cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modulation of leukemia inhibitory factor gene expression and protein biosynthesis in human endometrium

Implantation is the process by which the blastocyst becomes intimately connected with the maternal endometrium/decidua. The independently developing preimplantation blastocyst then becomes dependent on the maternal environment for its continued development. Although the factors involved in the regulation of blastocyst implantation are incompletely understood, recent studies strongly suggest a critical role for leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) in mice. We showed previously that LIF acts on human trophoblasts to shift their differentiation toward the anchoring phenotype by increasing the synthesis of fibronectin. In the present study, we first evaluated the temporal expression of LIF in the human endometrium in order to gain further insights into the role of LIF in human implantation. We established the LIF is expressed in the endometrium in a menstrual cycle-dependent manner. The most abundant LIF messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels are observed in the mid- and late-luteal phase samples. LIF mRNA was also present in decidual tissues of first trimester of pregnancy, but levels were lower than those found in the midluteal endometrium. We then investigated the regulation of LIF expression in human endometrial cells in culture by cytokines, steroid hormones, and growth factors. We could not show any direct stimulatory evidence of steroid hormones (estradiol and progestins) on LIF mRNA expression or protein production by endometrial cells in culture. On the other hand, we showed that interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and transforming growth factor-beta are potent inducers of LIF expression in endometrial stromal cells in culture in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Interferon-gamma acted to inhibit LIF expression induced by these cytokines. In contrast, we found high constitutive and relatively less regulated levels of LIF mRNA in the endometrial gland cells. The timing of the expression of LIF in the endometrium suggests a potential role in the implantation. The regulation of the expression of LIF may have an important role in the physiological and pathological processes involving human implantation.
Can AAC help persons with dementia

(1994). Can AAC help persons with dementia? Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 60-60.
Augmentation of prefrontal cortical monoaminergic activity inhibits dopamine release in the caudate nucleus: Anin vivo neurochemical assessment in the rhesus monkey

Abstract Prefrontal cortical modulation of caudate nucleus dopamine release was investigated in the rhesus monkey using the in vivo microdialysis technique. Reliable and stable basal caudate nucleus dopamine levels were quickly attained within hours following insertion of the dialysis probes. High-potassium (60 mM) or tetrodotoxin (10 μM) infusions significantly altered caudate nucleus dopamine levels in the dialysate indicating that measured dopamine levels reflected impulse-dependent release from the presynaptic pool. Pharmacological augmentation of monoaminergic transmission in the sulcus principalis region of the prefrontal cortex resulted in significant alterations in caudate nucleus dopamine levels. Increase of monoaminergic activity by infusion of either d -amphetamine (100 μM) or cocaine hydrochloride (100 μM) resulted in a gradual and prolonged decrease in caudate nucleus dopamine levels. Similar decreases were noticed in caudate nucleus dopamine metabolite levels. The present results indicate that in non-human primates modulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortical monoaminergic transmission results in alterations in dopamine levels in subcortical structures. This observation may have clinical implications for therapeutic management of certain neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia.
Spatial Patterns of Subprime Mortgages by Local Banks, Nonlocal Banks, and Independents in the Continental US:

Mortgage innovations and New Deal agencies facilitated lower priced loans for prime borrowers and minimum price disparities across US regions. In the 1980s deregulation removed price restrictions o...
CFD SHAPE OPTIMIZATION USING AN INCOMPLETE-GRADIENT ADJOINT FORMULATION

A design methodology based on the adjoint approach for flow problems governed by the incompressible Euler equations is presented. The main feature of the algorithm is that it avoids solving the adjoint equations, which saves an important amount of CPU time. Furthermore, the methodology is general in the sense it does not depend on the geometry representation. All the grid points on the surface to be optimized can be chosen as design parameters. In addition, the methodology can be applied to any type of mesh. The partial derivatives of the flow equations with respect to the design parameters are computed by finite differences. In this way, this computation is independent of the numerical scheme employed to obtain the flow solution. Once the design parameters have been updated, the new solid surface is obtained with a pseudo-shell approach in such a way that local singularities, which can degrade or inhibit the convergence to the optimal solution, are avoided. Some 2D and 3D numerical examples are shown to demonstrate the proposed methodology. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Advances in somatic embryogenesis and plant production of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.)

