cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P3-07-05: Nomogram Incorporating SLN Metastasis Size Provides the Most Accurate Prediction of Non-SLN Involvement in Breast Cancer Patients.

Introduction: The finding of metastatic disease in the axillary nodes remains an important factor that guides adjuvant therapy decisions in breast cancer. The value of completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) may not be the same in all patients and determining the risk of non-SLN involvement can be a guide in surgical decision making. We recently developed a nomogram that incorporates the maximum SLN metastasis size to predict non-SLN axillary involvement (Mittendorf et al., Ann Surgery 2011,in press). The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of this nomogram to another widely used nomogram that does not include SLN metastasis size. Methods: We queried a prospective breast cancer database for patients with clinically negative nodes undergoing sentinel node biopsy who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. We identified 431 patients with invasive breast cancer treated from 1996 to 2007 who had a positive SLN and underwent completion ALND. We evaluated clinicopathologic data including histology, multifocality, nuclear grade, pathologic tumor size, number of SLNs recovered, number of positive SLNs, maximum SLN metastasis size, presence of extranodal extension, hormone receptor status, and presence of lymphovascular invasion. Data were entered into our nomogram and the nomogram that does not include SLN metastasis size. The accuracy of the 2 nomograms in predicting non-SLN axillary metastasis was compared in all patients and in subgroups of patients based on burden of disease in the SLN. Results: For the entire cohort of 431 women with positive SLNs, our SLN size nomogram was more accurate in the detection of non-SLN disease (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] 78.3% vs. 72.4%, p=0.01). Whether or not SLNs were subjected to frozen section did not influence the relative accuracies of the 2 nomograms. When patients were analyzed by burden of disease in the SLNs, our SLN size nomogram was more accurate in predicting non-SLN disease in patients with macrometastases in the SLN (AUC 77.3% vs. 70.3%, p=0.008). There was no significant difference in the accuracy of the 2 nomograms for patients with isolated tumor cells or micrometastases in the SLNs. Conclusions: Our nomogram incorporating SLN metastasis size with other clinicopathologic factors is the most accurate predictor of the risk of non-SLN metastasis in patients with a positive SLN. The SLN size nomogram is highly accurate in women with macrometastases, who may benefit the most from completion ALND. Using a nomogram with SLN metastasis size can provide the most accurate information for patient counseling and surgical decision making. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-07-05.
Role of intracellular loops of cannabinoid CB1 receptor in functional interaction with Gα16

The cannabinoid CB1 but not the CB2 receptor was demonstrated to couple via Gα16 to activate phospholipase C after co-expression in COS7 cells. Chimeric CB1/CB2 receptors were used as a model to study receptor–Gα16 interaction. Sequences of the second and third intracellular loops and the carboxy-terminus were substituted from the CB1 into the CB2 receptor. Only the triple mutant with all three regions replaced activated phospholipase C to a similar extent as the CB1 receptor, suggesting that all three intracellular regions are required for interacting with Gα16. Several sub-domains within the third intracellular loop were identified for receptor–Gα16 interaction.
Endothelial Jagged-1 is necessary for homeostatic and regenerative hematopoiesis

The bone marrow (BM) microenvironment is composed of multiple niche cells that, by producing paracrine factors, maintain and regenerate the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) pool (Morrison and Spradling, 2008). We have previously demonstrated that endothelial cells support the proper regeneration of the hematopoietic system following myeloablation (Butler et al., 2010; Hooper et al., 2009; Kobayashi et al., 2010). Here, we demonstrate that expression of the angiocrine factor Jagged-1, supplied by the BM vascular niche, regulates homeostatic and regenerative hematopoiesis through a Notch-dependent mechanism. Conditional deletion of Jagged-1 in endothelial cells (Jag1((ECKO)) mice) results in a profound decrease in hematopoiesis and premature exhaustion of the adult HSC pool, whereas quantification and functional assays demonstrate that loss of Jagged-1 does not perturb vascular or mesenchymal compartments. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the instructive function of endothelial-specific Jagged-1 is required to support the self-renewal and regenerative capacity of HSCs in the adult BM vascular niche.
Radar waveform requirements for reliable detection of an aircraft-launched missile

When tracking a manned aircraft with a phase array radar, detecting a missile launch (i.e., a target split) is particularly important because the missile can have a very small radar cross section (RCS) and drop below the horizon of the radar shortly after launch. Reliable detection of the launch is made difficult because the RCS of the missile is very small compared to that of the manned aircraft and the radar typically revisits a manned aircraft every few seconds. Furthermore, any measurements of the aircraft and missile taken shortly after the launch will be merged until the two targets are resolved in range, frequency, or space. In this paper, detection of the launched missile is addressed through the detection of the presence of target multiplicity with the in-phase and quadrature monopulse measurements. The probability of detecting the launch using monopulse processing will be studied with regard to the tracking signal-to-noise ratio and the number of pulses n the radar waveform.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
CKD in Hispanics: Baseline Characteristics From the CRIC (Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort) and Hispanic-CRIC Studies

