cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crocker Nuclear Laboratory (CNL) radiation effects measurement and test facility

The 76" cyclotron of the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory (CNL) at the University of California at Davis (UCD) provides low to medium energy protons up to approximately 68-MeV, which is an excellent range for simulation of protons seen by materials and microelectronic devices behind spacecraft's shielding. Average particle beam fluxes range from tens of particles/(cm/sup 2//spl middot/s) up to a very large flux of approximately 10/sup 11/ particles/(cm/sup 2//spl middot/s). Description of the facility and quality control of beam energy and flux (dose rate) measurements are described. Beams of deuterons and /sup 4/He (/spl alpha/-particle) up to 45 and 90-MeV respectively can be provided if requested.
Federal Reimbursement Policy for Water Resources and other Programs

Differences in reimbursement requirements among federal programs encourage unwise investment decisions by creating incentives for uneconomical design of individual programs, uneconomical use of existing facilities, uneconomical allocation of budgetary resources among program areas, and uneconomical allocation of national resources to the public sector. In addition, these differing federal subsidies have a tendency to increase the disparity among income groups. Comparison of actual and optimal reimbursement rules for water resource programs indicates that federal reimbursement policy has encouraged overinvestment in these programs and the selection of nonoptimal techniques of production. Analysis of the equity impact of federal cost-sharing policies suggests that subsidies for many federal programs have had an unfavorable effect on the distribution of income.
Molecular Markers and Models

Risk-assessment practices for a range of diseases, in general, now encourage the use of mechanistic data to enhance the ability to predict responses at low environmental exposures. In particular, the pathway from normal biology to pathologic state can be described by a set of measurable key events. These key events can be considered molecular markers of disease. Recent advances in molecular biology methodologies and knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of several diseases have allowed for the identification of truly informative biomarkers of response, especially for tumors. The cancer risk from exposures to environmental chemicals can similarly be assessed using these types of molecular biomarkers. Models of cancer have further enhanced the appreciation that tumor formation is a tissue response, and that modifications of normal biology need to be considered at a systems level rather than at the gene or single pathway levels. Molecular models that are based upon such a systems approach have been developed recently; these include models of mitosis, cell signaling, nuclear transport, and cell cycles. Abrogations of these systems can lead to disease outcomes. A very recent model based on gene–gene interactions among genes in Caenorhabditis elegans involved in signaling pathways that are also mutated in human diseases has identified a set of highly connected “hub” genes that can essentially enhance the effects of mutations in a range of different genes. These “hub” genes are all chromatin modulators, leading to a powerful approach for identifying key events in disease etiology. This type of molecular-modeling systems approach marks the way forward for incorporating key events into the risk-assessment process for a range of diseases. Keywords: cancer risk; key events; mode of action; molecular markers; systems biology; chromatin modulation
Electrical conduction and breakdown in sol-gel derived PZT thin films

The viability of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films as a storage dielectric for DRAM applications is discussed. 4000 AA PZT films with an effective SiO/sub 2/ thickness less than 17 AA were prepared by sol-gel deposition. The films exhibited ohmic behavior at low fields and exponential field dependence at high fields. The conduction characteristics can be modeled accurately using expressions derived for ionic conductivity. At the same effective SiO/sub 2/ field, the leakage and time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) characteristics are superior to other dielectric structures. However, lifetime extrapolations to worst-case operating conditions show that TDDB may be a very serious limitation for DRAM applications. Optimization of material properties of PZT films, especially the TDDB lifetime, is necessary for reliable DRAM operation. >
Risk of coronary events by baseline factors during 28 years follow-up and three periods in a random population sample of men

. Aims. To investigate the predictive value of risk factors for coronary events measured in midlife during three separate periods over a follow-up period extending through 28 years. Methods. A total of 7437 men aged 47–55 years and free of myocardial infarction at baseline were examined. Risk of coronary events (nonfatal myocardial infarction and coronary deaths) was analysed for the entire period and for 0–15, 16–21 and 22–28 years’ follow-up, using age-adjusted and multiple Cox regression analyses. Results. Age, diabetes, elevated blood pressure and serum cholesterol were all independently associated with increased risk of coronary events for the entire 28 years as well as for each of the periods. A family history of coronary events amongst fathers, mothers and siblings was independently significant for the entire follow-up period, and the risk did not decline with extended follow-up. Effort-related chest pain was a strong and independent risk factor for the first 21 years but not thereafter. The importance of smoking decreased over time and was not significantly associated with outcome during the last period. Stress was also significant for the entire 28 years, but in selected periods only up to 21 years. Body mass index, low physical activity and low social class were inconsistently or not at all related to outcome in multiple analyses.
Development of an injectable, in situ crosslinkable, degradable polymeric carrier for osteogenic cell populations. Part 2. Viability of encapsulated marrow stromal osteoblasts cultured on crosslinking poly(propylene fumarate).

