cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hydrogen peroxide is selectively toxic to immature murine neurons in vitro

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulates during hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and may mediate neurotoxicity in the immature brain. To determine whether H2O2 causes maturation specific neurotoxicity, primary neuronal cultures were exposed to H2O2 (25, 50, 100 microM) for 5 min or 24 h during in vitro development, and toxicity was assessed. Immature neurons incurred marked and dose dependent injury after both brief and prolonged H2O2 exposures, and marked dose dependent death following prolonged H2O2 exposures. Mature neurons incurred marked injury following prolonged but not brief H2O2 exposures, and were relatively resistant to H2O2 induced death following both brief and prolonged exposures. Thus, H2O2 is selectively toxic to immature neurons in vitro. Neuronal vulnerability to H2O2 during in vivo development is unknown and warrants investigation.
R M and Solvent Composition in Paper Chromatograph

WHEN information concerning the structure of substances is required from paper Chromatographic data, R M values are used rather than R F as they are more directly related to the different groups of which the molecules of these substances are composed1. In cases when one phase forming the Chromatographic system is composed of two solvents practically immiscible with the other liquid phase, at any proportion of the component solvents (for example, hexane + chloroform/water; hexane/water + di-methylsulphoxide) and assuming that chromatography is a true counter-current extraction process, following the plate theory, a simple equation can be derived relating the R M value to the composition of the two-component phase.
Examining reliability and validity of the Preschool Play Scale with handicapped children.

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Preschool Play Scale (PPS), a measure of the developmental level of play, on a sample of 60 handicapped children. RESULTS demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity for the scale as a whole. However, the need for some refinement of the scale was revealed by the findings. Categories of play that can be observed only infrequently need to be reconsidered. The data also suggest that the criteria for deciding whether a behavior is absent or whether there was no opportunity to observe the behavior need to be spelled out more clearly for the scale. Language: en
A novel mutation in the tRNAIle gene (MTTI) affecting the variable loop in a patient with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO)

We describe a 62-year-old woman with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO), multiple lipomas, diabetes mellitus, and a novel mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation at nucleotide 4302 (4302A>G) of the tRNA(Ile) gene (MTTI). This is the first mutation at position 44 in the variable loop (V loop) of any mitochondrial tRNA. The muscle biopsy revealed 10% ragged-red/ragged-blue fibers and 25% cytochrome c oxidase (COX)-deficient fibers. No deletions or duplications were detected by Southern blot analysis. The 4302A>G transition was present only in the patient's muscle and single-fiber analysis revealed significantly higher levels of the mutation in COX-deficient than in normal fibers. Like tRNA(Leu(UUR)), tRNA(Ile) appears to be a "hot spot" for mtDNA mutations causing CPEO.
Probing space with the two-slit experiment

Abstract The two-slit experiment is one of the most important in quantum physics. The particle-wave duality of particles is purportedly established on the basis of this experiment and others similar to it. Conventional quantum theory attributes the observed wavelike properties to the particles themselves, and not to the space through which they travel. Recently the wavelike properties of particles in the two-slit experiment have been modelled using a random map dynamical system. This model requires only particle attributes and the interference effects can be explained by postulating the existence of a complicated underlying space. Based on this model, a simple experiment is suggested which could produce results different from what is predicted by quantum mechanics. This would provide evidence that (1) particles behave as particles and that (2) the complex nature of the space through which the particles travel plays a role in the observed interference effects of the two-slit experiment.
Enhancing response inhibition by incentive: Comparison of adolescents with and without substance use disorder

Effective response inhibition is a key component of recovery from addiction. Some research suggests that response inhibition can be enhanced through reward contingencies. We examined the effect of monetary incentive on response inhibition among adolescents with and without substance use disorder (SUD) using a fast event-related fMRI antisaccade reward task. The fMRI task permits investigation of how reward (monetary incentive) might modulate inhibitory control during three task phases: cue presentation (reward or neutral trial), response preparation, and response execution. Adolescents with lifetime SUD (n=12; 100% marijuana use disorder) were gender and age-matched to healthy controls (n=12). Monetary incentive facilitated inhibitory control for SUD adolescents; for healthy controls, the difference in error rate for neutral and reward trials was not significant. There were no significant differences in behavioral performance between groups across reward and neutral trials, however, group differences in regional brain activation were identified. During the response preparation phase of reward trials, SUD adolescents, compared to controls, showed increased activation of prefrontal and oculomotor control (e.g., frontal eye field) areas, brain regions that have been associated with effective response inhibition. Results indicate differences in brain activation between SUD and control youth when preparing to inhibit a prepotent response in the context of reward, and support a possible role for incentives in enhancing response inhibition among youth with SUD.
A mutation in the E(Z) methyltransferase that increases trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 and causes inappropriate silencing of active Polycomb target genes.