Background Little is known regarding chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Hispanics. We compared baseline characteristics of Hispanic participants in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) and Hispanic-CRIC (H-CRIC) Studies with non-Hispanic CRIC participants. Study Design Cross-sectional analysis. Setting & Participants Participants were aged 21-74 years with CKD using age-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at enrollment into the CRIC/H-CRIC Studies. H-CRIC included Hispanics recruited at the University of Illinois in 2005-2008, whereas CRIC included Hispanics and non-Hispanics recruited at 7 clinical centers in 2003-2007. Factor Race/ethnicity. Outcomes Blood pressure, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) use, and CKD-associated complications. Measurements Demographic characteristics, laboratory data, blood pressure, and medications were assessed using standard techniques and protocols. Results Of H-CRIC/CRIC participants, 497 were Hispanic, 1,650 were non-Hispanic black, and 1,638 were non-Hispanic white. Low income and educational attainment were nearly twice as prevalent in Hispanics compared with non-Hispanics ( P P 130/80 mm Hg was more common in Hispanics (62%) than blacks (57%) and whites (35%; P P 130/80 mm Hg. Mean eGFR was lower in Hispanics (39.6 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) than in blacks (43.7 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) and whites (46.2 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ), whereas median proteinuria was higher in Hispanics (protein excretion, 0.72 g/d) than in blacks (0.24 g/d) and whites (0.12 g/d; P Limitations Generalizability; observed associations limited by residual bias and confounding. Conclusions Hispanics with CKD in the CRIC/H-CRIC Studies are disproportionately burdened with lower socioeconomic status, more frequent diabetes mellitus, less ACE-inhibitor/ARB use, worse blood pressure control, and more severe CKD and associated complications than their non-Hispanic counterparts.
Superplumes and ridge interactions between Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus and the Nova-Canton Trough

The initial pulse of volcanism on the Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus began prior to 123–124 Ma and had largely ceased by about 122 Ma, whereas the intervening Pacific-Phoenix spreading ridge probably was disrupted between 120 and 115 Ma by formation of the Nova-Canton Trough rift system. Plateau formation may have resulted from a large plume head that rose beneath each of the two plateau sites. During the plateau eruption phase, these two plumes spread beyond the plateaus and within the asthenosphere. They eventually coalesced beneath the intervening spreading ridge, where the Nova-Canton Trough rift system is now located, at about the time volcanism ceased on the plateaus. The two plumes combined to form the Nova-Canton Trough rift system by reheating the nascent lithosphere near the ridge crest and widening the plate boundary from the usual 1–10 km to a much broader region. The present rift system is a maximum of 500 km wide, and much of this area may have formed by normal faulting and crustal accretion across the broadened plate boundary as plate divergence continued. Eventually, coherent spreading resumed somewhere south of the Nova-Canton Trough rift system.
Recovery rates and functional results after repair for rectovaginal fistula in Crohn's disease: a comparison of different techniques.

Background and objectives Rectovaginal fistulas (RVF) in Crohn’s disease continue to be a challenging problem. Several operations are often necessary to attain definitive healing of the disease process. There are no guidelines concerning optimal therapeutic approaches. Endoanal mobilization techniques such as the advancement flap technique were considered the therapy of choice for many years, but are now regarded ever more critically. We have implemented several less aggressive closure techniques that take account of the anatomy and morphology of the anorectum. The long-term results are presented in this paper.
Effects of HIV-1 Tat on Enteric Neuropathogenesis

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract presents a major site of immune modulation by HIV, resulting in significant morbidity. Most GI processes affected during HIV infection are regulated by the enteric nervous system. HIV has been identified in GI histologic specimens in up to 40% of patients, and the presence of viral proteins, including the trans-activator of transcription (Tat), has been reported in the gut indicating that HIV itself may be an indirect gut pathogen. Little is known of how Tat affects the enteric nervous system. Here we investigated the effects of the Tat protein on enteric neuronal excitability, proinflammatory cytokine release, and its overall effect on GI motility. Direct application of Tat (100 nm) increased the number of action potentials and reduced the threshold for action potential initiation in isolated myenteric neurons. This effect persisted in neurons pretreated with Tat for 3 d (19 of 20) and in neurons isolated from Tat+ (Tat-expressing) transgenic mice. Tat increased sodium channel isoforms Nav1.7 and Nav1.8 levels. This increase was accompanied by an increase in sodium current density and a leftward shift in the sodium channel activation voltage. RANTES, IL-6, and IL-1β, but not TNF-α, were enhanced by Tat. Intestinal transit and cecal water content were also significantly higher in Tat+ transgenic mice than Tat− littermates (controls). Together, these findings show that Tat has a direct and persistent effect on enteric neuronal excitability, and together with its effect on proinflammatory cytokines, regulates gut motility, thereby contributing to GI dysmotilities reported in HIV patients.
Exercise: commitment to a young heart.