Abstract The effect of temporary encapsulation of rat marrow stromal osteoblasts in crosslinked gelatin microparticles on cell viability and proliferation was investigated in this study for microparticles placed on a crosslinking poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) composite over a 7 day time period. Encapsulated cells were seeded on crosslinking PPF composites at times up to 10 min following initiation of the crosslinking reaction, and also on fully crosslinked PPF composites and tissue culture polystyrene controls, with a cell seeding density of 5.3×104 cells/cm2. The crosslinked PPF composite exhibited an average gel point of 10.3 min and an average maximum crosslinking temperature of 47.5°C. Cell viability and proliferation were assessed by DNA and 3H-thymidine assays and the results were compared with those for nonencapsulated cells. The results showed that the addition time of cells to a crosslinking PPF composite had a large effect on cell viability and proliferation for both encapsulated and nonencapsulated cells with more surviving cells added at later time points. Most importantly, the temporary encapsulation of cells significantly enhanced cell viability at earlier time points. The data indicate that the presence of gelatin microparticles does not affect the crosslinking of a PPF composite. They further suggest that the temporary encapsulation of cells in crosslinked gelatin microparticles may preserve the viability of cells contained in an actively crosslinking PPF composite used as an injectable polymeric scaffold serving also as a carrier for osteogenic cell populations.
Time-Resolved Thermodynamics and Transient Kinetics for Oxygen Photorelease from Hemoglobin:Effector Complexes

Photoacoustic calorimetry and transient absorption have been used to characterize thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for oxygen photorelease from human hemoglobin (Hb) complexed with allosteric effectors in terms of time-resolved volume and enthalpy changes, quantum yields for bimolecular rebinding, and rate constants for oxygen rebinding. Under stripped conditions we observe a significant temperature dependence of enthalpy and volume changes associated with oxygen photorelease. Below 16° C an endothermic enthalpy and volume expansion (ΔH = 272 ± 60 kcal mol−1, ΔV = 19.5 ± 4.5 mL mol−1) were determined for O2 photorelease, while above 16° C the reaction becomes exothermic and a volume contraction is observed (ΔH = −252 ± 79 kcal mol−1, ΔV = −58.3 ± 16.5 mL mol−1). Similar temperature dependence of ΔV/ΔH was observed in phosphate buffer at ionic strength of up to 0.2 M. Moreover, the reaction volume and enthalpy changes observed in the presence of 500 mM NaCl (I = 0.5 M) are significantly smaller (ΔH = −27 ± 8 kcal mol−1, ΔV = 7.9 ± 0.7 mL mol−1) and the temperature dependence is eliminated, suggesting the significant contribution of electrostriction to the observed reaction parameters. L35 also eliminated the temperature dependence without affecting volume and enthalpy changes associated with O2 photorelease, effectively extending the low temperature trend. L35 is known to bind strongly in the central cavity of Hb in the α1β1 and α2β2 clefts, and may exhibit this effect by modulating inter-subunit interactions. IHP acted similarly but decreased related enthalpy changes. In addition, allosteric effectors and phosphate buffers were found to increase the quantum yield for bimolecular rebinding of oxygen, and rate constants for oxygen rebinding to Hb:L35 and Hb:IHP complexes were lower than those for the stripped protein.
Awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of depression.

OBJECTIVES: To review recent findings on the epidemiology, burden, diagnosis, comorbidity, and treatment of depression, particularly in general medical settings; to delineate barriers to the recognition, diagnosis, and optimal management of depression in general medical settings; and to summarize efforts under way to reduce some of these barriers.
30° Partial Dislocations in Silicon: Absence of Electrically Active States

Partial dislocations are the most important intrinsic defects, other than point defects, in controlling the mechanical and electronic properties of silicon. From high-resolution electron-microscopy data, and a simple optimization procedure, a realistic geometry is presented for the 30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} partial dislocation. Electronic structure calculations have been performed for this geometry and it has been established that no electrically active states are associated with this dislocation.
Endothelial seeding of polytetrafluoroethylene popliteal bypasses. A preliminary report.

Abstract At St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, 17 patients have undergone femoropopliteal bypass operations with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts that were seeded with enzymatically harvested, autogenous endothelium. Three patients received seeded grafts because satisfactory veins were not available. Twenty-eight patients alternately received seeded or unseeded, externally supported e-PTFE grafts. Graft patency was evaluated by clinical criteria and changes in the Doppler ankle-brachial systolic pressure ratios at 2 and 30 days postoperatively and at 3-month intervals thereafter. Occlusions were defined arteriographically if the clinical situation or the Doppler findings deteriorated. Smoking histories were taken, and carboxyhemoglobin (COHgb) levels were sampled 1 month postoperatively. Cumulative patency after 3 months was 93.3% ± 6.5% for seeded and 84.0% ± 10.4% for unseeded grafts. After 1 year it was 81.6% ± 12.3% for seeded grafts and 30.8% ± 18.7% for unseeded grafts (p = 0.02). Thus far all but one of the occlusions have occurred in patients with a history of smoking or with a COHgb level greater than 1.5%, whereas all of the seeded grafts in nonsmokers with COHgb levels less than or equal to 1.5% are patent. We conclude that endothelial seeding of PTFE femoropopliteal grafts is feasible. During this preliminary study period, a small number of patients had favorable patency rates with seeded as compared with unseeded grafts, especially among smokers. A multiple-institution study will be needed to establish the role of endothelial cell seeding in the treatment of vascular occlusions of the femoral and popliteal arteries. (J VASC SURG 1987;6:114-8.)
Hemorrhagic Shock Abolishes the Myelopoietic Response to Turpentine-Induced Soft Tissue Injury

