cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Food-intake dysregulation in type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats: hypothesized role of dysfunctional brainstem thyrotropin-releasing hormone and impaired vagal output.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), a neuropeptide contained in neural terminals innervating brainstem vagal motor neurons, enhances vagal outflow to modify multisystemic visceral functions and food intake. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are accompanied by impaired vagal functioning. We examined the possibility that impaired brainstem TRH action may contribute to the vagal dysregulation of food intake in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats, a T2D model with hyperglycemia and impaired central vagal activation by TRH. Food intake induced by intracisternal injection of TRH analog was reduced significantly by 50% in GK rats, compared to Wistar rats. Similarly, natural food intake in the dark phase or food intake after an overnight fast was reduced by 56–81% in GK rats. Fasting (48 h) and refeeding (2 h)-associated changes in serum ghrelin, insulin, peptide YY, pancreatic polypeptide and leptin, and the concomitant changes in orexigenic or anorexigenic peptide expression in the brainstem and hypothalamus, all apparent in Wistar rats, were absent or markedly reduced in GK rats, with hormone release stimulated by vagal activation, such as ghrelin and pancreatic polypeptide, decreased substantially. Fasting-induced Fos expression accompanying endogenous brainstem TRH action decreased by 66% and 91%, respectively, in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) in GK rats, compared to Wistar rats. Refeeding abolished fasting-induced Fos-expression in the NTS, while that in the DMV remained in Wistar but not GK rats. These findings indicate that dysfunctional brainstem TRH-elicited vagal impairment contributes to the disturbed food intake in T2D GK rats, and may provide a pathophysiological mechanism which prevents further weight gain in T2D and obesity.
Elementary theory of the quadrupole mass filter

Abstract The theory of operation for the quadrupole mass filter (QMF) has been treated in detail in the literature. Those treatments have been detailed discussions of the theory of Mathieu functions, concerned primarily with the solution of the Mathieu equation by analytical theory, numerical integration, and matrix methods. Empirical relationships pertaining to various characteristics of the QMF operation have also been discussed in various publications. The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap between theory intended for the active specialist and qualitative treatments intended for the general scientific community. Another aim of this work is to attempt to alleviate some of the mystique surrounding the operation of the quadrupole mass spectrometer by treatment of the subject in a truly elementary fashion. This theoretical treatment of the QMF is intended to be a concise derivation of the important physical relationships, using only elementary equations of classical physics and those equations from Mathieu function theory needed to understand the conventional operation of the QMF as a mass spectrometer. Finally, some examples of calculations using this simple theory are presented using the physical dimensions of an actual quadrupole mass spectrometer.
The role of the insulin receptor in mediating the insulin-stimulated growth response in Reuber H-35 cells

Insulin is able to stimulate a growth response in a variety of different cell types. However, the role of the insulin receptor in mediating this response is not clear. Indeed, it has been reported that the ability of insulin to stimulate a growth response is a result of its interaction with other growth factor receptors rather than the insulin receptor. We have previously reported that the H-35 hepatoma cell line responded to physiological concentrations of insulin as a growth factor and that the relative potency of proinsulin suggested that this response was mediated by the insulin receptor. In this report, two experimental approaches are used to demonstrate the involvement of the insulin receptor in mediating the growth response. Two different preparations of antibody to the insulin receptor are found to be capable of stimulating this response. In addition, the human insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and II) show very low cross-reactivity with the insulin receptor and are significantly less potent than insulin in stimulating the growth response.
High level ab initio and a hybrid density functional theory study of the bond dissociation energies and heats of formation for FOOF and FOOCl

Abstract The reliability of high level ab initio methods, specifically (G1, G2, and CBSQ) as well as hybrid (B3LYP) density functional theory methods were tested for computing bond dissociation energies and heats of formation on FOOCl, for which accurate values are available. These approaches were used for a computational study of energetic properties of FOOCl, for which there is no available data. The best computed values are 21.4 kcal/mol for the heat of formation of FOOCl, 7.1 kcal/mol for the heat of formation for FOOF, and 45.0 kcal/mol for FO–OF bond dissociation energy.
685 ACCIDENTAL INJURIES TO CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN RURAL FLORIDA

In order to develop an accident prevention program for children, a review of injuries occurring in children seeking care at 3 North Florida rural health clinics was made. The clinics are located in 3 medically underserved rural counties and serve as their only medical facilities. The nearest full-service hospital emergency room is 30 miles from one clinic, and over 50 miles from the other two. The records of 230 children treated during the 4-month period were reviewed. Of the 258 injuries or accidents reported, 2 were fatal. The most common non-fatal injuries were lacerations (30%), contusions (16%), sprains (12%), head injuries (10%), fractures (9%), and abrasions (7%). A miscellaneous group of injuries accounted for 18% of the accidents. Accidents occurred more often in males (65%) than females (35%); 2% occurred in 0-1 year olds, 17% in 1-4 year olds, 20% in 5-9 year olds, 41% in 10-15 year olds, and 20% in 16-21 year olds. These accidents occurred most frequently while they were at play (50%); 10% occurred at work, 15% at school, 6% in auto accidents, and 19% of miscellaneous causes. 15% of the accidents resulted from athletic activity; of these 31% occurred in organized sports, 48% in physical education classes, and 21% in unsupervised athletics. A comprehensive accident prevention program will be presented to this selected group of children and youth and their parents for the purpose of reducing injuries.
C5L2 receptor is not involved in C3a / C3a-desArg-mediated enhancement of bone marrow hematopoietic cell migration to CXCL12

