cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neurotensin receptor expression in prostate cancer cell line and growth effect of NT at physiological concentrations.

BACKGROUND Neurotensin (NT), a neuroendocrine peptide, exerts trophic effects in vivo and stimulates growth of some tumor cells in vitro. Androgen-sensitive prostate cells derived from lymph node carcinoma of the prostate (LNCaP) secrete NT and exhibit growth responses to NT. This study examines NT secretion, NT receptor and NT-growth responses in androgen-independent prostatic carcinoma (PC3) cells derived from prostate adenocarcinoma metastatic to bone. METHODS Binding of 125I-NT to PC3 membranes was studied by filtration. NT was measured by RIA. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for NT and NT receptor mRNA. Growth was measured as 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA. RESULTS Scatchard analyses gave two binding components (Kd1 = 40pM and Kd2 = 300pM) in equal amounts (15–30 × 103 sites/cell). The bioactive region of NT was essential and the specific, non-peptide NT antagonist, SR48692, inhibited (IC50 = 3nM). GTP analogs, sodium ion and SH-directed alkylating agents also inhibited. Glutaraldehyde crosslinking labeled two substances (M1 of 23 and 46 kDa). RT-PCR indicated robust expression of authentic NT receptor but little for NT precursor. NT was stable in PC3 cultures but it was not found in cells or conditioned media. Incubated with PC3 cells, NT exhibited a mitogenic effect with bell-shaped dose-response and maximum at 100 pM NT. CONCLUSIONS PC3 cells expressed genuine NT receptors and generated growth responses to physiologic levels of NT which were blocked by SR48692. If NT contributes to the survival of prostate tumor cells upon androgen deprivation therapy, NT antagonists might be useful agents in further treatment. Prostate 31:183–192, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Fast track article: A pulse switching paradigm for ultra low power cellular sensor networks

This paper presents a novel energy-efficient and fault-tolerant pulse switching protocol for ultra-light-weight wireless cellular network applications. The key idea of pulse switching is to abstract a single pulse, as opposed to multi-bit packets, as the information exchange mechanism. In this paper it is shown to be sufficient for event and target tracking applications with binary sensing in terms of cellular localization. Event monitoring and target tracking with conventional packet transport can be prohibitively energy-inefficient due to the communication, processing, and buffering overheads of the large number of bits within a packet's data, header, and preambles. Additionally, both of them can be unreliable without protection from errors and faults occurrence. The paper presents a joint MAC and Routing architecture for pulse switching with a novel cellular event localization in the presence of errors and faults. Through analytical modeling and simulation experiments, it is shown that cellular pulse switching can be an effective means for event based networking, which can potentially replace the packet transport when the information is binary in nature.
Working Memory-Related Neural Activity Predicts Future Smoking Relapse

Brief abstinence from smoking impairs cognition, particularly executive function, and this has a role in relapse to smoking. This study examined whether working memory-related brain activity predicts subsequent smoking relapse above and beyond standard clinical and behavioral measures. Eighty treatment-seeking smokers completed two functional magnetic resonance imaging sessions (smoking satiety vs 24 h abstinence challenge) during performance of a visual N-back task. Brief counseling and a short-term quit attempt followed. Relapse during the first 7 days was biochemically confirmed by the presence of the nicotine metabolite cotinine. Mean percent blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal change was extracted from a priori regions of interest: bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), medial frontal/cingulate gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Signal from these brain regions and additional clinical measures were used to model outcome status, which was then validated with resampling techniques. Relapse to smoking was predicted by increased withdrawal symptoms, decreased left DLPFC and increased PCC BOLD percent signal change (abstinence vs smoking satiety). Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated 81% area under the curve using these predictors, a significant improvement over the model with clinical variables only. The combination of abstinence-induced decreases in left DLPFC activation and reduced suppression of PCC may be a prognostic marker for poor outcome, specifically early smoking relapse.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: A Guide for Clinicians:

This article focuses on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a treatment program for young children with conduct problem behavior and their families. In Part One, PCIT is presented as an interactional approach to parent training and discussed in the context of other behavioral parent training programs. In Part Two, PCIT is described and empirical support for the program's effectiveness is presented. Given the importance of adapting programs to meet the needs of individual families and demonstrating treatment efficacy, Part Three is devoted to the presentation of strategies for modifying PCIT and measuring treatment outcome.
Spectral broadening in a microdroplet dye laser

We have observed broadening of the lasing spectrum of 60-μm diameter micrdroplet dye lasers. The spectral width of microdroplet dye lasers consisting of Rhodamine 6G or Pyrromethene 597 is essentially constant when water is used as a solvent but broaden by >30% at high input-laser intensities when ethanol is used as solvent. Spectral broadening is preceded by stimulated Raman scattering of ethanol in the microdroplets as the input-laser intensity increases.
Regulation of estrogen sulfotransferase in human endometrial adenocarcinoma cells by progesterone

