cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of cytochalasin B on herpes simplex virus type 1 replication.

Abstract The replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was studied in human embryonic lung cells cultured in the presence of varying concentrations of cytochalasin B. At a concentration of 50 μg/ml, the drug decreased the incorporation of [ 3 H]glucosamine and [ 3 H]fucose into acid-insoluble material by 96 and 92%, respectively, while allowing the incorporation of [ 14 C]amino acids to proceed at a near-normal level. Analysis of [ 14 C]amino acid-labeled HSV-induced polypeptides by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels revealed that as the concentration of cytochalasin B increased, a progressive shift was observed from the major envelope glycopeptide of the virus to a new, presumably nonglycosylated, component designated CB92 (MW 92,000). Concomitant with the appearance of CB92 was a failure of all major virus-induced glycopeptides to incorporate [ 3 H]glucosamine and [ 3 H]fucose. At 50 μg/ml, the drug also decreased HSV-1 infectivity by 96%, although only a 49% reduction of physical particles was observed at this concentration.
Hope And Hype: Predicting The Impact Of Electronic Medical Records

The current fascination with electronic medical records (EMRs) is not new. For decades, vendors have capitalized on this enthusiasm. But hospitals and clinics have ended up with little to show for their large outlays. Indeed, computing at a typical hospital has not gotten much beyond what was available twenty-five years ago. The RAND analysis continues the tradition of hope and hype. Unfortunately, behind their impressive predictions of savings lie a disturbing array of unproven assumptions, wishful thinking, and special effects.
Electron spin resonance-spin trapping. Detection of superoxide formation during aerobic microsomal reduction of nitro-compounds

Abstract ESR measurements demonstrate that in aerobic systems reduction of aromatic nitro-compounds by rat liver microsomes leads to the production of superoxide which may be detected as its adduct with nitrone spin traps.
Wetland loss dynamics in southwestern Barataria basin, Louisiana (USA), 1945–1985

We determined spatial associations of wetland loss rates in a 950-km2 study area in the southwestern Barataria basin of Louisiana's Mississippi River delta plain for four intervals spanning 40 years, 1945–1985. A geographic information system was used to analyze spatial and temporal changes. Annual wetland loss rates increased over the 40 years; the rate of increase in annual rates accelerated through 1980 and then began to decelerate. The average annual rate of wetland loss for the entire study area increased from 0.2%/yr during 1945–1956, to 1.2%/yr for 1956–1969, 1.9%/yr for 1969–1980, and 2.0%/yr for 1980–1985. Wetland loss was not uniform throughout the study area. Eight sub-areas were identified as having different densities and/or causes of loss. Processes implicated in the differing loss rates include sea level rise, shoreline erosion, accelerated subsidence along natural levees, canal modification of hydrologic flows, interference of dredged material with sheet flow, and saltwater intrusion. In some areas, several processes are believed to operate together to induce wetland degradation and wetland loss.
Illusory Contour Perception and Amodal Boundary Completion: Evidence of a Dissociation Following Callosotomy

A fundamental problem in form perception is how the visual system can link together spatially separated contour fragments to form the percept of a unitary shape. Illusory contours and amodal completion are two phenomena that demonstrate this linking process . In the present study we investigate these phenomena in the divided hemispheres of two callosotomy ("split-brain") patients. The data suggest that dissociable neural mechanisms are responsible for the genera tion of illusory contours and amodal completion. Although both cerebral hemispheres appear to be equally capable of perceiving illusory contours, amodal completion is more readily utilized by the right hemisphere. These results suggest that illusory contours may be attributable to low-level visual processes common to both hemispheres, whereas amodal completion reflects a higher-level, lateralized process.
Providence and Religion in the Crusoe Trilogy

Critics have long discussed the conversion narrative in the first Crusoe volume as being a paradigm of an individual’s journey from sin to salvation. In the latter two volumes, however, crusoe questions his initial conversion and eventually rejects his peaceful conclusions from volume 1 in favor of a more extreme version of christianity that calls for completely eliminating pagan religions. by looking carefully at the presentation of Providence and religion, this article argues that if we take all three volumes together, they show crusoe rejecting the religious conversion he experiences in volume 1, and that this has serious repercussions for how far we can take crusoe as representing Defoe.
Correspondence of perceptions about centenarians’ mental health

Objectives: The goals of this study were to uncover the criteria by which centenarians, proxy/caregivers, and interviewers rated centenarians’ mental health. Often proxy and interviewer reports are obtained in studies of the oldest-old and become a primary source of information. Methods: Data were from a population-based sample of mentally competent US centenarians in northern Georgia. The dependent variables were based on alternative reports for the centenarians’ mental or emotional health. Regression analysis was used to predict each source's rating of mental health separately with the same set of variables. These variables included information obtained from the centenarians and proxies about their distal experiences, demographics, and proximal resources including Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), health, personality, socioeconomic resources, and coping behaviors. Results: Examination of mean-level differences between sources revealed similarity across mental health ratings. For centenarians and pr...
Parallel facilitatory reflex pathways from the foot and hip to flexors and extensors in the injured human spinal cord.