Hemorrhagic shock has been shown to alter bone marrow (BM) myelopoiesis. Isolated hemorrhagic shock is uncommon after trauma and the combined effect of tissue injury and shock on myelopoiesis is unknown. We studied the growth of BM granulocyte-macrophage colony forming units (CFU-GM) following shock and soft tissue injury. Rats were anesthetized and allocated into one of four groups: CONTROL, sham neck dissection; SHOCK, rats were bled to a mean BP of 45 mmHG for 45 min and resuscitated with shed blood and saline; TURP, soft tissue injury was induced by turpentine 0.5 ml/100 g SQ into the hindquarter; SHOCK + TURP, rats received TURP just before SHOCK as described above. Groups (n = 6) were sacrificed 1, 3, and 5 days after treatment. BM cells plated for CFU-GM and splenic macrophages were cultured for IL-1 production. Unstimulated splenic macrophage production of IL-1 alpha was not different for any group except Day 5 turpentine animals. TURP induced a significant increase in CFU-GM on Day 1 compared to that in control (47 +/- 22 vs 21 +/- 11; P < 0.05). SHOCK completely abolished this response to TURP. Both the SHOCK and TURP alone increased CFU-GM on Day 5 compared to that in CONTROL but there was no additive effect in the SHOCK + TURP group. These data show that the BM response to combined soft tissue injury and shock (TURP + SHOCK) appears similar to that of SHOCK alone and that hemorrhagic shock appears to be a significant immunosuppressive factor in the regulation of myelopoiesis following injury.
Arithmetic coding with constrained carry operations

Buffer or counter-based techniques are adequate for dealing with carry propagation in software implementations of arithmetic coding, but create problems in hardware implementations due to the difficulty of handling worst-case scenarios, defined by very long propagations. We propose a new technique for constraining the carry propagation, similar to “bit-stuffing,” but designed for encoders that generate data as bytes instead of individual bits, and is based on the fact that the encoder and decoder can maintain the same state, and both can identify the situations when it desired to limit carry propagation. The new technique adjusts the coding interval in a way that corresponds to coding an unused data symbol, but selected to minimize overhead. Our experimental results demonstrate that the loss in compression can be made very small using regular precision for arithmetic operations.
Recurrent Cutaneous Necrotizing Eosinophilic Vasculitis: A Novel Eosinophil-Mediated Syndrome

Background and Design: Review of skin biopsy specimens showing necrotizing vasculitis revealed three patients with small dermal vessel eosinophilic vasculitis and common clinical features characterized by glucocorticoid responsive pruritic erythematous, purpuric papules and angioedema associated with peripheral blood eosinophilia. Indirect immunofluorescent localization of eosinophil granule proteins, neutrophil granule proteins, and mast cell tryptase, electron-microscopic evaluation and immunoperoxidase staining for vascular cell adhesion molecule type 1, intercellular adhesion molecule type 1, endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule type 1, and very-late activation antigen type 4 were performed. Eosinophil-active cytokines in serum were evaluated by an eosinophil survival assay. Observations: Eight skin biopsy specimens from the three patients all showed small-vessel necrotizing vasculitis with exclusive eosinophil infiltration. Ultrastructural study demonstrated degenerating eosinophils and eosinophil granules in proximity to damaged endothelium. The affected small vessels showed marked depo- sition of the toxic eosinophil granule major basic protein in the vessel walls and expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule type 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule type 1 on the endothelium with adherence of very-late activation antigen type 4—positive eosinophils; E-selectin staining was negative. The presence of interleukin 5 in serum available from one patient was detected by an eosinophil survival assay. Conclusions: We studied three patients whose cutaneous lesions showed small-vessel eosinophilic vasculitis and who presented with recurrent glucocorticoid-responsive pruritic purpuric papules and angioedema. The presence of eosinophil-active cytokines in serum and the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule type 1 on the endothelium of affected vessels may contribute to the selective adherence and localization of activated eosinophils. Subsequent release of cytotoxic proteins such as major basic protein may result in destruction of the endothelium in this unique syndrome. (Arch Dermatol. 1994;130:1159-1166)
Novel approaches to locally advanced unresectable non-small cell lung cancer.

