cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunomodulatory effects of brevetoxin (PbTx-3) upon in vitro exposure in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Abstract Harmful algal blooms (HAB), commonly referred to as ‘red tides’, involving the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis produce a series of neurotoxins known as brevetoxins (PbTx). Brevetoxins have long been associated with extensive fish kills, adverse human health effects such as neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and have been associated with mortality events in aquatic mammals such as bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The immunotoxicological effects of these brevetoxins have been studied in manatees, humans, and cell lines, however, the effects in bottlenose dolphins remain unclear. There are increasing concerns that dolphins may be exposed to repeated/chronic, sub-lethal concentrations, which may impact their overall health. The objectives of this study were to measure the changes in innate (phagocytosis, respiratory burst, NK cell activity) and adaptive (mitogen-induced B and T lymphocyte proliferation) immune functions upon in vitro exposure to increasing concentrations of brevetoxin (PbTx-3) (0, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, 500, and 1000 nM) using bottlenose dolphin peripheral blood immune cells. Brevetoxin significantly increased spontaneous lymphocyte proliferation at 0.1–1000 nM compared to the unexposed control. Brevetoxin significantly increased T lymphocyte proliferation upon suboptimal (0.1 μg/ml) and optimal (1.0 μg/ml) Con-A stimulation at 0.01–100 nM and 0.1 nM of PbTx-3 respectively, as well as suboptimal (0.05 μg/ml) and optimal (5.0 μg/ml) LPS-induced B lymphocyte proliferation at 0.01–100 nM and 0.01–500 nM of PbTx-3, respectively. Both neutrophil and monocyte respiratory burst were significantly increased at 500 and 1000 nM. There were no significant effects on neutrophil or monocyte phagocytosis or NK cell activity. Importantly, concentrations that modulated immune functions in vitro were within the range measured in the blood of dolphins during two unusual mortality events, suggesting that naturally exposed dolphins may be at risk for immunomodulation. Brevetoxin-induced immunomodulation may increase an animal's susceptibility to bacterial, viral, or fungal infections. Understanding the risk for immunomodulation upon HAB toxin exposure can contribute in the health assessment and management of marine mammals, as well as guide veterinarians and wildlife rehabilitators in caring for and treating afflicted animals.
Effect of solution chemistry on the surface charge of polymeric reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes

Abstract A streaming potential analyzer has been used to investigate the effect of solution chemistry on the surface charge of four commercial reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes. Zeta potentials of these membranes were analyzed for aqueous solutions of various chemical compositions over a pH range of 2 to 9. In the presence of an indifferent electrolyte (NaCl), the isoelectric points of these membranes range from 3.0 to 5.2. The curves of zeta potential versus solution pH for all membranes display a shape characteristic of amphoteric surfaces with acidic and basic functional groups. Results with salts containing divalent ions (CaCl2, Na2SO4, and MgSO4) indicate that divalent cations more readily adsorb to the membrane surface than divalent anions, especially in the higher pH range. Three sources of humic acid, Suwannee River humic acid, peat humic acid, and Aldrich humic acid, were used to investigate the effect of dissolved natural organic matter on membrane surface charge. Other solution chemistries involved in this investigation include an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and a cationic surfactant (dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide). Results show that humic substances and surfactants readily adsorb to the membrane surface and markedly influence the membrane surface charge.
Public attitudes toward political and technological options for biofuels

Abstract This paper explores detailed public attitudes regarding the expanding range of biofuels technologies and policy options. Subjects from 34 in-depth focus groups in central Indiana were fairly knowledgeable about biofuels technologies, but uninformed about biofuels policies despite being from a state where biofuels are a salient political issue. A narrow majority was supportive of biofuels in general, but expressed greater enthusiasm about “second generation” biofuels. Subject beliefs about biofuels’ economic and environmental impacts were most important in shaping these opinions, rather than concerns about energy independence or other issues. In terms of policy options, subjects were most supportive of an alternative fuels standard and least supportive of a fixed subsidy and a cap and trade policy. In contrast to arguments about technologies, participants primarily framed their attitudes toward policies in terms of fairness. Although discussion did not substantially change aggregate preferences for most policies, it did increase support significantly for at least one policy proposal—a variable subsidy for ethanol. It is particularly noteworthy that subjects generally did not support the most common biofuel technology—corn-based ethanol—or the most prominent biofuels policy option—the fixed subsidy—despite residing in a state hosting a strong corn industry and staunch political advocates for both positions.
Effect of Macrophyte Secondary Metabolites on Feeding Preferences of the Herbivorous Parrotfish Sparisoma Radians

Experiments were conducted to test the role of secondary metabolites in determining the natural feeding preference hierarchy of the bucktooth parrotfish Sparisoma radians. The two least preferred food genera of S. radians, Halimeda and Penicillus, both contain 1,4-diacetoxy-1,3-butadiene terpenes, while the most preferred species, Thalassia testudinum, does not. Experiments with agar cylinders containing macrophyte homogenates showed that macrophyte biteability was not a factor. Instead preference could be altered by the application of the diacetoxybutadiene containing terpenes 4,9-diacetoxyudoteal and caulerpenyne or fractions or extracts containing them at naturally occurring concentrations. Concentration of the active terpenes affected the intensity of the fish's preference for the control in pairwise comparisons. Extracts and fractions which did not contain 4,9-diacetoxyudoteal or caulerpenyne did not affect fish feeding preferences at naturally occurring concentrations. Experiments in which S. radians were given no plant choice showed that coating T. testudinum with H. incrassata organic crude extract reduced the number of bites consumed and the biomass consumed to a level equivalent to that obtained for H. incrassata plants.
Effect of mutation of a calmodulin binding site on Ca2+ regulation of inositol trisphosphate receptors.