Spinal integration of sensory signals associated with hip position, muscle loading, and cutaneous sensation of the foot contributes to movement regulation. The exact interactive effects of these sensory signals under controlled dynamic conditions are unknown. The purpose of the present study was to establish the effects of combined plantar cutaneous afferent excitation and hip movement on the Hoffmann (H) and flexion reflexes in people with a spinal cord injury (SCI). The flexion and H-reflexes were elicited through stimulation of the right sural (at non-nociceptive levels) and posterior tibial nerves respectively. Reflex responses were recorded from the ipsilateral tibialis anterior (TA) (flexion reflex) and soleus (H-reflex) muscles. The plantar cutaneous afferents were stimulated at three times the perceptual threshold (200 Hz, 24-ms pulse train) at conditioning–test intervals that ranged from 3 to 90 ms. Sinusoidal movements were imposed to the right hip joint at 0.2 Hz with subjects supine. Control and conditioned reflexes were recorded as the hip moved in flexion and extension. Leg muscle activity and sagittal-plane joint torques were recorded. We found that excitation of plantar cutaneous afferents facilitated the soleus H-reflex and the long latency flexion reflex during hip extension. In contrast, the short latency flexion reflex was depressed by plantar cutaneous stimulation during hip flexion. Oscillatory joint forces were present during the transition phase of the hip movement from flexion to extension when stimuli were delivered during hip flexion. Hip-mediated input interacts with feedback from the foot sole to facilitate extensor and flexor reflex activity during the extension phase of movement. The interactive effects of these sensory signals may be a feature of impaired gait, but when they are appropriately excited, they may contribute to locomotion recovery in these patients.
Thickness and Refractive Index Measurement of a Lamina with a Michelson Interferometer

A description is given of a modification of Foch’s method for precise measurement of the thickness and the refractive index of a lamina. White-light reflection fringes from the lamina are compared in a spectrometer with the fringes produced by a Michelson interferometer when one light path in the interferometer contains the lamina. Analysis and experiment show that the interferometer fringes may be brought into perfect register with the reflection fringes over the entire spectrum regardless of the dispersion of the lamina.
Modeling-independent elucidation of inactivation pathways in recombinant and native A-type Kv channels

A-type voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channels self-regulate their activity by inactivating directly from the open state (open-state inactivation [OSI]) or by inactivating before they open (closed-state inactivation [CSI]). To determine the inactivation pathways, it is often necessary to apply several pulse protocols, pore blockers, single-channel recording, and kinetic modeling. However, intrinsic hurdles may preclude the standardized application of these methods. Here, we implemented a simple method inspired by earlier studies of Na+ channels to analyze macroscopic inactivation and conclusively deduce the pathways of inactivation of recombinant and native A-type Kv channels. We investigated two distinct A-type Kv channels expressed heterologously (Kv3.4 and Kv4.2 with accessory subunits) and their native counterparts in dorsal root ganglion and cerebellar granule neurons. This approach applies two conventional pulse protocols to examine inactivation induced by (a) a simple step (single-pulse inactivation) and (b) a conditioning step (double-pulse inactivation). Consistent with OSI, the rate of Kv3.4 inactivation (i.e., the negative first derivative of double-pulse inactivation) precisely superimposes on the profile of the Kv3.4 current evoked by a single pulse because the channels must open to inactivate. In contrast, the rate of Kv4.2 inactivation is asynchronous, already changing at earlier times relative to the profile of the Kv4.2 current evoked by a single pulse. Thus, Kv4.2 inactivation occurs uncoupled from channel opening, indicating CSI. Furthermore, the inactivation time constant versus voltage relation of Kv3.4 decreases monotonically with depolarization and levels off, whereas that of Kv4.2 exhibits a J-shape profile. We also manipulated the inactivation phenotype by changing the subunit composition and show how CSI and CSI combined with OSI might affect spiking properties in a full computational model of the hippocampal CA1 neuron. This work unambiguously elucidates contrasting inactivation pathways in neuronal A-type Kv channels and demonstrates how distinct pathways might impact neurophysiological activity.
Stress Zones near Displacement Piers: II. Radial Cracking and Wedging

Transient liquefaction of saturated soils near Rammed Aggregate Piers is described in Part I on the basis of radial stress measurements. This is supported by dynamic pore-water pressure measurements, as peak pore pressures approximately equal radial stresses imposed at the pier surface by ramming. Stress measurements outside of the liquefied/plastic zone indicate radial tension cracking in the elastic zone, which is consistent with the observation that pore pressures abruptly drop and momentarily can even become negative as soon as ramming stops. The drainage field created by extended radial cracking and hydraulic fracturing allows Rammed Aggregate Piers to be effective in saturated, fine-grained soils where other dynamic methods are reported to be less effective. Stress measurements indicate that liquefied soil injected into open tension cracks causes stress to be retained in the elastic zone through arching action. A stress path analysis indicates that lateral stress may play an important role in control of foundation settlement, by simulating an increase in the preconsolidation pressure without vertically surcharging the soil or waiting for it to consolidate.
A Comparison of Concurrent and Sequential Instruction of Four Types of Verbal Math Problem