During the secretory phase of the human menstrual cycle, the endometrium is minimally responsive to the estrogens secreted from the ovaries. Conjugation of beta-estradiol (E2) with sulfate is thought to be an important mechanism in the regulation of the levels of active E2 in endometrial tissue. Estrogen sulfation is reportedly increased during the secretory phase in response to the high levels of progesterone secreted by the ovaries. Estrogen sulfotransferase (hEST), a distinct form of human cytosolic sulfotransferase (ST) with an affinity for E2 and estrone at low nanomolar concentrations, has recently been cloned and expressed in mammalian cells and in bacteria (J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 52:529, 1995). At least two other forms of human cytosolic ST, dehydroepiandrosterone ST (hDHEA-ST) and the phenol-sulfating form of phenol-ST (hP-PST), also conjugate estrogens but at micromolar concentrations. This report describes the specific induction of hEST in human Ishikawa endometrial adenocarcinoma cells by progesterone as a model for the increases in estrogen sulfation observed in women during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. Treatment of Ishikawa cells with 10 microns progesterone for 48 h resulted in a 7-fold increase in the sulfation of 20 nM E2. The sulfation of selective substrates for human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (hDHEA-ST) and the two forms of phenol sulfotransferase (hP-PST, hM-PST) were not affected by treatment with progesterone. The levels of immunoreactive hEST and hEST mRNA in the Ishikawa cells were both increased by progesterone, whereas the levels of immunoreactive hDHEA-ST, hP-PST, and hM-PST were not altered. hEST activity was not induced by treatment of Ishikawa cells with varying concentrations of E2, testosterone, or cortisol. The induction of hEST by progesterone was inhibited by RU-486, indicating that progesterone is acting via the progesterone receptor. These results indicate that progesterone is capable of specifically inducing hEST and estrogen sulfation in human Ishikawa adenocarcinoma cells and suggest a mechanism for increasing estrogen sulfation in the endometrium during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle.
The change in ulnar variance with grip

The effect of grip on ulnar variance was evaluated in 66 symptom-free wrists of 53 volunteers. Zero-rotation posteroanterior x-ray films were taken of each wrist before and after exertion of a grip force measured with a Jamar dynamometer. The volunteers were randomly divided into two groups. Group I subjects (35 wrists) were asked to exert a constant grip force of 11.3 kg. Group II subjects (31 wrists) were asked to exert a maximum grip effort, which resulted in a mean grip force of 30 kg (range, 22.8 kg to 53.6 kg). Group I demonstrated a mean increase in ulnar variance of 1.27 mm and group II showed a mean increase of 1.95 mm. The minimum increase in ulnar variance observed was 0.25 mm. The changes observed were statistically significant. The results confirm that a relative increase in ulnar variance occurs with grip. There may be an etiologic role for daily activities that involve repetitive grip and forearm rotation in development of the ulnar impaction syndrome.
A new theory of transport for cell membrane pores. I. General theory and application to red cell.

Abstract Previous theories for the transport of solutes through cell membrane pores have not considered the fact that the pore may be so small that the water and solute molecules cannot pass by each other. A theory has been developed in this paper for such a pore. Transfer of solute through the pore requires movement of the whole pore “plug”. Relations are derived between the macroscopic permeability constants and the pore structure which are much more general and rigorous than any previous result. For example, the average number of water molecules per pore can be determined just from the values of the hydraulic and diffusive permeability of the whole membrane to water. This derivation does not require any assumptions about the pore shape or about the interactions of the water molecules with each other or with the pore walls. The theory is applied to the experimental data for the red blood cell. Although there is general agreement between the theory and experiment, there are some important discrepancies which are discussed. According to arguments given in detail in an appendix, it appears that there is a serious methodological error in the measurements made by Goldstein and Solomon (1960) (J. Gen. Physiol. 44, 1–17) of the red cell reflection coefficients and these values were not used when the theoretical and experimental results were compared.
Psychosis risk screening in youth: A validation study of three self-report measures of attenuated psychosis symptoms

Brief self-report questionnaires that assess attenuated psychosis symptoms have the potential to quickly and effectively screen many people who may benefit from clinical monitoring or early intervention. The current study sought to examine and compare the criterion validities of attenuated symptoms screening tools with diagnoses obtained from the clinician-administered Structured Interview for Psychosis Risk Syndromes (SIPS). Three screening questionnaires (Prime Screen, Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief, and Youth Psychosis At-Risk Questionnaire-Brief) were administered just prior to the SIPS interview in a sample of adolescents and young adults seeking mental health services. Using thresholds recommended by instrument authors as well as empirically derived optimal thresholds, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and overall accuracy of each self-report measure with regard to SIPS diagnosis were obtained. Screeners correlated highly with the SIPS and demonstrated equivalent overall efficiency in capturing psychosis risk status. All three screeners appear to be useful and valid assessment tools for attenuated symptoms, with each instrument demonstrating relative benefits. The validation of attenuated symptoms screening tools is an important step toward enabling early, wide-reaching identification of individuals on a course toward psychotic illness.
Administrative Metadata to Support the Acquisition of Continuing E-Resources

What is administrative metadata? Why is it important? How are libraries handling administrative metadata for continuing electronic resources? What ILS vendors have products available? This article describes solutions developed by four academic libraries to manage administrative metadata and access to electronic resources. Pennsylvania State University Libraries and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries developed systems that track the acquisitions process and provide access to e-resources. Stanford University Libraries focused on providing access to electronic resources. The Tri-College Consortium (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges in Pennsylvania) created a database to track the licensing aspect of the acquisitions process. The article also describes efforts currently underway to develop standards and best practices for managing electronic resources. Serials Review 2003; 29:276–281.
The origin of sticking between a hydroperoxy radical and a water surface.