Several studies have shown that calmodulin (CaM) modulates d- myo -inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3 ) receptor (IP 3 R) channel activity and ligand binding to IP 3 Rs. It has been proposed that CaM may act as the Ca 2+ sensor for mediating Ca 2+ inhibition of IP 3 R channel activity. However, the functional role of CaM binding sites and the mechanism by which CaM regulates IP 3 R activities remains unclear. Tryptophan at position 1577 of type I IP 3 R has been shown to be part of a motif that is responsible for CaM binding to IP 3 Rs and we have mutated this residue to alanine in the long (neuronal) and short (peripheral) SII splice variants of the type I IP 3 R. CaM–Sepharose binding assays using COS-7 cell lysates confirmed that the W1577A mutant in both splice variants completely eliminated CaM binding. Functional measurements of IP 3 -mediated 45 Ca 2+ fluxes indicated that there was no change in the IP 3 sensitivity of the channel induced by the W1577A mutation. Such measurements also indicated that the W1577A mutants of both splice variants have a dependence on external [Ca 2+ ] that was indistinguishable from the corresponding wild-types. Although subtle differences in the Ca 2+ and CaM sensitivity of [ 3 H]IP 3 binding were noted between wild-type and mutant receptors, our data suggest that the CaM binding motif involving the W1577A locus does not play a role in Ca 2+ regulation of IP 3 R channel activity.
“Global Cognitive Justice”: Epistemological Pluralism and the Post-Colonial Critique in International Relations

Epistemologies of the South: Justice Against Epistemicide. By Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2014. 292 pp., $156 hardback (ISBN-13: 978-1-612-05544-2). Boaventura de Sousa Santos is probably not a familiar name for IR scholars. Yet, the extraordinarily prolific Portuguese sociologist/activist at the University of Coimbra addresses many substantive issues that concern IR and normative theorists. From topics ranging from transnational social movements, to the environmental consequences of globalization, to human rights and law, Santos' past work sharply critiques what he sees as the epistemological blindness that characterizes much of sociological (and by implication IR) thought on these issues. His latest monograph, Epistemologies of the South: Justice Against Epistemicide , continues this critique of hegemonic epistemologies, taking particular aim at Leftist Western/Euro-centric critical theories. As he claims, his project is one of reconceptualizing or, in his words, engaging in an “epistemological reconstruction” (p. 42) that is genuinely plural insofar as it actually engages with the wealth of knowledge and practices emerging from the global South. Because, as Santos argues, “hegemonic left thinking and the hegemonic critical tradition, in addition to being (or precisely because they are) North-centric, are colonialist, imperialist, racist and sexist as well” (p. 42), any attempt at creating a global praxis of social change falters and reflects the “irrelevance, inadequacy, impotence, stagnation, paralysis” of much of contemporary …
Multimedia-based visual programming promoting core competencies in IT education

Programming constitutes one of the core competencies demanded of any IT education. However, some students within certain specializations of this diverse discipline are inclined to question the need for programming. The use of a visual programming environment in the development of interactive multimedia applications can serve the dual purposes of getting students excited about programming and giving them the core knowledge they need. The visual language Max/MSP/Jitter ("Max"), geared toward music, audio, and video application programming, is introduced as an excellent vehicle toward achieving this goal. The foundational constructs of Max are introduced in a series of example programs dealing with music applications. Some details of an undergraduate IT course called "Interactive Music System Technology" that utilizes Max are presented. Overall, the use of Max in the undergraduate IT curriculum can enhance the student's experience (both in multimedia and in IT in general) and promote better programming skills.
Functional Interactions in Cytochrome P450BM3. Fatty Acid Substrate Binding Alters Electron-Transfer Properties of the Flavoprotein Domain†