Twenty-nine third grade students were trained in teacher led direct instruction to use a generalizable strategy to solve four structurally different types of addition and subtraction verbal math problems. One group (n = 13) received training on the different types of problems in an ordered sequence. The other group (n = 16) received daily training on a random assortment of the different types of problems. The interaction between the training conditions and preposttestings was statistically significant [F(1, 27) = 12.78, p < .01]. There was a significant difference between posttest scores of the two training conditions, due primarily to gains of the students in sequential training. Implications for instructional design are discussed.
Congressional-Executive Relations and the Foreign Policy Consensus.

When Woodrow Wilson, still in the early years of his academic career, studied the relations between Congress and the Executive, he focussed on organization and channels of leadership and responsibility.1 He was distressed at the disorderliness of affairs in which Congress had a part, and he was convinced that its noisy and often undignified procedures were an impassable obstacle to good government. He pined for the logic and clearly fixed responsibilities of parliamentary government on the British model of that time, for its party discipline and for the clear-cut choices between alternative policies that it offered to the electorate. For contemporary observers, Congressional-Executive relations still attract attention, particularly in the field of foreign affairs. But the factors which Wilson examined with the greatest care of all seem now to be less central than they were to him. Partly this is because the federal government itself has changed: it now has a vastly wider range of both responsibilities and control than it once had, and there have been shifts in the relative power of the different branches within the government, to which Wilson himself as President contributed much. But there are also other reasons. In an age of ideological extremes, a wider consent than a simple majority seems more desirable than it might have been in Wilson's day, and no one is certain that the parliamentary form is superior in providing for this wider consent.2 Then, too, as a result of the work of many men in the interval since Wilson wrote, we are probably sensitive to kinds of pressures on policy and to a range of functions that must be served in its development that were paid too little notice by Wilson or his contemporaries.3
Recovery of Sponges After Extreme Mortality Events: Morphological and Taxonomic Patterns in Regeneration Versus Recruitment

Synopsis Sponges on the Belize Barrier Reef were drastically diminished in 2 mortality events during a 6-year period. Patterns in mortality and recovery were revealed by detailed records of assemblage dynamics, in the form of 8 full censuses between June 2006 and July 2012. All sponges on a set of shallow patch reefs were mapped, identified, and measured for volume at yearly or more frequent intervals, allowing population dynamics of 54 sponge species to be quantified with respect to volume of live tissue and number of individuals. The degree to which sponges of different species suffered during each of the mortality events ranged from complete loss to no effect, resulting in immediate significant alterations in composition of the assemblage in addition to extreme losses (49% in 2008 and 71% in 2011) of the volume of living sponge. The repeated census data documented the early stages of recovery, both on the assemblage level and for every individual sponge. Groups of sponge species, defined by higher taxa or by growth form, not only experienced mortality very differently, but also recovered differently, with some showing efficient regeneration after partial mortality, others adding small individuals by recruitment, and still others not recovering at all. During the 2008 mortality event, losses of both volume and numbers of individuals were disproportionately heavy for members of the orders Aplysinida and especially Poecilosclerida, and for sponges of erect branching and semi-cryptic massive growth forms. Post-mortality recruitment was meager, resulting in no rebound in numbers of individuals; regain of volume lost was slowed by the extreme loss of many entire individual poecilosclerids. By contrast, during the 2011 mortality event, loss of volume was disproportionately heavy for members of the orders Hadromerida and Dictyoceratida, while numbers of individuals were lost from all orders in the same proportion. Among the growth forms, volume was disproportionately lost from massive and semi-cryptic massive sponges, while numbers were only disproportionately lost from the semi-cryptic massive species. During the first 7 months of recovery, a quarter of the lost volume and numbers were re-gained, by a combination of regeneration and recruitment. Relatively rapid early recovery stages reflected the high degree to which losses of volume were due to substantial partial mortality of massive sponges. Significant differences between the 2 mortality events in loss and recovery patterns among higher taxa, as well as among species within particular higher taxa, provide strong impetus for accurate identification to species of all sponges encountered in monitoring, and for continuing efforts aimed at understanding all levels of sponge systematics. In turn, patterns of mortality and recovery may be able to contribute additional characters for systematics.
Field measurements of drag coefficients for model large woody debris

