cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estrogen Treatment Decreases a-Adrenergic Binding Sites on Rabbit Platelets

Steroid hormones modulate adrenergic response and receptors in several tissues. Estrogen treatment results in increased uterine a-adrenergic contraction and also increased a-adrenergic receptors, as quantitated by the binding of the radioligand [3H]dihydroergocryptine (DHE). We asked whether the change in a-adrenergic receptors after estrogen treatment was unique to the uterus or was present in platelets, another tissue known to be affected by estrogen. We used DHE in binding studies of rabbit platelet particulates and found that DHE binding was consistent with interactions expected at an a-adrenergic receptor; binding was high affinity (Kd = 2 nM), low capacity (190–360 fmol/mg protein), and competed for stereoselectively by adrenergic agents with a typical α-adrenergic rank order of potency. Therefore, we used DHE to quantitate a-adrenergic receptors on platelets from oophorectomized or estrogen-treated animals. Estrogen administered by a treatment protocol that has previously been described to decrease...
The efficacy of live virtual machine migrations over the internet

This paper describes a technique to enable live migration of virtual machines over the Internet. The method assumes the network supports Mobile IPv6 and that participating host devices support Xen 3.1. Unlike live migration schemes proposed by other researchers, virtual networks are not required. We describe our work in progress on developing a system that utilizes Mobile IPv6 to enable constant network connectivity through the migration. We identify the sources of delay associated with the live migration and conclude that as long as migrations occur relatively infrequently, live migration over the Internet is practical.
HIV variability in the liver and evidence of possible compartmentalization.

There is growing evidence to suggest that HIV may interact with several hepatic cell types; however, evaluation of HIV variability in liver tissue has not been addressed to date. Among 16 HIV-positive individuals examined, nine (56%) had detectable HIV RNA in the liver. The mean CD4 cell count for these nine individuals was 337 cells/mm3 (range: 0–601), while their mean plasma HIV RNA level was 106,974 copies/ml (range: 1200–320,740). Among individuals in this study with detectable HIV in both the plasma and the liver, the consensus gag nucleotide sequences for each tissue type were different for seven of seven (100%) individuals, while amino acid sequences were distinct for five of seven (71%). Consensus envelope (env) nucleotide and amino acid sequences were also distinct in the plasma and liver tissue for six of six (100%) individuals. Statistical evidence of compartmentalization between HIV in the plasma and in the liver was demonstrated, and multiple liver-specific amino acids were identified that may distinguish HIV variants replicating within the liver. These preliminary data demonstrate that HIV is frequently detectable in the liver of HIV-positive persons at various levels of immunosuppression. Possible compartmentalization may reflect tissue-specific selection pressures that drive viral adaptation to the liver microenvironment and may facilitate interactions with other hepatotropic viruses.
Situational feature recognition in schizophrenic outpatients

Previous research has suggested that patients with schizophrenia are significantly better at identifying relatively concrete features that describe social situations (e.g., actions and roles) than more abstract features (e.g., rules and goals). Because participants in the earlier research were all inpatients, the results may have been confounded by various factors that are commensurate with a hospital stay. Thirty-one patients with DSM-III-R diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 39 normal volunteers completed the Situational Feature Recognition Test to determine whether they also showed the differential deficit. Results showed that the outpatient group was, indeed, less symptomatic than the inpatient group; outpatients also showed better overall feature recognition than inpatients. Schizophrenic outpatients and normal volunteers are significantly better at identifying concrete features than abstract features. Additional analyses suggested that the differential deficit in outpatients is due, in part, to their disorder. Implications for the remediation of social functioning deficits are discussed.
Risk factors for venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing craniotomy for neoplastic disease

Patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures for neoplasia have historically been considered at higher risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE). We sought to identify risk factors associated with VTE in patients undergoing craniotomy for tumor resection. We reviewed a national surgical quality database (American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project, ACS-NSQIP, http://site.acsnsqip.org/ ). Patients undergoing non-emergent craniotomy for neoplastic indications were identified based on current procedural terminology codes. Clinical factors were identified that were associated with VTE events. 3,098 patients who underwent non-emergent craniotomy were identified. 1,741 patients underwent procedures for neoplastic disease (56.2 %). The rate of DVT in these patients was 3.2 % compared to 1.4 % in other neurosurgical patients (OR 2.30, CI 2.29–2.30). The rate of pulmonary embolism was 1.8 % compared to 0.5 % (OR 3.61, CI 3.60–3.62). Univariate analysis identified several factors correlated with VTE. Pre-operative characteristics associated with VTE were the presence of impaired sensorium, dependent functional status, and age > 60 years. Total operative time > 4 h was associated with VTE. Post-operative events associated with VTE included pneumonia, unplanned intubation, fail to wean from ventilator, UTI, stroke, sepsis and septic shock. Age > 60, OR time > 4 h, UTI, and septic shock were significantly associated with VTE in multivariate analysis. Patients undergoing craniotomy for neoplasm are at increased risk of VTE. This risk appears to be modified by pre-operative medical comorbidities, longer operative time, and post-operative complications.
A telemetering system for stomach pressure of animals

A telemetering system for veterinary research dealing with stomach pressure of ruminant animals is described. The system, consisting of a transmitter, receiver, and recorder, has worked satisfactorily with an animal in a 4-aere enclosure, and greater ranges are anticipated.
A model of high affinity choline transport in rat cortical synaptosomes.

