the development of colorectal carcinomas.
Expanding the role of unattended ground sensors to multi-tiered systems

Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) have recently gained momentum in surveillance and protection applications. Many of these Unattended Ground Sensors are deployed in current operations today across the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In addition to UGS needs, there is a growing desire to leverage existing UGS for incorporation into higher level systems for a broadening role in defense and homeland security applications. The architecture to achieve this goal and examples of non-traditional scenarios that leverage higher level systems are discussed in this paper.
The renin-angiotensin system during pregnancy in chronically instrumented, conscious rats

Whether the renin-angiotensin system is activated during rat gestation is controversial. Therefore we serially assessed plasma renin activity in unrestrained, chronically instrumented conscious rats during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Plasma renin activity was 3.26 +/- 0.30, 2.80 +/- 0.31, and 2.70 +/- 0.26 ng.ml-1.hr-1 on gestational days 6, 12, and 20, respectively. When the same rats were studied after delivery, plasma renin activity was 1.87 +/- 0.29, 1.81 +/- 0.09, and 2.31 +/- 0.35 ng.ml-1.hr-1 on postpartum days 3, 6, and 11, respectively. Levels measured during pregnancy were significantly greater than in the postpartum period (p less than 0.05 or less than 0.01). We then evaluated potential functional consequences of the renin-angiotensin system in gravid rats. Near term, renal hemodynamics fall from the peak levels of midgestation; we tested whether angiotensin II mediates this apparent vasoconstriction. Captopril (1.5 mg/kg, 1.5 mg.kg-1.hr-1) was acutely administered to lower circulating angiotensin II. The drug produced an 80% inhibition of angiotensin I pressor response, a tenfold elevation in plasma renin activity, but caused the same degree of mild renal vasodilation in rats whether they were virgin or pregnant. We also tested whether prior occupancy of receptors by endogenous hormone or receptor downregulation mediates the attenuated pressor response to angiotensin II observed during late pregnancy. Acute administration of captopril failed to augment refractory pressor responsiveness. Chronic treatment with enalaprilat (2.0 mg.kg-1.day-1 by osmotic minipump) also did not restore pressor responsiveness. But, in our hands, chronic administration of enalaprilat most likely failed to lower plasma angiotensin II. In summary, we suggest that during rat gestation (1) the renin-angiotensin system is activated, (2) angiotensin II does not mediate the apparent renal vasoconstriction observed near term, (3) prior receptor occupancy by endogenous hormone is not responsible for the attenuated pressor response to angiotensin II, and (4) long-term treatment with enalaprilat can produce hypotension without reducing plasma concentrations of angiotensin II.
Origin and fate of a one-male savanna babbon group formed by fissioning

An adult male chacma baboon,Papio hamadryas ursinus, emigrated from his habituated natal group at age 100 months and joined a neighboring multimale-multifemale group. Subsequently this male, together with eight adult females, all with infants <1 year old, formed a one-male group (OMU). The male was the only adult male in this group for over 200 days. Circumstantial evidence shows that shared parentage of the infants with this male determined which females joined the new group. In addition, 10 juveniles younger than 4.5 years joined the new group. Based upon persistent close physical association, especially at sleeping sites, these juveniles were presumed to be the older independent progeny of the eight adult females. Thus, the founding elements of the new group were the adult male and partial matrilines—mothers, their infants, and their independent juvenile offspring. The OMU status of the group ended with the sequential intrusion of three males known to be low ranking in other groups. The first of these intruders was successful in joining the OMU in spite of the OMU male's earlier successes in rebuffing this and other potentially high-ranking males. Six additional males later entered the fission group during a 6-month interval. Two of them outranked the original male. All additional males present in the last 100 days of observations came from the same group, which was not the group of origin of the females.
Complexation properties of phosphonocarboxylic acids in aqueous solutions