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) immature seeds of different developmental stages were tested for the ability to initiate embryogenic cultures. Best results (average of 12% embryogenic cultures) were obtained when seeds collected 2–3 weeks post-anthesis were cultured for 3 weeks on modified Finer and Nagasawa medium containing 2,4-D (45–90 μM) and BA (2.2 μM) and then transferred to the same medium without growth regulators. Embryo conversion was obtained from naked or encapsulated somatic embryos derived from a long-term embryogenic line. Without cold treatment, 71% of naked embryos and 41% of the encapsulated embryos converted into plants. Fifteen days of cold treatment increased conversion rates up to 95% for naked embryos and 80% for encapsulated embryos. Recovered plantlets were acclimatized and grown in the greenhouse.
Soluble cytochrome b5 from human erythrocytes

Abstract 1. A hemeprotein with properties similar to microsomal cytochrome b5 has been detected in the supernatant fraction of hemolysates of human, beef, and rabbit erythrocytes. A method has been developed for determining the amount of this soluble cytochrome in small volumes of blood. The amount of the protein decreases during cell storage at 4 °C. Blood cells rich in reticulocytes contain more of the protein than do mature cells. 2. The cytochrome has been purified from human erythrocytes by a procedure which employs chromatography on Amberlite CG-50 and DETE-cellulose, ultrafiltration, and gel filtration. The purified protein sedimented in the ultracentrifuge as a single peak with an s20, w of 1.40. However, minor impurities were detected by polyacrylamide disc electrophoresis. 3. The molecular weight of the purified protein has been calculated to be 14600 from sedimentation and diffusion measurements and 18400 as determined by gel filtration. The prosthetic group has been identified as protoheme IX. The spectral properties of the hemeprotein are those of a low spin heme complex. The EPR spectrum of the oxidized form shows g values of 3.03, 2.21, and 1.39 and the visible spectrum has a Soret absorbance maximum at 413 nm. The protein is reducible by dithionite or NADH plus cytochrome b5 reductase and the reduced form shows absorbance maxima at 423, 527, and 556 nm with a shoulder at 560 nm. 4. The cytochrome b5 differs from the other B-type cytochrome of erythrocyte, S-protein (hemeprotein 559), and is not derived from this protein. The erythrocyte cytochrome b5 is similar to the cytochrome b5 solubilized from liver microsomes in terms of spectral properties, molecular weight, prosthetic group, and reactivity.
Despair's demand: An appraisal of Kierkegaard s argument for God

Anyone who has even attempted to tackle the writings of S0ren Kierkegaard knows that they make up a diverse and complex authorship. The standard fare served up as "Kierkegaard" in philosophy textbooks or in historical surveys is at best one-sided and more often thoroughly distorted. In one sense, Kierkegaard would have liked that. His work does not fit easily into a neat package appropriate for undergraduate consumption, or for selective placement in "narratives of the West." Kierkegaard is not easily captured in our conceptual nets; he eludes categorization, and this may be part of the reason for his enduring significance. That unique yet accurate readings of Kierkegaard's project are still emerging is not surprising. Traditionally, Kierkegaard has been interpreted, if not pigeon-holed, as rejecting arguments for the reality of God, or for the truth of the Christian doctrine. In fact, Kierkegaard has often been seen as rejecting rational argument altogether. More recently scholars of Kierkegaard's work have suggested that he does present considered arguments, not only psychological and moral arguments, but religious arguments as well. C. Stephen Evans (for one) has referred to these as "subjective" or "non-theoretical justifications for religious belief."1 While Evans believes that there are fideistic elements in Kierkegaard's writings, there are also arguments for religious belief. We might also refer to these arguments as existential or pragmatic arguments. One problem in discerning these arguments is that Kierkegaard did not seem to think that argumentation was the proper way to convey issues related to human subjectivity; arguments (he suggests) are applicable only to issues objectively demonstrable. Kierkegaard continually rails against
ANA'S GOLDEN FRACTAL

In his fascinating book Wonders of Numbers, Clifford Pickover introduces the Ana sequence and fractal, two self-referential constructions arising from the use of language. This paper answers Pickover's questions on the relative composition of sequence terms and the dimension of the fractal. In the process, it introduces a novel way of obtaining fractals from iterative set operations. Also, it presents a beautiful variant of the Ana constructions involving the golden ratio. In conclusion, it suggests ways of constructing similar fractals for the Morse-Thue and "Look and Say" sequences.
Information resource matrix for production and intelligent manufacturing using genetic algorithm techniques

Abstract In the field of production and intelligent manufacturing an experiment was conducted to obtain the relevant citations from nine databases in science and technology. A set of keywords or descriptors were used to formulate the search and their effectiveness was tested by using the clustering and genetic algorithm techniques. The results of this research are reported in this paper.
Low-Order Controller Design Using Global Optimization

The paper presents an optimization-based fixed-order controller design method. A minimization problem is formulated where the objective function is an &#x1d4c1; 1 − &#x1d4c1; ∞ performance measure that quantifies ...
Stereo error detection, correction, and evaluation

An algorithm is presented for error detection and correction of disparity, as a process separate from stereo matching, with the contention that matching is not necessarily the best way to utilize all the physical constraints characteristic to stereopsis. As a result of the bias in stereo research towards matching, vision tasks like surface interpolation and object modeling have to accept erroneous data from the stereo matchers without the benefits of any intervening stage of error correction. An algorithm which identifies all errors in disparity data that can be detected on the basis of figural continuity and corrects them is presented. The algorithm can be used as a postprocessor to any edged-based stereo matching algorithm, and can additionally be used to automatically provide quantitative evaluations on the performance of matching algorithms of this class. >
Evaluation of some technical factors affecting surgical outcome in photorefractive keratectomy with the VISX 2020 excimer laser