C5L2 receptor is not involved in C3a / C3a-desArg-mediated enhancement of bone marrow hematopoietic cell migration to CXCL12
Ground and Excited State Spectroscopic Probes of [(TMP)Fe(IV)=O]+: The First Magnetic Circular Dichroism Study of a Model Peroxidase Compound I Intermediate

MCD spectroscopy has been used to probe the ground and excited state electronic structure of [(TMP)Fe(IV)O]+, in order to obtain additional insight into the electronic structure of enzymic compound I catalytic intermediates. Differences between the MCD of HRP I and the model parallel differences in the exchange interaction. Variable-temperature MCD has determined the magnitude of the ground state zero-field splitting (D3/2 = +5.3 cm-1), which reflects a small energy separation (Δ) between the Fe dxy and dxz,yz orbitals due to Fe dxz,yz → porphyrin pπ* backbonding interactions.
Postglacial rebound from VLBI geodesy: On establishing vertical reference

Difficulty in establishing a reference frame fixed to the earth's interior complicates the measurement of the vertical (radial) motions of the surface. I propose that a useful reference frame for vertical motions is that found by minimizing differences between vertical motions observed with VLBI [Ma and Ryan] and predictions from postglacial rebound predictions [Peltier]. The optimal translation of the geocenter is 1.7mm/year toward 36degN, 111degE when determined from the motions of 10 VLBI sites. This translation gives a better fit of observations to predictions than does the VLBI reference frame used by Ma and Ryan, but the improvement is statistically insignificant. The root mean square of differences decreases 20% to 0.73 mm/yr and the correlation coefficient increases from 0.76 to 0.87. Postglacial rebound is evident in the uplift of points in Sweden and Ontario that were beneath the ancient ice sheets of Fennoscandia and Canada, and in the subsidence of points in the northeastern U.S., Germany, and Alaska that were around the periphery of the ancient ice sheets.
Love is in the air: Sociality and pair bondedness influence sifaka reproductive signalling

Social complexity, often estimated by group size, is seen as driving the complexity of vocal signals, but its relation to olfactory signals, which arguably arose to function in nonsocial realms, remains underappreciated. That olfactory signals also may mediate within-group interaction, vary with social complexity and promote social cohesion underscores a potentially crucial link with sociality. To examine that link, we integrated chemical and behavioural analyses to ask whether olfactory signals facilitate reproductive coordination in a strepsirrhine primate, the Coquerel's sifaka, Propithecus coquereli. Belonging to a clade comprising primarily solitary, nocturnal species, the diurnal, group-living sifaka represents an interesting test case. Convergent with diurnal, group-living lemurids, sifakas expressed chemically rich scent signals, consistent with the social complexity hypothesis for communication. These signals minimally encoded the sex of the signaller and varied with female reproductive state. Likewise, sex and female fertility were reflected in within-group scent investigation, scent marking and overmarking. We further asked whether, within breeding pairs, the stability or quality of the pair's bond influences the composition of glandular signals and patterns of investigatory or scent-marking behaviour. Indeed, reproductively successful pairs tended to show greater similarity in their scent signals than did reproductively unsuccessful pairs, potentially through chemical convergence. Moreover, scent marking was temporally coordinated within breeding pairs and was influenced by past reproductive success. That olfactory signalling reflects social bondedness or reproductive history lends support to recent suggestions that the quality of relationships may be a more valuable proxy than group size for estimating social complexity. We suggest that olfactory signalling in sifakas is more complex than previously recognized and, as in other socially integrated species, can be a crucial mechanism for promoting group cohesion and maintaining social bonds. Thus, the evolution of sociality may well be reflected in the complexity of olfactory signalling.
Signal Processing Applications Of 70 Mhz Bit-Serial Hardware

This paper examines signal processing applications of high speed bit-serial arithmetic and control circuitry which has been designed and tested for performance in the 50 MHz to 100 MHz range. A dense layout technique allows as many as 70 28-bit serial multipliers to be placed on a single 1.25 micron CMOS chip. At 70 MHz, this provides a throughput of 144 million multiplications per second. Applications to Fourier transform processors, digital filters, and matrix multi-plication are presented as examples. The bit-serial hardware is shown to have several advantages over bit-parallel alternatives.
Abstract LB-153: Influence of macrophages and p38α/β signaling on early metastatic dissemination of premalignant ErbB2+ mammary epithelial cells