— Initial velocity of choline uptake by cortical synaptosomes from the Long-Evans rat has been measured as a function of both choline and sodium concentration. These data were then fitted to the rate equation for each of several possible models which characterize the participation of sodium in the transport process, and the models giving best fit were identified. Although one cannot unequivocally distinguish between a model including a high affinity carrier component plus diffusion and one including both high affinity and low affinity carriers, the conclusions concerning the high affinity component are the same in both cases. The major conclusions from the model are as follows: (1) The carrier may first combine with either choline or sodium; if the first reaction is with sodium, then there is an obligatory reaction with a second sodium before choline can interact with the carrier. (2) Translocation may occur as either CS or CNa2S (C= carrier; S= choline; CS= carrier-substrate complex). (3) The apparent maximal velocity (Va) is dependent on the sodium concentration. (4) K1, the choline concentration giving Va/2. is also dependent on the sodium concentration. K1 increases with [Na] from 0 to 38.41 mm; above 38.41 mm-[Na]. K1 declines with [Na]. (5) There is a sigmoidal relationship between velocity of uptake and [Na]; however, uptake is not zero at [Na] = 0. (6) Jm. uptake at a given [choline] and infinite [Na]. is hyperbolically related to the choline concentration, but changes slowly over the range of 0.5–5.0 ± 10-6m. (7) KNa, the sodium concentration giving a velocity equal to Jm/2, is related to the choline concentration by a quadratic equation, and was found to be greater than physiological [Na] at choline concentrations of 0.5, 0.6, or 1.0 ± 10-6m. but less than physiological [Na] at choline concentrations of 2.0 or 5.0 ± 10-6m. The best fit model for the high affinity uptake of choline is very similar to what has been found in previous studies for the high affinity uptake of glutamic acid and GABA, thus raising the question of whether or not all high affinity synaptosomal mechanisms may be variations of a common model.
Continuous phase modulation parameter optimization for DWDM systems

The constant envelope characteristic of CPM signal is particularly interesting for use in fiber optic links since it can be leveraged to avoid nonlinear phase modulation. Implementation complexity of CPM systems is generally higher than their QPSK counterpart, partly due to the nontrivial task of generating the signal as well as the need to observe the received signal over multiple symbol periods to make an optimal decision. Because of this complexity, the use of full-response CPM systems is favorable for complexity since optimal reception is achieved with lower order, however, partial response systems can achieve higher minimum distance. We analyze parameter selection for CPM transmission, optimizing error performance and spectral efficiency in a tightly filtered reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexor (ROADM) application. We illustrate their impact on the normalized minimum Euclidean distance (as a proxy for error performance). The impact of parameters on spectral efficiency is implicit on the choice of ROADM filters. The results provide guidance for a suitable choice of CPM scheme for consideration in DWDM systems. Optimal parameters are given for full and partial response systems for a variety of filter scenarios.
RAVE Is Essential for the Efficient Assembly of the C Subunit with the Vacuolar H+-ATPase

The RAVE complex is required for stable assembly of the yeast vacuolar proton-translocating ATPase (V-ATPase) during both biosynthesis of the enzyme and regulated reassembly of disassembled V(1) and V(0) sectors. It is not yet known how RAVE effects V-ATPase assembly. Previous work has shown that V(1) peripheral or stator stalk subunits E and G are critical for binding of RAVE to cytosolic V(1) complexes, suggesting that RAVE may play a role in docking of the V(1) peripheral stalk to the V(0) complex at the membrane. Here we provide evidence for an interaction between the RAVE complex and V(1) subunit C, another subunit that has been assigned to the peripheral stalk. The C subunit is unique in that it is released from both V(1) and V(0) sectors during disassembly, suggesting that subunit C may control the regulated assembly of the V-ATPase. Mutants lacking subunit C have assembly phenotypes resembling that of RAVE mutants. Both are able to assemble V(1)/V(0) complexes in vivo, but these complexes are highly unstable in vitro, and V-ATPase activity is extremely low. We show that in the absence of the RAVE complex, subunit C is not able to stably assemble with the vacuolar ATPase. Our data support a model where RAVE, through its interaction with subunit C, is facilitating V(1) peripheral stalk subunit interactions with V(0) during V-ATPase assembly.
Focus of Bronchial Carcinoma in situ Eradicated by Endobronchial Biopsy

Bronchial carcinoma in situ is not frequently diagnosed in a clinical setting. A bronchoscopic biopsy of a small mucosal abnormality in a patient with hemoptysis yielded a diagnosis of carcinoma in situ. The involved lobe was resected. On thorough histologic examination of the surgical specimen, no residual carcinoma could be found. To our knowledge, this is unprecedented in the literature. This case emphasizes the importance of biopsying subtle abnormalities and raises questions about the optimal management of in situ bronchial carcinoma.
Relationship of isokinetic torque to isometric torque

