cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Actions of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the human hepatoblastoma HEPG2 tissue culture cell line: Functional and electron microscopic observations

The HepG2 tissue culture cell line was derived from a human hepatoblastoma and has maintained hepatocyte functions such as the synthesis of albumin. We studied the effect of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on enzyme induction and ultrastructure of HepG2 cells. TCDD (1 nM) caused a 40-fold induction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity. HepG2 cytosolic fractions(1) contain saturable binding site for TCDD. Because alterations in the ultrastructure of the liver have been associated with exposure of humans and laboratory animals to TCDD and other halogenated polycyclic aromatic compounds, we examined the effects of TCDD on morphology of HepG2 cells. Unexpectedly, both control and TCDD-treated (30 nM for 7 days) HepG2 cells showed similar morphology as determined by electron microscopy. The cells contained extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes; mitochondria and nuclei were similar in control and treated cells. In contrast to previous studies with rats and mouse hepatoma cells (Hepa-1) in tissue culture, HepG2 cells showed no increased accumulation of lipid droplets or endoplasmic reticulum and no mitochondrial alterations in TCDD-treated cells. Based on the current finding of minimal morphological effects of TCDD on this cell culture line, it is interesting to speculate that the morphological alterations observed in human or rodent liver following in vivo exposure may represent indirect effects of TCDD or may involve genes that are not expressed in HepG2 cells.
The effect of within-pair variation and instructions on the transposition behavior of kindergarten and third grade children

Abstract The reported studies examined the test choices of kindergarten and third-grade children in the two-stimulus size transposition problem in response to variations in (a) the magnitude of the size difference between two objects (the within-pair difference), (b) the distance between training and test pairs (“near” and “far” tests), and (c) verbal instructions. It was hypothesized that third graders would be sensitive to variations in the degree of the difference between two objects and to instructions which identify specific aspects of the stimulus array. In contrast, kindergarteners were expected to base their choices upon the direction of the difference, and thus transpose regardless of within-pair variations and instructions. Results generally confirmed these expectations, supporting the notion that children at these ages differ in their organization of the stimulus field and in the scale of measurement they apply to objects differing in size.
A Three-Outcome Design for Phase II Clinical Trials

The goal of a phase II trial is to make a preliminary determination regarding the activity and tolerability of a new treatment and thus to determine whether the treatment warrants further study in the phase III setting. Phase II clinical trials are typically designed in the hypothesis testing framework with two possible outcomes, either reject the null hypothesis H(0) or reject the alternative hypothesis H(a), based on the observed activity level. However, in cases where the observed activity is "borderline," the decision regarding the future of the agent is not as clear as the prespecified hypothesis test would indicate. In this paper we propose an alternative design that allows for three outcomes: reject H(0), reject H(a), or reject neither. We describe the theoretical properties of this design and illustrate it with several examples. We focus on the clinical implications of the three-outcome design. Control Clin Trials 2001;22:117-125
Reliability of Superficial Male Pelvic Floor Structural Measurements Using Linear-Array Transperineal Sonography

This study evaluated reliability of measures for superficial structures of the male pelvic floor (PF) obtained via transperineal sonography. Two embalmed cadavers were dissected to identify positioning of muscles on and around the bulb of the penis and to confirm the PF protocol. Cross-sectional area (CSA) and linear thickness of the bulb of the penis, urethra, bulbospongiosus (BS) muscles, and ischiocavernosus (IC) muscles were measured on 38 transverse images from 20 male patients by three raters with varied study knowledge and sonographic experience. Intra- and inter-rater reliability were calculated with two-way, mixed effects intra-class correlation coefficients. Measures of the bulb of the penis had the best reliability. CSA of all muscles and sagittal thickness of the BS near the central tendon had good reliability. Reliability varied for rater-identified thickest muscle region and measures of the urethra. Our study suggests that structures of the male PF can be reliably evaluated using a transperineal sonographic approach.
Pelvic exenteration for recurrent or persistent gynecologic malignancies: A 10-year review of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center experience (1972–1981)

From January 1, 1972 to December 31, 1981, sixty-five patients underwent pelvic exenteration as treatment for recurrent or persistent gynecologic malignancy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Cervical carcinoma was the disease most commonly treated by exenteration. The operative mortality of 9.2% represents an improvement over previous reports from this institution. After routine use of prophylactic minidose heparin, no cases of thrombophlebitis or pulmonary embolus occurred postoperatively. A 5-year survival rate of 23% warrants continued use of exenteration in carefully selected patients. The significant mortality and morbidity associated with pelvic exenteration preclude its use as a palliative procedure.
A conference of crosstalk: the Gordon Research Conference in Bioorganic Chemistry.