Abstract Drosophila Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is a lysine methyltransferase that trimethylates histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3), a modification essential for Polycomb silencing. Mutations in its catalytic subunit, E(Z), that abolish its methyltransferase activity disrupt Polycomb silencing, causing derepression of Polycomb target genes in cells where they are normally silenced. In contrast, the unusual E(z) mutant allele Trithorax mimic (E(z)Trm) causes dominant homeotic phenotypes similar to those caused by mutations in trithorax (trx), an antagonist of Polycomb silencing. This suggests that E(z)Trm causes inappropriate silencing of Polycomb target genes in cells where they are normally active. Here we show that E(z)Trm mutants have an elevated level of H3K27me3 and reduced levels of H3K27me1 and H3K27me2, modifications also carried out by E(Z). This suggests that the E(z)Trm mutation increases the H3K27 trimethylation efficiency of E(Z). Acetylated H3K27 (H3K27ac), a mark of transcriptionally active genes that directly antagonizes H3K27 methylation by E(Z), is also reduced in E(z)Trm mutants, consistent with their elevated H3K27me3 level causing inappropriate silencing. In 0–4 h E(z)Trm embryos, H3K27me3 accumulates prematurely and to high levels and does so at the expense of H3K27ac, which is normally present at high levels in early embryos. Despite their high level of H3K27me3, expression of Abd-B initiates normally in homozygous E(z)Trm embryos, but is substantially lower than in wild type embryos by completion of germ band retraction. These results suggest that increased H3K27 trimethylation activity of E(Z)Trm causes the premature accumulation of H3K27me3 in early embryogenesis, “predestining” initially active Polycomb target genes to silencing once Polycomb silencing is initiated.
HFB cranking wave functions in backbending nuclei

Abstract This article investigates the possibility that HFB cranking wave functions in the backbending region are spurious linear combinations of a low-spin paired state and a high-spin rotation-aligned state.
Interpolation coding: A representation for numbers in neural models

A central task of perception can be defined as one of computing hierarchies of invariants. One way of representing such invariants in intermediate levels of abstraction in this hierarchy is to use discrete units. These have been termed value units. A problem with such an encoding is that there has not been a good way to represent accurate numerical quantities using these units. This paper remedies the deficiency by describing a scheme that interpolates values between units representing fixed numerical quantities. The scheme has nice properties: it extends across functional mappings and it allows different sources of evidence to be combined.
2D Conformationally Sampled Pharmacophore: A Ligand-Based Pharmacophore To Differentiate δ Opioid Agonists from Antagonists

Pharmacophores are widely used for rational drug design and include those based on receptor binding sites or on known ligands. To date, ligand-based pharmacophores have typically used one or a small number of conformers of known receptor ligands. However, this method does not take into account the inherent dynamic nature of molecules, which sample a wide range of conformations, any of which could be the bound form. In the present study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used as a means to sample the conformational space of ligands to include all accessible conformers at room temperature in the development of a pharmacophore. On the basis of these conformers, probability distributions of selected distances and angles in a series of delta specific opioid ligands were obtained and correlated with agonist versus antagonist activities. Individually, the distributions did not allow for unique agonist and antagonist pharmacophores to be identified. However, by extending the conformational analysis to two dimensions, a 2D conformationally sampled pharmacophore (CSP) for distinguishing delta receptor agonists and antagonists was developed. Application of this model to the compound DPI2505 suggests that it may have agonist activity. It is anticipated that the CSP method, which does not require alignment of compounds during pharmacophore development, will be a useful tool for obtaining structure-function relationships of ligands particularly in systems where the receptor 3D structure is not known.
New physical understanding of a type of idealized scattering and the implications of the method of solution used

We present a new point of view for investigation radiative transfer problems by showing it involves the scattering of traveling evanescent waves. Its accuracy is demonstrated by applying it to a solved problem whose solution was published by Chandrasekhar. He determined it with a conventional method and we bolster confidence in our method by showing how the new method produces the same analytical answer. The new technique converts the 95-year-old, usually difficult to solve, integro-differential equation formulation of radiative transfer into a less formidable 'pure' differential equation formulation, consisting here in a mixture of ordinary and partial derivatives, and solves that. This paper focuses on a single class of cases. It also demonstrates surprising success at solving a narrowly defined class of nonlinear radiative transfer problems initially expressed as a nonlinear integro-differential equation formulation of the radiative transport problem.
Oral candidiasis: Forerunner of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)?