Isokinetic muscle testing has become an increasingly popular method for measuring muscle performance. However, the relationship of isokinetic strength measurements to static strength measurements remains unclear. The relationship between maximal isokinetic and maximal isometric torque was investigated at angular velocities of 24, 48, 96, and 192 degrees/s for both flexion and extension of the elbow joint. Twenty-four subjects were tested bilaterally, and discrete torque values at the positions of 60 and 90 degrees of flexion were obtained from the continuous isokinetic records for comparison with isometric torques recorded at the same two positions. Data were analyzed using an analysis of covariance with isokinetic torque, the dependent variable, expressed as a function of isometric torque and as a function of the design variables side and position. The results demonstrated significant effects of side and position and also demonstrated the dependence of isokinetic strength on velocity. Confidence intervals were determined for the prediction of isokinetic torque from observed isometric torque for normal individuals, providing a potentially useful tool to aid in the diagnosis of muscular disorders.
Relativistic HFS oscillator strengths for indium and gallium

Abstract Oscillator strengths for the diffuse series are calculated with the relativistic Hartree-Fock-Slater model. The effects of retardation are included. Satisfactory agreement is obtained between the experimental data and the present calculations. It is shown that the relativistic effects can be as much as 15% in certain transitions for large atomic numbers.
Physical Activity and Diet: Key Components for Improved Bone Mass in Premature, Very-Low-Birth Weight (VLBW: <1500 gm) Infants

Physical Activity and Diet: Key Components for Improved Bone Mass in Premature, Very-Low-Birth Weight (VLBW: <1500 gm) Infants
Vitamin D inhibits proliferation of human uterine leiomyoma cells via catechol-O-methyltransferase

Objective To evaluate the effects and mechanisms of action of vitamin D on human uterine leiomyoma (HuLM) cell proliferation in vitro. Design Laboratory study. Setting University hospitals. Patients(s) Not applicable. Interventions(s) Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure(s) HuLM cells were treated with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D), and cell proliferation was assayed by the methylthiazolyl tetrazolium technique. proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), BCL-2, BCL-w, cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 1, and catechol- O -methyltransferase ( COMT ) protein levels were analyzed by Western blotting. COMT mRNA and enzyme activity were assayed by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis, respectively. The role of COMT was evaluated in stable HuLM cells by silencing COMT expression. Result(s) Vitamin D inhibited the growth of HuLM cells by 47 ± 0.03% at 1 μM and by 38 ± 0.02% at 0.1 μM compared with control cells at 120 hours of treatment. Vitamin D inhibited extracellular signal–regulated kinase activation and down-regulated the expression of BCL-2, BCL-w, CDK1, and PCNA. Western blot, RT-PCR, and enzyme assay of COMT demonstrated inhibitory effects of vitamin D on COMT expression and enzyme activity. Silencing endogenous COMT expression abolished vitamin D–mediated inhibition of HuLM cell proliferation. Conclusion(s) Vitamin D inhibits growth of HuLM cells through the down-regulation of PCNA, CDK1, and BCL-2 and suppresses COMT expression and activity in HuLM cells. Thus, hypovitaminosis D appears to be a risk factor for uterine fibroids.
Stac adaptor proteins regulate trafficking and function of muscle and neuronal L-type Ca2+ channels

Excitation–contraction (EC) coupling in skeletal muscle depends upon trafficking of CaV1.1, the principal subunit of the dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR) (L-type Ca2+ channel), to plasma membrane regions at which the DHPRs interact with type 1 ryanodine receptors (RyR1) in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. A distinctive feature of this trafficking is that CaV1.1 expresses poorly or not at all in mammalian cells that are not of muscle origin (e.g., tsA201 cells), in which all of the other nine CaV isoforms have been successfully expressed. Here, we tested whether plasma membrane trafficking of CaV1.1 in tsA201 cells is promoted by the adapter protein Stac3, because recent work has shown that genetic deletion of Stac3 in skeletal muscle causes the loss of EC coupling. Using fluorescently tagged constructs, we found that Stac3 and CaV1.1 traffic together to the tsA201 plasma membrane, whereas CaV1.1 is retained intracellularly when Stac3 is absent. Moreover, L-type Ca2+ channel function in tsA201 cells coexpressing Stac3 and CaV1.1 is quantitatively similar to that in myotubes, despite the absence of RyR1. Although Stac3 is not required for surface expression of CaV1.2, the principle subunit of the cardiac/brain L-type Ca2+ channel, Stac3 does bind to CaV1.2 and, as a result, greatly slows the rate of current inactivation, with Stac2 acting similarly. Overall, these results indicate that Stac3 is an essential chaperone of CaV1.1 in skeletal muscle and that in the brain, Stac2 and Stac3 may significantly modulate CaV1.2 function.
Fast Structured Prediction Using Large Margin Sigmoid Belief Networks

