cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Utilization of the healthcare system by gynecologic oncology patients during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic surge in New York City

Objectives: COVID-19 is characterized by rapid human-to-human transmission via contaminated respiratory droplets and therefore presents unique challenges in all aspects of healthcare delivery. This is especially true for patients with conditions, such as gynecologic cancer, which require frequent interface with healthcare centers. To further decrease the risk of exposure to these patients, alternate models of care delivery have been implemented and quickly adopted by medical centers. We sought to report the impact of modifications to traditional gynecologic cancer care at our institution. Methods: We identified women with suspected or confirmed gynecologic malignancy, age 18 or older, who received care at Montefiore Medical Center between March 16, 2020 and June 7, 2020; these dates reflect a series of executive orders issued by the governor of New York allowing the State Commissioner of Health to cancel elective procedures at hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and in the outpatient setting. Clinical data was abstracted from each patient's chart. Patients with incomplete treatment records were excluded. Results: A total of 111 women were identified to be undergoing active treatment and were included in our analysis, representing a total of 703 virtual or in-person patient encounters. More televisit encounters were performed compared to in-person encounters (209 vs 153). The average number of televisits per patient was significantly greater than the average number of in-person outpatient visits per patient (1.88±0.28 vs 1.38±0.42, p=0.047). Other encounters included 173 outpatient laboratory encounters, 112 outpatient radiology encounters, 30 emergency department encounters, 23 hospitalizations, and 3 ambulatory surgeries. Per patient, the median number of interactions was 5 (interquartile range 3-10). Patients with endometrial cancer (n=38) were more likely to be seen in person at least once in an outpatient visit than those with ovarian cancer (n=57) (OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.50-8.43). No significant difference between endometrial and ovarian cancer was seen in other types of encounters, including televisits (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.32-2.74), inpatient admissions (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.22-1.70), emergency room encounters (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.28-2.09), ambulatory radiology encounters (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.30-1.55), or ambulatory laboratory encounters (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.42-2.24). Conclusions: The majority of patient encounters for gynecologic cancer at our institution during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic surge were conducted by telemedicine. Prior to the pandemic, telemedicine was not an active method of cancer care delivery within our institution. We predict that gynecologic oncology practice patterns will shift to include telemedicine as an integral part of patient care, even after SARS-COV-2 is no longer prevalent in the community.
Clinical Development of Topoisomerase-Interactive Drugs

Publisher Summary Chemotherapeutic agents have been playing a major role in cancer treatment long before their cytoxocity mechanisms were linked with DNA topoisomerases. Alkaline elution studies of the interaction of DNA with agents, such as amsacrine and ellipticine derivatives that were known to intercalate between the DNA major grooves, documented a consistent association of DNA strand breaks with a protein. With expanding knowledge of top mechanisms, a number of other drugs interacting with topoisomerases other than at the “cleavable complex” have been identified. The potential of these drugs in cancer treatment alone or in combination is just being realized. This chapter reviews how mechanistic concepts are guiding the clinical development of these drugs and describes findings with new derivatives under clinical study. The chapter discusses how topoisomerase-mediated mechanisms may be implicated in selectivity, synergy or antagonism, resistance, and modulation of drugs and combinations in clinical use. The focus is on the impact of these concepts on current and future clinical strategies. The chapter discusses anthracyclines, some DNA-Intercalating drugs like ellipticines, aminoacridines, amsacrine, mitoxantrone, and amonafide. Mitoxantrone is the one anthracenedione and anthracene derivative that has achieved a role in the treatment of acute leukemias. The drug has also become an integral part of drug combinations in malignant lymphomas and in breast cancer, where it exhibited antitumor activity as a single agent. The chapter discusses nonintercalating and other topoisomerase II-interacting drugs, topoisomerase I-interacting drugs: camptothecins, and clinical implications of topoisomerase-drug interactions. There are notes on optimal dose scheduling, drug resistance considerations, drug combinations, collateral sensitivity and biochemical modulation. Knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the antitumor action of the mentioned drug classes has the potential of influencing preclinical and clinical strategies. The chapter explains why drug combinations sequencing may be important. Optimal scheduling may reflect varying topoisomerase content of normal tissues regarding proliferation.
General Properties of Nitrides

Semiconductor nitrides have excellent material, optical and electrical properties. The respective parameters are informative in determining the utility and applicability of these materials to devices, as will be evident below and throught out the present monograph.
Does the 'New Benefit Principle' (or the 'Partnership Theory') of Income Taxation Mandate an Income Tax at Both the Individual and Corporate Levels?