P450BM3 is a bacterial fusion protein between a cytochrome P450 fatty acid hydroxylase (CYP102) and an FAD- and FMN-containing flavoprotein homologous to NADPH: cytochrome P450 reductase. It has been shown that incubation of P450BM3 with NADPH in the absence of a fatty acid substrate results in inhibition of hydroxylase activity [Narhi, L. O., & Fulco, A. J. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 7160-7169]. We show that laurate-dependent oxidation of NADPH and oxygen consumption are also inhibited under those conditions. The inhibited enzyme is unable to transfer electrons to the heme iron, but reduces artificial electron acceptors such as cytochrome c, 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, or ferricyanide. Incubation with these acceptors rapidly restores hydroxylase activity of P450BM3. The active enzyme is able to catalyze the reduction of cytochrome c and hydroxylation of laurate simultaneously. Cytochrome c has no effect on the K(m) and Vmax of laurate hydroxylation. Laurate and other substrates stimulate cytochrome c reduction by 50-70%. Carbon monoxide inhibits hydroxylase activity, but stimulates cytochrome c reduction 3-4 fold and has no effect on the K(m) for cytochrome c. This stimulation requires binding of a substrate at the heme catalytic site. Laurate binding induces conformational changes in the flavoprotein domain as shown by a 2-fold increase of the flavin fluorescence. Inactivation of P450BM3 by NADPH abolishes the stimulation of cytochrome c reduction by laurate and CO. Complete inhibition of hydroxylase activity correlates with complete lack of stimulation of cytochrome c reduction. The results suggest that a specific conformation of the two domains is maintained in the active P450BM3, ensuring high hydroxylase activity. Cytochrome c reductase and hydroxylase activities of P450BM3 involve different sites of interaction with the flavoprotein domain, different catalytic intermediates, and different rate-limiting steps.
Syllabic weight and syllabic duration: a correlation between phonology and phonetics*

This paper explores a correlation between phonology and phonetics. It first reviews a phonological analysis that proposes that all full Mandarin rhymes are heavy and that all Shanghai rhymes are underlyingly light. Then it reports a small phonetic experiment that attempts to determine whether there is a phonetic correlate for the phonological claim. Four Mandarin speakers and five Shanghai speakers were recorded, each reading five sentences four times at normal speed. Average syllable durations were determined. It was found that the average syllable duration in Mandarin was 215 ms and that in Shanghai was 162 ms. Statistics show that the durational difference is significant. The result thus agrees with the phonological analysis. Implications and limitations of the present study will be discussed.
Frequent eruptions of Mount Rainier over the last ∼2,600 years

Field, geochronologic, and geochemical evidence from proximal fine-grained tephras, and from limited exposures of Holocene lava flows and a small pyroclastic flow document ten–12 eruptions of Mount Rainier over the last 2,600 years, contrasting with previously published evidence for only 11–12 eruptions of the volcano for all of the Holocene. Except for the pumiceous subplinian C event of 2,200 cal year BP, the late-Holocene eruptions were weakly explosive, involving lava effusions and at least two block-and-ash pyroclastic flows. Eruptions were clustered from ∼2,600 to ∼2,200 cal year BP, an interval referred to as the Summerland eruptive period that includes the youngest lava effusion from the volcano. Thin, fine-grained tephras are the only known primary volcanic products from eruptions near 1,500 and 1,000 cal year BP, but these and earlier eruptions were penecontemporaneous with far-traveled lahars, probably created from newly erupted materials melting snow and glacial ice. The most recent magmatic eruption of Mount Rainier, documented geochemically, was the 1,000 cal year BP event. Products from a proposed eruption of Mount Rainier between AD 1820 and 1854 (X tephra of Mullineaux (US Geol Surv Bull 1326:1–83, 1974)) are redeposited C tephra, probably transported onto young moraines by snow avalanches, and do not record a nineteenth century eruption. We found no conclusive evidence for an eruption associated with the clay-rich Electron Mudflow of ∼500 cal year BP, and though rare, non-eruptive collapse of unstable edifice flanks remains as a potential hazard from Mount Rainier.
Bacterial pathogenesis: A variation on variation in Lyme disease

The discovery of antigenic variation in Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, provides a potential explanation for the chronic nature of infection as well as new insights into the genetic structure of highly recombinogenic loci responsible for combinatorial genetic diversification.
The effects of molecular structure on soot formation II. Diffusion flames

Abstract Soot thresholds, in the form of flame heights and fuel mass consumption rates at the smoke points, have been measured in atmospheric pressure, laminar diffusion flames of 42 pure hydrocarbons using a wick-fed burner. The smoke point fuel consumption rates were converted into threshold soot indices, TSIs, and compared with fuel structural parameters and with previous data from the literature. Averaged TSI values are given for 103 fuels. Soot particle emission temperatures and line-of-sight averaged soot volume fractions were measured at half the total smoke point flame heights, the location at which the soot concentration maximizes. All of the soot emission temperatures were between 1450 and 1550K, with aromatic fuels exhibiting the highest temperatures. Maximum soot volume fractions ranged from 2 to 11 × 10−6, with aromatic fuels producing the highest total soot concentrations.
Oxygen induced adsorption and reaction of H2, H2O, CO and CO2 on single crystal Ag(110)

Abstract The adsorption and reaction of H2, H2O, CO, and CO2 were examined on clean and oxygen-dosed Ag(110) surfaces. Limited adsorption with no reaction of these species was observed at surface temperatures down to 160 K on the clean surface. Although no adsorption of H2 was observed on the oxygen-dosed surface, the adsorption and reaction of the remaining species were strongly affected by the presence of oxygen. The sticking probability and desorption rate measurements for oxygen were in reasonable agreement with the results of other workers. For sequential exposure of the surface to 16O2 and 18O2, random isotopic mixing of the O2 desorbed from the surface was observed, indicating appreciable mobility within the adlayer. At 160 K ten H2O molecules could be adsorbed for each oxygen atom initially present on the surface; experiments with isotopically labelled oxygen revealed that complete isotopic mixing of oxygen between adsorbed H2O and the surface had occurred suggesting the formation of adsorbed OH groups. During the adsorption of CO on the oxygen-dosed Ag(110) surface, CO was rapidly oxidized via a chemisorbed state to CO2. The negative apparent activation energy for this process is shown to be the difference between the activation energies for the reaction step and for the desorption of CO from the surface. In the presence of surface oxygen CO2 was adsorbed to form a surface carbonate species which decomposed at 485 K to yield CO2 and O(a).
The importance of what they care about