An understanding of how gas-phase radicals in the earth's atmosphere become incorporated with liquid-phase cloud droplets is a vital part of understanding the chemical budgeting of these highly reactive species. Recent studies have suggested that hydroperoxy radicals (HO2) have an affinity for binding to a water surface. The calculations presented here are used to extricate the components of the attractive contribution of the intermolecular interactions that are responsible for the unusually strong binding between the hydroperoxy radical and a water surface. The analyses reveal that, for the binding of an HO2 radical to a water surface, the two water molecules nearest the radical are the most relevant to the bonding and the addition of other water molecules has little affect on the bonding between the radical and the two nearest waters. These results suggest that, once the HO2 is bound to the surface, the binding is a relatively local phenomenon. Identifying the properties responsible for the strong attra...
The Extra Credit Project: Turning a Bane Into a Blessing

of "policy arena" as a principal investigative focus. This approach highlights the role that interested stakeholders may play in policy making. Although Plenary Review does not guarantee improved learning or seminar outcomes (nor can any legislature or agency), the most obvious benefits of this approach to teaching policy analysis have occurred in student learning and development. It has often been remarkable how rapidly students have developed a grasp of the subtleties of policy design and implementation. The analytical focus of evaluating policy across a wide range of criteria, including the political, social, economic, institutional, and moral dimensions serves to open up the partisan positions with which participants typically begin their seminars. The interaction between the ordinary knowledge, values, and beliefs of students and the more specialized technical information provided by experts and agency documents has led to more informed and pragmatic policy evaluation. Students do not typically acquire this depth or range of information and insight from classroom lectures alone. Student development has been as important as student learning. While participants learn a great deal about substantive policies, they also learn to develop and define issues, visualize problems, break issues into component parts, and employ relevant concepts in analysis. Moreover, they learn skills of leadership, interaction, and debate. The student role is proactive rather than passive; many class members have reported that Plenary Review proved to be one of the most engaging intellectual experiences of their academic careers. While there have been some frustrations in the process, students generally are weaned from dependent roles as readers/gatherers to more mature roles as evaluators/advocates.
Sequences near the CCAAT region and putative 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-response element and further upstream novel regulatory sequences of calbindin-D28k promoter show DNase I footprinting protection.

Abstract 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3, the hormonally active form of vitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3), plays a major role in the transcriptional regulation of the vitamin D-induced calcium binding protein calbindin-D28k in the chick intestine. Sequence-specific protein-DNA interactions within the promoter of the calbindin-D28k gene were studied by DNase I footprinting analysis to obtain information on the mechanism by which the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor and other transcription factors regulate its expression. Restriction fragments spanning nucleotides −679 to +44 of the calbindin-D28k gene were used as probes. Intestinal nuclear extracts prepared from vitamin D-deficient chicks generated several protected regions. Two prominent areas of protection against DNase I digestion were located at nucleotides −592 to −572 (21 bp) and −372 to −337 (36 bp). The −372 to −337 protected segment includes a CACCC sequence motif. Additional protection regions ( −333/−328, −319/−315 and −308/−304) were observed within and near the candidate chicken calbindin-D28k 1,25(OH)2D3-response element ( −329/−313) and the CCAAT box ( −326/−322). DNase I digestion patterns obtained with liver nuclear extracts, containing low levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor, revealed weaker protein-DNA interactions in these regions.
Opportunistic broadcast of emergency messages in vehicular ad hoc networks with unreliable links

Multi-hop broadcast is an important means to disseminate safety information like time-sensitive emergency messages (EMs) in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs). Providing low-latency, high-coverage and scalable multi-hop EM broadcast is a hard task in VANET with unreliable links. The major challenge comes from that fact that the link-layer broadcast uses unreliable transmissions, i.e., no positive feedback to acknowledge the reception of the message. Many existing works have used redundant relay nodes to enhance the reliability of broadcast packet reception. However they often involve more relays than it is necessary, which increases the network load and undermines the scalability of the protocol. Moreover, large latency is often incurred due to coarse protocol design.In this paper, we propose a new EM broadcast scheme that uses a small number of relays to achieve fast multi-hop EM propagation, at the same time to maintain a high level of transmission reliability, i.e., a minimum packet reception probability (PRP). Two types of relays are introduced to provide fast EM propagation and to enhance PRP simultaneously, so that low-latency, the desired reliability level and small overhead can be achieved at the same time. The opportunistic broadcast protocol (OBP) is based on opportunistic broadcast (OB), a MAC-layer mechanism to select single relay distributively, which features an effective redundant relay suppressing mechanism and very small rebroadcast delay for high priority nodes. Simulation study shows that OBP achieves close to 100% PRP, while using a small number of relays with very low broadcast latency under a wide range of road traffic conditions.
Induction of the Nrf2-driven antioxidant response by tert-butylhydroquinone prevents ethanol-induced apoptosis in cranial neural crest cells