Metastases originate from tumor cells that disseminate from the primary site through a process aided by macrophages. This was proposed to occur only during late invasive stages of cancer. However, the presence of tumor cells in the bone marrow of patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a pre-invasive form of breast cancer, argues that these events can take place earlier. The mechanisms driving this process are poorly understood. Our lab showed that in the MMTV-ErbB2 breast cancer model, inhibition of p38 signaling accelerated disease progression and enhances early dissemination. Using this same model and knowing that macrophages are key for mammary gland development and remodeling, we investigated whether these inflammatory cells might actively participate in early dissemination. We now show that F4/80+ macrophages associate with mammary ducts in the periphery of the myoepithelial layer but are never inside the ducts in wild type or in pre-malignant 18-20 week old MMTV-ErbB2 mice mammary glands. We found that macrophages are recruited into epithelial layers of pre-malignant lesions, when the ErbB2 oncogene is amplified and p38 activity is lost. This event showed a high correlation with enhanced dissemination of ErbB2+CK8/18+ mammary epithelial cells (MECs) detected in circulation or the bone marrow. Sites where macrophages had invaded the ducts showed disruption of the myoepithelium and reduced E-Cadherin expression in MECs. Depletion of macrophages from pre-malignant MMTV-Neu mice abolished p38 driven early dissemination. Importantly, DCIS samples from patients frequently contained intra-epithelial macrophages. These data suggest that macrophages may actively aid early dissemination from pre-malignant tissue, but only in the context of p38 inhibition and ErbB2 activation. Further, in areas of macrophage infiltration, luminal ductal cells may downregulate E-cadherin, which could foster cell migration/invasion. Our data in human DCIS samples further underscores the relevance of our findings and indicates that analysis of macrophages in DCIS lesions might be useful to better identify patients at high risk of carrying disseminated disease. Citation Format: Nina Linde, Arthur Mortha, Soledad Sosa, Miriam Merad, Julio Aguirre-Ghiso. Influence of macrophages and p38α/β signaling on early metastatic dissemination of premalignant ErbB2+ mammary epithelial cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-153. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-LB-153
Male labor supply estimates and the decision to moonlight

Abstract This research improves the manner in which moonlighting is examined by recognizing that workers may moonlight due to primary job hours constraints or because jobs are heterogeneous. Our theoretical model permits both motives for moonlighting and considers moonlighting in tandem with labor supply behavior on the primary job. Both primary and secondary job hours equations are estimated using data from the SIPP for prime-aged men. We conclude that the moonlighting decision is quite responsive to wage changes on both jobs and arises from both motives, and that properly modeling moonlighting produces a relatively high primary job labor supply elasticity.
Excitatory effects of the vasodilator hydralazine on acoustic startle in the rat.

Abstract Several drugs that functionally depress noradrenergic transmission depress acoustic startle amplitude (e.g., clonidine, phenoxybenzamine). Since these agents also depress blood pressure, the current study was designed to investigate the effects of hypotension per se (in the absence of decrease noradrenergic transmission) on the acoustic startle response. The vasodilator hydralazine was chosen because it produces marked hypotension in conscious rats, yet results in a compensatory increase in noradrenergic transmission (sympathetic rebound), rather than a decrease, as is seen with many other hypotensive agents. Hydralazine (0.3–20 mg/kg, IP) produced a marked and long-lasting increase in startle amplitude, compared to saline-treated controls. In a similar group of subjects, IP administration of 2.5 mg/kg hydralazine decreased mean arterial blood pressure by about 50% in conscious rats. Since, at the doses and treatment times employed in the present study, hydralazine decreases blood pressure but not startle amplitude, these data suggest that there is no relationship between changes in blood pressure and changes in startle amplitude across all drugs. Moreover, since hydralazine-induced hupotension results in an increase in noradrenergic transmission (sympathetic rebound), these data are consistent with the hypothesis that increases in central noradrenergic transmission increase acoustic startle amplitude. Lastly, since the most prominent direct action of hydralazine occurs in the periphery, hydralazine may alter startle through central actions that are triggered in the periphery.
THE PERFORMANCE EFFECTS OF FIT BETWEEN ACCOUNTING FIRM ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: SOME EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN

In the current era of intensifying global competition, much attention has been focused on how companies need to change their structures and processes, or more broadly, organizational cultures, to remain competitive in this environment. Three recent studies have examined the nature of accounting firms' organizational cultures. Soeters and Schreuder (1988) and Pratt, Mohrweis and Beaulieu (1993) tested the degree to which accounting firms are able to transfer their home‐country or ganizational cultures to their foreign operations, while Pratt and Beaulieu (1992) analyzed the organizational culture of U.S. accounting firms operating in their home country. An implicit premise of these prior studies is that an accounting firm's organizational culture is an important determinant of its economic success. Thus, Pratt and Beaulieu (1992) hypothesized that organizational culture would vary with such variables as accounting firm size and functional area. Yet none of these prior studies has directly studied the nature of these firms’ external environments to which they were presumably responding. Nor have they directly measured the fit between these firms' organizational cultures and the external environment, or the effect of this fit on firm performance. The current study extends the empirical investigation to these assumed linkages. Data were collected from a sample of accounting firms operating in an important Pacific Rim participant in the global economy — Taiwan. The results are consistent with the fit between organizational culture and the environment being an important determinant of firm performance.
From Peasants to ‘Project Beneficiaries’: The Case of the Brazilian Amazon PPG7 Demonstration Projects

From 1992 to 2012, the Brazilian government, together with international development agencies representing the G7, implemented the Pilot Programme to Conserve the Brazilian Rainforests (PPG7). This intended to promote sustainable development in the Amazon forest area, with a key component being community-based agro-ecological and agroforestry production for the market. These projects, called ‘demonstration projects’, have provided financial credit to peasant-based organizations with some history of political and trade-union activity. However, by making a very selective use of approaches to rural development and overlooking the economic component of development in the agrarian sector, these projects seem to have resulted in a number of negative impacts for peasants and small-scale rural producers that remain overlooked in PPG7 official evaluations.
Ab Initio MO Study of the Full Cycle of Olefin Hydroformylation Catalyzed by a Rhodium Complex, RhH(CO)2(PH3)2

The potential energy profile for the full cycle of olefin hydroformylation catalyzed by RhH(CO)2(PH3)2, consisting of olefin coordination and insertion, CO insertion, H2 oxidative addition, and aldehyde reductive elimination, as well as ligand coordination and dissociation, is investigated using the ab initio molecular orbital method. Structures of nearly all isomers of intermediates and transition states involved in each step are determined mainly at the Hartree−Fock level, and the potential energy profile is calculated at MP2 and MP4 levels. The site preference for trigonal-bipyramidal intermediates and transition states discriminates possible paths of the catalysis. The coordinatively unsaturated intermediates are strongly coordinated and stabilized by a solvent olefin molecule, while the transition states are not solvated. The energetic and entropic effects of solvation play the critical role in determining the activation free energies. Including the solvent effect, the H2 oxidative addition step from...
On the Feasibility of Single-Molecule Detection of the Guanosine-Analogue 3-MI

We present UV fluorescence fluctuation correlation spectroscopy (FCS) measurements on the guanosineanalogue 3-MI [3-methyl-8-(2-deoxy-‚-D-ribofuranosyl)isoxanthopterin], a pteridine widely used in studies of DNA binding and dynamics. We measure the photon count rate and signal-to-background ratio per molecule, for both monomeric 3-MI and a 3-MI-containing oligonucleotide. For the monomer, we find a maximum photon count rate per molecule above 4 kHz and a maximum signal-to-background ratio of 5. For incorporated 3-MI, both parameters are a factor of 4 smaller. We discuss the triplet and photobleaching behavior of 3-MI and the possibilities of using this analogue in single-molecule studies of DNA dynamics. Comparisons are made to the behavior of stilbene 3, a brilliant laser dye with a similar fluorescence spectrum. Nucleic acid analogues offer an attractive alternative to the use of linker-attached dyes in the study of DNA binding and dynamics. For bulk assays, analogues are widely exploited as a way to avoid artifacts associated with linker and dye structure and dynamics (for a review, see ref 1). For single-molecule studies, the use of analogues has been thwarted by their smaller absorption cross sections, absorption maxima that tend to be in the UV, and a propensity to photobleach. Here, we investigate the potential of 3-MI [3-methyl-8-(2-deoxy-‚-D-ribofuranosyl)isoxanthopterin], a guanosine analogue, 2 in the study of single DNA molecules. We show that single-molecule detection of 3-MI monomer is possible and suggest that single-molecule spectroscopic techniques can successfully be applied to DNA incorporated with 3-MI. Nucleoside analogues offer some advantages over labeling
Replicated declustering for arbitrary queries

Declustering have attracted a lot of interest over the couple of years. Recently, declustering using replication is proposed to reduce the additive overhead of declustering. Most of the work on declustering focuses on spatial range queries. However, in many scenarios including multi-user environments, query shapes can be arbitrary. In this paper, we explore replicated declustering for arbitrary queries. Replication reduces the cost of arbitrary queries to manageable levels. First, we investigate theoretically what is possible using replication for arbitrary queries. Then, we propose a 2-copy replication strategy that achieves the theoretical limit and therefore is the best possible scheme. Using proposed scheme, an arbitrary query containing b buckets requires disk accesses bounded by [√b] This is a significant improvement especially for small queries because using a single copy b buckets require min (b, N) disk accesses in the worst case even for small queries. Proposed scheme works for nonuniform data as well as uniform data. Finally, we extend the proposed scheme to a partial replication scheme to achieve best performance using limited replication.
Edmas: An Object-Oriented, Locally Distributed Mail System