The Gordon Research Conference in Bioorganic Chemistry aims to increase the opportunities for interaction and collaboration between organic chemistry and biology. Suggestions on how to achieve these goals from the readers of Chemistry & Biology are welcome.
Menstrual cycle effect on plasma lipids

In a study of 31 healthy women in which dietary intake and body weight were controlled, a significantly higher mean plasma cholesterol was observed in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle compared to the luteal phase (mean difference of 8.4% during controlled dietary periods). Higher mean plasma triglycerides (mean difference of 7.4%) and lower HDL-cholesterol (mean difference of 5.8%) were also observed in the follicular phase of the controlled dietary study, although these differences were not consistently significant.
Facilitating quality improvement team performance: a developmental perspective

Quality improvement project teams play a prominent role in the implementation of organizational quality improvement efforts. Yet, once formed, not all such teams reach a productive and effective level of functioning. This paper presents a model of quality improvement project team development that describes patterns of development that these teams commonly experience, identifies the principal developmental issues that emerge throughout the course of such teams' life span, and outlines specific strategies and interventions that team leaders and facilitators can use to assist their team in managing and influencing its own development, and ultimately its performance.
Post-tonsillectomy bleeding in children with von Willebrand disease: A single-institution experience

Objectives: 1) Compare rates of post-tonsillectomy bleeding in pediatric patients with and without von Willebrand disease (vWD). 2) Identify factors that may increase the risk for post-tonsillectomy bleeding in children with and without vWD.Study Design: Historical cohort study.Setting: Tertiary care, university-based pediatric hospital.Subjects and Methods: Medical records were examined for 99 patients with vWD and 99 patients without vWD younger than 18 years who underwent tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy from August 1997 to October 2005. Subjects were matched for age, year of surgery, type of surgery, and indication for surgery.Results: Post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage occurred in eight of 99 (8%) vWD patients and in six of 99 (6%) non-vWD patients (P = 0.58, odds ratio 1.36, 95% CI 0.45-4.08). A two-sample test of proportions demonstrated lower and upper limits of −0.051 and 0.092. Four of eight children with vWD and two of six non-vWD patients required surgical intervention for control of ble...
Flash-induced fluorescence estimation of photosystem II electron-transport rates in light-adapted leaves

Abstract A method is described for the measurement of fluorescence transients induced by a bright flash of light in the presence of constant illumination. The application of this technique to the estimation of Photosystem II electron-transport rates in vivo is described. The technique does not require leaf excision, gas tight enclosure or dark adaptation and is non-destructive. The relationship between flash-induced fluorescence and oxygen evolution is practically constant at light intensities from 40 to 400 μE · m −2 · s −1 (the highest tested), at temperatures from 10°C to 25°C, in the presence of the Photosystem II inhibitor atrazine, in the presence of the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide m -chlorophenyl hydrazone and in material previously subjected to photoinhibitory conditions. This measurement technique permits easy, rapid estimation of Photosystem II electron transport activity in vivo with portable equipment.
High-pressure 4He drift tubes for fissile material detection

A detector efficiency model based on energy extraction from neutrons is described and used to compare ^4He detectors with liquid scintillators (EJ301/NE-213). Detector efficiency can be divided into three regimes: single neutron scattering, multiple neutron scattering, and a transition regime in-between. For an average fission neutron of 2 MeV, the amount of ^4He needed would be about 1/4 of the amount of the mass of EJ301/NE-213 in the single-scattering regime. For about 50% neutron energy extraction (1 MeV out of 2 MeV), the two types of detectors (^4He in the transition regime, EJ301 still in the single-scattering regime) have comparable mass, but ^4He detectors can be much larger depending on the number density. A six-tube 11-bar-pressure ^4He detector prototype is built and tested. Individual electrical pulses from the detector are recorded using a 12-bit digitizer. Differences in pulse rise time and amplitudes, due to different energy loss of neutrons and gamma rays, are used for neutron/gamma separation. Several energy spectra are also obtained and analyzed.
Growth conditions for a family of ideals containing regular sequences

Abstract It has been conjectured by Eisenbud–Green–Harris that lex-plus-powers ideals exhibit extremal conditions among all homogeneous ideals containing a regular sequence of forms in fixed degrees. In the same spirit, we consider a family of homogeneous ideals in k [ x , y , z ] which contain a regular sequence of forms F , G ∈ k [ x , y ] and compare the growth of these ideals with special monomial ideals sharing similar properties.
Reversibility of established diabetic glomerulopathy by anti-TGF-β antibodies in db/db mice