Abstract A 42-year-old man who used intravenous drugs had oral candidiasis and weight loss. Careful examination led to a diagnosis of AIDS. The patient subsequently died of disseminated cryptococcosis, systemic candidiasis, and polymicrobial bacteremia. The circumstances and progression noted in this case led to the recommendation that an aggressive screening for AIDS should be performed on patients at high risk for this syndrome who present with oral Candida infection.
Experimental characterization of a diffractive optical filter for use in an optoelectronic analog-to-digital converter

The first experimental characterization of an eight-level, phase-only diffractive optical implementation of an error diffusion filter for use in digital image halftoning is reported. Ten identical elements were fabricated through a DARPA-sponsored workshop and subsequently experimentally characterized. A detailed statistical error analysis including both fabrication and instrumentation errors was performed to quantify the performance of the fabrication process as well as the expected system performance of the filters. Over the 10-sample ensemble, an average diffraction efficiency of 83.7% was measured with an RMS error between the designed and experimental coefficients of 0.2411%, producing nearly diffraction limited performance.
Bipartite anti-Ramsey numbers of cycles

We determine the maximum number of colors in a coloring of the edges of Km,n such that every cycle of length 2k contains at least two edges of the same color. One of our main tools is a result on generalized path covers in balanced bipartite graphs. For positive integers q≤ a, let g(a,q) be the maximum number of edges in a spanning subgraph G of Ka,a such that the minimum number of vertex-disjoint even paths and pairs of vertices from distinct partite sets needed to cover V(G) is q. We prove that g(a,q) = a2 - aq + max {a, 2q - 2}. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 47: 928, 2004 Part of the research of Tao Jiang was done at Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931.
ATYPICAL CHROMOSOME MOVEMENT IN MEIOTIC ANAPHASE OF BROMUS PITENSIS X B. MARGINATUS

THE CENTROMERE may be described as a specialized region of the chromosome, generally known to be structurally distinct, whose function is related to the movement of the chromosome during cell division. Three types of centromere have been described. The most prevalent is the "localized centromere," a single morphologically distinct structure occurring in a definite location in each chromosome. A chromosome with a "multiple centromere," as found in germ-line cells of Ascaris megalocephala, contains numerous individually distinct centromeres which function in unison. In the Hemiptera and in Luzula and Tityus a "diffuse centromere" is apparently spread over the entire poleward-facing surface of the chromosome; its structure is not known.
Chapter 23 Monoclonal antibodies recognising cytoskeletal proteins of small cell lung carcinoma

Abstract The proteins comprising the cytoskeleton of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were analysed with antibodies against keratins and neurofilament. Staining of SCLC cells with polyclonal antikeratin antibodies showed heterogeneity in keratin content even in cloned populations of cells. SCLC cells are also heterogeneous when stained by monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) recognising certain groups of keratins. Immunofluorescence staining is often weak. However, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting reproducibly demonstrate the presence of keratin and allow analysis of keratin subtypes. SCLC cell lines and tumour tissues contained keratins associated with simple and stratified epithelium as well as the high molecular weight keratins observed with differentiation of keratinocytes. The presence of keratin subtypes closely associated with the development of keratinizing “skin-type” epithelium (the 68kD basic keratin) in SCLC was unexpected in a tumour that is generally regarded as poorly differentiated. Neurofilament proteins were also identified in SCLC by immunofluorescence and immunoblot. The cytoskeletal composition of SCLC suggests the presence of a heterogeneous population with a significant portion of cells in a highly differentiated state.
Isolation and some properties of components of nuclear polyhedra from the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni

Abstract Nuclear polyhedra obtained from diseased cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni, were digested with sodium carbonate-saline buffer, pH 11.0. The dissolved polyhedra formed 3 general zones when subjected to density gradient centrifugation. The slowest sedimenting component (Zone 1) had an ultraviolet absorption curve typical of protein and a sedimentation coefficient of 11 S. Capsids, 310 × 40 nm, were located in Zone 2. Virus particles were found in 1–3 bands (Zone 3); those with envelopes measured 300 × 72 nm, and those without envelopes measured 300 × 33 nm. Virus preparations stained with phosphotungstic acid at pH 7.0 exhibited extensive disruption whereas preparations stained at pH 3.0 did not. Virus particles in the sodium carbonate-saline-digested polyhedra had a sedimentation coefficient of 1228 S. Virus particles isolated by high speed centrifugation had a sedimentation coefficient of 1530 S.
Sociodemographic Influences on Consumer Concern for Food Safety: The Case of Irradiation, Antibiotics, Hormones, and Pesticides

Over the past several years, consumers have become more concerned about food safety. Of particular increasing interest are the effects of the use of food production practices such as irradiation, antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides on food safety. These concerns have been heightened by extensive media attention and growing general awareness of the relationship between diet and health (Lynch and Lin). There is a tendency for consumer concerns about food safety issues, however, to be exagerated by the popular press (Jones). In fact, nutritionists and food scientists claim that the United States has the safest food supply in the world (Foster). Some scientists and academicians believe that
Postoperative intracranial neurosurgery infection rates in North America versus Europe: a systematic analysis.