Two distinguished legal academics have recently advanced a revised, and therefore new, or expanded, version of the benefit principle of tax fairness (hereinafter abbreviated EBP). One of them has invoked the EBP to justify an income tax over a consumption tax, and the other to justify double taxation of corporations and shareholders. Among the points I wish to make below are the following: (1) the EBP has no firm basis in ethics; (2) it is really an argument against those who are opposed to all taxes, but it is basically illiberal (in the political sense); (3) it cannot be implemented as a substantive tax fairness principle; (4) it tell us very little about what the tax system should look like, much less unequivocally favoring an income tax base or any personal tax base with progressive features; (5) its sibling, the partnership theory of income taxation, raises more issues than it answers and suffers from the same problems as the EBP; and, (6) it doesn't sufficiently justify double corporate-shareholder taxation in its classical form.
FRIR study of two types of OH−OH− and OD−OD− defect pairs in KBr

Abstract In a systematic FTIR study of the stretching mode of OH − (and OD − ) defects in KBr, we have identified four sharp absorption lines, all scaling in strength with the square of the absorption strength of the isolated defects. Their equal or opposite changes in strength observed after thermal quenching clearly divide them into two groups: two transitions with a large (∼50 cm −1 ) and two with a small (∼0.8 cm −1 ) spectral splitting for the case of OH − . We interpret these two groups as the oscillations of two different pair-configurations: the first one from a pair of inequivalent molecular oscillators with crossed 〈100〉 orientations on next nearest 〈200〉 lattice sites with strong elastic dipole interaction; the second one from a pair of equivalent 〈100〉 oriented oscillators on nearest neighbor 〈110〉 sites, coupled by static electric dipole interaction and slightly split by dynamic coupling into “in-phase” and “out-of-phase” modes.
Modeling geomagnetic cutoffs for space weather applications

Access of solar and galactic cosmic rays to the Earth's magnetosphere is quantified in terms of geomagnetic cutoff rigidity. Numerically computed grids of cutoff rigidities are used to model cosmic ray flux in Earth's atmosphere and in low Earth orbit. In recent years, the development of more accurate dynamic geomagnetic field models and an increase in computer power have made a real-time data-driven geomagnetic cutoff computation extending over the inner magnetosphere possible. For computational efficiency, numerically computed cutoffs may be scaled to different altitudes and directions of arrival using the known analytic variation of cutoff in a pure dipole magnetic field. This paper is a presentation of numerical techniques developed to compute effective cutoff rigidities for space weather applications. Numerical tests to determine the error associated with scaling vertical cutoff rigidities with altitude in a realistic geomagnetic field model are included. The tests were performed to guide the development of spatial grids for modeling cosmic ray access to the inner magnetosphere and to gain a better understanding of the accuracy of numerically modeled cutoffs.
Sulfation and sulfotransferases 5: the importance of 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) in the regulation of sulfation.

Sulfation is the transfer of a sulfate group from 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) to a substrate that is catalyzed by a family of sulfotransferase enzymes. Many different endogenous and xenobiotic molecules are substrates for the sulfotransferases; sulfation affects many different physiological processes, including: 1) deactivation and bioactivation of xenobiotics, 2) inactivation of hormones and catecholamines, 3) structure and function of macromolecules, and 4) elimination of end products of catabolism. PAPS is the obligate cosubstrate that is synthesized in tissues to make available an "activated form" of sulfate for the sulfation reaction. PAPS participation in the reaction is dependent on its availability, which in turn is dependent on its synthesis, degradation, and ultimately its utilization in the sulfation reaction itself. PAPS synthesis is dependent on the availability of sulfate and on the activity of the two enzymes of its synthesis, ATP-sulfurylase and APS-kinase. Although the ki...
Catalyst selectivity under steady‐state and dynamic operation

A definition of catalyst selectivity is presented which is useful both in practical applications and in the mathematical treatment of catalysis. This definition is developed for the special case of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions. Its usefulness is demonstrated by investigating whether the performance of a catalyst can be improved by dynamic rather than steady-state operation. Es wird eine Definition der Selektivitat von Katalysatoren gegeben, die sowohl fur praktische Anwendungen als auch bei der mathematischen Behandlung der Katalyse nutzlich ist. Diese Definition wird fur den speziellen Fall von heterogen katalysierten Reaktionen entwickelt. Ihre Nutzlichkeit wird an der Untersuchung der Frage, ob die Leistungsfahigkeit eines Katalysators durch dynamischen anstatt stationaren Betrieb verbessert werden kann, demonstriert.
From Vacation to Summer School: The Transformation of Summer Education in New York City, 1894–1915