Many forms of contemporary morality treat the individual as the fundamental unit of moral importance. Perhaps the most striking example of this moral vision of the individual is the contemporary global human rights regime, which treats the individual as, for all intents and purposes, sacrosanct. This essay attempts to explore one feature of this contemporary understanding of the moral status of the individual, namely the moral significance of a subject’s actual affective states, and in particular her cares and commitments. I argue that in virtue of the moral significance of actual individuals, we should take actual cares and values very seriously—even if those cares and values are not expressions of the person’s autonomy—as partially constituting that individual as a concrete subject who is the proper object of our moral attention. In particular, I argue that a person’s actual cares and values have non-derivative moral significance. Simply because someone cares about something, that care is morally significant. In virtue of this non-derivative moral significance of cares, we ought to adopt of a commitment to accommodate others’ cares and a commitment not to frustrate their cares.
Experimental and theoretical studies of FeC7H7+ isomers: Fe+-C7H7 bond energies and isomeric differentiation

Abstract Three isomeric structures of Fe(C7H7)+, presumably, Fe(tropylium)+, Fe(benzyl)+, and Fe(tolyl)+, are studied with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry and by theoretical calculations. Of particular interest is the role of the metal in stabilizing the tolyl ligand, given that the unmetallated tolyl ion, C6H4CH3+, rearranges to benzyl ion on the time scale of the FTICR experiment. Ions with the empirical formula Fe(C7H7)+ were generated by three synthetic routes: (1) reaction of bare metal Fe+ with cycloheptatriene, (2) reaction of Fe(phenyl)+ with toluene, and (3) reaction of Fe(benzyne)+ with methyl iodide. The hypothesis is that these three reactions result in the formation of Fe(tropylium)+, Fe(benzyl)+ and Fe(tolyl)+, respectively. Energy resolved collision-induced dissociation, photodissociation, and selected ion/molecule reactions readily distinguish Fe(tropylium)+ from the other two structures. Fe(benzyl)+ and Fe(tolyl)+, however, are indistinguishable by collision-induced dissociation and photodissociation, but exhibit differences in reactivity with selected reagents. These results indicate that while Fe stabilizes the tolyl ion structure, upon activation the ion can rearrange to the benzyl structure. From photodissociation experiments we infer D∘(Fe+-benzyl) = 63 ± 5 kcal mol−1, D∘(Fe+-tolyl) = 83 ± 10 kcal mol−1, and an upper limit of D∘(Fe+-cycloheptatrienyl) ≤ 129 ± 5 kcal mol−1, while ion-molecule reactions yield the lower limits D∘(Fe+-benzyl) > 55 ± 5 kcal mol−1, D∘(Fe+-tolyl) > 60 ± 5 kcal mol−1, and D∘(Fe+-cycloheptatrienyl) > 73 kcal mol−1. These results are self-consistent and in general agreement with ab initio calculations which yield D∘(Fe+-cycloheptatrienyl) = 86.8 kcal mol−1, D∘(Fe+-tolyl) = 84.4 kcal mol−1, and D∘(Fe+-benzyl) = 69.4 kcal mol−1.
The role of a LAR-like receptor tyrosine phosphatase in growth cone collapse and mutual-avoidance by sibling processes.

Among the many cells or parts of cells that a growth cone may encounter during its embryonic migrations are other processes or parts of its parent cell. Such an event can be expected to be relatively frequent in the genesis of neuronal arbors, for instance, where the density of innervation of a target region can be quite high. Few experimental studies have addressed the very interesting question of whether a process “recognizes” siblings in some unique way, in a manner that can be distinguished from, say, how it interacts with unrelated cells. One example can be found in the leech, where sibling branches in the terminal fields of identified mechanosensory cells avoid each other strictly while permitting some significant continuing contact and overlap with homologues, a phenomenon that has been dubbed “self-avoidance.” Another example has been reported in cultured Helisoma neurons, where severing a branch of a neuron allows sibling neurites to form electrical junctions with it, although normally sibling neurites do not do so. In both of these instances, coincidental activity was proposed as one means to achieve recognition of self and as possibly leading to the blocking of a continuing interaction among the parts, although alternative explanations were indeed considered possible. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 44: 194–203, 2000
Recombinant adeno-associated virus-mediated alpha- 1 antitrypsin gene therapy prevents type I diabetes in NOD mice

Recombinant adeno-associated virus-mediated alpha-1 antitrypsin gene therapy prevents type I diabetes in NOD mice
Compressibility of Crystals