Treatment with a neutralizing anti-transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) antibody can prevent the development of diabetic nephropathy in the db/db mouse, a model of type 2 diabetes. However, it is unknown whether anti-TGF-beta therapy can reverse the histological lesions of diabetic glomerulopathy once they are established. Diabetic db/db mice and their non-diabetic db/m littermates were allowed to grow until 16 weeks of age, by which time the db/db mice had developed glomerular basement membrane (GBM) thickening and mesangial matrix expansion. The mice were then treated with an irrelevant control IgG or a panselective, neutralizing anti-TGF-beta antibody for eight more weeks. Compared with control db/m mice, the db/db mice treated with IgG had developed increased GBM width (16.64+/-0.80 nm vs. 21.55+/-0.78 nm, P<0.05) and increased mesangial matrix fraction (4.01+/-0.81% of total glomerular area vs. 9.55+/-1.04%, P<0.05). However, the db/db mice treated with anti-TGF-beta antibody showed amelioration of GBM thickening (18.40+/-0.72 nm, P<0.05 vs. db/db-IgG) and mesangial matrix accumulation (6.32+/-1.79%, P<0.05 vs. db/db-IgG). Our results demonstrate that inhibiting renal TGF-beta activity can partially reverse the GBM thickening and mesangial matrix expansion in this mouse model of type 2 diabetes. Anti-TGF-beta regimens would be useful in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.
Temporal changes in gene expression in rainbow trout exposed to ethynyl estradiol

Abstract We examined changes in the genomic response during continuous exposure to the xenoestrogen ethynyl estradiol. Isogenic rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were exposed to nominal concentrations of 100 ng/L ethynyl estradiol (EE2) for a period of 3 weeks. At fixed time points within the exposure, fish were euthanized, livers harvested and RNA extracted. Fluorescently labeled cDNA were generated and hybridized against a commercially available Salmonid array (GRASP project, University of Victoria, Canada) spotted with 16,000 cDNAs. The slides were scanned to measure abundance of a given transcript in each sample relative to controls. Data were analyzed via Genespring (Silicon Genetics) to identify a list of up and down regulated genes, and to determine gene clustering patterns that can be used as “expression signatures”. Gene ontology was determined using the annotation available from the GRASP website. Our analysis indicates each exposure time period generated specific gene expression profiles. Changes in gene expression were best understood by grouping genes by their gene expression profiles rather than examining fold change at a particular time point. Many of the genes commonly used as biomarkers of exposure to xenoestrogens were not induced initially and did not have gene expression profiles typical of the majority of genes with altered expression.
Discrete calculus of variations

This paper develops the concept of discrete calculus of variations and then demonstrates its application to optimisation problems for discrete systems. The parallels between this concept and classical calculus of variations are stressed throughout.
The Mercury system: exploiting truly fast hardware for data search

In many data mining applications, the size of the database is not only extremely large, it is also growing rapidly. Even for relatively simple searches, the time required to move the data off magnetic media, cross the system bus into main memory, copy into processor cache, and then execute code to perform a search is prohibitive. We are building a system in which a significant portion of the data mining task (i.e., the portion that examines the bulk of the raw data) is implemented in fast hardware, close to the magnetic media on which it is stored. Furthermore, this hardware can be replicated allowing mining tasks to be performed in parallel, thus providing further speedup for the overall mining application. In this paper, we describe a general framework under which this can be accomplished and provide initial performance results for a set of applications.
Effects of viscoelasticity on the retraction of a sheared drop

Effects of drop and matrix viscoelasticity on the retraction of a sheared drop are numerically investigated. Retraction of an Oldroyd-B drop in a Newtonian matrix is initially faster and later slower with increasing drop Deborah number. The observed behavior is explained using an ordinary differential equation model representing the dominant balance between various forces during retraction. The initial faster relaxation of viscoelastic drops is due to viscoelastic stresses pulling the drop interface at the tips inward. The later slower retraction is due to the slowly-relaxing viscoelastic forces at the equator, where they act against the capillary force. The drop inclination decreases substantially during retraction unlike in a Newtonian case. Matrix viscoelasticity slows the relaxation of a Newtonian drop because of the increasingly slow relaxation of highly stretched polymers near the drop tip with increasing Deborah number. Increasing the ratio of polymeric to total viscosity further accentuates the viscoelastic effects in both cases. For an Oldroyd-B drop in an Oldroyd-B matrix, a competition between the dispersed and the continuous phase elasticities, represented by their ratio, determines the dynamics; larger values of the ratio leads again to initial faster and later slower retraction.
Effects of light and chloramphenicol stress on incorporation of nitrogen into cyanophycin in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6308.