Exercise improves health and quality of life while it reduces cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, and mortality. The evidence-based benefits of exercise provide a strong foundation for the recommendations regarding physical activity and exercise in health and disease [(1,2)][1].
A new synchrotron light source at Louisiana State University's Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices

Abstract A 1.2-GeV synchrotron light source is being constructed at the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) at Louisiana State University. The expressed purpose of the center, which has been funded by a grant from the US Department of Energy, is to develop X-ray lithography techniques for manufacturing microcircuits, although basic science programs are also being established. The storage ring will be optimized for the soft-X-ray region and will be the first commercially manufactured electron storage ring in the United States. The magnetic lattice is based on a design developed by Chasman and Green and will allow up to three insertion devices to be installed for higher-energy and higher-intensity radiation. In addition to the lithography effort, experimental programs are being established in physics, chemistry, and related areas.
Evolutionary Genetics of New World Tree Squirrels (Tribe Sciurini)

Protein variation was analyzed electrophoretically in six species of New World tree squirrels (tribe Sciurini) representing four of five extant genera. Genetic variation was either low ( Microsciurus flaviventer —percent polymorphism = 3.7, average individual heterozygosity = 0.031) or absent ( Sciurillus pusillus ) in populations for which samples were large enough to permit analysis. Parsimony and locus-by-locus analyses of the protein data supported the close evolutionary affinity of the genera Sciurus and Microsciurus . A probability analysis of allelic distribution indicated that Tamiasciurus may be more closely related to the Sciurus – Microsciurus clade than is Sciurillus . This result supports retention of red squirrels, Tamiasciurus , within the assemblage of New World tree squirrels (Sciurini) and indicates that the high level of morphological differentiation seen in Neotropical pygmy squirrels, Sciurillus , is accompanied by a high level of genetic differentiation.
Teaching with computers in early childhood education: Strategies and professional development

(2002). Teaching with computers in early childhood education: Strategies and professional development. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education: Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 215-226.
The variability of internal tides in the Northern South China Sea

An array of three bottom-mounted ADCP moorings was deployed on the prevailing propagation path of strong internal tides for nearly 1 year across the continental slope in the northern South China Sea. These velocity measurements are used to study the intra-annual variability of diurnal and semidiurnal internal tidal energy in the region. A numerical model, the Luzon Strait Ocean Nowcast/Forecast System developed at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory that covers the northern South China Sea and the Kuroshio, is used to interpret the observed variation of internal tidal energy on the Dongsha slope. Internal tides are generated primarily at the two submarine ridges in the Luzon Strait. At the western ridge generation site, the westward energy flux of the diurnal internal tide is sensitive to the stratification and isopycnal slope associated with the Kuroshio. The horizontal shear at the Kuroshio front does not modify the propagation path of either diurnal or semidiurnal tides because the relative vorticity of the Kuroshio in Luzon Strait is not strong enough to increase the effective inertial frequency to the intrinsic frequency of the internal tides. The variation of internal tidal energy on the continental slope and Dongsha plateau can be attributed to the variation in tidal beam propagation in the northern South China Sea.
Assessment of a method to estimate muscle attachments from surface landmarks: A 3D computer graphics approach

A method for estimating the locations of muscle origins and insertions from the measurement of surface landmarks was evaluated using two indirect accuracy tests and a three-dimensional computer graphics program. For each of four lower extremity anatomical segments, a least-squares technique was used to map the measured locations of three landmark targets to their anatomically based locations. The residual errors, obtained from the applications of the least squares, supplied the first indirect accuracy test. These residual errors were between 6 and 12 mm for the four anatomical segments when averaged over ten subjects. The second indirect accuracy test was conducted by comparing the predicted locations of end points on two adjacent segments forming a joint. Errors in aligning adjacent end points were between 12 and 29 mm for three anatomical joints when averaged over ten subjects. A three-dimensional computer graphics program was developed by the authors and demonstrated that the static testing techniques alone were insufficient to evaluate the quality of the muscle origin and insertion estimates. Any evaluation of muscle lengths, velocities and lines-of-action from surface landmarks should examine the estimates made from motion data, and should address both the ability of the model to fit the subjects as well as model's ability to represent the geometry of the musculoskeletal system.
Why many college teachers cannot lecture: How to avoid communication breakdown in the classroom

(1986). Why Many College Teachers Cannot Lecture: How to Avoid Communication Breakdown in the Classroom. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 57, No. 1, pp. 115-117.
Alternative medicine and American religious life