A noted but rarely explored axiom of the history of American education is that public school practices often originate in private sector settings. As David B. Tyack suggested in his influential study The One Best System, “Many of the innovations designed to offer differentiated schooling in the nineteenth century stemmed not so much from career educators as from wealthy philanthropists, merchants, and industrialists.” Certainly the very organizational structure of many urban school systems grew out of a network of private charity schools formed in the early nineteenth century. After the Civil War, new educational features like kindergartens, manual training, and vocational counseling all began as charitable endeavors but soon worked their way into urban public schools. By the century's end, vacation schools offering summer recreation and industrial education to the children of the urban, immigrant poor became yet another philanthropic program to enter the public school domain. What happened to vacation schools in New York City as a consequence of public administration is the focus of this article.
Entry Guidance: A Unified Method

During the past five decades, entry guidance methods have gone through major evolutions, largely driven by the needs of different types of entry vehicles and greatly increased onboard computation c...
Costs associated with office visits for diarrhea in infants and toddlers.

We determined costs associated with diarrhea in a <36-month-old ambulatory population. Children with acute diarrhea were enrolled during the rotavirus season at three centers. Questionnaires to assess costs of both medical and nonmedical factors were administered at the enrollment visit and 1 week l
Failure of Unidirectionally Reinforced Composites with Frictional Matrix

A failure criterion for a composite with a frictional matrix and unidirectionally oriented tensile inclusions is presented. The frictional matrix is comprised of granular material with or without cohesion. An energy-based homogenization technique is used to derive the macroscopic stress state associated with the limit state of the composite. The failure condition for a composite with long inclusions is expressed as a piecewise function, and a closed-form representation is given. A numerical scheme is presented for finding the collapse criterion for a composite reinforced with short fibers. Conditions derived can be used, for instance, to describe collapse of reinforced soils. A solution to a boundary value problem is presented, using the method of characteristics for solving the set of hyperbolic-type partial differential equations. A peculiar type of stress discontinuity is found, characteristic of plastic stress fields in anisotropic materials.
Selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors improve performance on the ED/ID cognitive task in rats.

Abstract A number of selective phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors have been demonstrated to improve learning in several rodent models of cognition. Given that schizophrenia is associated with impairments in frontal lobe-dependent cognitive functions (e.g., working memory and cognitive flexibility), we examined whether PDE inhibitors would attenuate cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. Persistent suppression of N-methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptor function produces enduring structural changes in neocortical and limbic regions in a pattern similar to changes reported in schizophrenia. This similarity suggests that subchronic treatment with NMDA receptor antagonists (e.g., phencyclidine, PCP) may represent a useful preclinical model of neurobiological and related cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia. We treated male Long-Evans rats with subchronic PCP (5 mg/kg, ip, BID, 7 d) or saline and then examined the effects of acute treatment with selected doses of PDE inhibitors that have been demonstrated to regulate both intracellular levels of cAMP and/or cGMP, and to improve cognitive function. We used an extradimensional–intradimensional (ED/ID) test of cognitive flexibility similar to those used in humans and non-human primates for assessing executive function. Subchronic treatment with PCP produced a selective impairment on ED shift (EDS) performance without significant impairment on any other discrimination problem when compared to saline-treated control animals. Selected doses of the four PDEIs evaluated (PDE2: BAY 60-7550; PDE4: rolipram; PDE5: sildenafil; PDE10A: papaverine) were able to significantly attenuate this cognitive deficit in EDS performance. This suggests that this rodent model of executive function was sensitive to pro-cognitive effects of intracellular effects resulting from PDE inhibition. Together, these data suggest that inhibition of PDE activity may represent valuable therapeutic targets to improve cognition associated with neuropsychiatric disorders that feature cognitive dysfunction as a key symptom. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘Schizophrenia’.
'V' esotropia and excyclotropia after surgery for bilateral fourth nerve palsy.

Six patients had residual diplopia at near in the downgaze position after surgery for bilateral fourth nerve palsy. They all showed a large excyclotropia in the downgaze position that was associated with a "V"-pattern esotropia and could not fuse in the reading position because of the size of the excyclotropia. They were treated with bilateral recessions of the inferior recti, which resulted in an expansion of the single binocular field of vision in downgaze, with an elimination of diplopia in the reading position. None experienced a deterioration in their alignment in the primary position.
Subxiphoid pericardial window for pericardial effusion in end-stage renal disease