Images usually contain multiple objects that are semantically related to one another. Mapping from low-level visual features to mutually dependent high-level semantics can be formulated as a structured prediction problem. Current statistical models for structured prediction make simplifying assumptions about the underlying output graph structure, such as assuming a low-order Markov chain, because exact inference becomes intractable as the tree-width of the underlying graph increases. Approximate inference algorithms, on the other hand, force one to trade off representational power with computational efficiency. In this paper, we present large margin sigmoid belief networks (LMSBNs) for structured prediction in images. LMSBNs allow a very fast inference algorithm for arbitrary graph structures that runs in polynomial time with high probability. This probability is data-distribution dependent and is maximized in learning. The new approach overcomes the representation-efficiency trade-off in previous models and allows fast structured prediction with complicated graph structures. We present results from applying a fully connected model to semantic image annotation, image retrieval and optical character recognition (OCR) problems, and demonstrate that the proposed approach can yield significant performance gains over current state-of-the-art methods.
Hormone Replacement Therapy and Late-Life Mania

The authors report a case of mania occurring in a woman in late life who had begun receiving hormone replacement therapy for osteoporosis. They discuss related literature reports of mania or rapid cycling after adjunctive estrogen administration for refractory depression.
Ranges of fragments from fission of U235 with thermal neutrons and the kinetic energy deficit

Abstract Differential- and average-range measurements have been made on several fission-product recoils in aluminium from fission of U 235 with thermal neutrons. The observed average ranges are, in mg/cm 2 Al: Mo 99 , 3.98±0.02; Ag 111 , 3.55±0.01; Cd 115 , 3.32±0.01; Sn 121 , 3.18±0.02; Sn 125 , 3.21±0.01; Sb 127 , 3.25±0.01; Sb 129 , 3.34; Ba 140 , 2.98±0.01. Resolution of the range distributions, defined as full width at half maximum divided by average range, after removal of various experimental effects, runs from 10±5% (Mo 99 ) to 18±5%(Cd 115 ). Ranges of the fragments were converted to energies in order to determine the magnitude of the deficit in total kinetic energy release at symmetric fission, which we found to be 21 MeV. From the range-dispersion data, we find that the dispersion in total kinetic energy release is not as great in the symmetric region as has been previously indicated by time-of-flight experiments. We find no indication that the kinetic energy deficit at symmetric fission is connected with the two-mode fission hypothesis which has been successful in explaining energetics of fission induced at higher energies.
Traumatic Laceration of the Posterior Left Ventricle Diagnosed by Transesophageal Echocardiography

A 49-year-old man presented with a stab wound to the left chest. On physical examination, he had jugular venous distention and distant heart sounds; a trauma ultrasound showed a large pericardial effusion. Emergency thoracotomy revealed a large amount of blood and clot in the pericardial space and rapid hemorrhage from a laceration of the right ventricular free wall that was repaired with sutures. A transthoracic echocardiogram the next day revealed a large muscular ventricular septal …
Additive effect of dorzolamide hydrochloride to patients taking travoprost: a retrospective study.

Abstract Background A retrospective chart review study at a Veterans Affairs hospital evaluated intraocular pressure change after dorzolamide hydrochloride 2% was administered to patients already using travoprost. A literature search found no other study that looked specifically at this combination of drugs. Methods A chart review of 46 patients at the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System was performed evaluating the intraocular pressures after dorzolamide hydrochloride was added to travoprost. Baseline intraocular pressures were obtained on patients who had been on travoprost at least 4 months. Endpoint intraocular pressures were then obtained from the visit closest to 6 months after the addition of dorzolamide hydrochloride. Results An average intraocular pressure reduction of an additional 20.6% was observed after adding only dorzolamide hydrochloride to travoprost. Conclusions This study confirmed our clinical observations that dorzolamide hydrochloride added to travoprost is an excellent and safe choice to further lower intraocular pressures.
Effects of salinity on chloride cells in the euryhaline cyprinodontid fish Rivulus marmoratus

The ultrastructure and density of chloride cells in the gill, opercular epithelium, and opercular skin of the euryhaline self-fertilizing fish Rivulus marmoratus (Cyprinodontidae) were studied with electron and fluorescence microscopy. R. marmoratus raised from birth in 1, 50, 100, and 200% seawater were compared. Chloride cells from fish raised in each of the four salinities exhibited an invaginated “pit” structure at the apical crypt. Multicellular complexes were present in the 1% seawater group and in those fish raised in higher salinities where elaborate interdigitations were seen between cells. Chloride cells from gills of fish raised in 200% seawater had a significantly higher percentage of their cytoplasmic volume composed of mitochondria than did those from fish raised in 1% seawater (69.9% vs 37.4%). The opercular skin and opercular epithelium had the same density of chloride cells (4.2×104-4.5×104 chloride cells/cm2), and this number did not vary significantly with increased salinity. The opercular skin thus appears far more responsive to environmental salinity than the opercular epithelium. Chloride cells from the opercular epithelium of fish raised in 200% seawater were found to be 39% larger than those from fish raised in 1% seawater, whereas the chloride cells from the opercular skin of the 200% seawater group were 107% larger than those from the 1% seawater group.
Conducting a design workshop in the classroom