Background Postoperative wound infection (PWI) after intracranial neurosurgery remains a significant worldwide problem, resulting in substantial morbidity/mortality if not combatted quickly and energetically. Although the danger of PWI is universally recognized, the reported incidence of PWI after intracranial neurosurgery remains variable, ranging from 1% to 8% in published series. The impact of geography on this reported variability has not been previously investigated. To address this issue, published comprehensive intracranial neurosurgery series were reviewed, segregating findings geographically between North American and European series. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the Entrez gateway of the PubMed database. Studies conducted in North America and Europe reporting the incidence of PWI after intracranial neurosurgery were subjected to a thorough review. Data from studies meeting inclusion criteria (minimum of 500 cases with no systematic exclusion of procedures) were categorized by origin (North American/European) and design (retrospective/prospective). Recorded incidences were then compared using χ 2 analysis, and estimates of the relative risk of PWI were calculated. Results Seven studies (4 North American, 3 European) met all of the inclusion criteria, with a 2.6-fold greater PWI incidence reported in the European studies ( P Conclusion PWI after intracranial neurosurgery was nearly 3 times more likely in European versus North American studies. These findings should be considered by clinicians when estimating the risks of intracranial neurosurgery, and highlight the need for future prospective studies to provide evidence-based explanations for these differences.
What Risks Are People Concerned About

An unusual questionnaire was used to explore what risks concern laypeople. It asked respondents to list, in their own words, as many risks of personal concern as they could. They then selected the five risks of greatest concern and answered a set of specific questions about each. A coding scheme was developed for categorizing these responses and was shown to have good reliability. The questionnaire was administered to a heterogeneous convenience sample of subjects. They reported a very broad range of risks of concern, which differed in plausible ways as a function of their gender and age. Females and student-age subjects were generally more concerned about the environment, whereas males and older subjects were more likely to mention health and safety risks. Both the extent of the risk-reduction actions that they reported and their expressed willingness to pay for future risk reductions were greater for risk that presented a direct personal threat (e.g., health risks) than for risks that posed a diffuse threat to the environment or to people in general (e.g., pollution). Respondents perceived themselves as bearing primary responsibility for managing threats to their own health, but generally saw government as bearing a heavier responsibility for managing environmental risks (especially for pollutants) and war. The questionnaire instrument and coding structure developed for this work are well-suited to a variety of future research applications. They provide a way to identify the risks that concern lay groups, as well as to track the evolution of those concerns over time.
Coupling of Linearized Gravity to Nonrelativistic Test Particles: Dynamics in the General Laboratory Frame

The coupling of gravity to matter is explored in the linearized gravity limit. The usual derivation of gravity-matter couplings within the quantum-field-theoretic framework is reviewed. A number of inconsistencies between this derivation of the couplings, and the known results of tidal effects on test particles according to classical general relativity are pointed out. As a step towards resolving these inconsistencies, a General Laboratory Frame fixed on the worldline of an observer is constructed. In this frame, the dynamics of nonrelativistic test particles in the linearized gravity limit is studied, and their Hamiltonian dynamics is derived. It is shown that for stationary metrics this Hamiltonian reduces to the usual Hamiltonian for nonrelativistic particles undergoing geodesic motion. For nonstationary metrics with long-wavelength gravitational waves (GWs) present, it reduces to the Hamiltonian for a nonrelativistic particle undergoing geodesic deviation motion. Arbitrary-wavelength GWs couple to the test particle through a vector-potential-like field Na, the net result of the tidal forces that the GW induces in the system, namely, a local velocity field on the system induced by tidal effects as seen by an observer in the general laboratory frame. Effective electric and magnetic fields, which are related to the electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl tensor, are constructed from Na that obey equations of the same form as Maxwell’s equations . A gedankin gravitational Aharonov-Bohm-type experiment using Na to measure the interference of quantum test particles is presented.
Medical Consequences of Persistent Viral Infection

Most of our knowledge about the medical implications of viral disease comes from studies of acute viral infections.1 2 3 As a result of such studies, we now understand the clinical courses and pathogenic mechanisms of acute infections, and attempts to control infection through manipulation of the immune system — i.e., vaccination — have been described. Yet the future of medical virology will probably relate far more to persistent viral infections and the diseases associated with them.4 5 6 Included within this group are many of the herpesviruses (herpes simplex, cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, varicella–zoster virus), hepatitis B virus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) Types . . .
Ferryl Derivatives of Human Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase

The critical role of the ferryl intermediate in catalyzing the oxygen chemistry of monooxygenases, oxidases, or peroxidases has been known for decades. In contrast, its involvement in heme-based dioxygenases, such as human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (hIDO), was not recognized until recently. In this study, H2O2 was used as a surrogate to generate the ferryl intermediate of hIDO. Spectroscopic data demonstrate that the ferryl species is capable of oxidizing azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) but not l-Trp. Kinetic studies reveal that the conversion of the ferric enzyme to the ferryl intermediate facilitates the l-Trp binding rate by >400-fold; conversely, l-Trp binding to the enzyme retards the peroxide reaction rate by ∼9-fold, because of the significant elevation of the entropic barrier. The unfavorable entropic factor for the peroxide reaction highlights the scenario that the structure of hIDO is not optimized for utilizing H2O2 as a co-substrate for oxidizing l-Trp. Titration studies show that the ferryl intermediate possesses two substrate-binding sites with a Kd of 0.3 and 440 μm and that the electronic properties of the ferryl moiety are sensitive to the occupancy of the two substrate-binding sites. The implications of the data are discussed in the context of the structural and functional relationships of the enzyme.
Lipase mRNAs Expressed in Lacrimal and Harderian Glands