Some technical factors relating to the use of the VISX model 20/20 excimer laser for photorefractive keratectomy will be discussed and the way they affect the final optical correction will be demonstrated, as follows: (1) Discontinuation of nitrogen flow: improved corneal haze but induced a mean undercorrection of 0.8 D, 18 months postoperatively. (2) Discontinuation of the use of the fixation ring did not affect centration in a statistically significant fashion. (3) Enlargement of the optical from 5.0 mm to 6.0 mm zone did not affect the refractive outcome. Visual acuity was improved in eyes which had PRK done with a 6.0 mm optical zone.
Ribonucleotide incorporation by yeast DNA polymerase ζ.

Abstract During replication in yeast, the three B family DNA replicases frequently incorporate ribonucleotides (rNMPs) into DNA, and their presence in the nuclear genome can affect genome stability. This prompted us to examine ribonucleotide incorporation by the fourth B family member, Pol ζ, the enzyme responsible for the majority of damage-induced mutagenesis in eukaryotes. We first show that Pol ζ inserts rNMPs into DNA and can extend primer termini containing 3′-ribonucleotides. We then measure rNMP incorporation by Pol ζ in the presence of its cofactors, RPA, RFC and PCNA and at normal cellular dNTP and rNTP concentrations that exist under unstressed conditions. Under these conditions, Pol ζ stably incorporates one rNMP for every 200–300 dNMPs incorporated, a frequency that is slightly higher than for the high fidelity replicative DNA polymerases. Under damage-induced conditions wherein cellular dNTP concentrations are elevated 5-fold, Pol ζ only incorporates one rNMP per 1300 dNMPs. Functional interaction of Pol ζ with the mutasome assembly factor Rev1 gives comparable rNMP incorporation frequencies. These results suggest that ribonucleotide incorporation into DNA during Pol ζ-mediated mutagenesis in vivo may be rare.
The poor growth of Rhodospirillum rubrum mutants lacking PII proteins is due to an excess of glutamine synthetase activity.

Summary The PII family of proteins is found in all three domains of life and serves as a central regulator of the function of proteins involved in nitrogen metabolism, reflecting the nitrogen and carbon balance in the cell. The genetic elimination of the genes encoding these proteins typically leads to severe growth problems, but the basis of this effect has been unknown except with Escherichia coli. We have analysed a number of the suppressor mutations that correct such growth problems in Rhodospirillum rubrum mutants lacking PII proteins. These suppressors map to nifR3, ntrB, ntrC, amtB1 and the glnA region and all have the common property of decreasing total activity of glutamine synthetase (GS). We also show that GS activity is very high in the poorly growing parental strains lacking PII proteins. Consistent with this, overexpression of GS in glnE mutants (lacking adenylyltransferase activity) also causes poor growth. All of these results strongly imply that elevated GS activity is the causative basis for the poor growth seen in R. rubrum mutants lacking PII and presumably in mutants of some other organisms with similar genotypes. The result underscores the importance of proper regulation of GS activity for cell growth.
Robot-related fatality involving a U.S. manufacturing plant employee: Case report and recommendations

Abstract Sanderson, L.M., Collins, J.W. and McGlothlin, J.D., 1986. Robot-related fatality involving a U.S. manufacturing plant employee: Case report and recommendations. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 8: 13–23. This article presents the salient characteristics of the first publicly documented robot-related fatality in the United States and summarizes recommendations for both preventing similar accidents and directing future robotic safety research and practice. In July of 1984, a 34-year-old die cast operator with 15 years experience was pinned between the right rear end of a hydraulic robot and a “safety pole”. This operator was one of approximately 66 operators employed by the die cast company and was considered by many to be among the most adept at working with the plant's two robots. The major factor contributing to the death of this worker may have been his own behavior; he had been formally trained and instructed not to enter the envelope while the robot was operational. This American fatality has several characteristics in common with reported Japanese robot fatalities. These characteristics include: experience, entering the robot range of motion with power on, overriding existing safety systems, being struck from behind, and being pinned or crushed at a pinch point between the robot and stationary equipment. Recommendations for prevention of such injuries are made according to broad categories pertaining to ergonomics, training, and supervision. Specific recommendations for future robotic safety research and practice include improving information dissemination and consultation, addressing psychological factors of workers interacting with robots, assessing the effectiveness and limitations of safeguarding, establishing uniform and objective criteria for training and possibly certification, and expanding scientific research to include better surveillance and epidemiologic and ergonomic studies.
Eyeblink classical conditioning differentiates normal aging from Alzheimer's disease.