Abstract 1 H NMR spectroscopy was used to compare the uptake of nitrogen into cyanobacterial cyanophycin from two sources: from the breakdown of intracellular proteins and amino acids, and directly from the external growth medium. Cells grown initially in medium containing 14 N-nitrate were transferred to 15 N-nitrate medium in the presence of chloramphenicol in both low (4 μE m −2 s −1 ) and normal (100 μE m −2 s −1 ) light, and in low light alone. Cyanophycin was separated from cells and analyzed by 1 H NMR spectroscopy. Cyanophycin is synthesized both from 14 N (degradation of cellular proteins) and from 15 N in the medium, the latter at a faster rate and to a greater extent under all conditions. SDS-PAGE showed that cyanophycin synthesis takes place by addition of monomers to already synthesized polymer.
COLOR HAS LITTLE EFFECT ON PERCEPTION OF FABRIC HANDFEEL TACTILE PROPERTIES IN COTTON FABRICS

Many authors suggest evaluating the tactile hand properties of textiles in such a way that the sample cannot be seen, but this can be a cumbersome procedure. This study tested the effect of a strong visual attribute, color, on hand perception of fabrics in both descriptive and consumer studies. Panelists evaluated four cotton fabrics: poplin, flannel, knit and twill, each dyed five colors: white (no dye), dark blue, light blue, pink and yellow. In the descriptive study, minimal differences were found for only one color, yellow, in one fabric type, poplin, for four attributes: gritty, hand friction, fabric friction and softness. For the consumer study, only “brightness,” a visual perception, and “harshness,” which may be either visual or tactile, were different across fabrics from one color to another. Based on this study of color effects, there appears to be negligible impact of visual perception on tactile hand evaluation. This data would suggest there is little need to block the view of fabrics during hand evaluation in either descriptive or consumer studies. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Data from this study suggest that the need to go to extraordinary means, such as blindfolding panelists, to block potential visual bias in tests of fabrichandfeel may not be necessary. The research suggests that both trained and consumer panels were able to provide consistent, accurate data even though the potentially biasing effect of color was not blocked from their view. If the view of fabric products does not have to be blocked, sensory testing protocols of handfeel can be simpler, which ultimately means more efficiencies because less time and money need to be spent to obtain quality data.
Input modeling: answers to the top ten input modeling questions

In this tutorial we provide answers to the top ten input-modeling questions that new simulation users ask, point out common mistakes that occur and give relevant references. We assume that commercial input-modeling software will be used when possible, and only suggest non-commercial options when there is little else available. Detailed examples will be provided in the tutorial presentation.
The gastric cardia in Helicobacter pylori infection.

Abstract Helicobacter pylori gastritis is believed to be both more prevalent and more severe in the antrum than in the corpus. The mocosa of the cardia is architecturally similar to that of the antrum. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that intensity of H pylori infection and the associated inflammation are similar in the cardia and the antrum and are greater in these locations than in the corpus. A total of 445 gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from predetermined sites from 50 subjects (42 with demonstrated H pylori infection). Slides were stained with a combined stain to simultaneously visualize H pylori , mucosal morphology, and inflammatory infiltrate. Numbers of H pylori , inflammatory responses, and intestinal metaplasia were graded on a scale from 0 to 5. Helicobacter pylori was detected in the cardia of 40 of the 42 infected subjects (95%). Helicobacter pylori density was similar in the three gastric regions. The intensity of chronic active gastritis was similar in the antrum and the cardia, and was higher in these locations than in the corpus ( P P Helicobacter pylori infection was as prevalent in the cardia as in the rest of the stomach and its density was similar in all sites of antrum, corpus, and cardia. The inflammatory responses characteristic of chronic active gastritis, except for lymphoid follicles, were similar in the antrum and the cardia and in both these locations were more intense than in the corpus. The significance of these findings is discussed with respect to the relationship between H pylori infection and the genesis of gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma.
Sociocultural factors relating to mild mental retardation.

Abstract This paper considers some of the relevant literature bearing on the relationship between sociocultural factors and mental retardation in the United States. A review of this literature suggests that a number of sociocultural factors need to be taken into account in explanation of mild mental retardation.
Season ticket proneness among art attenders

The economic issues associated with the operation of cultural institutions mu/art~tic organizations have been discussed from a variety of perspectives. n u n concentrating on one aspect of economic comiderations have sought b e0tJblt~h the economic reaction and behavior of nonprofit artistic mututiznl [8, 11, 16]. These studies have highlighted factors related to Im~nal aspects of financing and expenditures by organizations. Similarly, ,~e~ economic analyses have attempted to assess the economic impact of wt,qic organizations on the communities to which they provide artistic mmlatnment [6, 7, 17]. In these cases, the economic perspective is one suggests that cultural institutions represent a significant economic M o t i~ a community by virtue of direct and ancillary expenditures by p t m m associated with attendance behavior. These studies also include an ,m~nimtion of the effect of organizational expenditures associated with mmmtaining operations such as labor and material costs. Another group of scholars and practitioners has been studying art ,mqpanlzations from a different perspective that relates directly to the ~mmmists' efforts. In the field of marketing, researchers and analysts have ~ t | f i e d the applicability of management and marketing principles to the r and efficient operation of an art organization [9, 13, 15, 18, 26, 27, ~ ] . The concepts discussed by these authors point out that a variety of muketing techniques can be readily employed by arts organizations in plmming and suggest there is a "contribution that can be made by m~ministrstion that enables these organizations to use available resources asme effectively," [18, p. 1231 From the economist's point of view, writings ta this area of marketing relate to the economic aspects of organizational mtpenditures; that is, the internal elements of economic behavior and reaction of the organizations. There is another group of marketers who have examined several factors
Parental Divorce and Academic Achievement of College Students