Woody debris in rivers can be a significant source of roughness and consequently influences flow at both the local and reach scale. In order to develop a better quantitative understanding of the interaction between wood in rivers and stream flow, we thus performed a set of field measurements of the drag on model woody debris for conditions that prevail in typical natural streams. Our model debris consisted of PVC ‘‘logs’’ with diameters between 4 and 30 cm. The field setting allowed us to consider the hydrodynamic influence of a rough stream bottom, and our measurements thus complement previously published flume-based measurements. We found that, owing to the variation of velocity with water depth, some of our results differed appreciably from measurements made in smooth flumes. We determined the effects of (i) the orientation of the log, (ii) the size of the log relative to the water depth, (iii) the depth of the log in the water column, and (iv) leafless branches on the log. We found that the orientation of the log had no significant effect on the apparent drag coefficient. By contrast, because the water velocity varies with depth, the position of the log in the water column influenced the apparent drag for small logs. For large logs (diameter >30% of the water depth), however, the position of the log had little effect on drag. The ratio of the diameter of the log to the water depth, a quantity called ‘‘blockage,’’ also affected drag. As blockage increased, drag increases. For blockages greater than about 0.3, however, the drag becomes independent of blockage. Finally, we found that the presence of leafless branches does not increase the drag (within measurement sensitivity). D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Biomimetic control of FES reaching

We are developing a biomimetic controller to restore BION-assisted reaching movements to quadriplegic patients. The controller has a hierarchical structure similar to that of the central nervous system (CNS), mimics the biological control circuits in the spinal cord and integrates with the patient's residual voluntary movements. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed control strategy, we have examined one of its most critical components, i.e. the ability of subjects to produce adequate voluntary command signals to drive the functional electrical stimulation (FES) control of paralyzed joints. Normal subjects use their shoulder movements to drive a simulated lower arm in a virtual reality environment (VRE) to reach targets in 3D workspace of the arm. The preliminary results show that the type of the voluntary command signal and the type of FES control strategy have significant effect on the successful completion of the reaching tasks, the reachable workspace and the learning rate.
Combining speech and sketch to interpret unconstrained descriptions of mechanical devices

Mechanical design tools would be considerably more useful if we could interact with them in the way that human designers communicate design ideas to one another, i.e., using crude sketches and informal speech. Those crude sketches frequently contain pen strokes of two different sorts, one type portraying device structure, the other denoting gestures, such as arrows used to indicate motion. We report here on techniques we developed that use information from both sketch and speech to distinguish gesture strokes from non-gestures -- a critical first step in understanding a sketch of a device. We collected and analyzed unconstrained device descriptions, which revealed six common types of gestures. Guided by this knowledge, we developed a classifier that uses both sketch and speech features to distinguish gesture strokes from nongestures. Experiments with our techniques indicate that the sketch and speech modalities alone produce equivalent classification accuracy, but combining them produces higher accuracy.
Characterization of preparations enriched for Streptococcus mutans fimbriae: salivary immunoglobulin A antibodies in caries-free and caries-active subjects.

The ability of bacteria to adhere to salivary pellicle-coated enamel tooth surfaces is a critical step in oral bacterialcolonization.Oralbacteriaadheretoreceptorsofhostorigininsalivarypellicle.Streptococcusmutans hasbeenidentifiedasthemajoretiologicalagentofhumandentalcariesandcomposesasignificantproportion of the oral streptococci in carious lesions. Bacterialfimbriae are small (100 to 300 nm) hairlike appendages emanating from the cell surface. Preparations enriched for S. mutans fimbriae were isolated by a shearing technique and alternating high- and low-speed centrifugations. A representativefimbrial preparation had two distinct double bands comprising four proteins of approximately 100 to 200 kDa and one faint band at 40 kDa on reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis/immunoblots and had demonstrable glucosyltransferase activity. Rabbit antisera raised against the preparation specifically stained the fuzzy coat of S. mutans, demonstrating short fimbria-like structures protruding 100 to 200 nm from the cell surface. Controls without antifimbria antibody did not exhibit this staining. There were significantly higher (P <0.05) levels of salivary immunoglobulin A, but not serum immunoglobulin G, antibodies to the enrichedS. mutans fimbria preparation by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from caries-free subjects than from caries-active subjects.TheresultssuggestthatS.mutansfimbriaemaybeanimportantadherencefactortowhichcaries-free subjects mount a protective salivary immune response.
Genetic Hypothesis of Idiopathic Schizophrenia: Its Exorphin Connection

This brief overview proposes a testable oligogenic model of the inheritance of susceptibility to idiopathic schizophrenia: "abnormal" genes at each of a few complementary loci. The model is based on my assumptions as to the likely genetic abnormalities at possibly four or five interacting loci that would permit exorphins, the opioid peptides from some food proteins, especially glutens and possibly caseins, to go from gut to brain and cause symptoms of schizophrenia. Exorphins may reach the brain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in harmful amounts because of their genetically increased, receptor-mediated transcellular passage across the gut epithelial barrier plus decreased catabolism by genetically defective enzymes. A schizophrenia-specific, genetically enhanced affinity for exorphins by opioid receptors influencing dopaminergic and other neurons would permit sustained dysfunction at low CSF exorphin concentrations. Tests of each postulated genetic abnormality are suggested. This model is supported by a variety of evidence, including a significant effect of gluten or its absence on relapsed schizophrenic patients, the high correlation of changes in first admission rates for schizophrenia with changes in grain consumption rates, and the rarity of cases of schizophrenia where grains and milk are rare.
Analyzing the yield of ExScal, a large-scale wireless sensor network experiment