Fifty-seven patients with end-stage renal disease who were on maintenance dialysis underwent pericardial fluid drainage surgically between January 1980 and December 1991. All patients had echocardiographically proven pericardial effusion of more than 300 to 500 mL. Seven patients had pericardiectomy by left thoracotomy under general anesthesia in the first 2 years. Subsequently, 50 patients underwent a subxiphoid pericardial window by a left subcostal incision. A pericardial drainage tube was inserted at surgery and removed after 4 to 5 days. All but five patients undergoing subxiphoid pericardial window surgery received local anesthesia. The xiphoid process was not resected during surgery and steroids were not instilled in the pericardial cavity. There were minimal complications, no surgery-related deaths, and no recurrence of fluid in patients after pericardial window surgery. With our present experience, we advise a subxiphoid pericardial window with pericardial drainage under local anesthesia for all end-stage renal disease patients on dialysis who have a symptomatic or large pericardial effusion of more than 300 to 500 mL. Steroid instillation is not necessary for the prevention of recurrence of effusion.
The evolution of the performance appraisal process

The performance appraisal process has been the focus of much researcher and practitioner attention. In spite of this attention, methods used in performance appraisal are generally ineffective in increasing the quality of performance appraisal processes. Thus, while performance appraisal processes have evolved, progress has been less forthcoming. There are many areas related to the performance appraisal process which are ripe for development and research creativity.
Electrostatic interactions between two spheres: Solutions of the debye-hückel equation with a charge regulation boundary condition

Abstract The electrostatic interaction between a pair of spherical colloidal particles is analyzed using a charge regulation model to span behavior ranging from constant potential to constant charge boundary conditions. Electrostatic interparticle forces are calculated through a multipole expansion, the linear superposition approximation, and, for strongly overlapping thin double layers, the “Derjaguin approximation.” By comparing the forces calculated via the different methods, we establish the range of surface parameters for which the Derjaguin approximation and linear superposition are valid in a manner similar to that employed by A. B. Glendinning and W. B. Russel (J. Colloid Interface Sci.93, 95 (1983)) . It is shown that the Derjaguin approximation furnishes an accurate representation over a wide range of surface conditions for the charge regulation model.
Ultrasonic Vibration Potential Imaging: Theory and Experiment

The ultrasonic vibration potential refers to the voltage generated when ultrasound traverses a colloidal or ionic fluid. The theory of imaging based on the vibration potential is reviewed, and an expression given that can be used to determine the signal from arbitrary objects. The experimental apparatus consists of a pair of parallel plates connected to the irradiated body, a low noise preamplifier, a radio frequency lock-in amplifier, translation stages for the ultrasonic transducer that generates the ultrasound, and a computer for data storage and image formation. Experiments are reported where bursts of ultrasound are directed onto colloidal silica objects placed within inert bodies.
Functions of lumican and fibromodulin: Lessons from knockout mice

Lumican and fibromodulin are collagen-binding leucine-rich proteoglycans widely distributed in interstitial connective tissues. The phenotypes of lumican-null (Lum(-/-)), Fibromodulin-null (Fmod(-/-)) and compound double-null (Lum(-/-)Fmod(-/-)) mice identify a broad range of tissues where these two proteoglycans have overlapping and unique roles in modulating the extracellular matrix and cellular behavior. The lumican-deficient mice have reduced corneal transparency and skin fragility. The Lum(-/-)Fmod(-/-) mice are smaller than their wildtype littermates, display gait abnormality, joint laxity and age-dependent osteoarthritis. Misaligned knee patella, severe knee dysmorphogenesis and extreme tendon weakness are the likely cause for joint-laxity. Fibromodulin deficiency alone leads to significant reduction in tendon stiffness in the Lum(+/+)Fmod(-/-) mice, with further loss in stiffness in a lumican gene dose-dependent way. At the level of ultrastructure, the Lum(-/-) cornea, skin and tendon show irregular collagen fibril contours and increased fibril diameter. The Fmod(-/-) tendon contains irregular contoured collagen fibrils, with increased frequency of small diameter fibrils. The tendons of Lum(-/-)Fmod(-/-) have an abnormally high frequency of small and large diameter fibrils indicating a de-regulation of collagen fibril formation and maturation. In tissues like the tendon, where both proteoglycans are present, fibromodulin may be required early in collagen fibrillogenesis to stabilize small-diameter fibril-intermediates and lumican may be needed at a later stage, primarily to limit lateral growth of fibrils
An alternative interpretation of the C-H bond strengths of alkanes.