The author describes the intent and format of a classroom design workshop. The goals of the design workshop and the design project are presented, and the results of the projects are compared with prior years' results when no design workshop was implemented. It is observed that the workshop technique can produce beneficial results for both students and professors working on design-oriented assignments. The methods described for the workshop can be applied in any technical class where the design activity attempts to solve a creative engineering application. The use of this approach in a senior-level course in electrical engineering technology at Purdue University is discussed. >
Brown treesnake ( Boiga irregularis ) trappability: Attributes of the snake, environment and trap

We examined three classes of factors that may influence brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) trappability on Guam: (1) attributes of the snake, (2) attributes of the environment and (3) attributes of the trap. The attributes of the snake we considered included body condition, length and sex. Heavier snakes for a given size (better body condition) moved less and were less easily trapped. Longer snakes were easier to trap. Males were also slightly more easily trapped than females. We compared brown treesnake trappability between two study sites that differed greatly in the abundance of diurnal skinks, an important prey item for smaller snakes. We predicted that snakes, especially small individuals (<800 mm snout-vent length), would be more easily trapped in the low prey environment, a result that received only weak support from our data. However, small snakes were rarely trapped under any circumstance. We also predicted that diurnal foraging would be observed in the site with a higher density of diurnal prey, but daytime snake captures were negligible at both sites. Two attributes of traps that we varied were attractant (mouse vs. skink) and entrance flaps (present vs. absent). Traps with mice as attractant registered 6-16 fold more snake captures. We found little influence of entrances on captures. These modulators of brown treesnake trappability may have analogues in a variety of species, especially species that undergo an ontogenetic shift in diet.
The Relationship of Physical Attractiveness and Punitiveness: Is the Linearity Assumption out of Line?

Three levels of physical attractiveness were manipulated in order to: (1) replicate the finding that an attractive defendant receives less punishment than an unattractive defendant and (2) demonstrate that attractiveness and punitiveness are curvilinearily related. Results supported both aims and are discussed in terms of information search.
Thermophilic methane production from dairy cattle waste

Abstract Methane production from waste of dairy cattle fed diets containing 72% roughage (dry matter basis) was investigated in anaerobic reactors at 60°C with retention times (RT) set at 3, 6 and 9 days. Influent concentrations of volatile solids (VS) were increased in steps of 2% from 4 to 14% VS or until the reactor failed due to excess substrate. Gas production was measured and samples of effluent taken for six consecutive days after allowing three volume turnovers for each increment of VS. The maximum concentration of VS in the substrate for highest volumetric fermentation efficiency was 8–10, 10–12 and 12 for RT of 3, 6 and 9 days, respectively. Destruction of VS for these and lower substrate concentrations was 19–24, 26–27 and 30–33% for 3-, 6- and 9-day RT reactors, respectively. The corresponding methane production rates were 0·09-0·12, 0·11-0·14 and 0·11-0·16 liters/day/g of VS in substrate. The gas contained 51–56% methane with the rest mainly carbon dioxide. Increasing the percentage of feed VS beyond the values indicated resulted in greatly decreased VS destruction and methane production. The dairy cattle waste contained the following constituents as percent of dry matter: Volatile solids (VS) 85, Na 0·37, K 3·8, P 1·0, Si 2, non-ammonia N expressed as crude protein (CP) 18, NH 3 N 0·3, cell wall constituents 46, acid detergent fiber 32, hemicellulose 13, cellulose 21, lignin 10, acetate 3·1, lactate 6·6 and ether extract 4. Detailed analyses for organic acids indicated that the efficiency of methanogenesis was, in general, good until increasing organic loading rates caused total organic acid concentration to reach 120–150 m m . As loading rates increased, propionate was the first acid to increase but did not exceed levels higher than 27 m m . Acetate was the second acid to increase and reached levels as high as 150 m m at high reactor loading rates. Butyrate was low or absent initially but was produced at high loading rates, reaching levels of 30–40 m m . Inhibition of methane did not appear to be associated with a change in any specific acid. Isobutyrate and isovalerate plus 2-methylbutyrate, indicative of protein catabolism, accumulated in amounts as high as 5 and 7 m m , respectively, when 10–14% of VS were fed. Little n -valerate, n -caproate, formate or succinate accumulated.
Response to 5-hydroxytryptamine on neurons of guinea pig celiac and inferior mesenteric ganglia in primary culture