Recent experiments have taken steps towards realizing the vision of extremely large wireless sensor networks, the largest of these being ExScal, in which we deployed about 1200 nodes over a 1.3 km by 300 m open area. Such experiments remain especially challenging because of: (a) prior observations of failure of sensor network protocols to scale, due to network faults and their spatial and temporal variability, (b) complexity of protocol interaction, (c) lack of sufficient data about faults and variability, even at smaller scales, and (d) current inadequacy of simulation and analytical tools to predict sensor network protocol behavior. In this paper, we present detailed data about faults, both anticipated and unanticipated, in ExScal. We also evaluate the impact of these faults on ExScal as well as the design principles that enabled it to satisfy its application requirements despite these faults. We describe the important lessons learnt from the ExScal experiment and suggest services and tools as a further aid to future large scale network deployments.
Enumeration and Composition of the Public Health Workforce: Challenges and Strategies

The field of public health needs a comprehensive classification data system that provides a better assessment of the size and composition of its workforce. Such a data system is necessary for understanding the capacity, trend projections, and policy development critical to the future workforce.Previous enumeration and composition studies on the public health workforce have been helpful, but the methodology used needs further improvements in standardization, specificity, data storage, and data availability. Resolving this issue should follow a consensus-based course of action that includes public and private stakeholders at the national, state, and local level.This prime issue should be addressed now, particularly in the current environment of comprehensive health care reform.
CD40, autophagy and Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii represents a pathogen that survives within host cells by preventing the endosomal-lysosomal compartments from fusing with the parasitophorous vacuoles. The dogma had been that the non-fusogenic nature of these vacuoles is irreversible. Recent studies revealed that this dogma is not correct. Cell-mediated immunity through CD40 re-routes the parasitophorous vacuoles to the lysosomal compartment by a process called autophagy. Autophagosome formation around the parasitophorous vacuole results in killing of the T. gondii. CD40-induced autophagy likely contributes to resistance against T. gondii particularly in neural tissue.
Expression of Enzymic Activity by Exotoxin A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract Exotoxin A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a single polypeptide chain (Mr, 66,000) containing little if any adenosine 5′-diphosphate ribosyltransferase or oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide glycohydrolase activity. These activities have been demonstrated in the reduced intact toxin and in a peptide (Mr, 26,000) isolated from culture fluids or toxin preparations after storage. In this report we describe methods for generating enzymically active fragments by cleaving the fully or partially reduced exotoxin by proteolytic or chemical methods. Incubation of reduced toxin with chymotrypsin in the presence of oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide yielded an enzymically active peptide (Mr, 26,000) similar to the fragment characterized previously. Chemical cleavage by treatment of the reduced molecule with CNBr or 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoate yielded fragments (Mr, 50,000 and 30,000, respectively) with similar activities. Also both adenosine 5′-diphosphate ribosyltransferase and oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide glycohydrolase activities were maximally expressed by the intact exotoxin after reduction of only two of its four disulfide bridges. Kinetic constants for activated whole toxin were similar to those of fragment A of diphtheria toxin. It is evident that in the native toxin the catalytic center is buried or distorted and that alterations in the covalent structure permit the center to become exposed or assume an active configuration. It is unknown whether reduction, proteolytic processing, or both occur during the course of toxin action on whole cells.
To the Editor— Myocardial tissue characterization by cardiovascular magnetic resonance

lesions after ablation of atrial fibrillation related to the use of esophageal temperature probes. Heart Rhythm 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2015.04.005. 3. Deneke T, Bunz K, Bastian A, Pasler M, Anders H, Lehmann R, Meuser W, de Groot JR, Horlitz M, Haberkorn R, Mugge A, Shin DI. Utility of esophageal temperature monitoring during pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation using duty-cycled phased radiofrequency ablation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2011;22: 255–261. 4. Deneke T, Muller P, Halbfas P, Szollosi A, Roos M, Krug J, Fochler F, Schade A, Schmitt R, Christopoulos G, Mugge A, Nentwich K. Effect of different ablation settings on acute complications using the novel irrigated multipolar radiofrequency ablation catheter (nMARQ). J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2015: in press (PMID 26075595).
Have We a Decline in Advertising Appropriations

Are advertiing appropriations, as related to share of national income, at an all-time high? Most advertising men say “yes” without hesitation.But this is not true, as a distinguished business historian demonstrates in this article. Actually advertising's current share of national income is lower than in any decade from the 1890's through the 1930's.The author points out that this phenomenon is related to the fact that advertising expenditures in constant dollars go farther than thirty years ago. In fact, they result in 2½ times greater per capita exposure to advertising.
Law and Love in The Merchant of Venice