Eyeblink classical conditioning is a useful paradigm for the study of the neurobiology of learning, memory, and aging, which also has application in the differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases expressed in advancing age. Converging evidence from studies of eyeblink conditioning in neurological patients and brain imaging in normal adults document parallels in the neural substrates of this form of associative learning in humans and non-human mammals. Age differences in the short-delay procedure (400 ms CS-US interval) appear in middle age in humans and may be caused at least in part by cerebellar cortical changes such as loss of Purkinje cells. Whereas the hippocampus is not essential for conditioning in the delay procedure, disruption of hippocampal cholinergic neurotransmission impairs acquisition and slows the rate of learning. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) profoundly disrupts the hippocampal cholinergic system, and patients with AD consistently perform poorly in eyeblink conditioning. We hypothesize that disruption of hippocampal cholinergic pathways in AD in addition to age-associated Purkinje cell loss results in severely impaired eyeblink conditioning. The earliest pathology in AD occurs in entorhinal cortical input to hippocampus, and eyeblink conditioning may detect this early disruption before declarative learning and memory circuits become impaired. A case study is presented in which eyeblink conditioning detected impending dementia six years before changes on other screening tests indicated impairment. Because eyeblink conditioning is simple, non-threatening, and non-invasive, it may become a useful addition to test batteries designed to differentiate normal aging from mild cognitive impairment that progresses to AD and AD from other types of dementia.
Geographic mobility and spatial assimilation among U.S. latino immigrants

Although the spatial assimilation of immigrants to the United States has important implications for social theory and social policy, few studies have explored the patterns and determinants of interneighborhood geographic mobility that lead to immigrants' residential proximity to the white, non-Hispanic majority. We explore this issue by merging data from three different sources - the Latino National Political Survey, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and tract-level census data - to begin unraveling causal relationships among indicators of socioeconomic, social, cultural, segmented, and spatial assimilation. Our longitudinal analysis of 700 Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban immigrants followed from 1990 to 1995 finds broad support for hypotheses derived from the classical account of minority assimilation. High income, English language use, and embeddedness in Anglo social contexts increase Latino immigrants' geographic mobility into Anglo neighborhoods. U.S. citizenship and years spent in the United States are positively associated with geographic mobility into more Anglo neighborhoods, and coethnic contact is inversely associated with this form of mobility, but these associations operate largely through other predictors. Prior experiences of ethnic discrimination increase and residence in public housing decreases the likelihood that Latino immigrants will move from their origin neighborhoods, while residing in metropolitan areas with large Latino populations leads to geographic moves into less Anglo census tracts.
Extending soft collinear effective theory to describe hard jets in dense QCD media

An extension to the soft collinear effective theory description of hard jets is motivated to include the leading contributions between the propagating partons within the jet with partons radiated from a dense extended medium. The resulting effective Lagrangian, containing both a leading and a power suppressed (in the hard scale Q{sup 2}) contribution, arises primarily from interactions between the hard collinear modes in the jet with Glauber modes from the medium. In this first attempt, the interactions between the hard jet and soft and collinear partonic modes have been ignored, in an effort to focus solely on the interactions with the Glauber modes. While the effect of such modes on vacuum cross sections are suppressed by powers of the hard scale compared to the terms from the Lagrangian, such subleading contributions are enhanced by the extent of the medium and result in measurable corrections. The veracity of the derived Lagrangian is checked by direct comparison with known results from full QCD calculations of two physical observables: the transverse momentum broadening of hard jets in dense media and a reanalysis of the transverse momentum dependent parton distribution function.
Coming Out to Dad Young Gay and Bisexual Men’s Experiences Disclosing Same-Sex Attraction to Their Fathers

Few studies have examined the relationship between young gay and bisexual men (YGBM) and their fathers. Based on a phenomenological framework, this study investigated the role of fathers in YGBM's coming-out experience, focusing on how fathers responded to disclosure of same-sex attraction, how fathers' responses compared with sons' expectations, and what sons perceived as having influenced their fathers' responses. Semistructured in-depth interviews with 30 gay and bisexual men aged 18 to 24 years were conducted as part of a larger study; topics explored in the interview included experiences coming out to family and others. Nineteen participants' narratives included discussion about their fathers and were included in the current analyses. The YGBM who were interviewed perceived a complex range of responses upon coming out to their fathers, ranging from enthusiastic acceptance to physical violence. Participants spoke of fathers who were accepting in different manners and who often held contradictory attitudes about same-sex attraction. Fathers' responses commonly differed from sons' expectations, which were informed by homophobic talk and gendered expectations. Sons spoke about what informed their expectations as well as what they perceived as influencing their fathers' responses, including gender norms, beliefs regarding the cause of same-sex attraction, religious and sociopolitical views, and concerns about HIV/AIDS. Particularly striking was the pervasive influence of hegemonic masculinity throughout the YGBM's stories. The implications of these findings for future research and intervention development are discussed, as well as study strengths and limitations.
Studies of a new accelerated evaluation method for coating corrosion resistance — thermal cycling testing