Abstract The management of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is rapidly evolving. Advances in combined chemo–radiation therapy have led to improvements in patient survival which are statistically significant, but most patients still succumb to their disease. New chemotherapeutic agents, such as taxanes (paclitaxel, docetaxel), topoisomerase inhibitors (topotecan, irinotecan), and novel analogs (gemcitabine, vinorelbine), may offer the promise of improved outcome, but have not yet been tested in phase III trials. Molecular therapeutics, such as gene therapy, drugs that target specific oncogene activation (such as Ki-ras inactivation by farnesyl transferase inhibitors), and hypoxic cell toxins (such as tirapazamine), are in clinical trials. The optimum use of these agents awaits more rapid and widespread molecular diagnostics. Finally, technological advances in radiotherapy will allow higher tumor doses, while minimizing doses to dose-limiting normal structures, such as the esophagus, normal lung and heart. We describe a move towards molecular strategies, both for therapy and diagnostics, that may result in more effective treatment. While the outcome for patients with advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma is still poor, new agents are being developed rapidly and offer the hope of improved survival.
Site-Specific Incorporation of a Phosphotyrosine Mimetic Reveals a Role for Tyrosine Phosphorylation of SHP-2 in Cell Signaling

Abstract The regulation of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) SHP-2 is proposed to involve tyrosine phosphorylation on two tail tyrosine residues. Using "expressed protein ligation", nonhydrolyzable phosphotyrosine analogs were introduced at known phosphorylation sites in SHP-2. Biochemical analysis suggests that a phosphonate at Tyr542 interacts intramolecularly with the N-terminal SH2 domain to relieve basal inhibition of the PTPase, whereas a phosphonate at Tyr-580 stimulates the PTPase activity by interaction with the C-terminal SH2 domain. Microinjection experiments indicate that a single phosphorylation of Tyr-542 of SHP-2 is sufficient to activate the MAP kinase pathway in living cells. These studies support a novel mechanism explaining how tyrosine phosphorylation of a PTPase is important in signal transduction.
Yield-scaled global warming potential from N2O emissions and CH4 oxidation for almond (Prunus dulcis) irrigated with nitrogen fertilizers on arid land

Abstract The optimum yield-scaled global warming potential (GWP) of perennial crops on arid land requires effective strategies for irrigation and fertilization. In 2009–2010, N2O emissions and CH4 oxidation were measured from an almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] production system irrigated with nitrogen (N) fertilizers. Individual plots were selected within a randomized complete block design with fertilizer treatments of urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN). Event-related N2O emissions from irrigation and fertilization were determined for seasonal periods of post-harvest, winter, spring and summer. Peak N2O emissions in summer occurred within 24 h after fertilization, and were significantly greater from UAN compared to CAN (p
Perceived health status, alcohol-related problems, and readiness to change among medically hospitalized, alcohol-dependent patients.

OBJECTIVE Alcohol dependence is prevalent among medically hospitalized patients, and acute illness has the potential to increase motivation to change and provide a therapeutic window for treatment of alcohol dependence. This study evaluated the correlations of readiness to change drinking behavior with perceived physical and mental health status and specific alcohol-related consequences of medical inpatients. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS The study was a cross-sectional survey of 50 clinically recognized and subsequently confirmed alcohol-dependent patients admitted to general internal medicine teaching services with no evidence of chronic cognitive functional deficits. We estimated correlations of process-of-change variables (problem recognition, ambivalence about change, and taking steps to change drinking) with measures of patient perception of general physical and mental health status and self-reported alcohol-related consequences. RESULTS Problem recognition (r = −0.31, P = .028) and ambivalence about change (r = −0.41, P = .003), but not taking steps to change drinking (r = −0.26, P = .072) were significantly associated with perceived physical health. Perceived mental health was not associated with these variables, but greater alcohol-specific consequences were typically associated with greater recognition, ambivalence, and intent to change. CONCLUSIONS Among alcohol-dependent patients with acute medical illness requiring hospitalization, poorer perceived health status was associated with increased recognition of drinking problems and thoughts about changing drinking behavior. Future research should evaluate if problem recognition and ambivalence modify treatment involvement and outcomes following hospitalization and if hospital-based interventions designed to link medical conditions and their treatment to alcohol dependence enhance recognition and ambivalence. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2007;2:372–377. © 2007 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Measurement of information processing delays in human visual cortex with repetitive magnetic coil stimulation

Previous work disclosed that single magnetic coil (MC) pulses applied over human calcarine cortex could suppress perception of letter briefly presented, e.g. 80–100 ms earlier1. Although individual MC stimuli presented 0–60 ms, or more than 140 ms after the visual stimulus were apparently ineffective, combinations of 2 or 3 MC pulses at such intervals temporarily depressed visual perception. Thus, progressing of such language information could be slowed, without being abolished. By contrast, when the first MC pulse was delivered 120 ms or later, a second MC pulse 40 ms later had no detectable effect, implying that calcarine cortex had already transmitted the information. Perceptual recovery of 5-character words initially occurred no earlier than that of random letters vs. arbitrary linear patterns, implying that the processing delays in calcarine cortex were similar.
Cross Coupling in High Speed Digital Systems