Previous studies have shown that ethanol exposure causes apoptosis in cranial neural crest cells (NCCs), an ethanol-sensitive cell population implicated in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Additionally, induction of endogenous antioxidants through activation of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) has been shown to prevent oxidative stress and apoptosis in ethanol-exposed mouse embryos. The objective of this study was to test whether tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ), an Nrf2 inducer, can protect NCCs against ethanol-induced apoptosis. Ethanol exposure was shown to cause a moderate increase in the protein expression of Nrf2 and its downstream antioxidants in the NCCs. Treatment of NCCs with tBHQ alone significantly increased the protein expression of Nrf2 and its downstream antioxidants and also significantly increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes. In NCCs exposed to ethanol, the tBHQ-mediated antioxidant response prevented oxidative stress and apoptosis. These results clearly demonstrate that the activation of Nrf2 signaling confers protection against ethanol-induced apoptosis in NCCs.
Is the gender difference in mental rotation disappearing

Several investigators have used meta-analysis to compare the results of studies of gender differences on various spatial tests and have concluded that the magnitude of the gender difference in spatial ability is decreasing over time. The present study used meta-analytic techniques to compare the effect size (d) of the gender difference in 14 studies published from 1975 to 1992 which administered the Mental Rotations test to adolescents and young adults. Males scored significantly higher than females in all the studies. Analyses of thed's computed for the studies revealed that the magnitude of the gender difference on the mental Rotations test has remained stable over time. Neither the Pearson correlation relating thed's to the publication dates of the studies nor the Z test of the linear contrast relating the publication dates of hte studies to the effect sizes showed a linear change in the size of the gender difference over time. The finding of a stable gender difference on the Mental Rotations test argues against the general conclusion that the gender difference in spatial ability is decreasing.
Temperature-shift analysis of conidial development in Aspergillus nidulans.

Abstract Temperature-shift experiments have been performed on spore-originated colonies of 11 thermosensitive aconidial mutants of Aspergillus nidulans in order to determine the latest time of shift to the restrictive temperature that prevents the initiation of conidiation. This time defines the beginning of the thermosensitive period (TSP) of the mutant. Eight of the mutants have TSPs that begin in the 7-hour period (32–39 hr) just prior to the first appearance of conidia-bearing structures, while 3 of the mutants have TSPs that begin later and very close to the time of onset of conidiation (45 hr). Thus no mutant of the set has a TSP that begins during the first 32 hr of vegetative growth of spore-originated colonies. For all mutants, an upshift performed after the beginning of the TSP allows initiation of conidiation at close to the normal time and at the normal rate, but results in an abrupt cessation of conidiation at some fixed time after upshift, characteristic of the mutant. The mutant whose TSP begins the earliest (aco-49) is exceptional in that, if conidiation is suppressed by growth of colonies in submerged culture, this mutant becomes thermoinsensitive during vegetative submerged growth; in contrast, the remaining 10 mutants become thermoinsensitive only after the suppressive condition has been relieved. We discuss the possibility that this exceptional mutant is defective in a function required for initiation of the process that ultimately results in the formation of conidia.
Anemotaxis and odour-trail following by the terrestrial snail Helix aspersa

Terrestrial snails Helix aspersa that were exposed to moving air containing a relatively uniform concentration of host-plant odour utilized an anemotactic response and oriented upwind toward the odour source. Also, the snails were able to follow a well-defined trail of host-plant odour via olfactory cues in the absence of directional cues from air movement. In the natural environment, these anemotactic and odour-trail-following mechanisms may operate either independently or in combination to enable location of a host plant.
The drug line: the clinical expression of the pigmentary Voigt-Futcher line in turn derived from the embryonic ventral axial line.