Data from 169 college men and women (ns = 73 and 96, respectively) showed that there is a significant difference in grade-point averages between college students from divorced and intact homes. College students from divorced homes have lower grade-point averages.
Sex-specific modulation of hepatic covalent DNA modifications (I-compounds) by the cytochrome P450 inducer, pregnenolone-16α-carbonitrile☆

I-compounds are recently discovered, age-dependent covalent DNA modifications, which are detectable by 32P-postlabeling assay for DNA adducts. The effects of the catatoxic antiglucocorticoid, pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile (PCN), on hepatic and renal I-compound levels have been studied in male and female Sprague-Dawley rats together with the levels of microsomal cytochrome P450 and rates of ethylmorphine N-demethylation. PCN (50 mg/kg ip) was dissolved in corn oil and administered to rats once daily for 4 days, and animals were killed at 1 day or 8 days after the last treatment. Hepatic and renal I-compounds were analyzed by 32P-postlabeling in control and PCN-treated animals at both time points. Microsomal cytochrome P450 and ethylmorphine N-demethylase activities were also determined. Total levels of liver nonpolar and polar I-compounds were reduced in female rats by 37 and 51%, respectively, compared to controls, at 1 day. Ten out of sixteen individual I-compounds were also markedly reduced in female rat liver DNA as a result of PCN administration. In contrast to females, total levels of liver I-compounds were not significantly altered in males by PCN at 1 day; however, two individual I-compounds were lowered. I-compound levels recovered 8 days after termination of PCN treatment in both males and females. Total levels of renal I-compounds were not affected by PCN treatment in either males or females. [3H]Methylthymidine incorporation studies showed an increase in mean DNA synthesis rate at 1 day in liver of both males and females, but this was significant in males only. Marked induction of hepatic microsomal cytochrome P450 (2.2-fold) and ethylmorphine N-demethylase (4.0-fold) activity was observed in female rats treated with PCN at 1 day as compared to controls. The extent of induction of these enzymes was much higher in females than males. At 8 days the levels of cytochrome P450 and ethylmorphine N-demethylase activity had returned to uninduced values. The results are consistent with a pivotal role for PCN-inducible cytochrome P450 in the metabolism of I-compounds.
Comparative study of ring current development using empirical, dipolar, and self-consistent magnetic field simulations

[1] The effects of nondipolar magnetic field configuration and the feedback of a self-consistently computed magnetic field on ring current dynamics are investigated during a double-dip storm with minima SYM-H = -90 nT at ~2000 UT, 20 November, and SYM-H = -127 nT at ~1000 UT, 21 November 2002. We use our kinetic ring current-atmosphere interactions model with self-consistent magnetic field (RAM-SCB) to study the redistribution of plasma in the inner magnetosphere after its fresh injection from the plasma sheet. The kinetic model is fully extended to nondipolar magnetic (B) field geometry and two-way coupled with an Euler-potential-based equilibrium model that calculates self-consistently the three-dimensional magnetic field in force balance with the anisotropic ring current distributions. The ring current source population is inferred from LANL geosynchronous satellite data; a superdense plasma sheet observed during the second storm main phase contributes significantly to ring current buildup. We find that the bounce-averaged velocities increase while the bounce-averaged geocoronal hydrogen densities decrease on the nightside when a nondipolar B field is used. A depression of the ring current fluxes and a confinement of the ring current close to Earth are thus observed on the nightside as geomagnetic activity increases. In contrast to the dipolar case, the proton anisotropy increases considerably in the postnoon sector, and the nondipolar simulations predict the excitation of intense EMIC waves at large L shells. The total ring current energy and |Dst| index calculated with the self-consistent B field are in best agreement with observations, being smaller compared to the dipolar calculations but larger than the empirical B field predictions.
Multiple cracking in metal-ceramic laminates

Abstract There have been observations showing that relatively thick metal layers in metal-ceramic laminates lead to the formation of multiple periodic cracks within a zone near a pre-crack, distributing damage and significantly enhancing the composite's toughness. Several models including linear elastic fracture mechanics and shear-lag analysis are developed in the present work in order to study the competition between multiple cracking and single-crack extension as damage modes. It is established that there is a critical thickness ratio for metal-ceramic layers above which multiple cracking dominates. Moreover, this critical thickness ratio is inversely proportional to the corresponding moduli ratio such that the competition between damage modes is governed by the metal-ceramic layer stiffness ratio. Plastic hardening of metals helps to activate the multiple-cracking damage mode, while plastic yielding does the opposite.
Epistasis among genes is a universal phenomenon in obesity: evidence from rodent models.