IN NATURE of Mar. 23, 1929, p. 448, N. Rashevsky calls into question the experimentally determined values for the compressibility coefficient. He points out that there is good evidence that sub-microscopic cracks depress the true tensile strength of materials to small values, and suggests that these cracks may likewise lead to compressibility coefficients much greater than the true coefficients, which in fact may be zero. In an attempt to estimate the volume of these cracks, he concludes that possibly several per cent of the volume of crystals is void. Since the total volume change over a range of 10,000 atmospheres is ordinarily only a few per cent, he reasons that “it is not impossible that practically the whole change of the volume is due to the decrease of the size of the cracks”.
Salt tolerance and survival thresholds for two species of Antarctic soil nematodes

We evaluated the response of the Antarctic soil nematodes Scottnema lindsayae and Plectus antarcticus to various salts (NaCl, MgSO4, KNO3 and NaCl + MgSO4) and salt concentrations in prepared salt solutions ranging from 0.1 to 3 M, and in saturation paste extracts of soils collected from multiple locations where nematode abundance varied from zero to numerous, and where electrical conductivity ranged from 108 to >12,000 μS/cm. Nematode salt tolerance was salt specific; both nematode species survived in low-experimental concentrations of NaCl and MgSO4, and neither species survived in KNO3 solutions of any concentration. There was no survival of nematodes in the saturation paste extracts of highly saline soils (4,100 μS/cm), while survival was over 80–97% in less saline soils (1,945 μS/cm). A 1:1 dilution of these highly saline saturation paste extracts increased S. lindsayae survival to 80%, while survival of P. antarcticus was not observed until dilutions of greater than 200%. The results complement previous studies demonstrating niche partitioning of S. lindsayae and P. antarcticus across salinity gradients and strengthen interpretations of the physiological mechanisms underlying previously reported spatial correlation between soil salinity and nematodes abundance in the Antarctic Dry Valleys.
Pontine and basal forebrain transections disinhibit brown fat thermogenesis in neonatal rats

Bignall, Heggeness and Palmer (1975) were the first to demonstrate increases in metabolic heat production following midpontine transection in neonatal rats. Subsequent work in adult rats has shown that this procedure disinhibits thermogenesis by brown adipose tissue (BAT). Bignall and his colleagues also found that hypothalamic ablation did not result in increased thermogenesis in 5-day-olds, leading them to conclude that thermoregulation depends on more caudal structures at that age. We have also found that midpontine transection disinhibits BAT thermogenesis and, furthermore, have extended that finding to newborn pups. When transections were made in the basal forebrain, however, we also found profound and rapid increases in brown fat thermogenesis. These results suggest the presence of at least two sources of inhibition of BAT thermogenesis in newborn rats: one located in the rostral pons-caudal midbrain and one located in the basal forebrain.
The Higher Education Library: What Will $2 Billion Buy?

ABSTRACT U.S. academic libraries have substantial resources to commit to advance the research and teaching and learning agendas of their institutions. In the aggregate, academic libraries annually have $2,000,000,000 in purchasing power for materials. However, the disproportionate increases in the costs of scholarly information continue to erode the ability of libraries to meet the information needs of their users. If academic libraries consolidated their purchasing power and pooled their resources, the results for higher education could be transformational. Effectively, a universal digital academic library could be established to serve higher education.
Antagonists in poor-responder patients

To review treatment options for poor-responding patients who are undergoing infertility treatment. Review article and case studies.A comprehensive determination of potential ovarian response for the poor-responding patient is important in the individualization of treatment options for these patients. Treatment options include both the microdose flare leuprolide acetate and GnRH antagonist stimulation protocols. For GnRH antagonist stimulation protocols, individualization of treatment includes use of oral contraceptive pretreatment and alterations in duration of gonadotropin stimulation and start day of antagonist administration. For poor-responding patients, the benefits of using GnRH antagonists for the suppression of premature LH surges plus the determination that stimulation protocols that include GnRH antagonists are at least as good as the microdose flare and provide better cycle outcomes than the long luteal leuprolide acetate down-regulation protocols have the potential to bring changes to the existing protocols for ovarian stimulation.
Evidence for motor planning in monkeys: rhesus macaques select efficient grips when transporting spoons.

McCarty and colleagues (1999) developed the elevated spoon task to measure motor planning in human infants. In this task, a spoon containing food was placed on an elevated apparatus that supported both ends of the spoon. The handle was oriented to the left or right on different trials. We presented nave adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) with the elevated spoon problem, and observed how monkeys learned the affordances of spoons over sessions. Strikingly, monkeys developed two different strategies for efficient spoon transport in just 12 to 36 trials. In subsequent testing with a novel double bowl spoon approximately 1 year later, monkeys demonstrated that they were attending to the baited spoon bowl and continued to select efficient grips for transporting the spoon. Monkey data were contrasted with previous studies in human infants using a perception-action perspective in an effort to understand the fundamentals of tool use and motor planning that may be common in the development of these abilities across species and their origins in human behavior.
The company you keep: Fear of rejection in intergroup interaction