Abstract Background: Observation of patients with morbilliform eruptions reveals a distinctive demarcation line on the upper arms. Objective: We studied the origin of this sharp "drug line." Methods: We performed a literature search of all known variables. Results: The drug line represents clinical expression of the pigmentary Voigt-Futcher line. Conclusion: The drug line reveals the otherwise inapparent embryologic ventral axial line, which marks the precise border between the sensory innervation of the lateral and medial upper arm. The significance of the cutaneous sensory nerves is thus apparent. The drug line is further evidence of the segmental nature of human skin, as evidenced in evolutionary and embryologic studies.(J Am Acad Dermatol 1999;40:736-40.)
GENETIC DIVERSITY IN RICE (Oryza sativa L.) LANDRACES OF HILLY AREAS IN BANGLADESH

Genetic diversity in 38 traditional local rice genotypes grown as Jhum in the hilly areas was studied under rainfed condition through Mahalanobis D 2 statistic for grain yield and yield contributing characters. The genotypes were grouped into five clusters. The inter-cluster distances were higher than intra-cluster distances indicating wider genetic diversity among the clusters. The intra-cluster distances were lower in all the cases reflecting homogeneity of the genotypes within the clusters. The cluster V contained the highest number of genotypes (12) and the cluster I and III contained the lowest (5). The highest intra-cluster distance was noticed for the cluster III and lowest for cluster I. The highest inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster I and III followed by cluster II and III, cluster III and IV and the lowest between cluster II and IV. Regarding inter-cluster distance, the genotypes of cluster III showed high genetic distance from all other clusters. The genotypes from cluster III could be hybridized with the genotypes of other clusters for producing transgressive segregants. Based on positive value of vector 1 and vector 2, flag leaf length, flag leaf width, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, unfilled grain panicle -1 , grain length and grain length breath ratio had maximum contribution towards genetic divergence. The highest cluster means for plant height, filled grains panicle -1 and yield were obtained from cluster III. The highest flag leaf width, days to 50% flowering, unfilled grain panicle -1 , grain length, grain breath and grain length breath ratio while the lowest mean value for yield were found in cluster I. The lowest days to 50% flowering and maturity, and highest mean value for 1000-grain weight were found in cluster IV. Therefore, more emphasis should be given on cluster I and cluster III for selecting genotypes as parents for crossing with the genotypes of cluster IV which could produce new recombinants with desired traits. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpbg.v24i2.17003
99mTc-EC-Guanine: Synthesis, Biodistribution, and Tumor Imaging in Animals

DNA markers are useful in assessing cell proliferation. The purpose of this study was to synthesize 99mTc-ethylenedicysteine-guanine (EC-Guan) for evaluation of cell proliferation. Tumor cells were incubated with 99mTc-EC-Guan for cell cycle analysis. Prostate tumor cells that were overexpressing the HSV thymidine kinase gene, or various tumor cells were incubated with 99mTc-EC-Guan at 0.5–2 h. Thymidine incorporation assays were performed in lung cancer cells incubated with EC-Guan at 0.1–1 mg/well. Tissue distribution, autoradiography, and planar scintigraphy of 99mTc-EC-Guan and 99mTc-EC (control) were determined in tumor-bearing rodents at 0.5–4 h. Cell culture assays indicated that EC-Guan was incorporated in DNA, and there was no significant uptake difference between HSVTK overexpressed and normal groups. Biodistribution and scintigraphic imaging studies of 99mTc-EC-Guan showed increased tumor/tissue count density ratios as a function of time. Our results indicate that 99mTc-EC-Guan may be useful as a tumor proliferation imaging agent.
Dopamine D1 or D2 receptor antagonism within the basolateral amygdala differentially alters the acquisition of cocaine-cue associations necessary for cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking

Abstract The basolateral amygdala complex has been implicated in the formation and utilization of cocaine-cue associations in rat models of cue-induced reinstatement to cocaine-seeking behavior. We have previously demonstrated the importance of dopamine inputs to the basolateral amygdala complex in the reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior following chronic cocaine self-administration. Here we show that selective blockade of amygdalar dopamine D1 and D2 receptors during acquisition of cocaine-cue associations has distinctive effects on subsequent conditioned-cued cocaine-seeking behavior. Male, Sprague–Dawley rats were first trained to self-administer i.v. cocaine on a fixed ratio 1 schedule for 5 days. Subjects then received bilateral, intra-basolateral amygdala complex infusions of a dopamine D1 receptor antagonist (SCH23390, 0.25–2.0μg/side; experiment 1), a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist (raclopride, 0.625–5.0μg/side; experiment 2), or vehicle just prior to a single classical conditioning session, during which a light+tone cue was discretely paired with passive infusions of cocaine in the absence of lever responding. Following five additional days of cocaine self-administration and 7–10 days of extinction training, animals underwent multiple tests for cue-induced reinstatement. SCH23390 (2.0μg/side), administered at the time of cocaine-cue association only, produced an attenuation of reinstatement to cue-induced cocaine-seeking behavior. In contrast, low doses of raclopride potentiated, while a higher dose of raclopride attenuated cue-induced reinstatement. These results demonstrate unique contributions of D1 vs. D2 receptors in mediating dopamine inputs within the basolateral amygdala complex during the formation of cocaine-stimulus associations that are critical for cue-induced reinstatement.
Two classes of ODE models with switch-like behavior