This book upholds that underlying all unorthodox medical systems is a characteristically American strain of religious thought which states that spiritual, physical and economic well-being flow from the individual's connection with the cosmos. After a survey of the earliest nineteenth-century health reforms, including hydropathy, homeopathy and Thomsonianism (which held that all disease was caused by cold and could be cured by heat), Fuller turns to mesmerism and Swedenborgianism. These two movements he argues were key representatives of an extraordinary metaphysical flowering that took place in America between the 1830s and the Civil War. He then goes on to demonstrate that virtually all subsequent health care enthusiasms can be shown to relate to or stem from seminal movements. The final chapter raises the question of whether it is the religious element in these groups that makes them effective healing forces. Fuller's conclusion is that such groups and practices supply a perception of "sacred reality" and contact with a higher power in a way that organized religions have failed to do.
Adaptive Mesh Refinement Simulations of the Ionization Structure and Kinematics of Damped Lyα Systems with Self-consistent Radiative Transfer

We use high-resolution Eulerian hydrodynamics simulations to study kinematic properties of the low-ionization species in damped Lyα systems at redshift z = 3. Our adaptive mesh refinement simulations include most key ingredients relevant for modeling neutral gas in high column density absorbers: hydrodynamics, gravitational collapse, continuum radiative transfer above the hydrogen Lyman limit, and gas chemistry, but no star formation. We model high-resolution Keck spectra with unsaturated low ion transitions in two Si II lines (1526 and 1808 A) and compare simulated line profiles to the data from the SDSS DLA survey. We find that with increasing grid resolution the models show a trend in convergence toward the observed distribution of H I column densities. While in our highest resolution model we recover the cumulative number of DLAs per unit absorption distance, none of our models predicts DLA velocity widths as high as indicated by the data, suggesting that feedback from star formation might be important. At z = 3 a nonnegligible fraction of DLAs with column densities below 1021 cm-2 is caused by filamentary structures in more massive halo environments. Lower column density absorbers with N < 1021.4 cm-2 are sensitive to changes in the UV background, resulting in a 10% reduction of the cumulative number of DLAs for twice the quasar background relative to the fiducial value and nearly a 40% reduction for 4 times the quasar background. We find that the mass cutoff below which a large fraction of dwarf galaxies cannot retain gas after reionization is ~7 × 107 M☉, lower than the previous estimates. Finally, we show that models with self-shielding commonly used in the literature produce significantly lower DLA velocity widths than the full radiative transfer runs, which essentially renders these self-shielded models obsolete.
Fluid mechanical responses to nutrient depletion in fungi and biofilmsa)

In both fungi and bacterial biofilms, when nutrients are depleted, the organisms cannot physically migrate to find a new source, but instead must develop adaptations that allow them to survive. This paper reviews our work attempting to discover design principles for these adaptations. We develop fluid mechanical models, and aim to understand whether these suggest organizing principles for the observed morphological diversity. Determining whether a proposed organizing principle explains extant biological designs is fraught with difficulty: simply because a design principle predicts characteristics similar to an organism's morphology could just as well be accidental as revealing. In each of the two sets of examples, we adopt different strategies to develop understanding in spite of this difficulty. Within the fungal phylum Ascomycota, we use the large observed diversity of different morphological solutions to the fundamental fluid mechanical problem to measure how far each solution is from a design optimum, thereby measuring how far the extant designs deviate from the hypothesized optimum. This allows comparing different design principles to each other. For biofilms, we use engineering principles to make qualitative predictions of what types of adaptations might exist given the physicochemical properties of the repertoire of proteins that bacteria can create, and then find evidence for these adaptations in experiments. While on the surface this paper addresses the particular adaptations used by the fungal phylum Ascomycota and bacterial biofilms, we also aim to motivate discussion of different approaches to using design principles, fluid mechanical or otherwise, to rationalize observed engineering solutions in biology.
Pigmentary lesions common to the skin and oral cavity

Abstract The evidence indicates that the melanin formation in the oral mucosa is similar to that seen in the skin. The pigment-forming cells are melanocytes and derive from the neural crest. Tumors of melanocytes appear to be of the same general classification. The rather well-known pattern of skin pigmentation illustrates areas where investigation is needed in the field of oral pigmentation.
Possible Early Devonian Seaway in Northern Rocky Mountain Area: ABSTRACT