The preocular tear film is composed of an aqueous phase containing mucins and dissolved proteins and a thin external lipid layer. The lipid layer slows aqueous evaporation and protects the ocular surface from environmental irritants. The lacrimal glands supply the bulk of the ocular tear fluid phase, as well as many dissolved proteins. The meibomian glands of the eyelid secrete the lipids. Harderian glands of non-primate vertebrates secrete proteins and lipids.
The effect of minor elements on the growth and electrical properties of NiO on Ni

Abstract In this study, the effects of Cu additions and external doping with CeO2 on the oxidation of nickel were evaluated. The materials studied were pure Ni, Ni–5 wt.% Cu, and Ni with the surface doped with CeO2 by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The oxidation kinetics were measured using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The oxidation microstructures were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS). A 4-point probe was used to measure the area-specific resistance (ASR) of the NiO scales. The Cu additions had a negligible effect on the oxidation kinetics but Cu was found to be present in the outer portions of the scale in significant concentrations. Doping with CeO2 resulted in a significant decrease in the NiO growth rate. The scales on doped Ni grew primarily inward whereas those on the undoped Ni grew primarily outward. Deposition of the CeO2 dopant onto Ni with a thin, preformed NiO layer produced a similar reduction in the subsequent NiO growth rate. This suggests that the poisoned interface model, proposed by Pieraggi and Rapp, does not describe the effect of the CeO2 dopant. The ASR values decreased commensurate with the scale thicknesses indicating that there was insignificant doping of Ce+ 4 ions onto the Ni sublattice in the scales. Mechanisms are presented to attempt to describe the above observations and a theoretical model for calculating ASR is presented.
The mutagenic effect of thymine-starvation on Salmonella typhimurium.

Abstract Thymine-starvation was found to be mutagenic for thymine-requiring mutants of Salmonella typhimurium LT2. Thymine auxotrophs were thymine-starved to a level of 10% survival. Readdition of thymine and other nutrients, followed by selective techniques, resulted in the recovery of cells possessing additional auxotrophic mutations. A set of 70 mutants was collected and tested for reversion to phototrophy both spontaneously and after chemical mutagen treatment. Reversion tests of these mutants revealed that revertible (spontaneously and by mutagen), non-revertible (spontaneously nor by mutagen), and mutagen-stable (spontaneously revertible, but not by mutagen) mutants were induced by thymineless treatment. Furthermore, the revertible mutants were not identical to each other with regard to reversion pattern when tested with a series of mutagens. It is concluded from these results that mutation by thymine-starvation is not limited to base-pair substitution. Mutants isolated after thymine-starvation were actually induced and not merely selected from mutants pre-existing in the cell population. This conclusion was based on reconstruction experiments and on comparisons of selectivity and mutability between thymine-starvation and penicillin-screening.
Exponential Asymptotics for Partial Differential Equations

The principles are discussed by which asymptotics beyond all orders can be carried to genuine partial differential equations for which the variables cannot be separated. Access to solutions then depends on the canonical equations of the Hamilto-nian operators, and their phase-space trajectories involve complex geometrical optics and branching. To handle the resulting Stokes phenomena reliably in several dimensions requires a connection method resolving them strictly locally at the branch points of individual trajectories. For linear problems, at least, solution approximations can then be formulated which are concrete and exponentially reliable, even if grossly nonuniform, and can be used to predict transcendentally small functionals of the operator that can be observed directly. The general theory is illustrated by examples of spectral degeneracy.
Understanding the complexity of redesigning care around the clinical microsystem

The microsystem is an organizing design construct in which social systems cut across traditional discipline boundaries. Because of its interdisciplinary focus, the clinical microsystem provides a conceptual and practical framework for simplifying complex organizations that deliver care. It also provides an important opportunity for organizational learning. Process mapping and microworld simulation may be especially useful for redesigning care around the microsystem concept. Process mapping, in which the core processes of the microsystem are delineated and assessed from the perspective of how the individual interacts with the system, is an important element of the continuous learning cycle of the microsystem and the healthcare organization. Microworld simulations are interactive computer based models that can be used as an experimental platform to test basic questions about decision making misperceptions, cause-effect inferences, and learning within the clinical microsystem. Together these tools offer the user and organization the ability to understand the complexity of healthcare systems and to facilitate the redesign of optimal outcomes.
Neurotoxic damage to the nigrostriatal system in rats following intranigral administration of MPDP+ and MPP+.