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE IS THE ONE PLAY of Shakespeare which can be called a work of Christian apologetics. Elements of Christian belief function importantly in several of Shakespeare's other plays, and he everywhere draws heavily upon the cultural endowment of Christianity, but only in The Merchant of Venice does he make an expressly Christian argument the basis for an entire play. The play is also notable for giving rise to a persistent impression among audiences and critics that the poet's real sympathies are at odds with the ostensible message of the piece. Anxiety about anti-Semitism doubtless predisposes modern audiences to fasten upon whatever may be found in the play to suggest that the poet was really of the Jew's party without knowing itor, at any rate, of the party of common humanity as against the particular Christian bias he assumed-but much that is not directly related to the treatment of Shylock has also been felt to counteract the play's Christian affirmation.' This should not surprise us, for it is of the very nature of that affirmation to incur just such a counter-interpretation. The play is in fact a kind of hermeneutic drama, reflecting the contest between Christian and Jew for the possession of Hebrew scriptures. The issue is joined on the subject of usury, on which the Old Testament provides a clear directive: "Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury, but thou shalt not lend upon usury unto thy brother, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou setest thine hand
Important advances in viral diagnostic procedures.

The current developments in microbiology which seem likely to affect the role of the viral diagnostic laboratory in preventive and clinical medicine are reviewed. These include the appearance of commercially available, standardized reagents; automation of serologic procedures; the continuing occurrence of focal outbreaks of viral diseases in inadequately vaccinated population groups; new vaccines such as that for viral hepatitis; the possibility of new antiviral drugs; possible discovery of a method to safely stimulate endogenous interferon; and increased knowledge of persistent viral infection and the use of immunocompetence assays as prognostic tools. Diagnostic virology is changing from a procedure for retrospective diagnosis to one which provides the physician with current information on the prognosis and best means of therapy in many types of viral infection.
Testing a model: effects of pain on immunity in HIV+ and HIV- participants.

In this study, the cold pressor test (CPT) was used to test a model of the effects of acute pain on 10 HIV+ and 10 HIV- adults. Participants were exposed to the CPT for a maximum of 5 minutes. Blood samples were collected immediately before, immediately after, and 1 hour after the CPT. Variables included immune measures (CD4+, CD8+, and CD16+ 56+ lymphocyte number, CD4+ CD8+ lymphocyte ratio and NK cell cytotoxicity), cardiovascular reactivity (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure), anxiety, perceived pain intensity and perceived self-efficacy. Effects of pain were generally consistent across HIV+ and HIV- groups, with no between-group differences across time in immune responses, state anxiety and diastolic blood pressure. Within-subjects differences across time averaged over both groups were significant for NK cell cytotoxicity, CD8+ and CD16+ 56+ lymphocyte numbers, anxiety and heart rate. Significant nonlinear trends were observed for CD16+ 56+ lymphocyte numbers, NK cell cytotoxicity and state anxiety in both groups and for heart rate in the HIV+ group only. Perceived pain intensity was significantly associated with state anxiety (r = .65), systolic (r = -.56) and diastolic (-.52) blood pressure and CD4+ lymphocyte number (r = .48). Heart rate and trait anxiety were significantly associated with all immune variables. Associations were positive for CD4+ lymphocyte number and inverse for all other immune measures. Associations between perceived self-efficacy and both perceived pain intensity and anxiety were inverse, as predicted, but not significant. Overall, the direction and strength of observed relationships provided some support for the theoretical model on which the study was based. Generally, responses to acute pain were consistent and did not differ by HIV status.
A BRIEF COMMUNICATION: DNA Damages in Ovarian Surface Epithelial Cells of Ovulatory Hens

A cause-effect relationship between ovulation and common (surface) epithelial ovarian cancer has been suspected for many years. The ovarian surface epithelium apparently becomes exposed to genotoxins that are generated during the ovulatory process. Intensive egg-laying hens readily develop ovarian carcinomatosis. Indeed, elevated levels of potentially mutagenic 8-oxo-guanine adducts were detected in avian ovarian epithelial cells isolated from the apical surfaces and perimeters of pre-and postovulatory follicles, respectively. Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation indicative of apoptosis was evident in ovarian surface epithelial cells associated with the formative site of ovulation (stigma line) and regressive ruptured follicles. It is conceivable that a genetically altered progenitor cell with unrepaired DNA but not committed to death (i.e., a unifocal "escape") could give rise to a transformed phenotype. Hence, the high rate of ovarian cancer in egg-laying hens could be the consequence of genomic damages to the ovarian surface epithelium associated with incessant ovulations, thereby increasing the likelihood of mutation and clonal expansion.
Treatment of circulating neoplastic cells.