Abstract A long time is often needed to differentiate the corrosion protection afforded by coatings systems, especially for high performance samples. Accelerating methods such as salt spray or Prohesion methods require as much as 2000 h exposure to qualitatively differentiate high performance samples. General room temperature immersion electrochemical measurements {electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and electrochemical noise methods (ENM)} may require up to 10 weeks to differentiate high performance samples. For some high performance samples, EIS values changed very little over a 1 year immersion period. Thus, a faster method that can provide accurate quantitative results is needed for practical usage. Even when ENM and EIS are used with Prohesion™ for more quantitative results, the required time period of exposure can be extensive. In our previous studies, we found that thermal cycling methods can accelerate the corrosion of samples. We have been further examining the use of EIS in conjunction with thermal cycling exposure to give a possibly new, faster and quantitative method for coating corrosion resistance evaluation. The new thermal cycling EIS protocol has been developed in which the reversibility of the low frequency impedance modulus data is used as the index of the corrosion resistance of the samples. Two types of corrosion protective coatings systems, an aerospace electrodeposition-coat primer plus plasma polymer pretreatment and a SrCrO4-pigmented epoxy-polyamide primer (PEPP) have been evaluated by the new method relative to the present standard coating system, chromate conversion pretreatment. For all samples, the corrosion resistance results can be differentiated during a week of testing period that included 3 days of thermal cycling in immersion followed by 3 days of room temperature immersion.
MICRO-SENSOR ELECTROMECHANICS AND DISTRIBUTED SIGNAL ANALYSIS OF PIEZO(ELECTRIC)-ELASTIC SPHERICAL SHELLS

Abstract Spatially distributed modal voltages and sensing signal generations of a distributed piezoelectric sensor layer bonded on spherical shells of revolution are investigated in this study. The generic sensing signal equation is derived based on the direct piezoelectric effect, the Gauss theory, the open-circuit assumption, the Maxwell equation and also the generic double-curvature thin shell theory. Owing to difficulties in analytical solution procedures, assumed mode shape functions based on the bending approximation theory are used in the modal signal expressions and analyses. Spatially distributed micro-electromechanical characteristics resulting from various meridional and circumferential membrane/bending strain components of infinitesimal sensor neurons are evaluated and major signal sources are identified. Analytical results suggest that the spatially distributed modal voltages clearly illustrate the distinct modal behaviour, similar to mode shapes. The major signal source of a free-edge hemispherical shell is the circumferential bending component. Accordingly, circumferential layout of distributed sensor strips would provide effective monitoring and diagnosis of free hemispheric shells.
Semi-distributed scheduling for flexible codeword assignment in a CDMA Network-on-Chip

Flexible codeword assignment in a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) switch allows advanced capabilities to be included within a Network-on-Chip (NoC). However, frequent codeword assignment with small size packets can reduce the performance of the network. In this paper, we propose a novel semi-distributed scheduling technique to improve the performance by reducing the need to access the codeword pool. The proposed switch design has been synthesized using a 0.13 micron technology library. Comparative synthesis and simulation results are provided.
First passage time densities for random walk spans

A general expression is derived for the Laplace transform of the probability density of the first passage time for the span of a symmetric continuous-time random walk to reach levelS. We show that when the mean time between steps is finite, the mean first passage time toS is proportional toS 2. When the pausing time density is asymptotic to a stable density we show that the first passage density is also asymptotically stable. Finally when the jump distribution of the random walk has the asymptotic formp(j)∼A/|j| α+1, 0 < α < 2 it is shown that the mean first passage time toS goes likeS α.
Heart rate reactivity in HAD and LAD rats during Pavlovian fear conditioning

Recently, we reported that High-Alcohol-Drinking (HAD) rats exhibited selective deficits in active avoidance learning under alcohol-naive conditions, and that administration of moderate doses of alcohol (0.5 and 1.0 g/kg) facilitated learning in these rats (Blankenship et al., 2000; Rorick et al., 2003b). We hypothesized that the deficits resulted from excessive fear in the aversive learning context and that the anxiolytic properties of alcohol may have contributed to the improved learning that was observed after alcohol administration. This hypothesis was supported by a recent study in which prolonged freezing in HAD rats was seen after a classical fear conditioning procedure (Rorick et al., 2003a). To provide additional evidence that HAD rats indeed exhibit behaviors consistent with the expression of increased fear in aversive learning contexts, we employed a Pavlovian fear conditioning task to measure heart rate in HAD and Low-Alcohol-Drinking (LAD) rats. In this study, HAD (HAD-1 and HAD-2) and LAD (LAD-1 and LAD-2) rats were assigned to one of three pre-exposure conditions: Context Only, Context/Tone, or Sequential (Context Only followed by Context/Tone) Pre-Exposure. Following pre-exposure, fear conditioning acquisition and extinction procedures were identical for all groups. Results indicated that although no baseline differences were observed between HAD and LAD rats, HAD rats receiving Context-Only pre-exposure exhibited excessive heart rate reactivity to the tone conditional stimulus during fear conditioning acquisition, compared to LAD rats receiving the same pre-exposure conditions. These findings support the hypothesis that HAD rats exhibit behaviors consistent with increased fear in aversive learning contexts, as measured by autonomic conditioning.
Adenocarcinoma of the prostate with endometrioid features. A light microscopic and immunohistochemical study of ten cases