A seaway may have occupied a geosynclinal trough in Washington and Oregon during Early Devonian time. Its existence is postulated from the distribution and sedimentary environment of isolated deposits of Early Devonian and probably Early Devonian age in the northern Rocky Mountains. Regional evidence suggests that the Beartooth Butte formation of Early Devonian age was laid down along the eastern margin of a sea and on the landmass that bordered it in southern and central Montana and northern Wyoming. The Williston basin area in North Dakota was apparently a part of the landmass. The Water Canyon, Maywood, and Ghost River formations which may be in part correlative with the Beartooth Butte were laid down in a nearshore, shallow-water marine environment in northern Utah an southern Idaho, western Montana, and west-central Alberta, respectively. These lie west of the marginal marine deposits of the Beartooth Butte but several hundred miles east of the postulated north-south axis of the seaway. Discontinuous deposits of the Beartooth Butte formation, which formerly was considered to be a local channel filling at a few localities in northern Wyoming, have now been widely recognized. The formation consists of grayish red and yellowish gray silty dolomite and dolomitic siltstone, sandstone, conglomerate, and breccia. It is generally less than 10 feet but locally as much as 170 feet thick. The continental beds of the Beartooth Butte were laid down on a land surface of generally low relief with karst topography in places. Redbeds filling channels and sinkholes were derived mostly from red soils that had developed on carbonate rocks possibly in a humid, tropical, or subtropical climate. Marginal marine beds of the formation were probably deposited in estuaries, bays, and lagoons a ong a drowned coast characterized by long, narrow marine embayments. The Water Canyon formation of Early Devonian age in northern Utah is about 400 feet thick. It is composed of intraformational breccia, silty dolomite, cherty dolomite, and dolomitic sandstone and sandy dolomite containing End_Page 416------------------------------ fish remains. The lower part of the Maywood formation in western Montana is 200 feet thick and may be of Early Devonian age. It is composed of thin-bedded silty dolomite and dolomitic siltstone with imbedded crystals of dolomite pseudomorphous after halite and, like the Water Canyon formation, dolomitic sandstone containing fish remains. The upper part of the Ghost River formation in west-central Alberta is lithologically similar to the lower part of the Maywood and may also be of Early Devonian age. Discontinuous shallow-water, near-shore marine deposits of these three formations were probably laid down at the mouths of bays. The probable subsurface occurrence of the Beartooth Butte formation and its tentative correlatives provides a hitherto unrecorded and untested stratigraphic trap that might be considered in planning petroleum exploration. End_of_Article - Last_Page 417------------
E-cadherin and plakoglobin recruit plakophilin3 to the cell border to initiate desmosome assembly

A decrease in the levels of the desmosomal plaque protein, plakophilin3 (PKP3), leads to a decrease in desmosome size and cell-cell adhesion. To test the hypothesis that PKP3 is required for desmosome formation, the recruitment of desmosomal components to the cell surface was studied in the PKP3 knockdown clones. The PKP3 knockdown clones showed decreased cell border staining for multiple desmosomal proteins, when compared to vector controls, and did not form desmosomes in a calcium switch assay. Further analysis demonstrated that PKP3, plakoglobin (PG) and E-cadherin are present at the cell border at low concentrations of calcium. Loss of either PG or E-cadherin led to a decrease in the levels of PKP3 and other desmosomal proteins at the cell border. The results reported here are consistent with the model that PG and E-cadherin recruit PKP3 to the cell border to initiate desmosome formation.
Influence of noise on chaotic laser dynamics

The Nd:YAG laser with an intracavity second harmonic generating crystal is a versatile test bed for concepts of nonlinear time series analysis as well as for techniques that have been developed for control of chaotic systems. Quantitative comparisons of experimentally measured time series of the infrared light intensity are made with numerically computed time series from a model derived here from basic principles. These comparisons utilize measures that help to distinguish between low and high dimensional dynamics and thus enhance our understanding of the influence of noise sources on the emitted laser light.
A Dual-EDM Reverse Damascene Process for RF Switches and Other Bulk Metal Devices

This paper reports a manufacturing process suitable for lithography-compatible fabrication of suspended micro-structures from any conductive material (including bulk metal) that is available in sheet form. It uses two aligned steps of batch mode micro-electro-discharge machining followed by a series of filling and lapping steps similar to a damascene process. The process is demonstrated by the fabrication of a bi-stable RF switch from #302 stainless steel foil. The fabricated devices have a footprint of 5 × 5 mm2 , with 25 μm thickness, and a minimum feature size of 5 μm.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Loss of calbindin-D28k from aging human cholinergic basal forebrain: relation to neuronal loss.

Cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain (BFCN) are selectively vulnerable in neurodegenerative disorders of the elderly, particularly in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated age-related changes in the BFCN that may serve as a substrate for this vulnerability. We report a substantial and selective age-related loss of the calcium binding protein calbindin-D28K (CB) from the human BFCN. Unbiased stereological estimation indicated that, in individuals under age 65 years, 72% of the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive BFCN contained CB immunoreactivity. In individuals over age 65 years, only 28% of the BFCN contained CB immunoreactivity, a dramatic loss of 61%. Similar results were obtained using neuronal counts from matching single- or double-stained sections in a larger cohort. The loss of CB immunoreactivity was neurochemically specific. No age-related changes were observed in the number of ChAT- or low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor (p75NTR)-immunoreactive profiles. The loss of CB was greatest in very old individuals, in whom a small loss of BFCN was observed. Furthermore, the loss of CB displayed the same pattern as the loss of BFCN in AD and was more substantial in the posterior compared with the anterior BFCN sector, suggesting a role for CB in the selective vulnerability of BFCN in AD. The depletion of CB from the BFCN is likely to deprive these neurons of the capacity to buffer high levels of intracellular Ca2+ and thus to leave them vulnerable to pathological processes, such as those in neurodegenerative disorders, which can cause increased intracellular Ca2+, thus leading to their degeneration. J. Comp. Neurol. 455:249–259, 2003. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
"Green" building in India: a comparative and spatial analysis of the LEED-India and GRIHA rating systems