Unilateral intranigral administration of the oxidative metabolites of 1-methyl-4-pheny1-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), 1-methyi-4-phenyl-dihydropyridine (MPDP+) or l-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+) produced dose-dependently a depletion of dopamine in the ipsilateral striatum of rats two weeks following treatment.d- Amphetamine and apomorphine induced circling toward the lesioned side in these unilaterally treated animals. No contralateral circling behavior was observed after challenging with apomorphine. This dopamine lesioning effect of MPP+ was not blocked by pretreatment of animals with a dopamine uptake blocker, GBR 12909. Furthermore, MPP+ increased the45Ca accumulation into cells at the site of injection and produced “nonspecific” cell membrane and/or cytotoxic damage seen by histological procedures. These results indicate that MPDP+ and MPP+ produced localized cytotoxic damage to nigrostriatal neurons, caused a decrease in striatal dopamine, and disrupted the nigrostriatal system's functioning following intranigral administration to rats. It is postulated that the cationic surfactant properties of MPDP+ and MPP+ might contribute to its neurotoxic effects.
Propagation characteristics of superconductive interconnects

Under the assumptions of weak magnetic fields and temperatures well below the critical temperature of the superconductors, the propagation characteristics of a set of N coupled superconducting strips are calculated using an integral equation approach. The proposed theory provides accurate results for frequencies up to a few GHz. Magnetic field calculations allow us to predict acceptable values for the currents in the strips. Comparison with the propagation characteristics of aluminum strips demonstrates the major advantages of superconducting transmission lines, namely, negligible losses and dispersion, and higher phase velocities. Such properties are highly desirable in the engineering of fast interconnects for modern high-speed integrated circuits.
Classifying early product life cycle forms via a diffusion model: Problems and prospects

Abstract We empirically test the robustness of the Easingwood approach to classify early product life cycle forms for infrequently purchased major products. Our results indicate that the key classification parameters could be unstable to variations in the sample size used for estimation, thereby producing more than one classification for several products. We demonstrate that the problem of multiple classifications can be effectively addressed by using the more rigorous criteria of joint confidence regions (as opposed to point estimates) of classification parameters. The benefit of such rigorous classification is that it increases researcher confidence in Easingwood's classification system.
Note on a Markov chain approach to cardiac arrhythmia classification.

Abstract A heart-beat interval, Markov chain approach to cardiac arrhythmia classification is reexamined, and an alternative problem formulation presented. The approach developed models heart-beat interval and underlying disorder as a partially observed, two-dimensional Markov chain, where the scalar element modeling underlying disorder is assumed to always make transition back into the same state. The R-R wave interval is assumed perfectly observed and the underlying disorder completely unobserved. A recursive procedure for updating the probability density of an underlying disorder conditioned on all past data is stated. Selection of the classification which maximizes the probability of being the underlying disorder, given the observed sequence, is then easily determined.
Climate variability and pelagic fisheries in northern Chile

A time series analysis of long-term climate variability in northern Chile (18 °21-24°00S) shows anomal- ies associated with the El Nino events and the longer warm period observed since 1976, followed by a cooling trend since mid 1980s. The succession of pelagic fisheries, anchovy ( Engraulis ringens) and sardine (Sardinops sagax), occurring in this fishing zone was analyzed taking into account the landings, the CPUE abundance index, the fishing effort, and the environmental variables. The anchovy production model is a negative linear function of fishing effort and turbulence. For sardine, the production model is a negative linear function of fishing effort and a quadratic function of the sea surface temperature. An analysis of the relationship between recruitment, adult biomass and the environment shows that the annual recruitment of anchovy increases with turbulence intensity until wind speed reaches a value of 5.46 ms 1 , decreasing for higher values. For sardine, the recruitment increases with turbulence intensity until 5.63 m s 1 , stabilizing thereafter. It is deduced that the climatic variations associated to the El Nino events affect the abundance of coastal pelagic fishes, without forgetting the most likely effects upon its distribution and the fishing effort. However, it is the long-term variability that mainly affects the fishing activity.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Women Who Choose Business Administration Versus Women Who Choose Administrative Services: How They Differ

The paper examines a sample of women at a university who have chosen different paths to a business career by electing to enroll in parallel but dissimilar curriculums. Several attributes were selected on which to compare these women and differences between the two samples were noted. The results imply that organizations may need to balance enthusiasm for occupationally upgrading women with a consideration for personal perceptions that women possess about their role in society.
Winter-feeding systems for gestating sheep I. Effects on pre- and postpartum ewe performance and lamb progeny preweaning performance.