The Eden Project conducts research in the design and implementation of a distributed computing environment for a local area network. A specific goal in designing Eden was to provide users the advantages of both physical distribution and logical integration. Edmas, the Eden mail system, provided an early test of Eden as a base for building distributed applications. This paper discusses Edmas, and shows how Eden's advanced functionality aided us in structuring a distributed mail system, particularly in the areas of replying and distribution lists.
Exposure to silver via food reduces egg production and viability in herbivorous copepods and cladocerans

Abstract Most toxicity tests expose organisms to metals via the dissolved phase only. Marine copepods Acartia tonsa and Acartia hudsonica, and the freshwater cladoceran Simocephalus sp., were exposed to silver (Ag) via the dissolved phase and through phytoplankton food. Dissolved phase exposure caused no discernible acute or sublethal effects in either organism. When zooplankton were exposed to Ag via their phytoplankton food, egg production decreased by up to 75%. This toxic effect occurred when the phytoplankton are exposed to concentrations of 500 pM Ag for cladocerans and 1 nM Ag for copepods. These concentrations are realistic for polluted environments and are three orders of magnitude lower than concentrations at which lethal effects are seen in toxicity tests with dissolved Ag. We believe that Ag toxicity occurs via disruption of vitellogenin (Vtg) transport into the egg. Total protein content of the egg decreases by up to 50% as the parent is exposed to increasing concentrations of Ag, and Vtg is the dominant egg protein. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of yolk proteins is being conducted to more specifically quantify differences in the eggs proteins produced by control and exposed parents.
Structural and functional characterization of the short acidic transcriptional activation region of yeast GCN4 protein

Derivatives of the yeast GCN4 transcription factor containing acidic regions of 35 to 40 amino acids fused directly to the DNA-binding domain are fully functional in vivo. High resolution deletion analysis and proteolytic mapping suggest that the activation region is a repeated structure composed of small units acting additively. Acidic character is a feature of the structural motif, possibly a dimer of α-helices from two GCN4 monomers, that may be important for interactions with the basic transcriptional machinery.
Cancer and the environment: Filling knowledge gaps together

When considering disease etiology, we need to view the role of the environment along the continuum from health to disease for individuals because we know that there are complex interactions between genes, their molecular expression, and environmental factors over a person’s lifetime. We clearly have huge gaps in our knowledge along this continuum, and these gaps are natural opportunities for research. There are many factors to consider as we assess the relationship between environmental exposures over a lifetime. One factor is persistence of chemicals that “live” beyond their initial intended use. Another factor is the fact that “inert ingredients” are not really inert. “Low dose” is also another consideration. We need to understand the biological effect of low dose exposure and we should clearly define what they mean by low dose research. For example, are we measuring the administered dose, or the internal/circulating dose? There are new types of toxicity as well. For example, endocrine disruptors and engineered nanomaterials are significant classes of materials deserving significant research. Timing of exposure is a significant feature in characterizing toxicity. Environmental exposures can have a greater impact in early or later life-stages. Finally, mixtures of chemicals are an important consideration. Humans are always exposed to multiple chemicals. In short, we must remember that there is no such thing as “not exposed.” Everyone has been exposed to many and various environmental agents.
Contiguous state lotteries: Substitutes or complements?

Lotteries in neighboring states may influence each other in two ways. They may act as substitutes, stealing customers from each other, or they may serve as complements, increasing enthusiasm and awareness so as to boost total sales in both states. Empirical results conflict. Vrooman [1976] finds that lottery sales in New York State are enhanced by sales increases in neighboring states. More recently, however, Mikesell [1987] and Mikesell and Zorn [1987] conclude that per capita lottery sales are higher when one state borders others not offering a lottery. Vrooman examines lottery sales from 1967 to 1975, a period covering only the passive game. The substantial change in lottery operations since that time calls into question the current validity of his results. While more current, studies by Mikesell and later Mikesell and Zorn fail to distinguish between the different types of lottery games offered in neighboring states. Due to similarities in ticket price, expected value of a ticket and marketing, certain types of games in bordering states are quite likely substitutes. However, since lotto is a parimutuel game, the expected value of a ticket varies. Consequently, where contiguous states both offer the lotto game, experienced players may cross the border to play the neighboring lotto game as the expected value of a ticket increases. The purpose of this study is to test whether each of the three major types of lottery games act as complements or substitutes when offered in neighboring states.
Immobilization improves the reproducibility of patient positioning during six-field conformal radiation therapy for prostate carcinoma☆