With an urban population exceeding that of the entire USA, India has two systems for encouraging environmentally sustainable growth for its rapidly growing urban population. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-India is associated with the internationally known LEED program, which is administered in India by the Indian Green Business Council. Meanwhile, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) developed GRIHA (the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment). This indigenous green building standard is similar to the LEED system in recognizing development that meets certain environmental and sustainable development practices. This paper seeks to provide an overview of the LEED-India and GRIHA programs and examine the spatial dynamics of projects developed under LEED-India and GRIHA requirements. In the end, this analysis will provide important insight into these two competing urban sustainability programs in India and begin a discussion of the...
Developmental changes in memorial comparisons: The effects of stimulus presentation mode☆

First graders, fifth graders, and college students made comparative size judgments of either pictures (line drawings) or names (spoken words) of common objects by designating the "bigger" item in real life. Care was taken to equate the picture and word conditions on a number of critical parameters including method of item-pair presentation and activation of response-time intervals. All groups exhibited a symbolic distance effect. While judgments were faster with pictures than words, the magnitude of the difference did not change with age. Previous research suggesting a marked developmental decline in the magnitude of the "pictorial superiority effect" may have confounded reduced memory demands with stimulus presentation mode for young children. Finally, slopes of the symbolic distance functions were found to decrease with increasing grade level, at least from first to fifth grade. This is the first demonstration of an age-related decline in slopes for magnitude comparisons of concrete objects.
Social Desirability as a Predictor of Argumentativeness and Communication Apprehension

Abstract Strahan and Gerbasi's (1972) social desirability scales were used to identify 70 American undergraduate students as high social-desirability and 98 students as low social-desirability individuals. I hypothesized that high social-desirability individuals would be more apprehensive and less argumentative in the process of communication. Infante and Rancer's (1982) Argumentativeness Scale and McCroskey's (1982) Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) were used to test the hypotheses. Both hypotheses were confirmed.
Biochemical markers of bone turnover associated with calcium supplementation in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention trial.

Objective To determine the effects of calcium supplementation on bone physiology in corticosteroid-free children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) by measuring serum and urinary bone-related hormones, minerals, and markers of bone formation and resorption. Methods In this double-blind trial, patients were randomized to receive daily oral supplementation with 1,000 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D or with placebo and 400 IU of vitamin D for 24 months. The effect of calcium supplementation on bone physiology was determined periodically using markers of bone turnover. Results One hundred ninety-eight patients met the inclusion criteria and were followed up in the study. At baseline, there were no differences in markers of bone turnover between the groups. Patients with ≤4 joints with active disease had higher serum levels of calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH). Calcium-treated patients with ≤4 joints with active disease had lower levels of osteocalcin (OC). At followup, levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, PTH, OC, and urine phosphorus were lower in the group receiving calcium supplementation. Hypercalciuria, as determined by the urinary calcium-to-creatinine ratio, was not noted in 24-hour urine studies. Conclusion Levels of markers of bone physiology were significantly decreased in children with JRA receiving calcium supplementation. The physiologic changes were noted as early as 12 months into calcium supplementation. The hypercalciuria noted on spot testing of the urinary calcium-to-creatinine ratio was not demonstrated on further evaluation, nor did it lead to renal pathology. These findings suggest that the calcium supplementation met physiologic needs and caused an increased calcium loss in urine.
Characterization of Two α-Amylase Inhibitors from Black Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Two inhibitors of α-amylase, I-1 and I-2, were purified from the black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). The rate of complexation with porcine pancreatic α-amylase was very slow. I-l required 12 hr and I-2 6 hr for maximum inhibition at 30°C. The stoichiometry of complexation of α-amylase with I-1 was 2:1 and 1:1 with I-2. Optimum pH for complexation with I-1 ranged from 4.5 to 5.0 and 5.0 to 5.5 for I-2 and both were most stable at pH 3.0 to 4.0. An increase in ionic strength of the preincubation buffer from 0.106 to 0.906 enhanced the rate of inhibition 3 fold for both inhibitors. Maltose, a competitive inhibitor of α-amylase, added to the preincubation solution prevented complex formation for both inhibitors; however, it did not reverse the inhibition of the preformed complex. The dissociation constant for I-1 was 2.2 × 10−9M and 3.8 × 10−9M for I-2 at 30°C and pH 6.9. Both inhibitors functioned via a noncompetitive mechanism. I-2 was also stable at pH 2.0. I-2 was more stable to proteolytic digestion by trypsin than I-1 and was also stable to pepsin digestion.
On instabilities of single-integral constitutive equations for viscoelastic liquids