The electrophysiological effects of serotonin, a putative neurotransmitter in prevertebral sympathetic ganglia, were evaluated in cultured celiac and inferior mesenteric ganglia (IMG) neurons. Intracellular microelectrode recordings were performed in neurons that were maintained in culture an average of 26 days. Seventy-eight of 85 neurons responded when serotonin (10 microM) was applied by pressure ejection from a micropipette to the surface of the isolated cells. The majority of the neurons (n = 48) generated fast depolarizations, although slow depolarizations (n = 17), bipolar responses (n = 5), hyperpolarizations (n = 7), and a biphasic response (n = 1), were also seen. Hyperpolarizing responses were evoked in celiac neurons only. All responses were inhibited by the 5-HT3 antagonist MDL 72,222 (5 microM). Fast responses were not inhibited by tetrodotoxin (n = 3). These results demonstrate that serotonin evokes a variety of membrane potential changes in cultured prevertebral sympathetic neurons by activating 5-HT3 receptors.
The Relationship between Attendance at Religious Services and Cardiovascular Inflammatory Markers

Objective: Previous studies have shown an association between attendance at religious services and health, particularly cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Little research has focused on religious attendance and physiological markers of cardiovascular risk. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between religious attendance and inflammatory markers of cardiovascular risk. Method: Nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized United States adults aged 40 and over derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III 1988-1994 (n = 10,059). The main outcome measures were the inflammatory system markers C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, and white blood cell count. Results: 40. 8 percent of the population attended religious services 40 or more times in the previous year while 22.4 percent attended services less than 40 times and 36.8 percent attended no religious services at all. Non-attenders of religious services were more likely than attenders to have elevated white blood cell counts (p = .001), highly elevated C-reactive protein (p = .02), and elevated fibronogen (p = .05). After adjusting for demographic variables, health status, and BMI, the association between religious attendance and cardiovascular markers remained. Once current smoking was added to the model the independent effect of religious attendance dropped below conventional confidence limits. Conclusions: These findings suggest that people who have attended religious services in the previous year are less likely to have elevated levels of certain inflammatory markers, however, current smoking has significant shared variance with religious attendance.
Patterns Of Quantitative Sensation Testing Of Hypoesthesia And Hyperalgesia Are Predictive Of Diabetic Polyneuropathy—a Study Of Three Cohorts

OBJECTIVE—To test quantitative sensation testing (QST) patterns of hypoesthesia and hyperalgesia as indicators of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) and its severity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We used Computer-Assisted Sensory Examination IV characterized the QST results of the foot of each patient in three diabetic cohorts (similar to 1,500 patients) as hyperesthetic (less than or equal to 2.5th percentile), low-normal (2.5th–50th percentiles), high-normal (50th–97.5th percentiles), or hypoesthetic (greater than or equal to 97.5th percentile), and tested associations with symptoms, impairments, and test abnormalities. RESULTS—Overall neuropathic impairment was most severe in the pancreas-renal transplant and nerve growth factor cohorts, but it was much less severe in the population-based Rochester Diabetic Neuropathy Study (RDNS) cohort. The frequency distribution of sensory abnormalities mirrored this difference. When the QST spectra of diabetic cohorts were compared with those of the control subject cohort for vibration and cooling sensations, the only abnormality observed was hypoesthesia, which was expressed as an increased number of subjects with values at or above the 97.5th percentile or by an increased percentage of cases with high-normal values. Symptoms and impairments of DPN were significantly more frequent in the subjects with Values at or above the 97.5th percentile than in the subjects whose values were between the 50th and 97.5th percentiles. For heat pain (HP) sensation thresholds (intermediate pain severity [HP:5], pain threshold [HP:0.5], and pain-stimulus response slope [HP:5-0.5]), an increased frequency of both hypoalgesia and hyperalgesia was observed (especially in the RDNS cohort). Steeper pain-stimulus response slopes were significantly associated with sensory symptoms, including severity of pain. CONCLUSIONS—1) Decreased vibratory sensation (hypoesthesia) appears to be characteristic of mild DPN, whereas pan-modality hypoesthesia is characteristic of severe DPN. 2) A shift of vibratory and cold detection thresholds and also of attributes of nerve conduction and a measure of autonomic dysfunction from low-normal (2.5th–50th percentiles) to high-normal (50th–37.5th percentiles) appears to precede overt expression of DPN and to thereby provide evidence of subclinical abnormality. 3) Heat stimulus-induced hyperesthesia (low thresholds) occurs especially in mild DPN, and, because it correlates with DPN symptoms and impairments, it must be attributed to hyperalgesia rather than to supersensitivity. Therefore, hypoalgesia or hyperalgesia may be an indicator of early DPN.
Bias-Free Branch Predictor

Prior research in neutrally-inspired perceptron predictors and Geometric History Length-based TAGE predictors has shown significant improvements in branch prediction accuracy by exploiting correlations in long branch histories. However, not all branches in the long branch history provide useful context. Biased branches resolve as either taken or not-taken virtually every time. Including them in the branch predictor's history does not directly contribute any useful information, but all existing history-based predictors include them anyway. In this work, we propose Bias-Free branch predictors theatre structured to learn correlations only with non-biased conditional branches, aka. Branches whose dynamic behaviorvaries during a program's execution. This, combined with arecency-stack-like management policy for the global history register, opens up the opportunity for a modest history length to include much older and much richer context to predict future branches more accurately. With a 64KB storage budget, the Bias-Free predictor delivers 2.49 MPKI (mispredictions per1000 instructions), improves by 5.32% over the most accurate neural predictor and achieves comparable accuracy to that of the TAGE predictor with fewer predictor tables or better accuracy with same number of tables. This eventually will translate to lower energy dissipated in the memory arrays per prediction.
Scattering optics of foam