A new model based on 1,3 repulsive steric interactions (geminal repulsion) is proposed for explaining the variation in the C−H bond strengths of the alkanes. The model builds from the assumption th...
Thomas Reid on common sense: A meta‐rational approach to truth

From time to time certain thinkers have suggested a pathway to truth apart from reason—a way which describes the foundation of the mind's cognitive ability as something other than rationality—making it a crucial concern in human communication. For example, Hindu thought, Augustine, and even Plato offer such alternatives to reason. Surprisingly, Thomas Reid, not a mystic at all but himself an offspring of the age of reason, a man seeking to puncture the bilious skepticism of the period and to bring philosophy back into the marketplace, postulated such a meta‐rational approach to truth and called it common sense.
Ubiquitinated conjugates are found in preparations of several plant viruses.

Abstract Recently D. D. Dunigan, R. G. Dietzgen, J. E. Schoelz, and M. Zaitlin ( Virology 165, 310–312,1988) demonstrated that a small proportion of the subunits of tobacco mosaic virus particles were conjugated with the small protein ubiquitin. We have now detected ubiquitinated conjugates in immunoblots of virion preparations of several other plant viruses, using anti-human ubiquitin antiserum. Based on their polyacrylamide gel migrations, plant virus-associated ubiquitin-immunoreactive proteins were considered to be possible virus structural protein-ubiquitin conjugates of the following viruses: barley stripe mosaic, brome mosaic, cowpea mosaic (two proteins), cowpea severe mosaic (two proteins), and satellite panicum mosaic. Ubiquitinated conjugates were not detected in immunoblots of preparations of cucumber mosaic virus and Cymbidium mosaic virus. The significance of ubiquitinated viral proteins remains to be determined.
Density Estimators of Gaussian Type on Closed Riemannian Manifolds

We prove consistency results for two types of density estimators on a closed, connected Riemannian manifold under suitable regularity conditions. The convergence rates are consistent with those in Euclidean space as well as those obtained for a previously proposed class of kernel density estimators on closed Riemannian manifolds. The first estimator is the uniform mixture of heat kernels centered at each observation, a natural extension of the usual Gaussian estimator to Riemannian manifolds. The second is an approximate heat kernel (AHK) estimator that is motivated by more practical considerations, where observations occur on a manifold isometrically embedded in Euclidean space whose structure or heat kernel may not be completely known. We also provide some numerical evidence that the predicted convergence rate is attained for the AHK estimator.
Flow visualization of a recirculating flow by rheoscopic liquid and liquid crystal techniques

Experiments were conducted in a three-dimensional lid-driven cavity flow to study the behavior of longitudinal Taylor-Gortler-like vortices. Flow visualization was accomplished by use of a rheoscopic liquid and of liquid crystals, together with laser-light and white-light sheets, respectively. Photographs of the lighted planes in the flow confirmed the existence of the vortices for a wide range of Reynolds numbers and for stable, neutrally-buoyant and buoyant global flow conditions. As usual the flow visualization revealed flow patterns not deducible by in situ measurements; the liquid crystal photographs give both flow pathlines and temperature distribution on any lighted plane.
How physician gender shapes the communication and evaluation of medical care.

Address reprint requests and correspondence to Debra L. Roter, DrPH, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 624 N Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205 (e-mail: droter@jhsph.edu). In February 2001, the New York Times published a story describing the plight of a male obstetrician fired from his practice ostensibly because of his inability to compete with his female colleagues in attracting patients. The physician sued the practice for sex bias, raising questions regarding the right of the practice to accommodate female patients who request female doctors at the expense of equally qualified male doctors. Indeed, female physician gender is increasingly used as a marketing ploy to attract female patients in competitive markets. The purpose of this editorial is to discuss the extent to which physician gender affects patient preferences and expectations for medical care, the communication dynamics of care delivery, and patient satisfaction with care.
Developing a flexible sheet forming system

Abstract Since the inception of sheet metal forming, matched tooling has been used for forming complex three-dimensional part shapes and, whilst it is economical in high-volume production applications, the lengthy and costly die development period has precluded the use of this technology for small lot production. In order to alleviate these two interrelated problems and make small lot production of three-dimensional parts economically viable, a flexible sheet forming system consisting of novel die development algorithms and new forming procedures has been developed and tested experimentally. This flexible sheet forming system combines an iterative control law, re-usable dies fashioned from low melting point alloys, automatic part measurements and CNC die machining methods to form a digital, closed-loop, die synthesis control system. This closed-loop controlled, flexible sheet forming system is capable of producing the desired part geometry in a fraction of the time required by previous die development methods, typically 2–4 days, thus effecting a considerable savings over previous methods. Furthermore, this prototyping or small batch technology can be combined easily with real-time binder force control and offered over the internet to multiple users as part of a sheet metal design and fabrication center, creating a new, inexpensive, rapid prototyping technology that has not previously been available.
Efficient implementation of progressive meshes

Abstract In earlier work, we introduced the progressive mesh (PM) representation, a new format for storing and transmitting arbitrary triangle meshes. For a given mesh, the PM representation defines a continuous sequence of level-of-detail approximations, allows smooth visual transitions (geomorphs) between these approximations, supports progressive transmission, and makes an effective compression scheme. In this paper, we present data structures and algorithms for efficient implementation of the PM representation and its applications. Also, we report quantitative results using a variety of computer graphics models.
Improved myocardial preservation during cold storage using substrate enhancement.