Purpose: To determine the magnitude of patient positioning errors associated with six field conformal therapy for carcinoma of the prostate, and to assess the impact of alpha-cradle immobilization on these errors. Methods and Materials: The records of 22 patients, treated at two of the treatment facilities within our department, using computed tomography-planned conformal six field therapy for carcinoma of the prostate, were reviewed. At one facility (UCD), patients were routinely treated with immobilization, while at the other (UCSF) no rigid immobilization was used. Portal films of patients treated at both facilities were subsequently reviewed, and the deviation of each portal from the simulation film was determined (simulation-to-treatment variability). In addition, for each patient, the average deviation of each portal film from the average portal film (treatment-to-treatment variability) was determined. Results: The mean and median simulation-to-treatment variability was 0.4 cm for those patients treated with immobilization, versus 0.6 cm for those treated without immobilization. The 90th percentile of simulation-to-treatment variability was 0.7 cm for those patients treated with immobilization, versus 1.1 cm for those not immobilized. There was a significant reduction in the number of portals observed with errors of ≥0.50 cm (132201 vs. 3787, 66% vs. 43%; p < 0.001), 0.75 cm (184201 vs. 5987, 92% vs. 68%; p < 0.001), and 1.0 cm (196201 vs. 7487, 98% vs. 85%; p < 0.001) for patients treated with immobilization. There was also a significant reduction in the number of patients with treatment-to-treatment variability ≥0.5 cm 110 vs. 812; p = 0.01) for patients treated with immobilization. Conclusion: The use of immobilization devices significantly reduces errors in patient positioning, potentially permitting the use of smaller treatment volumes. Immobilization should be a component of conformal radiation therapy programs for prostate carcinoma.
Gall bladder distension in choline-deficient chicks.

Newly hatched chicks were fed high fat, choline-deficient or choline-supplemented diets for 7 days. At this time they were killed, gall bladders were excised and the bladder contents analyzed. It was observed that choline- deficient chicks exhibit marked distension of the gall bladder. Such chicks would vomit when disturbed. The effect of choline deficiency on the gall bladder status of chicks was interpreted as a dysfunction of this organ secondary to decreased cholinergic activity of the autonomie nervous system. Bladder bile of deficient chicks had a higher concentration of bilirubin but not of calcium or cholesterol as compared to the bile of supplemented chicks. The feeding of cholesterol to choline-deficient chicks further elevated the bilirubin content of the bile without producing additional changes in the bile. The feeding of cholesterol to both de ficient and supplemented chicks caused an elevation of serum cholesterol, the rise being greater in the supplemented birds. This latter finding is similar to that seen in weanling rats subjected to the same dietary treatment. J. Nutr. 101: 1233-1240, 1971.
MAGIC : a sensitive and precise method for measuring dissolved phosphorus in aquatic environments

A simple and straightforward method has been developed for the precise determination of nanomolar concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) in marine and freshwater environments. The method relies on the quantitative removal of P from solution by in vitro formation of brucite [Mg(OH),], initiated by the addition of NaOH. The precipitate is collected by centrifugation and either dissolved in HCl for SRP determinations or hydrolyzed (8 M HCl, 80°C 1 h), dried, and ashed (450°C 3 h) for TDP determinations. Both procedures are completed by reaction with the standard Murphy-Riley molybdenum blue reagents. This magnesium-induced coprecipitation (MAGIC) procedure can be used to effect a loo-fold concentration, thereby providing a method which can reliably detect 1 nmol SRP liter-’ of seawater. MAGIC can also be used to determine P in Mg2+- amended freshwater samples. The method is highly reproducible; typical estimates of precision for triplicate SRP determinations in the 1 O-1 00 nM range are from 1 to 3%. Field trials of the MAGIC procedure in the North Pacific Ocean reveal mixed-layer SRP concentrations from 30 to 100 nM, with substantial temporal variability. The method is versatile and has many other potential applications.
Geiger-Mode Operation of GaN Avalanche Photodiodes Grown on GaN Substrates

Ultraviolet (UV) GaN p-i-n avalanche photodiodes (APDs) on low dislocation density free-standing GaN substrates were grown and fabricated. The GaN APD showed a stable avalanche multiplication gain in a linear mode, using UV illumination. In Geiger-mode operation at room temperature with gated quenching, no after-pulsing effect was observed up to 100 kHz. The single-photon detection efficiency and dark-count probability were measured to be ${\sim}$ 1% and ${\sim} 3\times 10^{- 2}$ at 265 nm, respectively.
Insect herbivory in an intact forest understory under experimental CO 2 enrichment