Abstract In cases where the same real-world system can be modeled both by an ODE system D and a Boolean system B , it is of interest to identify conditions under which the two systems will be consistent, that is, will make qualitatively equivalent predictions. In this note we introduce two broad classes of relatively simple models that provide a convenient framework for studying such questions. In contrast to the widely known class of Glass networks, the right-hand sides of our ODEs are Lipschitz-continuous. We prove that if B has certain structures, consistency between D and B is implied by sufficient separation of timescales in one class of our models. Namely, if the trajectories of B are “one-stepping” then we prove a strong form of consistency and if B has a certain monotonicity property then there is a weaker consistency between D and B . These results appear to point to more general structure properties that favor consistency between ODE and Boolean models.
EAR2 and EAR3/COUP-TFI Regulate Transcription of the Rat LH Receptor

Our previous studies demonstrated regulation of the human LH receptor (hLHR) promoter by nuclear orphan receptors EAR2, EAR3/COUP-TFI (repression), and TR4 (activation) through a direct-repeat motif (hDR). The current studies investigated the differential binding of orphan receptors to rat (rLHR) and hLHR promoters, and their modulation of rLHR gene transcription in rat granulosa cells. The rLHR DR with one nucleotide difference from hDR at its core sequence mediated inhibition of the rLHR transcription, to which EAR2 and EAR3/COUP-TFI but not TR4 bound. The A/C mismatch was responsible for the lack of TR4 binding and function, but had no effect on EAR2 and EAR3/COUP-TFI. EAR2 and EAR3/COUP-TF bound to the rLHR DR with lower affinity than to the hDR, and exhibited lesser inhibitory capacity. This difference resulted from the lack of a guanine in the rDR, which is present 3' next to the hDR core. These studies have identified sequence-specific requirements for the binding of EAR2, EAR3/COUP-TFI, and TR4 to the DRs that explain their differential regulation of rat and human LHR genes. In addition, hCG treatment significantly reduced the inhibition of rLHR gene in granulosa cells and also decreased EAR2 and EAR3/COUP-TFI protein levels. These results indicate that hormonally regulated expression of EAR2 and EAR3/COUP-TFI contributes to gonadotropin-induced derepression of LHR promoter activity in granulosa cells.
Microfilaments, cell shape changes, and the formation of primary mesenchyme in sea urchin embryos.

Primary mesenchyme formation in sea urchin embryos occurs when a subset of epithelial cells of the blastula move from the epithelial layer into the blastocoel. The role of microfilaments in producing the cell shape changes that characterize this process, referred to as ingression, was investigated in this study. f-Actin was localized by confocal microscopy using labeled phalloidin. The distribution of f-actin was observed before, during, and after ingression and was correlated with cellular movements. Prior to the onset of ingression, staining became intense in the apical region of putative primary mesenchyme and disappeared following the completion of mesenchyme formation. The apical end of these cells constricted coincidentally with the appearance of the intensified staining, indicating that f-actin may be involved in this constriction. In addition, papaverine, a smooth muscle cell relaxant that interferes with microfilament-based contraction, and that was shown in this study to inhibit cytokinesis, diminished apical constriction and delayed ingression. Despite this interference with apical constriction, the basal surface of ingressing cells protruded into the blastocoel. It is suggested that apical constriction, while not necessary for ingression, does contribute to the efficient production of mesenchyme and that protrusion of the basal surface results from changes that occur independent of apical constriction. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
High Data-Rate Recordings and Processing Systems for Hydrophone Arrays

A programmable, high data-rate recording and processing system has been developed for the analysis of hydrophone array data. The system is readily adaptable to changing array characteristics or analysis requirements. A major difficulty in collecting information from hydrophone arrays is simply the large quantity of data to be recorded and processed. Often it has not been possible to record all of the elements of a large array or to process more than a fraction of the recorded data. It can also be difficult to adapt dedicated data gathering and analysis systems to new arrays or to new processing techniques. To meet these difficulties, two systems were specified by the Applied Physics Laboratory and developed by subcontractors: a recording system, termed SPARS (Sonar Evaluation Program Acoustic Recording System), and a processing system called SPAN (Sonar Evaluation Program Analysis System).
Bacterial immunogens and protective immunity in swine

Abstract This review provides a limited discussion of antibody-mediated immune responses to bacterial pathogens which cause disease in swine. Serum antibody titers or responses have been used to correlate immunization or convalescence with protection from a given disease or infectious agent. Though much effort has been devoted to the elucidation of the host's antibody response to bacterial antigens, there are limited examples where an antibody response to a singular antigen has induced protection from disease. Antibody responses have been shown to be very effective in neutralizing bacterial exotoxins, e.g. Escherichia, Pasteurella, Actinobacillus , and inhibiting the ability of bacterial pathogens to colonize mucosal surfaces, e.g. Escherichia, Salmonella . The protective role of monospecific antibody responses to other bacterial components are less clear; however, antibody responses are generally polyclonal in nature and are an important component of the host immune response following the onset of disease. Anticapsular antibodies have been shown to enhance phagocytosis of numerous pathogens, e.g. Actinobacillus, Streptococcus, Pasteurella . Humoral immune responses directed against the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of many Gram-negative organisms have been shown to enhance phagocytosis and the activation of complement, e.g. Salmonella . Anti-LPS antibodies have also aided in the identification of the serotypic diversity of Gram-negative organisms, e.g. Serpulina, Salmonella, Pasteurella . Antibody responses to the outer membrane proteins of Gram-negative organisms enhance phagocytosis, activation of complement, or inhibit bacterial adhesion to host cell. Adhesion of Gram-positive microorganisms, e.g. Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Clostridium , to eukaryotic cells can be inhibited by antibody against the peptidoglycan and these peptidoglycan-specific antibodies may also facilitate opsonization of these organisms. Mycoplasma species have been shown to be metabolically inhibited by antibody directed against membrane proteins. In addition to the protective aspects of humoral immunity, the host's antibody response has been used as a diagnostic and epidemiological tool to identify or determine the prevelance of infectious agents.
Temporary tracheobronchial stenting in malignant stenoses