Abstract People use many cues to infer the likelihood of acceptance or rejection in intergroup interactions. Nearly all prior research has focused on personal cues directly given off by the potential interaction partner (e.g., eye contact and smiling). However, we argue that in the context of intergroup interactions, individuals may be especially sensitive to broader social cues, such as an interaction partner's social network. Across three experiments we explored differences in White participants' evaluations of a smiling Black man presented with a Black or White friend. When this Black man was featured with a Black friend, White participants reported greater rejection concerns and a greater inclination to reject this Black man compared to when he was featured with a White friend (Experiments 1–3) or featured alone (Experiment 2). Furthermore, when participants received a simple intervention designed to buffer against social rejection, the race of the Black man's friend no longer influenced participants' interests in befriending the Black man (Experiment 3). This research demonstrates the power of friendships in interracial interactions and provides evidence for a simple intervention to reduce the weight of rejection concerns in interracial interactions.
Simulation of interface roughness in DGMOSFETs using non-equilibrium Green's functions

In the sub-50 nm scale, the aggressive scaling of MOSFETs is expected to culminate in dual-gate (DG) architectures on SOI substrates. DGMOSFETs are widely accepted to be the ultimate design that silicon can deliver in terms of on and off currents (B. Yu, JEDM Tech. Dig. p. 937, 2001; K. Kim and J. Fossum, IEEE Trans. Elec. Dev., p. 2861, 2001). So far, the design efforts on these novel structures have concentrated on ideal geometries and doping profiles. However, at nanometer scale, current fabrication techniques cannot deliver perfect reproductions of the ideal design and suffer significantly from fluctuation effects associated with random doping and interfaces. It has thus become clear that accurate models for DGMOSFETs must account for interfaces beyond a planar division. In this work, we employ a modified nanoMOS simulator based on the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) to model DGMOSFETs with rough interfaces.
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF THE PACINIAN CORPUSCLE

The Pacinian corpuscle has a framework of cytoplasmic lamellae arranged concentrically in the outer zone, and bilaterally in the core. Between these is an intermediate growth zone. The inner core shows an unexpected complexity in that its component lamellae are arranged in two symmetrical groups of nested cytoplasmic sheets. Longitudinal tissue spaces form clefts separating the two groups. The perikarya of the core lamellae lie in or near the intermediate growth zone, and send arms into the clefts. The arms then branch and terminate as lamellae which interdigitate with those of neighboring cells. The single nerve fiber loses its myelin sheath just before it reaches the inner core but retains its Schwann cell cytoplasmic covering for a short additional distance. The Schwann sheath is not continuous with the lamellae of the inner core. Inside the core the fiber contains a striking circumferential palisade of radially disposed mitochondria. The fiber does not arborize. Vascular capillaries penetrate the hilar region of the corpuscle only as far as the myelinated sheath of the nerve, and they have not been seen elsewhere in the corpuscle. There is direct continuity between the clefts of the core and tissue spaces in the vicinity of the capillaries. It is likely that this provides a route whereby metabolites reach the active nerve ending, as well as the cells of the growth zone. The outer zone consists of at least 30 flattened concentric cytoplasmic lamellae separated from one another by relatively wide fluid-filled spaces. Collagenous fibrils are present, particularly on the outer surface of lamellae, and tend to be oriented circularly. The girdle of proliferating cells constituting the growth zone, which is prominent in corpuscles from young animals, is the layer from which the outer lamellae are derived. Osmotic forces probably elevate the lamellae, and maintain turgor pressure.
Incorporating Content Structure into Text Analysis Applications

In this paper, we investigate how modeling content structure can benefit text analysis applications such as extractive summarization and sentiment analysis. This follows the linguistic intuition that rich contextual information should be useful in these tasks. We present a framework which combines a supervised text analysis application with the induction of latent content structure. Both of these elements are learned jointly using the EM algorithm. The induced content structure is learned from a large unannotated corpus and biased by the underlying text analysis task. We demonstrate that exploiting content structure yields significant improvements over approaches that rely only on local context.
Attendance Effects of Star Pitchers in Major League Baseball

While the determinants of Major League Baseball attendance have been thoroughly researched, the literature is conspicuously incomplete in regard to the attendance effects of star players. Addressin...
Changes in Glycogen Levels in the Rat Ductus Deferens After Various Periods in Vitro

Glycogen determinations were made in the ductus deferens of intact and castrated rats at the time of removal and after the contralateral duct was suspended in Krebs-Ringer-bicarbonate-glucose medium for various periods. Data are presented as the mean percentage of the initial glycogen concentration remaining in the ducts. Initial glycogen concentration was the same in ducts of intact and castrated rats. Ducts from intact and castrated rats differed only slightly in the extent and time in which an early decrease and partial restoration of the glycogen levels occurred during the first 30 min but the concentrations were the same after 60 min in vitro at 77% of initial levels. Complete restoration of glycogen in the ducts occurred within 90 min. Intact rat ducts in the medium without glucose showed an initial rapid loss of glycogen followed by a temporary rise and slower fall to low levels (31.8% remaining at 90 min). Glycogen concentration in ducts from alloxandiabetic intact and castrated rats was twice tha...
Cholesterol sulfate: a new adhesive molecule for platelets.