The differentiation of tissues and organs during ontogeny increases the necessity of integration of the different structures. These developmental processes of integrations by body fluids, immunologic, endocrine and nervous systems culminate in mammals, since they possess the most diversified system of body fluids. Typical of the most developed mammals are the bone marrow, the lymphatic system with regional lymph nodes and consequently the pathologic development of the diversity of leukemias, malignancies without stroma. In the German literature the leukemias are considered systemic diseases because the floating cells they discharge are more or less uniformly pathologically underdeveloped. The leukemias are named according to the major abnormal cell type (e.g. monocytic acute leukemia). Acute and chronic is the distinction of the time limitation regarding the development and duration of the disease. More complicated is the discharge of motile cells from primary tumors or daughter tumors deriving from solid tumors. These motile cells enter into the circulation via the lymphatic spaces or by penetration of the endothelium of the blood vessels. They move freely in the circulatory system until settling in a more or less distant region. The process of detecting these cells is known as carcinocythemia. Other movable cells during neoplastic progression are those populating effusions in the coelomic cavities. Non-movable, that is only growing in succession like a tissue chain are those tumors which distribute by direct tumor spread within the veins, keeping the connection with the primary tumor. This condition is especially well-known in renal cell carcinoma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Importance of plasma leptin in predicting future weight gain in obese children: a two-and-a-half-year longitudinal study.

Objective: To determine whether relatively low leptin levels predict changes in adiposity in prepubertal and pubertal obese children. Research Methods and Procedures: In a biracial cohort of 68 obese children (33 male and 35 female; 46 Caucasians and 22 African-Americans, age range 7–18 y), we measured at baseline fasting insulin and leptin levels, height and weight and calculated body mass index (kg/m2) and expressed body mass index as (BMI) Z-score. After a 2.5-y follow-up, anthropometric measurements were repeated and changes in weight gain were calculated as changes in BMI Z-score. Results: At baseline obese preadolescent boys and girls had similar age and BMI Z-score, fasting insulin and leptin levels. After an average follow-up of 2.5 y, mean weight change calculated by changes in BMI Z-score from baseline was similar in both groups. In obese adolescent boys and girls at baseline, no significant gender differences were observed for BMI Z-score and insulin levels. In contrast, plasma leptin levels were significantly higher in obese girls compared with obese adolescent boys. At follow-up, there was no significant difference in change in BMI Z-score between obese boys and girls. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that high basal leptin levels were positively associated with greater changes in BMI Z-score only in girls (r2=0.18, P<0.02), after adjusting for basal BMI Z-score, Tanner stage, years of follow-up and basal insulin. High basal leptin levels in girls explained 18% of the weight gain. Conclusion: High leptin levels are associated with excessive future weight gain only in girls.
Laser-Induced Thermal Expansion of H2SO4-Intercalated Graphite Lattice

Intercalated graphite materials allow studying reactions occurring in confined chemical conditions. In this work, we investigate the sulfuric acid intercalated graphite exfoliation process using a ...
Glycoproteomics Based on Lectin Affinity Chromatographic Selection of Glycoforms

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the use of structure-specific affinity selection as a way to look at a portion of a proteome. This can be done in several ways. One is to derivatize a specific functional group in proteins with an affinity selectable reagent that can be targeted with an affinity chromatography column. Avidin selection of proteins or peptides in which sulfhydryl or carbonyl groups have been derivatized with biotin is an example. A second approach is to directly select proteins or peptides based on shared structural features. For instance, direct selection of histidine containing peptides with copper-loaded immobilized metal affinity chromatography (Cu 2+ -IMAC) columns. Selection of phosphorylated peptides with either Fe 3+ -IMAC or Ga 3+ -IMAC columns is another. An additional powerful approach is to select a subset of proteins which have a common post-translational modification (PTM) related to the disease being studied. For example, lectins can be used to select for specific protein glycosylation associated with inflammation or cancer. Taken together there are more than a dozen ways to target structural features in proteomics.
Direct and fast measurement of CT beam filter profiles with simultaneous geometrical calibration

Purpose To accurately measure the beam filter profiles from a variety of CT scanner models and to provide reference data for Monte Carlo simulations of CT scanners. Methods This study proposed a new method to measure CT beam filter profiles using a linear-array x-ray detector (X-Scan 0.8f3-512; Detection Technology Inc., Espoo, Finland) under gantry rotation mode. A robust geometrical calibration approach was developed to determine key geometrical parameters by considering the x-ray focal spot location relative to the linear-array detector and the gantry's angular increment at each acquisition point. CT beam intensity profiles were synthesized from continuously measured data during a 10° gantry rotation range with calibrated detector response and system geometry information. Relative transmission profiles of nineteen sets of beam filters were then derived for nine different CT scanner models from three different manufacturers. Equivalent aluminum thickness profiles of these beam filters were determined by analytical calculation using the Spektr Matlab software package to match the measured transmission profiles. Three experiments were performed to validate the accuracy of the geometrical calibration, detector response modeling, and the derived equivalent aluminum thickness profiles. Results The beam intensity profiles measured from gantry rotation mode showed very good agreement with those measured with gantry stationary mode, with a maximal difference of 3%. The equivalent aluminum thickness determined by this proposed method agreed well with what was measured by an ion chamber, with a mean difference of 0.4%. The determined HVL profiles matched well with data from a previous study (max difference of 4.7%). Conclusions An accurate and robust method to directly measure profiles from a broad list of beam filters and CT scanner models was developed, implemented, and validated. Useful reference data was provided for future research on CT system modeling.
Investigation of Two Combination HbF Induction Regimens, RN-1 and Hydroxyurea Versus RN-1 and Decitabine, in a Humanized Sickle Cell Mouse Model