The multiple scattering of light by aqueous foams is systematically studied as a function of wavelength, bubble size, and liquid fraction. Results are analyzed in terms of the transport mean free path of the photons and an extrapolation length ratio for the diffuse photon concentration field. The wavelength dependence is minimal and may be attributed entirely to the wavelength dependence of the refractive index of water rather than thin-film interference effects. The transport mean free path is found to be proportional to the bubble diameter and the reciprocal of the square root of liquid fraction. The extrapolation length ratio varies almost linearly with liquid fraction between the values for water-glass-air and air-glass-air interfaces.
Impact of Georgia's Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act: 15-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the 15-year impact of Georgia's graduated drivers' licensing (GDL) law, the "Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act" (TADRA), on fatality crashes among young drivers. METHODS: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data for Georgia and Census denominators were used to determine fatal crash rates (FCR) of drivers ages 16 through age 19 who passed through the Georgia GDL System during the 5.5 years prior to through 15.5 years after TADRA's implementation. FCR of younger drivers were compared to those of drivers ages 20-54, and 55-75, and compared by gender. Attention was given to speeding- and alcohol-related crashes, two foci of TADRA. RESULTS: The decline in FCR has been maintained, and even increased through 15.5 years after passage of the law. Extending the curfew and further limiting passengers (passed in 2001) and driver's education and supervised driving requirements (added in 2007) may have contributed. The greatest declines were among 16- and 17-year-olds; most of the gains were among male drivers. The changes were greatest for alcohol- and speeding-related crashes. Those 18 and 19 years old did not demonstrate an increase in FCR over the period studied. CONCLUSION: Georgia's graduated licensing law, TADRA, has maintained and in some instances increased in effectiveness over the 15.5 years since its inception. While national research suggests that GDL laws are associated with increased crash rates among 18- to 19-year old drivers, this has not occurred in Georgia; 18- and 19-year-olds demonstrated no change or reductions in FCR over the 20.5-year period evaluated. Declines were greatest for those driving behaviors targeted by the law. Language: en
Acremonium endophytes: our current state of knowledge and future directions for research

Abstract Current knowledge of grass- Acremonium associations results from the discovery that animals grazing on infected grasses show an array of debilitating symptoms which lead to severe economic losses. Acremonium endophytes occur worldwide, infecting many cultivated and wild pooid grasses. It is also apparent that parasitism of different grasses by these fungi is complex. The fungal symbiont may be completely or partially endophytic and expression of parasitism may range from agonistic (the pathogenic phase of Epichloe typhina (Pers.) Tul.) to mutualistic. Regardless of how symbiosis is expressed, the associations can often benefit host grasses, improving their growth and survival. In addition, much information has been gained on the biology, ecology and physiology of specific grass-endophyte associations, the effects of infected (E+) grasses on herbivores (vertebrates and invertebrates), the chemistry of alkaloids responsible for herbivore resistance, tolerance of E + grasses to drought, and the management of endophytes for the benefit of turf and pasture grasses. Present information strongly suggests that most grass-endophyte symbioses must be maintained for optimum survival of the host grasses. Future research efforts can be clearly defined, on a pratical basis, as a continuation of studies that may lead to alleviation of toxicity to grazing animals, and the development of E+ grasses suitable for turf and pasture use. These goals may be accomp ished by manipulation of either livestock, endophyte or grass via genetic engineering, conventional breeding practices, or natural selection. Other approaches include improved plant and animal management and the use of chemical antidotes to reduce animal toxicoses. Specific research goals include continuation of studies on the biology, ecology, and physiology of symbiosis in cultivated and wild species of grasses. These studies should aid in elucidating the role of the symbionts in the host-fungus interactions (nutrition and metabolism) and mutualistic versus agonistic expression, as well as the origin and coevolution of the symbionts, mechanisms of biosynthesis of alkaloids, the bases for improved plant growth and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and development of techniques for genetic manipulation of the symbionts. Pathophysiology studies using pure alkaloids, small animal bioassays, in vitro organs, tissue culture, and indicators of biochemical activity (enzyme and hormones) will clarify the mechanisms of alkaloid toxicity, potentially leading to chemical antidotes and improved systems of animal field, great strides have been made in understanding the role of Acremonium endophytes in animal toxicoses and the stress survival of E+ plants.
Diffusivity in a marine macrophyte canopy: implications for submarine pollination and dispersal.