Background—Cholesterol 3-sulfate is present on a variety of cells and in human LDL, and it has been found inatherosclerotic lesions of human aorta. Its precise biological role has not yet been described.Methods and Results—In this study, we investigated the interaction of platelets with cholesterol sulfate. Platelets adheredin a concentration-dependent and saturable manner to cholesterol sulfate but did not adhere to cholesterol, cholesterolacetate, estrone sulfate, or dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, suggesting that the specificity of this interaction isdetermined not only by the cholesterol moiety but also by the sulfate group. This adhesion did not increase after plateletactivation, and it was not cation-dependent. Soluble cholesterol sulfate inhibited adhesion in a concentration-dependentmanner. However, antibodies against glycoprotein Ib, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa, CD36, P-selectin, von Willebrand factor, orthrombospondin had no significant effect on platelet adhesion to cholesterol sulfate. Perfusion of whole blood in aparallel-plate flow chamber resulted in the rapid and progressive adhesion of platelets to cholesterol sulfate but not tocholesterol acetate or estrone sulfate.Conclusions—Cholesterol sulfate supports platelet adhesion and may be one of the factors determining the prothromboticpotential of atherosclerotic lesions. (Circulation. 2001;103:2032-2034.)Key Words: atherosclerosis n thrombosis n cell adhesion molecules
Green Fluorescent Protein Variants as Ratiometric Dual Emission pH Sensors. 2. Excited-State Dynamics†

In the preceding paper [Hanson, G. T., McAnaney, T. B., Park, E. S., Rendell, M. E. P., Yarbrough, D. K., Chu, S., Xi, L., Boxer, S. G., Montrose, M. H., and Remington, S. J. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 15477-15488], novel mutants of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) that exhibit dual steady-state emission properties were characterized structurally and discussed as potential intracellular pH probes. In this work, the excited-state dynamics of one of these new dual emission GFP variants, deGFP4 (C48S/S65T/H148C/T203C), is studied by ultrafast fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy. Following excitation of the high-energy absorption band centered at 398 nm and assigned to the neutral form of the chromophore, time-resolved emission was monitored from the excited state of both the neutral and intermediate anionic chromophores at both high and low pH and upon deuteration of exchangeable protons. The time-resolved emission dynamics and isotope effect appear to be very different from those of wild-type GFP [Chattoraj, M., King, B. A., Bublitz, G. U., and Boxer, S. G. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 93, 8362-8367]; however, due to overlapping emission bands, the apparent difference can be analyzed quantitatively within the same framework used to describe GFP excited-state dynamics. The results indicate that the pH-sensitive steady-state emission characteristics of deGFP4 are a result of a pH-dependent modulation of the rate of excited-state proton transfer. At high pH, a rapid interconversion from the excited state of the higher energy neutral chromophore to the lower energy intermediate anionic chromophore is achieved by proton transfer. At low pH, excited-state proton transfer is slowed to the point where it is no longer rate limiting.
Temperature- and Cost-Aware Design of 3D Multiprocessor Architectures

D stacked architectures provide significant benefits in performance, footprint and yield. However, vertical stacking increases the thermal resistances, and exacerbates temperature- induced problems that affect system reliability, performance, leakage power and cooling cost. In addition, the overhead due to through-silicon-vias (TSVs) and scribe lines contribute to the overall area, affecting wafer utilization and yield. As any of the aforementioned parameters can limit the 3D stacking process of a multiprocessor SoC (MPSoC), in this work we investigate the tradeoffs between cost and temperature profile across various technology nodes. We study how the manufacturing costs change when the number of layers, defect density, number of cores, and power consumption vary. For each design point, we also compute the steady state temperature profile, where we utilize temperature-aware floorplan optimization to eliminate the ad- verse effects of inefficient floorplan decisions on temperature. Our results provide guidelines for temperature-aware floorplanning in 3D MPSoCs. For each technology node, we point out the desirable design points from both cost and temperature standpoints. For example, for building a many-core SoC with 64 cores at 32nm, stacking 2 layers provides a desirable design point. On the other hand, at 45nm technology, stacking 3 layers keeps temperatures at an acceptable range while reducing the cost by an additional 17% in comparison to 2 layers.
Monoclonal antibody to native P39 protein from Borrelia burgdorferi.

Abstract We have produced, by using a sonicate of Borrelia burgdorferi, a monoclonal antibody (MAb), NYSP39H, that is specific for the P39 protein band. This MAb reacted with 13 isolates of B. burgdorferi but not with eight different spirochetes (four borrelias, two leptospiras, and two treponemas). Surface labeling of B. burgdorferi with biotin and subsequent treatment with Nonidet P-40 showed that P39 was not biotinylated but was extracted with Nonidet P-40, indicating that it is present within the outer membrane, but not on the surface of the spirochete. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed the immunogold probe primarily at the cytoplasmic membrane region of the spirochete. The MAb detected B. burgdorferi in the indirect fluorescent-antibody test only when the spirochetes from a culture or in a tick homogenate were fixed with polylysine and not with acetone. NYSP39H appears to be an appropriate probe for use in the specific detection of B. burgdorferi.
Visualizing and discovering non-trivial patterns in large time series databases