The concentration formation constants of phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) complexes with the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions were determined in aqueous solution at 25°C by potentiometric and coulometric titrations at different ionic strengths and were extrapolated to I=0 in order to obtain thermodynamic values of the formation constants. Complexes were formed by the completely deprotonated K f (ML) and monoprotonated K f (MHL) forms of the PAA anion. The respective values for the complexes are: log K f (CaL)=4.68±0.03, log K f (CaHL)=2.61±0.08; log K f (MgL)=5.58±0.09, log K f (MgHL)=3.0±0.3. The enthalpy and entropy of complexation for the deprotonated Ca2+ and Mg2+ PAA species, determined from the temperature dependence of the log K f (ML), are: ΔH0(Ca) =0.6±0.2 kcal-mol−1, ΔS0(Ca)=21.4±0.6 cal-mol−1-K−1, ΔH0(Mg)=3.0±0.7 kcal-mol−1, and ΔS0(Mg)=35±2 cal-mol−1-K−1. It is seen there-fore, that the complexes are entropy stabilized but enthalpy destabilized. Formation constants were also determined for Ca2+ and Mg2+ complexes with PAA analogs, phosphonoformic and 3-phosphonopropionic acids and the complexation of PAA was also studied at a single ionic strength, with Na+, Ag+, Tl+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+ ions.
Elasticity of networks with permanent and thermoreversible cross-links

Simplified models of flexible chain and stiff fiber networks are introduced to address how the network elasticity becomes modified when the cross-linking is thermoreversible in nature and changes in the stability of the network with deformation. These idealized models apparently able to capture many aspects of the elastic properties of real networks.
Evaluation of Three Electron-Donor Permeable Reactive Barrier Materials for Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination of Trichloroethene

ABSTRACT Understanding the fate of complex electron-donor materials is important for developing efficient biostimulation strategies to treat ground water contamination by chlorinated ethenes (CEs). The fermentation product distributions and H2 production of common permeable reactive barrier (PRB) carbon substrates (dairy whey, sodium lactate syrup, and Hydrogen Release Compound [HRC]) were monitored as measures of substrate efficiency in aquifer microcosms spiked with trichloroethene (TCE). In long-term experiments, the fermentation of PRB substrates to slow-degrading organic acids maintained low H2 partial pressures (≤ 10−3.5) that, as previous studies suggest, may give competitive advantage to dechlorinators over hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Whey-amended and lactate-amended microcosms exhibited faster complete dechlorination and, according to organic acid carbon flow, higher rates of fermentation to acetate. In HRC-amended microcosms, propionate appeared to serve as a carbon sink that prolonged dechlor...
The distribution of weighted sums of the Liouville function and Pólyaʼs conjecture

Under the assumption of the Riemann hypothesis, the Linear Independence hypothesis, and a bound on negative discrete moments of the Riemann zeta function, we prove the existence of a limiting logarithmic distribution of the normalisation of the weighted sum of the Liouville function, Lα(x)=∑n⩽xλ(n)/nα, for 0⩽α<1/2. Using this, we conditionally show that these weighted sums have a negative bias, but that for each 0⩽α<1/2, the set of all x⩾1 for which Lα(x) is positive has positive logarithmic density. For α=0, this gives a conditional proof that the set of counterexamples to Polyaʼs conjecture has positive logarithmic density. Finally, when α=1/2, we conditionally prove that Lα(x) is negative outside a set of logarithmic density zero, thereby lending support to a conjecture of Mossinghoff and Trudgian that this weighted sum is nonpositive for all x⩾17.
Biology of the Sand Roller in the Central Columbia River

Abstract The sand roller, Percopsis transmontana, is endemic to the Columbia River and its tributaries. The species occurs at depths to 4 m over rock and sand bottom at temperatures of 2.5 C in winter to 20.5 C in summer. The fork length (FL, mm)-weight (W, g) relationship of the sand roller is log eW = 10.65 + 2.91 logeFL. Sand rollers attain at least age VI and 103 mm FL. Fish growth is greatest during the first year of life and declines after maturity at age II-III. Spawning occurs in midsummer. Aquatic insect larvae (mainly Diptera and Trichoptera) are the major food items, but crustacean zooplankton constitute a greater portion of the diet of immature fish less than 40 mm FL.
Myosin heavy chain is a dominant parasite antigen recognized by antibodies in sera from donors with filarial infections.