Endobronchial stent implantation has been successfully employed in malignant stenoses. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the temporary use of tracheobronchial stents combined with tumour-specific therapy. All patients received stents for primary palliation of dyspnoea followed by radio- or chemotherapy with the aim of stent removal after reduction of the stenosis. In 22 patients suffering from severe malignant strictures, 34 endobronchial stents (29 Strecker-, 3 Dumon-, 1 Orlowski-, 1 Dynamic-Y-stents) were implanted (in 9 patients, 2 stents were necessary). Patients were treated by irradiation (n = 18) or chemotherapy (n = 4) after stent implantation. Significant improvement of dyspnoea (P < 0.001) and partial oxygen pressure (P < 0.01) was observed. In 11 out of 22 cases (50%), the stents could be removed after successful tumour-specific therapy which led to reduction of stenosis after a mean interval of 31.7 (6-104) days (temporary stenting). During the period of tumour-specific therapy, 9 patients died after a mean interval of 132 (13-347) days (definite stenting). In two cases, stents had to be removed after stent compression, stent dislocation and severe cough. The results suggest that temporary stenting, characterised by subsequent successful tumour-specific therapy, is a new valuable therapeutic strategy. It can "bridge the gap" before tumour-specific therapy can take effect. If tumour-specific therapy is ineffective, definite stenting is the palliative method of choice in severe dyspnoea in bronchial carcinoma.
On The Order Of The Linear. Instability Of A Plasma

Abstract We derive a simple condition that determines the order, in Perturbation theory, of the linear instability of a plasma.
Pompe’s Disease: A Report of Ten Cases

Pompe’s disease is a rare inherited metabolic disorder, which often leads to infantile death from severe cardiomyopathy. This report describes ten infants with clinical findings suggestive of Pompe’s disease confirmed by histological investigation. All the infants had presented with cardiopulmonary symptoms. Two dimensional and Doppler echocardiography revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and six of them had left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. We emphasized the importance of echocardiography in the clinical diagnosis of this severe condition.
Error analysis in numerical solution of acoustic integral equations

We present an analysis of both first and second kind integral equaitons of prototype Dirichlet and Neumann problems. In particular we will treat boundary integral equations for acoustic scattering from bounded impenetrable objects and the corresponding potential (zero frequency) equations. Specifically, we will show how residual error may be employed to obtain useful error estimates without ever knowing the exact solution
Identification of moving magnetic field lines, 2. Application to a moving nonrigid conductor

Moving magnetic field line identification for predicting particle motion on conducting surface
Astrocytes in Neurodegenerative Disease

Astrocytes contribute to the maintenance of the health and function of the central nervous system (CNS). Thus, it is not surprising that these multifunctional cells have been implicated in the onset and progression of several neurodegenerative diseases. The involvement of astrocytes in the neuropathology of these diseases is likely a consequence of both the loss of normal homeostatic functions and gain of toxic functions. Intracellular aggregates in astrocytes are a common feature of various neurodegenerative diseases, and these aggregates perturb normal astrocytic functions in ways that can be harmful to neuronal viability. Here, we review the role of astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on their dysfunction in Huntington's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Impacts of food availability and pCO2 on planulation, juvenile survival, and calcification of the azooxanthellate scleractinian coral Balanophyllia elegans

Ocean acidification, the assimilation of atmospheric CO 2 by the oceans that decreases the pH and CaCO 3 saturation state (Ω) of seawater, is projected to have severe adverse consequences for calcifying organisms. While strong evidence suggests calcification by tropical reef-building corals containing algal symbionts (zooxanthellae) will decline over the next century, likely responses of azooxanthellate corals to ocean acidification are less well understood. Because azooxanthellate corals do not obtain photosynthetic energy from symbionts, they provide a system for studying the direct effects of acidification on energy available for calcification. The solitary azooxanthellate orange cup coral Balanophyllia elegans often lives in low-pH, upwelled waters along the California coast. In an 8-month factorial experiment, we measured the effects of three p CO 2 treatments (410, 770, and 1220 μatm) and two feeding frequencies (3-day and 21-day intervals) on "planulation" (larval release) by adult B. elegans , and on the survival, skeletal growth, and calcification of newly settled juveniles. Planulation rates were affected by food level but not p CO 2 . Juvenile mortality was highest under high p CO 2 (1220 μatm) and low food (21-day intervals). Feeding rate had a greater impact on calcification of B. elegans than p CO 2 . While net calcification was positive even at 1220 μatm (~3 times current atmospheric p CO 2 ), overall calcification declined by ~25–45%, and skeletal density declined by ~35–45% as p CO 2 increased from 410 to 1220 μatm. Aragonite crystal morphology changed at high p CO 2 , becoming significantly shorter but not wider at 1220 μatm. We conclude that food abundance is critical for azooxanthellate coral calcification, and that B. elegans may be partially protected from adverse consequences of ocean acidification in habitats with abundant heterotrophic food.
Characterization of the oxysterol-binding protein gene family in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