Abstract This study was undertaken to determine whether substrate enhancement with l-glutamate during periods of cold storage would improve ventricular function in transplanted hearts. Thirty-one rabbit hearts were rapidly excised and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer (37 °C) on a Langendorff apparatus. They were arrested with hypothermie (4 °C), crystalloid, potassium (25 mEq/L) cardioplegia and stored at 3 °C for three hours, followed by reperfusion with Krebs-Henseleit buffer for one hour. Hearts were treated in one of several ways: Group 1 (n = 8) did not receive any l-glutamate and served as controls; group 2 (n = 8) had L-glutamate (4 mmol/l) added to both the cardioplegic and reperfusate solutions; group 3 (n = 5) received l-glutamate only before ischemia; group 4 (n = 5) received l-glutamate only in the cardioplegic solution; and group 5 (n = 5) received l-glutamate only in the reperfusate. Hearts receiving l-glutamate in the reperfusate with or without its addition to the cardioplegic solution (groups 2 and 5) had the best recovery of the first derivative of positive and negative change in left ventricular peak systolic pressure and no significant changes in left ventricular compliance. Pretreatment with l-glutamate alone (group 3) resulted in no better recovery than in group 1 hearts. We conclude that addition of l-glutamate to reperfusate solutions after periods of cold storage for transplantation enhances the recovery of ventricular function.
Lithium ion uptake associated with the stimulation of action potential ionophores of cultured human neuroblastoma cells

Abstract Cultured human neuroblastoma cell lines were tested for the action potential sodium ionophore utilizing the Li + ion rather than the 22 Na + ion. The cell lines studied included CHP-134, CHP-100, CHP-126, CHP-212 and LA-N-1. Veratridine-dependent uptake of Li + and 22 Na + and its inhibition by tetrodotoxin implies the presence of the action-potential sodium ionophore. CHP-165, and undifferentiated tumor and RAJI a lymphoblast had no veratridine-dependent Li + uptake. Thus, veratridine-dependent Li + uptake provides a convenient means of assaying human neural cells for the action-potential sodium ionophore without the use of the radioactive Na + ion.
Reproductive phenology of the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the Sierra Madre Oriental, Northern Mexico

In its native habitat in northern Mexico, Anastrepha ludens (Loew) is normally bivoltine although a third generation is achieved in some years. The flies overwinter mainly in the puparial stage, emerging in January-February. These flies oviposit in the spring crop of a wild citrus, Sargentia greggii (S. Wats.). The primary population peak follows in late spring to early summer (in exceptional years, separate peaks in spring and summer). Dissection of the females demonstrated that most of the flies in the spring peak are reproductively immature, indicating emergence of new adults. Activity subsides in late summer, or at least, few flies can be trapped at this time. Then in the fall there is a resurgence of adult activity. However, in contrast to the spring peak, dissection revealed that the great majority of the fall adult females are already gravid, indicating that they are carry-overs from the early summer population, rather than new recruits. The fall adults oviposit in October-November, producing the overwintering population that will emerge as adults in January-February.
Potential role of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) in HIV uncoating

Background The selective pressure of antiretroviral therapy invariably results in the emergence of drug-resistant HIV variants that acquire mutations which can compromise the replication capacity of the virus. Recently, we showed that impaired replication of ritonavir-resistant HIV can be rescued by cellular activation. Ritonavirresistance mutations in HIV protease prevent complete proteolysis of the Gag polypeptide, and the accumulation of uncleaved capsid-spacer peptide1 (CA-SP1) in maturing virus particles decreases the ability of HIV to replicate in human thymocytes and nonactivated cell lines. We confirmed that ritonavir-resistant HIV replication was arrested after virus entry but before complete proviral DNA synthesis. Using a functional genetic screen, we identified the abundant cellular chaperone Hsp90 as a host factor that can rescue the impaired replication of ritonavir-resistant HIV. We confirmed that Hsp90 expression increases in response to cellular activation and that pharmacologic inhibition of Hsp90 blocks HIV replication. Previous work has shown that altering key residues in structural domains of the HIV core prevents uncoating of the CA lattice in an infected cell. The CA mutations render the core either unstable or too stable, in each case resulting in abortive HIV replication at the uncoating stage of the virus life cycle. The nature of our genetic screen was based on the ability of a host factor to rescue a replication-impaired HIV isolate with a defective CA morphology. To verify Hsp90 as a potential host factor in HIV uncoating, we tested its ability to rescue the impaired replication of HIV with different destabilizing CA mutations. Materials and methods Titrated virus stocks with mutations in different structural domains of HIV CA were generated. Jurkat T cells were transduced with WT and mutant Hsp90-expressing retrovirus and subsequently inoculated with the different CA mutants. Productive virus replication was monitored over 8 days. Results
Modeling the Behavior of Crystallizable Shape Memory Polymers Subject to Inhomogeneous Deformations