It is now well understood that the design of the signal distribution systems of high speed digital machines is as important as the design of the circuits themselves. The integrated circuit technology of today is pressing back the frontiers of speed and simultaneously providing more circuitry per unit area. A signal distribution system with suitable electrical characteristics for these high speed circuits and which is physically compatible with the circuit size is sorely needed. A candidate for such an application is the multilayer board. This paper considers the problem of cross coupling from line to line in multilayer when the excitation function is a fast rise time voltage pulse. Curves and equations are given which enable the design of a system with a given system characteristic impedance and a specified cross-coupling ratio. Experimentally obtained wave shapes from single ground plane transmission lines are given, and a practical numerical example is worked.
Identification of genetic variants in the neuronal form of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH2)

OBJECTIVE: We screened the complete protein coding sequence of the newly identified neuronal form of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH2) for genetic variants. METHODS: Genomic DNA samples from 24 African-Americans and 24 Caucasian-Americans in the Coriell human variation collection were screened by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography followed by sequencing. RESULTS: We identified a number of genetic variants in both the coding and exon-flanking intronic sequences. Only one variant was identified that predicts a structural change in the TPH2 protein, and this was seen in only one out of 96 chromosomes. CONCLUSIONS: The gene for TPH2 contains a number of polymorphisms that might serve as useful markers for association analyses of complex behavioral phenotypes or as actual risk factors. Structural polymorphisms are extremely rare in TPH2 and cannot therefore act as substantial risk factors for behavioral disorders in African-American and Caucasian populations.
Fully endogenous mechanism selection on finite outcome sets

This paper defines a choice process over social outcomes in which agents choose the institutional rules ormechanisms themselves without outside interference. Truly “endogenizing” the mechanism selection process in this way, however, involves facing an infinite regress problem in which outcomes are chosen by games which are themselves chosen by games, ad infinitum. This paper allows the possibility of such an infinite regress which we callfully endogenous mechanism selection.
Afferents to the optic tectum of the leopard frog: an HRP study.

Folowing unilateral HRP injections in the optic tectum of Ran pipiens, HRP - positive cells were seen in three pretectal nuclei: bilaterally in the dorsal posterior nucleus; in the dorsal half of the ipsilateral posterior nucleus; and ipsilaterally in the large-celled pretectal nucleus. HRP -positive cells were also seen ipsilaterally in the anterodorsal, posterodorsal and posteroventral tegmental fields, the nucleus isthmi, and the dorsal gray columns of the cervical spinal cord; bilaterally in the suprapeduncular nucleus, a paramedian cell group dorsal to the interpeduncular nucleus; and in the deep layers of the contralateral tectum. In addition, evidence for a bilateral ventral preopto-tectal projection was seen in half the experimental animals. No tectal afferents from telencephalic or rostral thalamic areas were seen. Both the ascending and descending tectal efferent fibers were also filled with reaction product. The pale reaction indicative of terminating tectal efferents was seen in the dorsal pretectum, partially overlapping the lateral nucleus and uncinate neuropil; in the core of nucleus isthmi; and in the superior olive.
How many mountains can we mine? Assessing the regional degradation of Central Appalachian rivers by surface coal mining.

Surface coal mining is the dominant form of land cover change in Central Appalachia, yet the extent to which surface coal mine runoff is polluting regional rivers is currently unknown. We mapped surface mining from 1976 to 2005 for a 19,581 km2 area of southern West Virginia and linked these maps with water quality and biological data for 223 streams. The extent of surface mining within catchments is highly correlated with the ionic strength and sulfate concentrations of receiving streams. Generalized additive models were used to estimate the amount of watershed mining, stream ionic strength, or sulfate concentrations beyond which biological impairment (based on state biocriteria) is likely. We find this threshold is reached once surface coal mines occupy >5.4% of their contributing watershed area, ionic strength exceeds 308 μS cm–1, or sulfate concentrations exceed 50 mg L–1. Significant losses of many intolerant macroinvertebrate taxa occur when as little as 2.2% of contributing catchments are mined. As...
Jealousy, Romantic Love, and Liking: Theoretical Considerations and Preliminary Scale Development:

The studies reported in this paper had two purposes, the construction of a measure of jealousy and the use of this measure to test some prevalent beliefs concerning jealousy with the aim of providing construct validity for the scale and expanding our empirical understanding of jealousy. Using the rational approach to test construction, a 28-item test was constructed. This scale was expected to correlate positively with romantic love, insecurity, and low self-esteem and negatively with separate identities. Also scores should not correlate with liking. These relationships were noted except for positive correlations between jealousy and insecurity for men and jealousy and low self-esteem for both sexes. Enough evidence for construct validity was found to warrant further use of the scale for research. It was suggested that open marriage relationships must be based primarily on liking rather than romantic love to avoid jealousy.
The Role of Microtubules in Macronuclear Division of Blepharisma