imb_1087 541..552 The oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP) and OSBPrelated proteins (ORPs) are sterol-binding proteins that may be involved in cellular sterol transportation, sterol metabolism and signal transduction pathways. Four ORP genes were cloned from Aedes aegypti. Based on amino acid sequence homology to human proteins, they are AeOSBP, AeORP1, AeORP8 and AeORP9. Splicing variants of AeOSBP and AeORP8 were identified. The temporal and spatial transcription patterns of members of the AeOSBP gene family through developmental stages and the gonotrophic cycle were profiled. AeORP1 transcription seemed to be head tissue-specific, whereas AeOSBP and AeORP9 expression was induced by a bloodmeal. Furthermore, over-expression of AeORPs facilitated [ 3 H]-cholesterol uptake in Ae. aegypti cultured Aag-2
Stimulation of the nodulus and uvula discharges velocity storage in the vestibulo-ocular reflex

The nodulus and sublobule d of the uvula of rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys were electrically stimulated with short trains of pulses to study changes in horizontal slow-phase eye velocity. Nodulus and uvula stimulation produced a rapid decline in horizontal slow phase velocity, one aspect of the spatial reorientation of the axis of eye rotation that occurs when the head is tilted with regard to gravity during per- and post-rotatory nystagmus and optokinetic after-nystagmus (OKAN). Nodulus and uvula stimulation also reproduced the reduction of the horizontal time constant of post-rotatory nystagmus and OKAN that occurs during visual suppression. The brief electric stimuli (4–5 s) induced little slow-phase velocity and had no effect on the initial jump in eye velocity at the onset or the end of angular rotation. Effects of stimulation were unilateral, suggesting specificity of the output pathways. Activation of more caudal sites in the uvula produced nystagmus with a rapid rise in eye velocity, but the effects did not outlast the stimulus and did not affect VOR or OKAN time constants. Thus, stimulation of caudal parts of the uvula did not affect eye velocity produced by velocity storage. We postulate that the nodulus and sublobule d of the uvula control the time constant of the yaw axis (horizontal) component of slow-phase eye velocity produced by velocity storage.
The 16-fold way: a microparallel taxonomy

Presents a novel microparallel taxonomy for machines with multiple-instruction processing capabilities including VLIW, superscalar, and decoupled machines. The taxonomy is based upon the static or dynamic behavior of four abstract, operational stages that an instruction passes through. These stages are fetch, decode, execute, and retire. This two valued, four variable taxonomy results in sixteen ways that a processor's microarchitecture can be specified. The paper categorizes different machine instances that are either actual implementations or proposed systems within the taxonomy framework. Four new processor microarchitectures are postulated which provide additional features and are instances of the remaining unexplored microparallel classifications. >
Compressed and Distributed Sensing of Population Activity for Multiscale Decoding of Motor Cortical Response Properties

Estimating time varying response properties in the motor cortex is an essential task to decode motor neural activity for adequate and reliable neuroprosthetic control. Response properties are typically governed by the precision in neuronal firing and changes in the mean firing rate of individual neurons in relation to the preferred movement direction. This paper proposes a new approach for simultaneously estimating both types of information directly from a multiscale representation of neural data. The approach is based on exploiting the sparsity introduced in the data through a wavelet transformation to first derive distinctive features of neuronal spike waveforms in addition to precision in neuronal firing. Then, changes in mean firing rates are captured along an extended path of the representation to co-localize both response properties. We use spatiotemporal point process models to describe these properties and demonstrate the validity of the approach in decoding a 2D movement trajectory synthesized with 24 neurons directly from the sparsely represented data.
Modeling and control of the Merlin 6200 industrial robot

A dynamic model for the Merline 6200 industrial robot system which is suitable for optimization and control studies is derived by making use of the Lagrange-Euler method. A controller that is based on ideas from sliding mode and optimal control theory is applied to the linearized dynamic model to enable the arm to track a preplanned trajectory with minimum error. The results of computer simulations indicate that the dynamic model derived is suitable for control studies and that the controller applied is an accurate one. >
BBS4 interacts with PCM1

The Bardet-Biedl protein BBS4 targets cargo to the pericentriolar region and is required for microtubule anchoring and cell cycle progression Kim et al. (2004).