Two Brugia malayi cDNA clones, denoted Bm 9 and Bm 21, were identified on the basis of immunoreactivity with human sera from microfilaremic and amicrofilaremic subjects infected with Wuchereria bancrofti, and the nucleotide sequence determined as described previously [1]. The complete nucleotide sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence of the larger clone (Bm 9) are shown in Fig. 1. Clone Bm 9 consists of 4049 bp and has a single, 3948-bp open reading frame (ORF) coding for a putative parasite protein of 1313 amino acids excluding the first three amino acids as derived from the synthetic linker. The ORF begins at nucleotide position 2. The invert of the nucleotide sequence of clone Bm 21 (2906 bp) is identical to the 3' region of clone Bm 9 (positions 961-3867) and, therefore, the ORF in clone Bm 21 is in the opposite direction to that of 2gtl 1 lacZ. A search of the PC/Gene R database (Release 6.60, IntelliGenetics Inc., CA 94040) revealed that Bm 9 is homologous to myosin. The highest level of homology is with the Caenorhabditis elegans myosin heavy chain B (MYSB$CAEEL, #P02566) [2] and with mammalian myosin sequences, especially the
Magnetic field control of the low-temperature magnetic properties of stoichiometric and cation-deficient magnetite

We report three new types of low-temperature (<120 K) magnetic behavior from oxidized and stoichiometric pseudo-single domain magnetite: (1) a non-monotonic dependence of the saturation remanence to saturation magnetization ratio on the magnetic field (0–1.7 T) applied during cooling, (2) an induced magnetic anisotropy at temperatures below the transition from cubic to monoclinic crystalline symmetry at ∼120 K (the Verwey transition) after cooling in magnetic fields between 0.01 and 0.09 T, and (3) a non-monotonic dependence of a low-temperature (10 K) remanent magnetization on the magnetic field (0.01–2.5 T range) applied during cooling through the Verwey transition. We interpret these phenomena in terms of relationships between crystal twins, that can form in monoclinic magnetite, and the reorganization of magnetic domains. Our results are important for interpretations of low-temperature magnetic measurements and provide new insight into the fundamental magnetic properties of magnetite at low temperatures.
Liquid-crystal autostereoscopic real-time displays

We describe the design and performance of a color real-time autostereoscopic 3D display based on our partial pixel 3D display architecture. The primary optical components are an active-matrix liquid crystal display and a diffractive optical element overlay. The display operates at video frame rats and is driven with a conventional VGA signal. 3D animations with horizontal motion parallax are readily viewable as sets of stereo images. The measured contrast and perceived brightness of the display are excellent, but there are minor flaws in image quality due to secondary images.
A common sense approach to peak picking in two-, three-, and four-dimensional spectra using automatic computer analysis of contour diagrams

The analysis of multidimensional NMR spectra has been a challenging problem since the earliest two-dimensional experiments were reported as stacked plots (I). The first step in analysis involves obtaining a list of chemical-shift coordinates for the cross peaks. Initially, simple programs were used to generate contour plots of twodimensional NMR data, which were analyzed manually. As the utility and versatility of multidimensional NMR spectroscopy grew, several automated methods of peak picking have been developed. This Communication describes a new peak-picking algorithm which is based on contour diagrams and designed for the automated interpretation of higher dimensional 3D and 4D spectra. The oldest and most robust method of analysis is the manual interpretation of 2D contour plots. The strength of manual peak picking results from the relative ease with which the human eye can discriminate real peaks from artifacts and noise. As the proteins studied have become larger, the number of spectra to be analyzed and the number of cross peaks within a spectrum have increased dramatically, with the result that significantly more time and energy are required for the tedious manual peakpicking step. Interactive graphics software, which dynamically maintains a list of peak positions, has to some extent helped with this time-consuming step, particularly with regard to bookkeeping. Although more time will be saved with the automation of peak picking, manual inspection of spectra with an interactive graphics program will always be necessary to verify and edit automated results. Approaches to automated peak picking can be divided into three types: (a) thresholdbased methods; (b) multiplet-symmetry-based methods; and (c) peak-shape-based methods. The simplest automated peak-picking algorithm is based primarily on the intensity of local extrema exceeding a threshold value (2). Uninteresting regions of the spectrum, such as tl noise ridges, are defined to avoid selecting peaks along these artifacts. Since some real peaks have very low intensities, the threshold must be set close to the noise level, which unfortunately results in a very large number of local extrema being picked due to the noise. Thus, by itself the threshold method fails by selecting too many or too few peaks, but is ideally suited as a filter for more sophisticated methods.