Data visualization techniques are very important for data analysis, since the human eye has been frequently advocated as the ultimate data-mining tool. However, there has been surprisingly little work on visualizing massive time series data sets. To this end, we developed VizTree, a time series pattern discovery and visualization system based on augmenting suffix trees. VizTree visually summarizes both the global and local structures of time series data at the same time. In addition, it provides novel interactive solutions to many pattern discovery problems, including the discovery of frequently occurring patterns (motif discovery), surprising patterns (anomaly detection), and query by content. VizTree works by transforming the time series into a symbolic representation, and encoding the data in a modified suffix tree in which the frequency and other properties of patterns are mapped onto colors and other visual properties. We demonstrate the utility of our system by comparing it with state-of-the-art batch algorithms on several real and synthetic data sets. Based on the tree structure, we further device a coefficient which measures the dissimilarity between any two time series. This coefficient is shown to be competitive with the well-known Euclidean distance.
Emerging Bladder Cancer Biomarkers and Targets of Therapy

Bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease characterized by complex networks of molecular alterations and gene expression. This review summarizes some of the recent genomic studies that have further advanced the understanding of the pathways driving bladder cancer, highlighting several important biomarkers and potential targeted therapeutic strategies that are now in clinical trials. In addition, noninvasive techniques to evaluate biomarkers in patients' urine and serum for early detection and surveillance are discussed.
Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) as a preventive agent in preclinical model of breast cancer

4202 Breast cancer (BCa) therapies cause serious side-effects, hence, an agent inhibiting human BCa growth at nontoxic doses could be useful in treating patients. CAPE is produced by honeybees as a part of propolis, which protects beehives from infections. CAPE, a potent anti-inflammatory agent, causes apoptosis in tumor cells and affects cell cycle, NF-κB, p53, NOS, NQO1, cytokines, and products of other genes required for normal cell functioning. Our goal is to test in a nude mouse xenograft model the hypothesis that CAPE can act as preventive, therapeutic, or adjuvant to a standard BCa therapy. Since estrogen receptor (ER)-α confers a pronounced effect on BCa progression, MCF-7 [ER(+)] & MDA-MB-231 (MDA-231) [ER(-)] were used as model tumor cells and their in vitro responses to CAPE compared to those of controls [MCF-12A, ER(+), and MCF-10A, ER(-)]. Our in vitro results showed that 0.5-5 µM CAPE inhibits MDA-231 cell growth dose- and time-dependently (30.6%±6.9; p In in vivo studies, Balb/c female nude mice were tested for responses to the dietary non-toxic doses of 10, 50, and 250 nmol CAPE/mouse/day. Mice pre-implanted with E2 were injected with MCF-7 cells in both flanks and fed either regular or one of the three CAPE-containing diets. The half-way through (about one month) results show that CAPE diets caused an overall dose- and time-dependent decreases in rates of tumor growth, as assessed by tumor volume. The most consistent effects were evident using 50 nmol CAPE-containing diet, which caused statistically significant decline in growth of large tumors 19, 26, and 32 days after cell implantation, with 26% (p=0.003), 29% (p=0.014), and 43% (p=0.015) decreases in tumor volume, respectively. The same type of experiments will be performed using MDA-231 cells, but without external E2. In conclusion, the results of both in vitro and xenograft model preclinical studies strongly suggest that CAPE could become useful as a preventive, therapeutic, or adjuvant modality after testing it in clinical phase 1&2 trials. [Study was supported in part by grants from the Susan Komen Foundation. [(BCTR0600476) & NIEHS (ES00260)]
FAMILIAL TARSAL AND CARPAL SYNOSTOSIS WITH RADIAL-HEAD SUBLUXATION (NIEVERGELT'S SYNDROME).

A mother and daughter displaying similar multiple synostoses of the hands and feet, with massive trasal and carpal coalition, as well as radial-head subluxations, [See figure in the PDF file] have been described. These cases are felt to represent a syndrome reported by Nievergelt, heretofore undescribed in the English language.
Limiting-dilution analysis of the effects of colony-stimulating factors, phytohemagglutinin, and hydrocortisone on hematopoietic progenitor cell growth.

The effects of colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and hydrocortisone on the growth of human bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor cells (granulocyte-macrophage; GM) were analyzed in a limiting-dilution assay (LDA). Both low-density bone marrow cells separated by discontinuous Percoll gradients and a T cell- depleted and progenitor-enriched cell fraction obtained by the combination of counterflow elutriation centrifugation and Percoll gradients were examined in LDA. GCT (monocytoid cell line-conditioned medium containing GM-CSF), human placenta-conditioned medium, bladder carcinoma cell line 5637-conditioned medium (containing GM- and G-CSF), and recombinant CSF (G-CSF) directly induced proliferation of progenitors with single-hit kinetics. In some instances, however, PHA- stimulated lymphocyte-conditioned medium (containing G- and GM-CSF) showed deviation from single-hit kinetics, which demonstrated the presence of factor(s) suppressive to progenitor growth. In a T cell- depleted, progenitor-enriched fraction, PHA alone was found to suppress progenitor growth at a level as low as 100 ng/mL. The addition of hydrocortisone (10(-6) mol/L) increased the progenitor frequency but suppressed progenitor growth at 10(-4) mol/L. LDA appears to be a valuable method for exploring mechanisms of factors regulating hematopoietic cell growth.