Identification of genes that cause spontaneous mendelian obesity in mice began a new age of obesity studies with the ability to discover mechanisms underlying the biological causes of obesity. Studies in humans quickly confirmed that orthologs of mouse obesity genes also cause monogenic (mendelian) forms of human obesity. However, the six genes that cause mendelian forms of human obesity (leptin, leptin receptor, proopiomelanocortin, prohormone convertase, melanocortin receptor-4, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor) each have insignificant effects on common human obesity.1 Common obesity is inherited as a polygenic (quantitative) trait influenced by many genetic and environmental variables. Thus, alleles of genes causing common forms of human obesity are unlikely to produce mendelian pedigrees showing segregation of mutations with obesity. Genes for common obesity will produce small increases in obesity risk ratios or will influence obesity by more complex routes, such as gene gene epistasis and gene environment interactions. The identification of genes underlying complex traits such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension has been less successful than for simple mendelian traits. One of the reasons for this is the presence of epistasis that can mask the effects of one locus on another locus and reduce the power to identify either locus. Epistasis is generally defined as the interaction between two or more genes or their mRNA or protein products to influence a single trait. Non-additive genetic effects and interactions between genes contribute considerably to the phenotypic variance of body weight and
Pore Structure Modeling of Flow in Gas Diffusion Layers of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The gas diffusion layer (GDL) in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell has a porous structure with anisotropic and non-homogenous properties. The objective of this research is to develop a PEM fuel cell model where transport phenomena in the GDL are simulated based on GDL’s pore structure. The GDL pore structure was obtained by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). GDL’s cross-section view instead of surface view was scanned under the SEM. The SEM image was then processed using an image processing tool to obtain a two dimensional computational domain. This pore structure model was then coupled with an electrochemical model to predict the overall fuel cell performance. The transport phenomena in the GDL were simulated by solving the Navier-Stokes equation directly in the GDL pore structure. By comparing with the testing data, the fuel cell model predicted a reasonable fuel cell polarization curve. The pore structure model was further used to calculate the GDL permeability. The numerically predicted permeability was close to the value published in the literature. A future application of the current pore structure model is to predict GDL thermal and electric related properties.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Analysis of dielectric gratings of arbitrary profiles and thicknesses

An efficient and stable eigenmode method is presented for the analysis of dielectric gratings of arbitrary profiles and thicknesses. The solution is expanded in terms of multiple sets of modes. The method differs from the usual eigenmode methods in that mode couplings are achieved through an iterative one-way wave multiple reflection series requiring only matrix–vector multiplications. The solution is computationally simple, has a physical interpretation, and remains stable for gratings of any thickness. Numerical results agree well with those of previous methods.
Synthesis and X-ray structures of 2D coordination networks based on dinuclear and trinuclear vanadium oxo clusters

Two new 2D coordination polymers [V 2 O 3 (nicotinate) 3 ] · EtOH ( 1 ) and [V 3 O 5 (nicotinate) 4 (H 2 O) 2 ] · 3H 2 O ( 2 ) have been synthesized by treating V 2 O 5 and nicotinic acid under hydro(solvo)thermal conditions. Compounds 1 and 2 adopt 2D framework structures built from dinuclear and trinuclear vanadium oxo clusters, respectively. Each V 2 O 3 (nicotinate) 3 building unit in 1 is linked to four adjacent units to form a puckered 2D network, and the 2D sheets stack in an ABAB pattern to result in rectangular-shaped interlayer open channels that are occupied by included ethanol molecules. The [V 3 O 5 (nicotinate) 4 (H 2 O) 2 ] building unit in 2 is also linked to four adjacent trivanadium clusters to form a 2D rhombic coordination network. The 2D sheets in 2 adopt an AA stacking pattern, presumably steered by the V2=O moieties, to afford interlayer open channels that are occupied by included water molecules.
Multidimensional accounting and distributed databases: Their implications for organizations and society

Abstract The motivation behind multidimensional accounting is elaborated and extended to an accounting system built upon a database. This system may serve as the predecessor to a national system of distributed databases that integrates micro-accounting and macro-accounting systems. Two implications for organizations and society are examined: first, the need to standardize information requirements, and second, the need to protect privacy. Recent advances in the application and development of cryptosystems are examined. These advances enhance security and the protection of privacy within a database in a simple and inexpensive fashion.
Canonical computational model for algorithm-based fault tolerance (ABFT) systems