Mature pregnant crossbred ewes (n = 90) were used in a randomized complete block design and assigned to 1 of 3 winter-feeding systems differing in primary feed source: haylage (HL), limit-fed corn (CN), or limit-fed dried distillers grains (DDGS). Ef- fects of these winter-feeding strategies on ewe and lamb performance were determined. Diets were formulated to meet or exceed NRC (1985) nutrient requirements during gestation and were fed from about d 60 of gesta- tion until parturition. All ewes were fed a common diet postpartum. Every 2 wk during gestation, BW and BCS were collected and diets were adjusted to maintain sim- ilar BW gain for ewes fed CN and DDGS vs. HL. At 80 and 122 d of gestation, jugular blood samples were col- lected at 0, 3, 6, and 9 h postfeeding to measure plasma glucose, insulin, NEFA, and blood urea nitrogen con- centrations. At birth, 6 lambs per treatment were killed to measure body composition. At 28 ± 2 d postpartum, milk yield was measured. Lambs were weaned at 61 ± 4 d of age. During mid gestation (d 60 to 115), BW gain of ewes was similar among treatments; however, at d 115 of gestation ewes fed HL had a smaller (P = 0.04) BCS than ewes fed DDGS or CN. Plasma glucose concentrations were greater (P ≤ 0.004) in ewes fed CN than in those fed HL or DDGS just before feeding on d 80 and 122 of gestation, whereas ewes fed DDGS vs. CN or HL had greater (P ≤ 0.04) plasma insulin concentra- tions at 3 h postfeeding. At parturition, ewe BW was greatest for DDGS, least for HL, and intermediate for CN (P ≤ 0.003). Ewes fed CN and DDGS had greater BCS at parturition than those fed HL, but by wean- ing, ewes fed DDGS had greater BCS (P ≤ 0.05) than those fed CN or HL. Birth BW tended (P = 0.09) to be heavier for lambs from ewes fed CN and DDGS than from those fed HL prepartum, but there was no differ- ence (P = 0.19) due to ewe gestation diet on lamb BW at weaning. At birth, lamb muscle, bone, organ, and fat measures were not affected (P > 0.13) by treatment. Ewe milk production and lamb preweaning ADG were also similar (P > 0.44) among treatments. Prepartum dam winter feed source did not have detrimental effects on pre- or postpartum ewe performance, but altered prepartum maternal nutrient supply during gestation, which affected birth weight but not preweaning growth or mortality.
Adaptive learning and the use of forecasts in monetary policy

Abstract This paper investigates monetary policy design when central bank and private-sector expectations differ. Private agents learn adaptively; the central bank has a possibly misspecified model of the economy. Successful implementation of optimal policy using inflation targeting rules requires the central bank to have complete knowledge of private agents’ learning behavior. If the central bank mistakenly assumes private agents to have rational expectations when in fact they are learning, then policy rules frequently lead to divergent learning dynamics. However, if the central bank does not correctly understand agents’ behavior, stabilization policy is best implemented by controlling the path of the price level rather than the inflation rate.
Financial effects of the Confucius Institute on Chinese language acquisition: Isn’t it delightful that friends come from afar to teach you Hanyu?

Abstract This paper provides a theoretical analysis of the financial effects of Confucius Institutes (CIs) on the number of individuals who acquire Chinese language skills and the interactions between CIs and pre-existing local Chinese schools. It is shown that CIs will successfully induce more individuals in the host countries to learn Chinese despite the fact that Chinese language instruction offered by CIs lead to fewer self-learning individuals and declining enrollments for local Chinese schools. Finally, regardless of whether a local Chinese school exists previously or not, it is demonstrated that, under the most plausible conditions, the host country will benefit from the establishment of a Confucius Institute.
Peptidylglycine-α-Hydroxylating Monooxygenase Generates Two Hydroxylated Products from Its Mechanism-Based Suicide Substrate, 4-Phenyl-3-butenoic Acid†

The bifunctional enzyme peptidylglycine-α-amidating monooxygenase mediates the conversion of C-terminal glycine-extended peptides to their active α-amidated products. Peptidylglycine-α-hydroxylating monooxygenase (PHM, EC 1.14.17.3) catalyzes the first reaction in this two-step process. The olefinic compound 4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid (PBA) is the most potent irreversible, mechanism-based PHM inactivator known. While the details of the inhibitory action of PBA on PHM remain undefined, covalent modification of the protein has been proposed as the underlying mechanism. We report here that, in the process of inactivating PHM, PBA itself serves as a substrate without covalently labeling the enzyme. Approximately 100 molecules of PBA are metabolized per molecule of PHM inactivated, under saturating conditions. The metabolism of PBA by PHM generates two hydroxylated products, 2-hydroxy-4-phenyl-3-butenoic acid and its allylic isomer, 4-hydroxy-4-phenyl-2-butenoic acid. While one enantiomer for each product is sig...
Role of compensatory mammary growth in epigenetic control of gene expression