SYNOPSIS. The macronucleus of the heterotrich ciliate Blepharisma undergoes a spectacular change in form in preparation for its division. The elongation phase of this cycle has been examined by light and electron microscopy. Coincident with elongation, microtubules appear closely applied to the outer surface of the macronucleus and parallel to the direction of elongation, and disappear as elongation is completed. It is demonstrated that the antimitotic drugs colchicine and podophyllotoxin reversibly block macronuclear elongation but do not entirely inhibit morphogenetic events including cell division. The failure of colchicine-treated macronuclei to begin or continue elongation is correlated with the prevention of formation, disruption, and/or disorientation of the extranuclear microtubules.
Do We Need a New Strategy to Treat Metastatic Breast Cancer

Four large randomized studies reported at the recent American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting have raised questions concerning the benefit of high-dose chemotherapy with hematopoietic progenitor cell support for the treatment of patients with high-risk primary breast cancer or metastatic disease. The preliminary nature of these findings was stressed by several investigators, who noted that long-term follow-up would be required to determine whether any survival benefit exists for patients in the highdose group. These results illustrate the need for additional well-controlled clinical trials before such strategies could become standard practice. Furthermore, it appears that even if any advantage is observed for high-dose treatment with stem cell support, this treatment is unlikely to result in a major survival benefit.
The effects of ZD6169 on the ATP-dependent K+ current (IKATP) in isolated cat ventricular myocytes

The effect of the KATP channel opener ZD6169 [(S)-N-(4-benzoyl-phenyl)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methyl-propionamide] currently under development for the treatment of urinary incontinence was explored in acutely isolated adult feline ventricular myocytes. ZD6169 activated a current over a wide range of concentrations (0.1–100 μM) that is completely blocked by 10 μM glyburide thereby identifyinga it as IKATP. The maximum activation of KATP current was observed at 10 μM; higher concentrations decreased current activation. In contrast, the standard KATP channel opener cromakalim showed a more usual concentration–response relationship, with increasing current for increased concentrations and no signs of saturation or reversal. The bell-shaped dose–response relationship for ZD6169 activation of IKATP has also been seen in bladder myocytes, albeit at a lower concentration, and it has been proposed to contribute to the reported lack of in vivo cardiovascular side effects. We compared the effects of ZD6169 to cromakalim and showed that both compounds dramatically shorten cardiac myocyte action potential duration and that ZD6169 does so in spite of the bell-shaped concentration–response relationship for activation of KATP current.
Representing control in the presence of one-shot continuations

Traditional first-class continuation mechanisms allow a captured continuation to be invoked multiple times. Many continuations, however, are invoked only once. This paper introduces one-shot continuations, shows how they interact with traditional multi-shot continuations, and describes a stack-based implementation of control that handles both one-shot and multi-shot continuations. The implementation eliminates the copying overhead for one-shot continuations that is inherent in multi-shot continuations.
Protein phosphatase 2A holoenzyme assembly: identification of contacts between B-family regulatory and scaffolding A subunits.

Protein serine/threonine phosphatase (PP) 2A is a ubiquitous enzyme with pleiotropic functions. Trimeric PP2A consists of a structural A subunit, a catalytic C subunit, and a variable regulatory subunit. Variable subunits (B, B′, and B" families) dictate PP2A substrate specificity and subcellular localization. B-family subunits contain seven WD repeats predicted to fold into a β-propeller structure. We carried out mutagenesis of Bγ to identify domains important for association with A and C subunits in vivo. Several internal deletions in Bγ abolished coimmunoprecipitation of A and C subunits expressed in COS-M6 cells. In contrast, small N- and C-terminal Bγ deletions had no effect on incorporation into the PP2A heterotrimer. Thus, holoenzyme association of B-family subunits requires multiple, precisely aligned contacts within a core β-propeller domain. Charge-reversal mutagenesis of Bγ identified a cluster of conserved critical residues in Bγ WD repeats 3 and 4. Acidic substitution of paired basic residues in Bγ (RR165EE) abolished association with wild-type A and C subunits, while fostering incorporation of Bγ into a PP2A heterotrimer containing an A subunit with an opposite charge-reversal mutation (EE100RR). Thus, binding of A and B subunits requires electrostatic interactions between conserved pairs of glutamates and arginines. By expressing complementary charge-reversal mutants in neuronal PC6-3 cells, we further show that holoenzyme incorporation protects Bγ from rapid degradation by the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway.
Emily: A High Performance Language for Enabling Secure Cooperation

Well-designed security is required to enable cooperation with strangers and enemies. A number of prototype and experimental systems have demonstrated that object-capability programming languages can blend security with cooperation with little impact on programmer or user behavior. However, heretofore all programming languages in the object-capability family have had inadequate performance for many projects, leading programmers to use languages such as C++. We present Emily, a language with performance characteristics similar to those of C++, but with secure cooperation support that emerges from the enforcement of the Principle of Least Authority (POLA).
Studies on the Organ of Production of the Natural Gibberellin Factor in Higher Plants.