Fault tolerance measures (such as fault detectability and fault locatability) of systems employing Algorithm-Based Fault Tolerance (ABFT) are determined by a binary relationship between fault patterns and error patterns. This relationship specifies whether a given fault pattern can induce a given error pattern. We develop a succinct and canonical representation of this relationship and present an efficient algorithm for obtaining this representation. We show that two ABFT systems have the same fault tolerance measures only when their canonical representation are identical.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Critical service encounters: The employee's viewpoint

In service settings, customer satisfaction is often influenced by the quality of the interpersonal interaction between the customer and the contact employee. Previous research has identified the so...
Surface interactions of molecular C60 and impact on Ni(100) and Co(0001) film growth: A scanning tunneling microscopy study

Abstract Here, the interactions of C 60 at the surface of pseudomorphic Ni/Cu(100) and Co/Ru(0001) thin films and its effect on film growth and morphology were determined using in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The novel development of C 60 -metallic based nanosystems, such as C 60 molecular junction transistors, hinges on our ability to understand the factors governing structural stability in these nanosystems and the nature of the bond interactions at the C 60 –metal interface. In this study, C 60 deposited onto the Ni(100) film surface is observed to be fairly immobile and uniformly distributed across the Ni surface. On the Co(0001) film surface however, C 60 mobility is observed to be severely limited in some regions and highly mobile in others dependent upon Co film surface reconstruction, resulting in a non-uniform distribution of C 60 across the Co film surface. Despite the presence of C 60 on the Ni surface, there is no obvious influence of the C 60 on further Ni film growth. In contrast, during Co film growth, islands only nucleate and grow from step edges or locally around C 60 molecules. The strength of the Co–C 60 bond interaction appears stronger than the Co–Co bond on Co film terrace. Generally, the Ni and Co films both continue epitaxial film growth in the presence of molecular C 60 . AES results indicate the C 60 molecules maintain their chemical integrity during growth.
ATLAS Future Plans: Upgrade and the Physics with High Luminosity

The ATLAS experiment is planning a series of detector upgrades to cope with the planned increases in instantaneous luminosity and multiple interactions per crossing to maintain its physics capabilities. During the coming decade, the Large Hadron Collider will collide protons on protons at a center of mass energy up to 14 TeV with luminosities steadily increasing in a phased approach to over 5 × 1034 cm−2 s−1 . The resulting large data sets will significantly enhance the physics reach of the ATLAS detector building on the recent discovery of the Higgs-like boson. The planned detector upgrades being designed to cope with the increasing luminosity and its impact on the ATLAS physics program will be discussed.
Uptake of plasma triacylglycerol by a muscular artery in the rat: an ultrastructural study

The uptake of plasma triacylglycerol by the dorsalis pedis artery in the rat was studied using intravenous infusion of an emulsion of triacylglycerol at a rate of 2.3 μmol per min for 1.5 or 5 h. Electron microscopy revealed lipid droplets in the arterial lumen near the endothelium and in the medial smooth muscle cells (SMC), but not in the endothelial cells or in the extracellular space. Lamellar structures with a periodicity of 40 A developed in the arterial tissue when glutaraldehyde-fixed specimens were incubated at + 25° C before postfixation in osmium. Lamellae were present at the luminal and basal surfaces and within endothelial cells, and also in the medial extracellular space associated with the plasma membrane of SMC, in the intracellular channels and near and inside the mitochondria of the medial SMC. No lipid droplets or lamellae were found in the arterial tissue of the control rats. The findings indicate that plasma triacylgylycerol is not taken up by the arterial tissue as intact lipid particles, but that these are hydrolyzed at the luminal surface of the endothelium, the lipolytic products then being transferred to the medial SMC for re-esterification and storage in the form of triacylglycerol. The lamellar structures found in the fixed and incubated arterial tissue are thought to represent fatty acids produced by the lipolysis of triacylglycerol during incubation, and we suggest that the transport of fatty acids from the arterial lumen to the medial SMC occurs by lateral movement in a continuum of cell membranes.
Fabrication and mechanical property of nano piezoelectric fibres

Aligned piezoelectric (PZT) nanofibres were fabricated by electrospinning using PZT sol?gel as precursor. A pure perovskite phase with an average grain size of 10?nm was obtained at 650??C. The average diameter of these fibres could be controlled to range from 52 to 150?nm by varying the concentration of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) in the precursor. Special samples of PZT nanofibres were deposited across the microfabricated trenches on a silicon wafer. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure the mechanical properties of a single nanofibre. The elastic modulus of an individual PZT nanofibre that was obtained was 42.99?GPa, which was smaller than that of a thin-film PZT. The possible reasons for the reduction in elastic modulus of the nanofibres were discussed.
In situ X-ray studies of film cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract Synchrotron-based X-ray techniques have been used to study in situ the structural and chemical changes of film cathodes during half-cell operations. The X-ray techniques used include X-ray reflectivity (XR), total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF), high-resolution diffraction (HRD), ultra-small angle X-ray scattering (USAXS). The epitaxial thin film model cathodes for XR, TXRF, and HRD measurements are made by pulse laser deposition and porous film cathodes for USAX measurements are made by screen printing technique. The experimental results reviewed here include A-site and B-site segregations, lattice expansion, oxidation-state changes during cell operations and liquid-phase infiltration and coarsening of cathode to electrolyte backbone.
Opiate antagonist receptor binding in vivo: evidence for a new receptor binding model.