Human-induced increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration have the potential to alter the chemical composition of plant tissue, and thereby affect the amount of tissue consumed by herbivorous arthropods. At the Duke Forest free-air concentration enrichment (FACE) facility in North Carolina (FACTS−1 research facility), we measured the amount of leaf tissue damaged by insects and other herbivorous arthropods during two growing seasons in a deciduous forest understory continuously exposed to ambient (360 μ ll −1 ) and elevated (~560 µl l −1 ) CO2 conditions. In 1999, there was a significant interac- tion between CO2 and species such that winged elm (Ulmus alata) showed lower herbivory in elevated CO2 plots, whereas red maple (Acer rubra) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) did not. In 2000, our results did not achieve statistical significance but the magnitude of the result was consistent with the 1999 results. In 1999 and 2000, we found a decline (10-46%) in community-level herbivory in elevated CO2 plots driven primarily by reductions in herbivory on elm. The major contribution to total leaf damage was from missing tissue (66% of the damaged tissue), with galls, skeletonized, and discolored tissue making smaller contributions. It is unclear whether the decline in leaf damage is a result of altered insect populations, altered feeding, or a combination. We were not able to quantify insect populations, and our measure- ments did not resolve an effect of elevated CO2 on leaf chemical composition (total nitrogen, carbon, C/N, sugars, phenolics, starch). Despite predictions from a large number of single-species studies that herbivory may increase under elevated CO2, we have found a decrease in herbivory in a naturally established forest understory exposed to a full suite of insect herbivores and their predators.
Fermions on the Light-Front

Issues that are specific for formulating fermions in light-cone quantization are discussed. Special emphasis is put on the use of parity invariance in the non-perturbative renormalization of light-cone Hamiltonians.
Continuous state-dependent decoders for brain machine interfaces

One of the characteristics of cursor movement controlled via a brain machine interface is a trade-off between the ability to move rapidly between targets and the ability to hold the cursor steadily within a target. We propose to address this limitation by classifying independent movement and posture states, and using neural decoders with optimum dynamical properties for each state. This paper investigates two methods of classifying the state of a limb based on the offline analysis of neural discharge. We also tested the performance of state-dependent decoders that either apply additional smoothing during the posture state or consist of separate filters trained explicitly on data from the different movement states. This work suggests that a state-dependent decoder may provide significantly improved BMI performance.
Assessing Immunological Function in Toxicological Studies of Avian Wildlife

Laboratory and field studies have demonstrated that the immune system is sensitive to environmental contaminants. Testing protocols have been developed to screen for immunotoxic effects and elucidate mechanisms of toxicity in laboratory rodents. Similar methods have been applied to wildlife species in captivity and the wild. Several epizootics in wildlife have been associated with elevated exposure to contaminants. This paper discusses immunotoxicological techniques used in studies of avian wildlife. Measurements of immunological structure include peripheral white blood cell counts and the mass and cellularity of immune organs such as the thymus, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius. While contaminants can alter these measures of immunological structure, such measures do not directly assess how the immune system functions, i.e., responds to specific challenges. The two most commonly used in vivo immune function tests in birds are the phytohemagglutinin (PHA) skin response for T cell-mediated immunity and the sheep red blood cell (SRBC) hemagglutination assay for antibody-mediated immunity. In vitro tests of immune function in avian wildlife include proliferation of lymphocytes in response to various mitogens and phagocytosis of fluorescent particles by monocytes. While optimization of in vitro techniques for wildlife species is often time-consuming, these assays usually require only a single blood sample and can elucidate mechanisms of toxicity. In immunological studies of wildlife, investigators should consider factors that may influence immune responses, including age, body condition, date, developmental stage of the immune system, and time required for the progression of immune responses.
Grouped sweeping scheduling for DASD-based multimedia storage management

This paper presents a new formulation of DASD (direct access storage device) disk arm scheduling schemes for multimedia storage management. The formulation, referred to as grouped sweeping scheduling (GSS), provides a framework for minimizing the buffer space required in the retrieval of multimedia streams. In GSS, the set ofn media streams that are to be served concurrently is divided intog groups. Groups are served in fixed order and streams within each group are served in an elevator-like SCAN scheme. Hence, the fixed order (FIFO) and SCAN schemes are special cases of GSS wheng=n andg=1, respectively. In this paper an optimization problem is formulated in which the buffer requirement is minimized with respect to the two design parameters:g and the size of the service unit, i.e. the number of blocks accessed in each service cycle. This formulation initially assumes that all media streams have the same playout requirements. A procedure of complexityO(1) is developed in computing the optimum solution to this problem. The proof of optimality and comparisons between the optimized GSS scheme and FIFO and SCAN are also presented. The paper also discusses the effect of disk arrays in the GSS formulation and issues related to operating GSS in a dynamic setting where streams arrive and depart in random order. Finally, the GSS scheme is extended to support heterogeneous media streams where each stream may have its own playout requirement.
Exceptional rigidity and biomechanics of amyloid revealed by 4D electron microscopy