The gibberellins have come to be recognized as of major importance in the physiology of higher plants. The application of gibberellin has been shown to change the phenotype of many dwarf plants to that of the normal (1, 6). It has been found to replace the low temperature and long day requirements for flowering of a biennial plant (2), and to reverse the light inhibition of stem growth in dwarf and normal peas (3) and Perilla (4). Extracts containing gibberellin activity, as measured by the specific response of single-gene, dwarf mutants, have been made from the seed of several higher plants (9) ; providing final proof for the existence of gibberellin-like compounds in higher plants, and making virtually certain the assumption that the physiological responses indicated above are controlled in higher plants by native gibberellin-like compounds. One of the important physiological questions which arises in further investigations of the physiology of the gibberellins is the location of the region of production of the natural gibberellin factor in the plant. Specialization in plants is not so great as it is in the higher animals; nevertheless, the production of hormones has been found to be restricted to specific tissues in the higher plants. The leaves, roots, stem tip, or in seedlings, the cotyledons, have been shown to produce one or more hormones which act in the correlation and regulation of growth (cf 7). The present paper will present evidence indicating that the natural gibberellin factor, necessary for maximum stem elongation in normal pea seedlings, is produced in the stem tip.
Theory and Practice of Cotton Fiber Selection Part I: Fiber Selection Techniques and Bale Picking Algorithms

The cotton mixture as a multi-component blend of inherently variable natural fibers imposes several challenges with regard to the proper method of selecting fibers for a uniform blend and consisten...
A prospective study of body mass index, hypertension, and smoking and the risk of renal cell carcinoma (United States).

Objective:We prospectively investigated the independent association of hypertension, thiazide use, body mass index, weight change, and smoking with the risk of renal cell carcinoma among men and women using biennial mailed questionnaires.
Minimum-incision Metatarsal Ray Resection: An Observational Case Series

This report describes the results of 17 metatarsal ray resections performed through a minimal incision in 13 consecutive patients. Each patient underwent minimum-incision metatarsal ray resection for either definitive treatment or as the index incision and drainage procedure followed by transmetatarsal amputation. There were 10 male and 3 female patients with a mean age of 68.8 ± 8.5 years (range, 59-83 years). Twelve patients had diabetes mellitus and 7 had critical limb ischemia. There were 11 right feet and 6 left feet involved, and 3 second, 3 third, 3 fourth, and 8 fifth minimum-incision metatarsal ray resections performed. Direct primary-incision closure was performed 7 times (1 with adjacent percutaneous metatarsal osteotomy), delayed primary closure was performed 4 times (1 with external fixation), and conversion to a transmetatarsal amputation was performed 2 times. Fourteen of 17 minimum-incision metatarsal ray resections were deemed successful. Two failures occurred when skin necrosis developed from excessive tension along the incision line requiring conversion to a transmetatarsal amputation, and the other occurred in a patient with unreconstructed critical limb ischemia who underwent multiple repeated incision and drainage procedures and vascular bypass with ultimate healing via secondary intent. When properly performed in patients with adequate vascular inflow, minimum-incision metatarsal ray resection as the definitive procedure or in conjunction with an incision and drainage for unsalvageable toe infection or gangrene represents a safe, simple, useful technique.
Efficacy and Safety of Transarterial Radioembolization Versus Chemoembolization in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Purpose Intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is usually treated with locoregional therapy using transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) using β-emitting yttrium-90 integral to the glass matrix of the microspheres is an alternative to TACE. This retrospective case-control study compared the outcomes and safety of TARE versus TACE in patients with unresectable HCC.
Regioselective Electrophilic Substitution and Addition Reactions at an N-Coordinated Pyrrolyl Ligand in (PMe2Ph)3Cl2Re(NC4H4)

The reaction of excess pyrrolyllithium with mer-(PMe2Ph)3ReCl3 leads to the formation of the air-stable product mer-(PMe2Ph)3Cl2Re(NC4H4) (1), which has been characterized by spectroscopic techniques and by an X-ray diffraction study. Complex 1 reacts with electrophiles to form new Re(III) complexes with regioselectively substituted pyrrolyl ligands. For example, reaction with 1 equiv of N-chlorosuccinimide forms the complex with a 3-chloropyrrolyl ligand, while reaction with excess reagent produces the 3,4-dichloropyrrolyl and 2,3,4-trichloropyrrolyl complexes. The regiochemistry of the reactions has been established from the 1H NMR data, and the structure of the dibrominated product (PMe2Ph)3Cl2Re(3,4-NC4H2Br2) (5) has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Reaction of 1 with methyl triflate produces after workup (PMe2Ph)3Cl2Re(3-NC4H3Me) (6), and further reaction of 6 with methyl triflate yields (PMe2Ph)3Cl2Re(3,4-NC4H2(Me)2) (7). In contrast, triflic acid protonates the pyrrolyl ligand of 1 at the α-car...
Terminology for Plough Cultivation in Yemeni Arabic