The authors reviewed the histologic slides of 2600 prostatic carcinomas seen at Memorial Hospital from 1963 to 1983. In ten cases, resection specimens had a predominantly endometrioid appearance. Six patients had polypoid lesions in and around the verumontanum, and one had a polypoid lesion away from the verumontanum. Two patients had no mucosal lesions and one was not cystoscoped. Histologically, the tumors showed a tall pseudostratified columnar epithelium, usually with amphophilic cytoplasm. The cells were arranged either along papillae or in complexes of large acini or in single glands. In eight of the ten cases, the endometrioid carcinomas were associated with a prior or coexistent typical microacinar prostatic adenocarcinoma. In four cases, the endometrioid pattern existed in a pure form, although in two such cases with urethral tumors, the patients had histories of successfully treated microacinar adenocarcinomas of the posterior prostatic lobe. In one case, a urethral endometrioid tumor coexisted with a small posterior lobe microacinar adenocarcinoma. In five cases, both endometrioid and microacinar carcinomas were seen, including endometrioid and microacinar carcinomas found at the same site at different times (2 cases), tumors with a predominantly endometrioid, yet focally microacinar pattern (1 case), and primary tumors where lymph node metastases had different histologic features (2 cases). Of the three patients with a pure or predominantly endometrioid pattern treated with diethylstilbestrol, two had a marked clinical response. All ten endometrioid prostatic adenocarcinomas showed prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific acid phosphatase immunoreactivity, in contrast to none of the control uterine endometrial carcinomas. In material spanning a 20-year period, the authors have not seen a single prostatic tumor entirely analogous to the uterine endometrial carcinoma. Until such proof exists, prostatic carcinomas with endometrioid features are best classified and treated as variants of prostatic duct carcinomas.
The modern assurance computing platform

A description is presented of the thinking that went into the modern assurance computing platform. Product assurance activities and the application of the computer are discussed. The use of a failure reporting and corrective action system and the role of the database system are examined. System requirements are outlined. >
Using Power Hopping to Counter MAC Spoof Attacks in WLAN

IEEE 802.11-based Wireless LANs (WLANs) are deployed in public places, universities, offices and shops. The main reason for the popularity is convenience of internetworking without wires. The increase in WLANs also resulted in increase of security threats. One of these threats is spoofing MAC address. Some WLANs use MAC filtering to allow stations with registered MAC addresses to use the network. The attacker has many tools like AirJack, WireShark to capture the packets in WLAN and find authorized MAC address. The attacker masquerades as an authorized station and can launch denial of service attack. This paper presents a power hopping technique which can be used by Access Points (AP) to discern the authorized packets from the masquerading packets and thus deny the attacker from using the system.
Increasing Pragmatic Awareness: Die Vagheit der Sprache und so

In recent years, there has been an effort to in crease students' exposure to "natural communica tion" through the use of more authentic materials in foreign language education (Scotton and Bern sten; Barraja-Rohan). These materials typically in clude recorded samples of natural conversation on CDs, DVDs, cassettes and videos. In addition to providing greater exposure to different voices and styles of talk, such materials may also help to raise student awareness of pragmatic expressions that are commonly used by speakers in interpersonal communication, but are seldom the focus of atten tion in traditional textbooks. While many teachers are clearly interested in providing more opportuni ties for students to develop natural speaking and listening skills, they may not always be sure about which features to focus on or which forms typically fulfill particular pragmatic functions. In this paper, we would like to report on a study of one set of pragmatic expressions commonly used in German speech and to describe the types of exercises we de veloped in order to foster understanding of how these expressions are used and to create appropri ate contexts for their productive use by our stu dents.
MODIFICATION OF ATMOSPHERIC TRITIUM AND WATER VAPOR BY LAKE TAHOE.

b k EHT0 Upward net flux of H,O, HTO in g cm-a sec -1 Specific humidity (g HIO/kg air) in free air, at lake surface (saturation) Tritium concentration, in TU, of free air vapor, of lake surface water Time Fractionation factor (pHTO/pHIO) at saturation, also (evaWr/Olipuid) a t equilibrium Transforms specific humidity to height of precipitable water column (g cm-8) in layer affected (sampled) Transforms TU to g HTO/g H,O Eddy diffusion coefficient of vapor in air, same for both species of water
Evaluation of B-cell immunity in patients with pretransplant sensitization.