Various types of instabilities are exposed in this paper for time-strain separable single-integral viscoelastic constitutive equations (CE's). They were distinguished into two groups and defined as Hadamard and dissipative type of instabilities. As for the Hadamard-type, previously obtained criteria are found to be necessary only. They are necessary and sufficient only for thermodynamic stability. Improved, stricter Hadamard stability criteria are described briefly in this paper, and then applied to study of stability of several CE's. It is shown that the Currie potential with the K-BKZ equation and the model proposed by Papanastasiou et al. are Hadamard unstable. In the case of dissipative stability, the necessary and sufficient condition for stress boundedness in any regular flow with a given history, is proved. Then, this criterion was applied to the neoHookean, Mooney, and Yen and McIntire specifications of the general K-BKZ model, to exhibit unbounded solutions. In addition, Larson-Monroe potential which is later proved to be Hadamard unstable but satisfies the above criterion of boundedness, is shown to have unstable decreasing branch in steady simple shear flow. At present, to the authors' knowledge, there is no viscoelastic single-integral CE of factorable type proposed in the literature which can satisfy all the Hadamard and dissipative stability criteria.
Histone II-A activates the glucose-6-phosphatase system without microsomal membrane permeabilization.

Abstract Many agents have been used to release the latent portion of the activities catalyzed by the glucose-6-phosphatase (Glc-6-Pase) system. Detergents, which disrupt the microsomal membrane concomitantly with Glc-6-Pase activation, have been the most widely used of these agents. The treatment of microsomes with alamethicin or histone II-A has also been reported to activate the Glc-6-Pase system to the same extent as detergent treatment. While alamethicin reportedly permeabilizes the microsomal membrane (R. Fulceri et al., 1995, Biochem. J. 307, 391–397), conflicting ideas as to histone II-A's mechanism of activation have been described (J. St.-Denis et al., 1995, Biochem. J. 310, 221–224 and J. Blair and A. Burchell, 1988, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 964, 161–167). We further investigated whether activation of the Glc-6-Pase system by histone II-A is due to permeabilization of the microsomal membrane. We treated rat liver microsomes with Triton X-100, alamethicin, or histone II-A and found them to be equally effective in maximally activating the Glc-6-Pase system. We also examined the modifying effects of alamethicin and histone II-A on the sensitivity of Glc-6-Pase activities to inhibition by N -bromoacetylethanolamine phosphate (BAEP) and 3-mercaptopicolinate (3-MP), both thiol-directed reagents. Alamethicin, but not histone II-A, abolished the inhibitory effects of BAEP and 3-MP on activities of the Glc-6-Pase system. Our studies support previous reports of Glc-6-Pase activation by alamethicin via permeabilization of microsomal membranes and histone II-A activation without microsomal membrane permeabilization.
Comparison of the effects of increased myocardial oxygen consumption and adenosine on the coronary microvascular resistance

The purposes of this study were to determine if coronary dilation secondary to an increase in myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2) affects the microcirculation in a homogeneous or heterogeneous manner and to determine if comparable degrees of coronary dilation produced by increasing MVO2 or exogenous (intravenous adenosine) or endogenous (intravenous dipyridamole) adenosine have similar effects in the coronary microcirculation. The epimyocardial coronary microcirculation was observed through an intravital microscope by stroboscopic epi-illumination in anesthetized open-chest dogs. Aortic pressure and heart rate were controlled by an aortic snare and atrioventricular sequential pacing, respectively, during experimental procedures. In group 1 (n = 15), coronary arterial microvessel diameters were measured under control condition and during rapid pacing at 300 beats/min, which doubled MVO2. Increases in MVO2 caused heterogeneous vasodilation in coronary arterial microvessels (40-380 microns). There was an inverse relation between control diameter and percent increase in diameter. In group 2 (n = 15) or group 3 (n = 10), adenosine or dipyridamole was infused intravenously to increase myocardial perfusion to the same level as that obtained with rapid pacing. Adenosine and dipyridamole did not change MVO2. Adenosine and dipyridamole also caused heterogeneous vasodilation, but the effects of adenosine and dipyridamole were restricted to arterial microvessels smaller than 150 microns. From these results, we conclude that increases in MVO2 produce widespread but heterogeneous vasodilation, that is, greater dilation in smaller arterial microvessels. Comparable increases in coronary flow produced by increasing MVO2 or endogenous and exogenous adenosine do not produce identical changes in the distribution of coronary microvascular resistance.
Molecular Electrostatics of Conjugated Self-Assembled Monolayers on Au(111) Using Electrostatic Force Microscopy