Yemen, located on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, has a rich agricultural tradition with extensive documentation available in manuscripts and published sources. This article draws on the major lexicons, specialized linguistic studies, travel accounts and ethnographic field research in the central highland valley of Ahjur (1978-9) for an annotated glossary of Yemeni Arabic terminology for the traditional plough and tillage or cultivation of fields. Terms are arranged by root and to the extent possible the region of the usage is indicated. Yemen is one of the few Arab countries were a historical lexical exercise can be fruitful, since aspects of traditional cultivation continue to the present day and many regional terms appear to have substantial longevity.
Mechanical Flow Restoration in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Model System of Cerebrovascular Occlusion

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and the third cause of death in the United States. About 20% of acute ischemic strokes (AIS) are caused by a large artery occlusion, and restoration of blood flow in a reasonable time is the principle goal of treatment. FDA-approved recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administration for treatment of stroke is efficacious, but it has short treatment time window and risk of symptomatic hemorrhage that result in only 3–5% patients of who receive this treatment. Alternatively, endovascular treatment using thrombectomy devices, MERCI and Penumbra systems, has been cleared by the FDA. Without adjunctive therapies, the recanalization rate and clinical outcome associated with these devices could be improved.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Brief treatments for borderline personality

Borderline personality (BP) is prevalent in clinical populations and notoriously difficult to treat. Reasons for this difficulty include complexity of presentation, overall severity of functioning, premature discontinuation and difficulty establishing a therapeutic alliance. Brief treatments for BP are considered, and specific therapeutic goals with potential amenability to brief approaches are discussed, with a focus on the integrative combination of various modalities. It is noted that brief treatments have the potential to ameliorate problems related to premature discontinuation, supplement and enhance long-term treatments and increase the cost-effectiveness of treatment. Suggestions for empirical research on brief strategies for treating BP are enumerated. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Isothermal extrusion of non-dilute fiber suspensions

Abstract The extrusion of a rod-like fiber suspension is a Newtonian solvent, as a first step to the fast and inexpensive production of composite materials, is investigated. The analysis is carried out by means of an integral constitutive equation for a non-dilute suspension, streamlined finite element for liquid with memory, and Newton iteration of nonlinear integro-differential equations. The predictions show substantial differences between dilute and nondilute fiber suspension regarding the processing conditions (pressure drop, velocity distribution, die-swell) and the resulting fiber orientation. Nondilute fiber suspensions exhibit substantial shear-thinning and negligible elasticity as evidenced by the small die-swell, and fiber concentration viscosity-thickening as evidenced by the large pressure drop. The fiber orientation is computed by solving the orientation distribution function along selected streamlines of the complex velocity field. It is shown that the fiber orientation far downstream can be made independent of the random fiber orientation at the inlet.
Method for predicting the state of association of discretized protein models. Application to leucine zippers.

A method that employs a transfer matrix treatment combined with Monte Carlo sampling has been used to calculate the configurational free energies of folded and unfolded states of lattice models of proteins. The method is successfully applied to study the monomer−dimer equilibria in various coiled coils. For the short coiled coils, GCN4 leucine zipper, and its fragments, Fos and Jun, very good agreement is found with experiment. Experimentally, some subdomains of the GCN4 leucine zipper form stable dimeric structures, suggesting the regions of differential stability in the parent structure. Our calculations suggest that the stabilities of the subdomains are in general different from the values expected simply from the stability of the corresponding fragment in the wild type molecule. Furthermore, parts of the fragments structurally rearrange in some regions with respect to their corresponding wild type positions. Our results suggest for an Asn in the dimerization interface at least a pair of hydrophobic in...
New approaches to anticancer drug design based on the inhibition of farnesyltransferase

Mutated forms of the GTP-binding protein Ras are found in 30% of human cancers, with particularly high prevalence in colon and pancreatic carcinomas. Ras function in growth factor signaling requires post-translational farnesylation of a cysteine residue present as part of the CA 1 A 2 X carboxyl terminal tetrapeptide. The enzyme farnesyltransferase has become an important target for the design of potential new antitumor agents. The authors outline the major new approaches to inhibition of farnesyltransferase and describe how certain peptidomimetics have been shown to block oncogenic signaling and tumor growth in various animal models.
Analysis of closed loop fuzzy systems

This paper is concerned with the analysis of closed loop systems in which the state and input variables are finite, discrete multi-dimensional fuzzy sets. Some results pertaining to the asymptotic behaviour of such systems are presented. A small class of feedback control problems is considered and some solutions discussed.
Studies on the non-enzymic conversion of dopa to melanin. III. The inhibition and mechanism of inhibition of dopa autoxidation by human blood plasma.

Abstract Inhibition of dihydroxyphenylalanine (dopa) autoxidation by human blood plasma and plasma proteins was demonstrated. Inhibition was overcome on prolonged incubation with plasma proteins, the length of inhibition period being directly proportional to protein concentration. Inhibition could be initiated during slow or rapid phases of dopa autoxidation. A number of possible mechanisms for the effect of plasma have been investigated and are discussed.