Sickle cell disease (SCD) results from the substitution of glutamic acid for valine at the sixth amino acid of β-globin protein, leading to the formation of the abnormal hemoglobin S (HbS). Following deoxygenation in red blood cells (RBCs), HbS forms polymers causing the RBCs to become deformed and adherent leading to vaso-occlusive events resulting in splenic infarction, kidney failure, stroke, painful crises, chronic anemia, inflammation and decreased survival. Hydroxyurea, the only drug currently FDA approved for SCD, is not effective in some patients and, therefore, new combination regimens are needed. RN-1, a new drug targeting the histone demethylase LSD-1, is a more effective inducer of γ-globin expression in sickle cell mice and HbF in baboons (P. anubis). Decitabine(DAC), a DNMT1 inhibitor, is well known to induce high levels of HbF in non-human primates and SCD patients and is currently in clinical trials. We investigated the effect of two combination regimens: RN-1 in combination with hydroxyurea vs. RN-1 in combination with DAC. The knock-in humanized sickle cell mice (B6;129-Hba tm1(HBA)Tow Hbb tm2(HBG1,HBB*)Tow/ J) were treated with 1) DMSO (vehicle control), 2) RN-1 (5mg/kg), 3) DAC(0.25mg/kg) and 4) RN-1(5mg/kg) + DAC(0.5mg/kg) for 10 days. Analysis of F-retics and γ-globin mRNA performed on d10 showed F-retics were increased two fold (p=0.01) in mice treated with RN-1(5mg/kg) or DAC(0.25mg/kg) compared to DMSO-treated. γ-globin mRNA levels (γ/γ+β) were increased three fold in RN-1(5mg/kg) or DAC(0.25mg/kg) compared to DMSO. The combination of RN-1(5mg/kg) and DAC(0.25mg/kg) did increase F-retics and mRNA levels compared to mice treated with RN-1 alone(p=0.02). Also, the RN-1 and DAC combination led to neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. We next examined the effect of RN-1(5mg/kg) and HU (100mg/kg) in combination. Knock-in humanized sickle cell mice (B6;129-Hbatm1(HBA)Tow Hbbtm2(HBG1,HBB)Tow/J) were treated with 1) DMSO (vehicle) 2) RN-1(5mg/kg) and 3) RN-1(5mg/kg) + HU (100mg/kg). While RN-1 in combination with HU did not significantly increase F-cells or F-retics, there was a significant decrease in spleen weight [(DMSO: 1.17±0..06g; RN1:0.71± 0.1g; RN1+HU: 0.46±0.05g)(p=0.004:p=0.02)] and percentage of sickle cells in a peripheral blood smear.[(DMSO: 8.4 ±1.3%; RN-1:4.1± 0.2%; RN1+HU: 1.57±0.6%)(p=0.006:p-0.014)]. We conclude that further studies to determine the effect of RN-1 in combination with HU or DAC in the sickle cell mouse model and cultures from sickle cell CD34+ cells are needed to evaluate its potential use in the treatment of sickle cell disease. These results suggest that RN-1 in combination with hydroxyurea may be a useful therapeutic regimen. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 Catalyzed by Re(pyridine-oxazoline)(CO)3Cl Complexes.

A series of rhenium tricarbonyl complexes coordinated by asymmetric diimine ligands containing a pyridine moiety bound to an oxazoline ring were synthesized, structurally and electrochemically characterized, and screened for CO2 reduction ability. The reported complexes are of the type Re(N-N)(CO)3Cl, with N-N = 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-4,5-dihydrooxazole (1), 5-methyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-4,5-dihydrooxazole (2), and 5-phenyl-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-4,5-dihydrooxazole (3). The electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 by these complexes was observed in a variety of solvents and proceeds more quickly in acetonitrile than in dimethylformamide (DMF) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The analysis of the catalytic cycle for electrochemical CO2 reduction by 1 in acetonitrile using density functional theory (DFT) supports the C–O bond cleavage step being the rate-determining step (RDS) (ΔG⧧ = 27.2 kcal mol–1). The dependency of the turnover frequencies (TOFs) on the donor number (DN) of the solvent also supports that C–O bond cleavage is the...