To better understand the role of nutrition in regulating mammary gland development and lactation, we designed a novel stair-step compensatory nutrition regimen that is a unique combination of dietary energy restriction and realimentation (refeeding) phases; the basic concept of this regimen is to exploit the biological nature of the compensatory growth phenomenon in concert with one or more hormone-sensitive allometric phases of mammary development (i.e., peripuberty through gestation). Nutritionally induced compensatory growth during different developmental stages before first parturition positively affects mammary development and life-long lactation performance. This permanent enhancement of mammary gland growth and lactation potential strongly suggests a possible mechanistic link between nutritionally induced compensatory growth, epigenetic control of mammary gene expression, and metabolic imprinting. We hypothesize that compensatory-directed metabolic imprinting once set during late pregnancy prior to the first parturition persistently maintains and exerts its adaptive response on mammogenesis and galactopoiesis (i.e., maintenance and/or enhancement of milk secretion). The ability to influence heritable genes regulating milk synthesis may be used to improve the quality and quantity of milk (e.g., infant health, the secretion of certain immunoglobulins or growth factors) as well as the longevity of lactation.
Effect of Molecular Structure on Mesomorphism. 16.1 Nematic-Isotropic Thermodynamics for Oligomer Models of Liquid Crystalline Polymers

Abstract Thermodynamic measurements of δH and δS for the nematic-isotropic transition for a homologous series of Siamese Twin diester liquid crystals are reported. These diesters are structurally related as conceptual dimers in the monomer oligomer polymer sequence of liquid crystals with a 4,4′-disubstituted phenyl benzoate mesogenic moiety. Both δH and δS values show an odd:even alternation with carbon number intermediate in magnitude between those for the monomeric and the polymeric mesogens. It is concluded that the Twin diesters are good models for these oligomers in the monomer oligomer polymer progression.
Heterodyne Holographic Interferometry For High Resolution 3-D Sensing

Heterodyne and "quasi"-heterodyne techniques applied to holographic interferometry provide both increased sensitivity and means for automated analysis of fringe information. Holograms may be recorded which contain optical path difference information related to surface contour, displacement, or deformation of an object of interest. Optical path difference resolution approaching 1/2000 of a wavelength (about 2.5 Angstroms) has been demonstrated using heterodyning techniques in which image data is electronically reduced to produce high resolution maps of contours or deformation of objects with specular or diffuse reflecting surfaces. This represents a 1000-fold improvement in sensitivity over that acheived using conventional holographic interferometry. The fact that dimensional data is taken directly from the image plane of the interferometer unambiguously and without the need for human interpretation, suggests the potential for the use of these or similar techniques for some machine vision applications.
Cannon-Thurston maps for hyperbolic group extensions

Let M be a closed hyperbolic 3-manifold fibering over the circle with fiber F . Let F and M denote the universal covers of F and M respectively. Then F and M are quasi-isometric to H and H respectively. Now let D = H∪S ∞ and D = H∪S ∞ denote the standard compactifications. In [6] Cannon and Thurston show that the usual inclusion of F into M extends to a continuous map from D to D. It would be interesting to know how far this result can be generalized. Let H be a hyperbolic subgroup of a hyperbolic group G. We choose a finite generating set of G that contains a finite generating set of H . Let ΓG and ΓH be the Cayley graphs of G, H with respect to these generating sets. There is a continuous proper embedding i of ΓH into ΓG. Now every hyperbolic group admits a compactification of its Cayley graph by adjoining the Gromov boundary consisting of asymptote-classes of geodesics [11]. Let ΓH and ΓG denote these compactifications. A natural question prompted by [6] is: Does the continuous proper embedding i : ΓH → ΓG extend to a continuous map i : ΓH → ΓG ? Questions along this line have been raised by Bonahon [4]. Related questions in the context of Kleinian groups have been studied by Bonahon [5], Floyd [8] and Minsky [12]. Such a map, if it exists, is unique. In this paper we answer the above question affirmatively when H is normal in G:
Methods for the preparation of micro-and nanocrystals of urethane-substituted polydiacetylenes

Urethane‐substituted polydiacetylene (PDA) crystals of bis(ethyl)‐urethane of 5,7‐dodecadiyne‐1,12‐diol (poly(ETCD)) with micronscale and nanoscale dimension were fabricated by either ultrasonication, surfactant addition or vapor phase processing approaches. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to evaluate the sizes and the shapes of the obtained poly(ETCD) microcrystals. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was performed to investigate in situ size distributions of these crystals in aqueous suspension. A UV/Visible/NIR Spectrometer (UV/Vis/NIR) was used to study the electronic absorption of the poly(ETCD) microcrystals. Thermochromic phenomena for poly(ETCD) crystals still exist after their dimension was decreased to the nanoscale.
Anti-tumor characteristics of radiation-induced tumor-infiltrating neutrophils

Meeting abstracts It is now evident that interactions between tumor cells and host tissue stoma play a key role in tumor progression. Understanding the composition of the stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment immediately after tumor irradiation might be an important first step in