The influence of presensitization (blood transfusions) on B-cell immunity as reflected in the serum of two groups of candidates for cadaveric donor renal allografts was examined. The first group initially had a high level of panel-reactive antibody (PRA) greater than 72% but experienced a large decrease in PRA (>70%) 6–34 months prior to transplantation. In contrast, the second group maintained a high PRA (100%) for up to 28 months after sensitization and before transplantation. Three blood samples from each patient, representing a maximum time span of 34 months, were analyzed. Levels of IgG, IgM isohemagglutinins, and antitetanus antibody were used as indicators of B-cell function. There were no significant differences between the individual values of a single patient with regard to each parameter. However, Group II patients had elevated values of total IgG relative to Group I patients. Total serum IgG-subclass levels (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4) were measured and the relationship between a specific IgG subclass and the PRA activity was determined. IgG1 values in Group II were higher than those found for Group I. The other IgG subclasses were all within normal levels and were not significantly different between Group I and Group II. When IgG-subclass typing of PRA was performed, IgG1 accounted for most of the activity in both groups and a fall in PRA-specific IgG1 was associated with the reduced PRA observed in Group I. The data indicate that humoral immunity, as reflected by total and specific immunoglobulin levels, is intact in general in the two groups of presensitized renal allograft candidates examined and that any loss of PRA activity reflects a reduction in a specific immune response.
Analysis of InP LEC metl flows using a parallel adaptive finite element scheme

A single-phase model for Liquid Encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) melt flows of InP is used in conjunction with a new three-dimensional parallel adaptive finite element scheme. Buoyancy, crystal rotation and crucible rotation are accounted for. The effect of the encapsulant rotation on the flow in the melt is accounted for by using a special boundary condition on the melt surface. The results of some quasi-steady simulations are presented.
Measurement of DNA in cultured human cells

Abstract A simple microtechnique has been developed for the accurate determination of DNA in less than 1 × 10 6 cultured human fibroblasts or lymphoblasts. This technique involves rapid separation of DNA from the cell extract supernatant and from the extraction buffer in order to avoid interference with the colorimetric diphenylamine assay. The method described does not involve complicated manipulation of samples and does not require special instrumentation. In addition, multiple samples can be conveniently prepared to be assayed at a later time and various other biochemical determinations such as enzyme assays can be done on soluble extracts of the same cell samples.
Process-based isotope partitioning of winter soil respiration in a subalpine ecosystem reveals importance of rhizospheric respiration

Deep snow in sub-alpine ecosystems may reduce or eliminate soil freezing, thus contributing to the potential for winter soil respiration to account for a significant fraction of annual CO2 efflux to the atmosphere. Quantification of carbon loss from soils requires separation of respiration produced by roots and rhizosphere organisms from that produced by heterotrophic, decomposer organisms because the former does not result in a net loss of stored carbon. Our objective was to quantify winter soil respiration rates in a sub-alpine forest and meadow, and to partition that flux into its rhizosphere and heterotrophic components. We were particularly interested in comparing early winter soil respiration to late winter/early spring soil respiration of each component because previous work has shown a consistent increase in soil respiration of subalpine systems from early winter to late winter/spring. Field data on the total soil CO2 flux and its carbon isotope composition were coupled with data from laboratory incubations using a novel process-based stable isotope mixing model implemented in a hierarchical Bayesian framework. We found that soil respiration generally increased from early to later winter and was greatest mid-summer. After correcting for the effect of wind on snowpack δ13C–CO2, the δ13C of soil-respired CO2 varied little over winter, and the contributions of rhizospheric (~35 %) and heterotrophic (~65 %) respiration were relatively constant. The significance of winter respiration from the rhizosphere and apparent coupling of increases in rhizospheric and heterotrophic respiration in late winter are likely to be important for predicting changes in soil carbon in sub-alpine ecosystems.
MSMBuilder2: Modeling Conformational Dynamics at the Picosecond to Millisecond Scale.