The dispersion and capture of differently shaped particles within a Zostera marina L. (eelgrass; Zosteraceae) bed were examined to understand submarine pollination and other dispersals. During periods of moderate flow in the canopy, the capture rate of "spherical" (the shape of ancestral pollen) and "filamentous" (the shape of eelgrass pollen) particles was greater for particles released at the top of the canopy (3.07 and 4.53% X 10 - 5 cm - 2 of collector: i.e., percentage of particles captured normalized to collector area) and greater for filamentous than for spherical particles (4.51% X 10 - 5 cm - 2 vs. 2.01% × 10 - 5 cm - 2 ). Estimates of the horizontal P (Joseph-Sendner diffusion velocity) and the vertical diffusivity (Gaussian K) of filamentous particles were small (P 4 X 10 - 4 m/s; K 10 - 4 m 2 /s) compared to theoretical values that do not consider plant canopies. These findings support the concept that eelgrass canopies modify the fluid dynamics (i.e., reduced turbulent mixing) within their canopies. These results indicate that 1000-10000 Z. marina pollen are required to pollinate a single flower. Similarly, it was estimated that under some conditions, the probability of particle impaction on eelgrass vegetation approaches certainty. These results provide insight into the evolution of filamentous pollen and submarine pollination, as well as dispersal and other mass transport phenomena within macrophyte canopies.
A 200-MHz CMOS x/sin(x) digital filter for compensating D/A converter frequency response distortion

A 200-MHz 11-tap finite-impulse-response (FIR) digital filter for compensating the sin(x)/x spectrum distortion introduced by digital-to-analog (D/A) converters was designed and fabricated in a 1- mu m CMOS technology. The chip core area is 1.91*3.28 mm/sup 2/ and its complexity is approximately 14,000 transistors. A fully parallel bit-level pipelined transpose-form carry-save architecture using simple powers-of-2 coefficients was used to achieve high throughput and low complexity. The various tradeoffs involving architecture selection, circuit design, and timing issues are presented, and the difficulties in realizing the speed potential of bit-level pipelined circuits are discussed. >
'e-science and cyberinfrastructure: a middleware perspective'

The Internet was the inspiration of J.C.R.Licklider when he was at the Advanced Research Projects Agency in the 1960's. In those pre-Moore's Law days, Licklider imagined a future in which researchers could access and use computers and data from anywhere in the world. Today, as everyone knows, the killer applications for the Internet were email in the 1970's and the World Wide Web in the 1990's which was developed initially as a collaboration tool for the particle physics academic community. In the future, frontier research in many fields will increasingly require the collaboration of globally distributed groups of researchers needing access to distributed computing, data resources and support for remote access to expensive, multi-national specialized facilities such as telescopes and accelerators or specialist data archives. In the context of science and engineering, this is the 'e-Science' agenda. Robust middleware services deployed on top of research networks will constitute a powerful 'Cyberinfrastructure' for collaborative science and engineering.This talk will review the elements of this vision and describe the present status of efforts to build such an internet-scale distributed infrastructure based on Web Services. The goal is to provide robust middleware components that will allow scientists and engineers to routinely construct the inter-organizational 'Virtual Organizations'. Given the present state of Web Services, we argue for the need to define such Virtual Organization 'Grid' services on well-established Web Service specifications that are widely supported by the IT industry. Only industry can provide the necessary tooling and development environments to enable widespread adoption of such Grid services. Extensions to these basic Grid services can be added as more Web Services mature and the research community has had the opportunity to experiment with new services providing potentially useful new functionalities. The new Cyberinfrastructure will be of relevance to more than just the research community: it will impact both the e-learning and digital library communities allow the creation of scientific 'mash-ups' of services giving significant added value.
Shattered Hope: The Guatemalan Revolution and the United States, 1944-1954

The most thorough account yet available of a revolution that saw the first true agrarian reform in Central America, this book is also a penetrating analysis of the tragic destruction of that revolution. In no other Central American country was U.S. intervention so decisive and so ruinous, charges Piero Gleijeses. Yet he shows that the intervention can be blamed on no single "convenient villain." "Extensively researched and written with conviction and passion, this study analyzes the history and downfall of what seems in retrospect to have been Guatemala's best government, the short-lived regime of Jacobo Arbenz, overthrown in 1954, by a CIA-orchestrated coup."--Foreign Affairs "Piero Gleijeses offers a historical road map that may serve as a guide for future generations. . . . [Readers] will come away with an understanding of the foundation of a great historical tragedy."--Saul Landau, The Progressive "[Gleijeses's] academic rigor does not prevent him from creating an accessible, lucid, almost journalistic account of an episode whose tragic consequences still reverberate."--Paul Kantz, Commonweal
Mexican Immigrant Fathers' and Mothers' Engagement With School-Age Children

This study examined mothers’ and fathers’ reports of their time spent in their school-age children’s care and academic work and the relationships between socioeconomic status and social support variables with fathers’ time spent in children’s care and academic work within two-parent Mexican immigrant families. Mother and father dyads from 79 two-parent Mexican immigrant families with a second- or third-grade child residing in rural towns in southwestern United States participated in the study. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that mothers spent significantly more time in children’s basic care, care on demand, and both academic interaction at home and at school than did fathers. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that fathers’ time spent in children’s care was positively related to their educational level and extrafamilial support and that their time spent in children’s academic work, although positively influenced by their education, was negatively influenced by family size. Findings are...