Amyloid is an important class of proteinaceous material because of its close association with protein misfolding disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and type II diabetes. Although the degree of stiffness of amyloid is critical to the understanding of its pathological and biological functions, current estimates of the rigidity of these β-sheet–rich protein aggregates range from soft (108 Pa) to hard (1010 Pa) depending on the method used. Here, we use time-resolved 4D EM to directly and noninvasively measure the oscillatory dynamics of freestanding, self-supporting amyloid beams and their rigidity. The dynamics of a single structure, not an ensemble, were visualized in space and time by imaging in the microscope an amyloid–dye cocrystal that, upon excitation, converts light into mechanical work. From the oscillatory motion, together with tomographic reconstructions of three studied amyloid beams, we determined the Young modulus of these highly ordered, hydrogen-bonded β-sheet structures. We find that amyloid materials are very stiff (109 Pa). The potential biological relevance of the deposition of such a highly rigid biomaterial in vivo are discussed.
Strategies for School-Based Response to Loss: Proactive Training and Postvention Consultation

The suicide of a student or staff member is one of the most difficult crisis confronting a high school. This article describes the first year of a school-based postvention program to train and consult with crisis personnel in a structured response to this crisis. Responding to Loss (RTL) is one program offered by Community Action for Youth Survival, a project of the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities. Serving a contiguous three county urban area, this program integrates public health, epidemiological, psychiatric, and prevention paradigms to provide a comprehensive approach to the aftermath of adolescent suicide. RTL provides an interdisciplinary model for comprehensive, school-based postvention programs based on the guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and national and local psychological autopsy data. It highlights the significance of responding to increased rates of suicide in minority youth, suicide witnessed by peers, and suicide victims who have dropped out of school. Organizational issues, such as systematic school entry, development of a computerized school database, proactive training, and collaboration with the offices of medical examiners and coroners, are described. Initial evaluation data from year 1 indicate significant gains in participants' knowledge and skills, as well as a high rate of consumer satisfaction.
The Kinetics of L-selectin Tethers and the Mechanics of Selectin-mediated Rolling

Two mechanisms have been proposed for regulating rolling velocities on selectins. These are ( a ) the intrinsic kinetics of bond dissociation, and ( b ) the reactive compliance, i.e., the susceptibility of the bond dissociation reaction to applied force. To determine which of these mechanisms explains the 7.5–11.5-fold faster rolling of leukocytes on L-selectin than on E- and P-selectins, we have compared the three selectins by examining the dissociation of transient tethers. We find that the intrinsic kinetics for tether bond dissociation are 7–10-fold more rapid for L-selectin than for E- and P-selectins, and are proportional to the rolling velocities through these selectins. The durations of pauses during rolling correspond to the duration of transient tethers on low density substrates. Moreover, applied force increases dissociation kinetics less for L-selectin than for E- and P-selectins, demonstrating that reactive compliance is not responsible for the faster rolling through L-selectin. Further measurements provide a biochemical and biophysical framework for understanding the molecular basis of rolling. Displacements of tethered cells during flow reversal, and measurements of the distance between successive pauses during rolling provide estimates of the length of a tether and the length of the adhesive contact zone, and suggest that rolling occurs with as few as two tethers per contact zone. Tether bond lifetime is an exponential function of the force on the bond, and the upper limit for the tether bond spring constant is of the same order of magnitude as the estimated elastic spring constant of the lectin–EGF unit. Shear uniquely enhances the rate of L-selectin transient tether formation, and conversion of tethers to rolling adhesions, providing further understanding of the shear threshold requirement for rolling through L-selectin.
Predicting mobile app usage for purchasing and information-sharing

Purpose – Mobile applications, or apps, are an increasingly important part of omnichannel retailing. While the adoption and usage of apps for marketing purposes has grown exponentially over the past few years, there is little academic research in this area. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the mobile phone platform (Android vs Apple iOS), interest in the app and recency of store visit affect consumers’ likelihood to use the apps for purchasing and information-sharing activities. Design/methodology/approach – The paper tests a model by analysing survey data collected from customers of a major US retailer using partial least squares regression. Findings – The analysis finds that the level of interest in a retail app is positively related to the consumer's intention to engage in both purchasing and information-sharing activities. In addition, the recency of the consumer's last visit to the retail store has a moderating effect on both types of activities; the more recent the last visit, the larger ...
Significant vs Meaningful Differences in the Effects of Tangible Reinforcement on Intelligence Test Achievement and Reliability of TMR Subjects.

The effects of tangible reinforcement on a set of four different intelligence test measures for 72 trainable mentally retarded children was investigated. Performance under a standard and reinforced (M & M) condition, differences in split-half reliability, power estimates, as well as the effect size resulting from treatments, were considered. The Lorge-Thorndike vocabulary, WISC Arithmetic, Picture Arrangement, and Comprehension subtests were administered. Reinforced administration resulted in significantly superior performance on all but the Comprehension test, although magnitude of treatment effects was low. Reliabilities under the reinforced condition were higher for all but the Lorge-Thorndike measures. Confidence bounded effect sizes even at their maximal value did not result in “meaningful” differences in performance, however.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract: precursors and problematic variants.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Upper Aerodigestive Tract: Precursors and Problematic Variants