Markov state models provide a framework for understanding the fundamental states and rates in the conformational dynamics of biomolecules. We describe an improved protocol for constructing Markov state models from molecular dynamics simulations. The new protocol includes advances in clustering, data preparation, and model estimation; these improvements lead to significant increases in model accuracy, as assessed by the ability to recapitulate equilibrium and kinetic properties of reference systems. A high-performance implementation of this protocol, provided in MSMBuilder2, is validated on dynamics ranging from picoseconds to milliseconds.
WATER AVAILABILITY AFFECTS CLUTCH SIZE IN A DESERT SPARROW

Birds that breed in hot, arid environments experience unique physiological demands resulting from efforts to maintain positive water balance when ambient temperatures are high, but humidity and water availability are low. We provided water to Black-throated Sparrows (Amphispiza bilineata) on breeding territories in the Mojave Desert of southern California to examine the effects of water availability on reproduction in desert birds, independent of the increase in food availability commonly associated with increased precipitation in arid ecosystems. In both years of the study (2000 and 2001), water-supplemented (treatment) pairs laid significantly larger clutches than did control pairs. In 2000, the drier of the two years, the mean clutch size of treatment pairs was almost 0.5 egg larger, or about 16% larger, than control pairs. Overall, the mean egg volume per nest in treatment and control pairs was not significantly different, and the mean proportion of eggs hatched was not significantly different at α = 0.05, but was nearly so. Daily nest survival probabilities were not greater in treatment nests than in control nests in 2000 or in 2001. Treatment nests did not produce a greater mean number of young surviving to day 8 than did control nests, although the trend is of greater means in treatment nests. The results of our study indicate that for species like the Black-throated Sparrow that are abundant in deserts, are successful in breeding there, and can survive without drinking water, water availability in arid environments can nevertheless impose limitations on reproduction.
False-positive reduction using RANSAC in mammography microcalcification detection

This paper proposes a method for false-positive reduction in mammography computer aided detection (CAD) systems by detecting a linear structure (LS) in individual microcalcification (MCC) cluster candidates, which primarily involves three steps. First, it applies a modified RANSAC algorithm to a region of interest (ROI) that encloses an MCC cluster candidate to find LS. Second, a peak-to-peak ratio of two orthogonal integral-curves (named the RANSAC feature) is computed based on the results from the first step. Last, the computed RANSAC feature is, together with other MCC cancer features, used in a neural network for MCC classification, results of which are compared with the classification without the RANSAC feature. One thousand (1000) cases were used in training the classifiers, 671 cases were used in testing. The comparison shows that there is a significant improvement in terms of the reduction of linear structure associated false-positives readings (up to about 40% FP reduction).
Clozapine in bipolar disorder: treatment implications for other atypical antipsychotics

Traditional neuroleptics are often utilized clinically for the management of bipolar disorder. Although effective as antimanic agents, their mood stabilizing properties are less clear. Additionally, their acute clinical side effect profile and long term risk of tardive dyskinesia, particularly in mood disorder patients, portend significant liability. This review focuses on the use of atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of bipolar disorder focusing on clozapine as the prototypical agent. Although, preclinical research and clinical experience suggest that the atypical antipsychotics are distinctly different from typical antipsychotics, they themselves are heterogeneous in profiles of neuropharmacology, clinical efficacy, and tolerability. The early clinical experience of clozapine as a potential mood stabilizer suggests greater antimanic than antidepressant properties. Conversely, very preliminary clinical experience with risperidone suggests greater antidepressant than antimanic properties and some liability for triggering or exacerbating mania. Olanzapine and sertindole are under investigation in psychotic mood disorders. The foregoing agents and future drugs with atypical neuroleptic properties should come to play an increasingly important role, compared to the older classical neuroleptics, in the acute and long term management of bipolar disorder.
Tracheotomy scar revision using deepithelialized subcutaneous pedicled flaps

Optimal revision of the typical tracheotomy scar requires release of any tracheal adhesions, elimination of the co-existing central depression, and a redirection of the usual circular scar. All these objectives may simultaneously be achieved by designing a horizontal lenticular excision around the scar that is then deepithelialized to form two subcutaneous-pedicled flaps. These are advanced together over the trachea to provide necessary central tissue bulk while serving as an additional buried layer for the skin closure to glide over, which usually creates an acceptable transverse scar.
Depression of Cardiac Output is a Mechanism of Shunt Reduction in the Therapy of Acute Respiratory Failure

The relationship between changes in cardiac output and intrapulmonary shunt associated with mechanical ventilation was evaluated in 20 patients with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The distribution of ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) ratios and the level of intrapulmonary shunt was determined by the multiple inert gas technique. Pulmonary blood flow was distributed predominantly to either effective gas-exchanging units or shunt units. Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) or high tidal volume ventilation led to decreases in shunt and cardiac output without altering the overall pattern of VA/Q distributions. Changes in shunt and cardiac output were quantitatively and qualitatively silimar and a strong correlation was found between changes in shunt and cardiac output with both PEEP and high tidal volumes (r = 0.76). Cardiac output depression associated with tese modes of ventilation appears to be a mechanism of shunt reduction in ARDS. Interpretation of improvements in gas exchange in ARDS must take into account concomitant hemodynamic changes.
An extension of Palmer's heuristic for the flow shop scheduling problem

We describe a simple modification of Palmer's heuristic for scheduling jobs in a flow shop. While the additional computation required is relatively small, the performance of the algorithm compares very well with that of the more sophisticated and better algorithm of Campbell, et al. (1970) at a fraction of the effort required by the latter.