The electrostatic potential produced by a variety of self-assembled monolayers on Au(111) is measured using scanning probe techniques. The molecules chosen for this study contain thiol-terminated end groups and ﷿-conjugated orbitals, making them suitable for molecular electronics applications. We have measured the surface potential of molecules having a symmetric structure and compared these results to those obtained from similar nonsymmetric molecules. The measured potential for nonsymmetric molecules scales with the dipole moment of the molecule comprising the monolayer. For symmetric molecules, the measured surface potential is essentially the same as the substrate. This result suggests that the dipole moment formed by the Au-S bond makes a small contribution to the measured surface potential. The dipole moment of a strong electron accepting molecule was intentionally modified by reaction with a strong electron acceptor. In this case, the surface potential produced by the self-assembled monolayer was found to change polarity after the formation of the charge-transfer complex.
Neonatal brain MRI segmentation by building multi-region-multi-reference atlases

Neonatal brain MRI segmentation is challenging due to the poor image quality. Existing population atlases used for guiding segmentation are usually constructed by averaging all images in a population with no preference. However, such approaches diminish the important local inter-subject structural variability. In this paper, we propose a multi-region-multi-reference strategy for atlas building from a population. In brief, the brain is first parcellated into multiple anatomical regions, and for each region, the population images are classified into different sub-populations. The exemplars in sub-populations serve as structural references when determining the most suitable regional atlas for a to-be-segmented image. A final atlas is generated by combining all selected regional atlases, and a joint registration-segmentation strategy is employed for tissue segmentation. Experimental results demonstrate that segmentation with our atlas achieves high average tissue overlap rates with manual golden standard of 0.86 (SD 0.02) for gray matter (GM) and 0.83 (SD 0.03) for white matter (WM), and outperforms other atlases in comparison.
Arc mRNA induction in striatal efferent neurons associated with response learning.

The dorsal striatum is involved in motor-response learning, but the extent to which distinct populations of striatal efferent neurons are differentially involved in such learning is unknown. Activity-regulated, cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) protein is an effector immediate– early gene implicated in synaptic plasticity. We examined arc mRNA expression in striatopallidal vs. striatonigral efferent neurons in dorsomedial and dorsolateral striatum of rats engaged in reversal learning on a T-maze motor-response task. Male Sprague–Dawley rats learned to turn right or left for 3 days. Half of the rats then underwent reversal training. The remaining rats were yoked to rats undergoing reversal training, such that they ran the same number of trials but ran them as continued-acquisition trials. Brains were removed and processed using double-label fluorescent in situ hybridization for arc and preproenkephalin (PPE) mRNA. In the reversal, but not the continued-acquisition, group there was a significant relation between the overall arc mRNA signal in dorsomedial striatum and the number of trials run, with rats reaching criterion in fewer trials having higher levels of arc mRNA expression. A similar relation was seen between the numbers of PPE + and PPE – neurons in dorsomedial striatum with cytoplasmic arc mRNA expression. Interestingly, in behaviourally activated animals significantly more PPE – neurons had cytoplasmic arc mRNA expression. These data suggest that Arc in both striatonigral and striatopallidal efferent neurons is involved in striatal synaptic plasticity mediating motorresponse learning in the T-maze and that there is differential processing of arc mRNA in distinct subpopulations of striatal efferent neurons.
Advances in massively parallel computing

Highly parallel systems play a central role in the future of computing. This role is increasing rapidly as the costs involved in improving semiconductor circuit speed and density become higher. The two major hurdles that prevent massive parallelism from becoming mainstream are the relatively slow progress of interconnection networks compared to that of uniprocessor technology and the immature status of parallel software. The paper gives a brief summary of some of the recent advances in the field of highly parallel computing, with an emphasis on message routing architectures. >
Australian Discourses of Democracy

Democracy is to a significant extent what political actors and ordinary people make of it. The inquiry reported here determines how the individuals who are the constituents of any actual or potential Australian political order conceptualise democracy and their own place in it. Political discourse analysis and Q methodology are deployed to reveal the discourses of democracy present in Australia. The four discourses uncovered are termed resigned acceptance, inclusive republicanism, right‐minded democracy, and anxious egalitarianism. Their results illuminate Australian political culture, the attractiveness and feasibility of different kinds of institutional innovation, and the real‐world prospects for various kinds of democratic theory.
Voices of resilience: older adults in hospice care.

Abstract Terminally ill older adults have the capacity to live well in the context of dying. Having negotiated a lifetime of challenges, they have resources to demonstrate resilience and achieve wholeness in life's final phase, but research has not adequately investigated this process. This qualitative research study considered the paths to resilience used by 30 older adult hospice clients in Kansas and Illinois. Responses were coded using the grounded theory method of Strauss and Corbin (1990) where data drives interpretation and text is coded into categories. Results centered on four themes that included: (1) a redefinition of self; (2) use of religion/spirituality or openness to uncertainty; (3) maintenance of social investments; and (4) guarding independence even as the scope of life contracted. Results imply that attention should be paid to building environments of wellness. This may be accomplished paradoxically through facilitating continuity of client interests and yet opportunities for creativity...