The constitutive model for the mechanics of crystallizable shape memory polymers (CSMP) has been developed in the past [1, 2]. The model was developed using the theory of multiple natural configurations and has been successful in addressing a diverse class of problems. In this research work, the efficacy of the developed CSMP model is tested by applying it to the torsion of a cylinder, which is an inhomogeneous deformation. The crystallization of the cylinder is studied under two different conditions i.e. crystallization under constant shear and crystallization under constant moment.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Evidence for a role of endogenous opioids in the nigrostriatal system: Influence of naloxone and morphine on nigrostriatal dopaminergic supersensitivity

The effects of morphine and naloxone on nigrostriatal function were evaluated by their influence on rotational behavior in rats with unilateral lesions of the substantial nigra. Two different rotational syndromes which result from different lesion placements, were examined. Rats with the contraversive syndrome, when given apomorphine, rotate away from the lesioned side, while rats with the ipsiversive syndrome rotate toward the lesioned side. In both syndromes, rats rotate toward the lesioned side when given amphetamine. Morphine or naloxone, alone, was without effect in either syndrome. Morphine antagonized rotation by either apomorphine or amphetamine in both syndromes. Naloxone stimulated apomorphine-induced rotation in contraversive rats and antagonized amphetamine-induced rotation in ipsiversive rats. These findings support a functional role of endogenous opioids in this dopaminergic system. The effects of morphine and naloxone on apomorphine-induced rotation indicate that opiates act at a postsynaptic site in this system. Finally, the different responses to naloxone and morphine in the two rotational syndromes suggest that an enkephalinergic asymmetry may underlie the differences in behavioral responses between these two syndromes.
L2 amplitude density method for multichannel inelastic and rearrangement collisions

A new method for quantum mechanical calculations of cross sections for molecular energy transfer and chemical reactions is presented, and it is applied to inelastic and reactive collisions of I, H, and D with H2. The method involves the expansion in a square‐integrable basis set of the amplitude density due to the difference between the true interaction potential and a distortion potential and the solution of a large set of coupled equations for the basis function coefficients. The transition probabilities, which correspond to integrals over the amplitude density, are related straightforwardly to these coefficients.
Project combines seismic and magnetotelluric surveying to address the Sierran root question

Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, lies less than 150 km from Death Valley, the nation's lowest point (Figure 1). Despite the nearness of these physiographic features, their geological settings vary markedly. What geologic processes lead to a high mountain range adjacent to a highly extending region? This is the Sierran root question; its answer depends on better understanding of the region's deep structure. Although the rocks exposed at the Sierra's surface have been well characterized, little is known about the rocks at depth and the tectonic processes that continue to shape Mt. Whitney and Death Valley. To study the region's deep structure, the Southern Sierra Continental Dynamics (SSCD) project was organized. In September 1993 an SSCD multidisciplinary consortium employed both magnetotelluric soundings and closely spaced seismic recorders in the High Sierra for the first time to examine the crustal and upper mantle structure of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent Basin and Range.
Identification of Genes Associated with Stromal Hyperplasia and Glandular Atrophy of the Prostate by mRNA Differential Display