Summary The in vivo accumulation and retention of the opiate antagonist tracers [3H]diprenorphine and [3H]naloxone at cerebral opiate receptor sites in rats exceed that expected from their known in vitro receptor affinities. The [3H]diprenorphine serum and brain levels can be simulated with a pharmacokinetic model that contains the receptors in a micro-compartment. The receptor micro-compartment consists of a population of binding sites next to a diffusion boundary which restricts ligand diffusion away from the receptor. Such an arrangement introduces a delay in the binding equilibrium of potent antagonists with the receptor sites and an increase in the apparent in vivo receptor affinity at subsaturating doses of the ligand; at saturating ligand concentrations these functions of the receptor micro-compartment are abolished. A physiological interpretation of the receptor micro-compartment could be the location of clustered opiate receptor sites on the exterior cell surface next to the synaptic cleft as the diffusion boundary. This kinetic approach involving a combination of pharmacokinetics and drug-receptor interactions permits the quantitative analysis of receptor site availability in the intact animal. Our results support the hypothesis that only one receptor population affects the in vivo disposition of the antagonist tracers, while they do not exclude the presence of low affinity binding sites that have been observed with the use of [3H]naloxone in vitro. Moreover, the binding site population observed in vivo may be responsible for mediating opiate agonist analgesia.
Schizophrenia: A disease of heteromodal association cortex?

There is considerable evidence of disturbances of multiple brain areas in schizophrenia. The clinical features and findings from pathologic and neuro-imaging studies suggest primary involvement of a system of parallel distributed networks within the neocortex--the phylogenetically recent heteromodal association cortex (HASC). There is evidence that HASC is a family of higher-order parallel distributed networks of circuits, mediating complex representationally guided behaviors. We argue that HASC regions are especially involved in schizophrenia. Lesions of HASC in the disease are likely to be neurodevelopmental in origin (as evidenced by such examples as reversed planum temporale asymmetry) which have been identified by magnetic resonance imaging as specific regions of disproportionately reduced local gray matter volumes, and by neuropathologic examination as cellular migration disruptions. We believe the hypothesis of preferential heteromodal cortical abnormalities has heuristic value, and briefly indicate how it opens new avenues for investigating this debilitating condition.
A developmental perspective on the regulation of arousal states

Arousal regulation is an organizing construct for describing the relations between stimulation, stress, and cortical activity and performance. It describes a dynamic process of cortical activation and behavior in response to varying levels of stimulation. Contemporary neurobiological perspectives provide evidence that the concept of arousal regulation involves complex interactions among different neurochemical systems in the pontine and midbrain reticular formation. These interactive arousal systems serve as multilevel gates that both protect cortex from excessive stimulation and facilitate coordination between attentional, executive, and sensory cortical systems. The coordination between these systems emerges over the course of development with increasing balance of inhibitory and excitatory processes. The threshold for switching between more executive and more automatic modes of functioning also changes with development and may be particularly sensitive to early stressful and/or traumatic experiences
The influence of porous medium characteristics and measurement scale on pore-scale distributions of residual nonaqueous-phase liquids

Abstract A series of experiments was performed to characterize the morphologic distribution of nonaqueous-phase liquids (NAPL's) at residual saturation, as a function of porous medium size. Morphologic characterization of NAPL distributions was accomplished using a novel in situ polymerization technique. The porous medium consisted of glass beads. Blob length, volume and shape characteristics were determined for each experiment, and pore size distributions were determined through capillary pressure-saturation experiments. Both the blob lenght and pore size distributions were fitted to a van Genuchten function. Both blob lenght and pressure-saturation data could be scaled with the same averaged porous medium characteristics. The blob length distributions were found to be wider than the pore size distributions. Estimates of representative elementary volumes (REV's) were generated from statistical analysis using a van Genuchten cumulative frequency distribution function for blob lenght and an empirical function for blob volume as a function of blob length. Simulations were also performed using a Monte Carlo method. The size of the REV needed for a given level of prediction of the residual saturation level was found to increase as a function of mean particle volume for the similar used in this study. Extrapolation of the REV analysis suggests that the size of an REV will increase rapidly as uniformity of the medium decreases. If this extrapolation holds true, significant uncertainty would exist in most determination of residual saturation for poorly sorted media that have been reported to date.