Despite the well-characterized histology associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia, very little is known about the underlying etiology of the disease on a molecular basis. The objective of this study was to use the technique of mRNA differential display in order to identify genes differentially expressed in human transition zone prostate tissue with high stromal density, with high epithelial density, and with nonhyperplastic histology. The extracellular matrix chondroitin/dermatan sulfate proteoglycan (CDSP) mRNA was more abundantly expressed in tissue with high stromal density, consistent with earlier findings that dermatan and chondroitin 6-sulfate glycosaminoglycans are increased in hyperplastic prostates. Messenger RNA encoding the negative regulator of cell cycle progression,BTG2,was more abundantly expressed in tissue with high epithelial densities. CDSP mRNA was abundantly expressed in primary cultures of stromal cells but was undetectable in epithelial cells.BTG2mRNA was expressed in primary cultures of both cell types, but more abundantly in epithelial cells.BTG2mRNA, but not CDSP mRNA, was subject to significant growth cycle regulation in cultured stromal and epithelial cells, with maximum expression occurring in quiescent cells. Generation of specific antibodies toBTG2revealed that this protein was expressed at low levels in stroma, nonhyperplastic glands, and in hyperplastic glands. Consistent with a role in cell-cycle regulation,BTG2protein was abundantly expressed in atrophic glands and preatrophic glands.
The roles of orbital frontal cortex in the modulation of antisocial behavior

This article considers potential roles of orbital frontal cortex in the modulation of antisocial behavior. Two forms of aggression are distinguished: reactive aggression elicited in response to frustration/threat and goal directed, instrumental aggression. It is suggested that orbital frontal cortex is directly involved in the modulation of reactive aggression. It is argued that orbital frontal cortex does not "inhibit" reactive aggression but rather may both increase or decrease its probability as a function of social cues present in the environment. Early dysfunction in this function of orbital frontal cortex may be linked to the development of Borderline Personality Disorder. Instrumental aggression is linked to a fundamental failure in moral socialization. However, the available data suggest that the amygdala, but not orbital frontal cortex, is required for functions such as aversive conditioning and passive avoidance learning that are necessary for moral socialization. Psychopathic individuals who present with significant instrumental aggression, are impaired in aversive conditioning and passive avoidance learning and show evidence of amygdala dysfunction. Orbital frontal cortex and the amygdala are involved in response reversal where instrumental responses must be reversed following contingency change. Impairments in response reversal are also seen in psychopathic individuals. However, it remains unclear whether impairment in response reversal per se is associated with antisocial behavior.
Introduction Did Brown Fulfill the Dreams of the Second Reconstruction Congress

The journey by African Americans to achieve quality education began with passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution providing the freedmen citizenship and protection from hostile state action under its due process and equal protection clauses. This article traces the plight of Black Americans to gain access to quality schools under the political control of a rarely supportive White majority. The authors tell of the forces active in reducing the impact and effectiveness of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court that declared the separate but equal doctrine made by an earlier Court that state enforced racially segregated schooling was unconstitutional. They reviewed the efforts ofthe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to reverse the Court's separate but equal doctrine and move the country through the courts for 50 years to produce quality desegregated public education for all children. Also reviewed were the forces actively involved in efforts to reduce the effectiveness of the Court's decision and recent changes by the Court in its interpretations of the original Brown decision. We expect the articles chosen for this special issue on the 5th anniversary of the Brown decision will help tell a more complete story of this journey by African Americans to achieve quality public education for their children.
The spectral function of a Riemannian orbifold

Hormander’s theorem on the asymptotics of the spectral function of an elliptic operator is extended to the setting of compact Riemannian orbifolds. In contrast to the manifold case, the asymptotics depend on the isotropy type of the point at which the spectral function is computed. It is shown that “on average” the eigenfunctions of the operator are larger at singular points than at manifold points, by a factor of the order of the isotropy type. A sketch of a more direct approach to the wave trace formula on orbifolds is also given, obtaining results already shown separately by M. Sandoval and Y. Kordyukov in the setting of Riemmannian foliations.
The effect of neuraminidase treatment of ribosome-free membranes on their ribosomal reattachment ability.

Abstract Ribosome-free membranes prepared by means of 2M lithium chloride lose 90% of their ability to reattach ribosomes after digestion with neuraminidase for 1 hour. It can be shown that this is not due to proteolytic degradation of the membranes by contaminating proteases presant in neuraminidase preparations. It was found that neuraminidase troatment of rat liver RER results in the release of approximately 50% of the bound ribosomes. Ribosomal reattachment ability can be restored to the neuraminidase-treated membranes by incubation with N-acetylneuraminic acid and nucleotide triphosphates.
Capsaicin activated currents in rat dorsal root ganglion cells

Abstract Capsaicin is a pungent-tasting compound produced by plants in the Capsium family that activates a subset of primary afferent neurons associated with pain and thermoreception. Previous studies from dorsal root ganglion (DRGs) neurons suggest that many of capsaicin's physiological responses are a consequence of its activating a cation-selective current. To further characterize the responses to capsaicin whole-cell patch-clamp measurements were performed on rat DRGs to which 0.1–10 μM capsaicin was continuously applied. The capsaicin-activated currents exhibited marked variability in their thresholds, amplitude (to 15 nA), rates of desensitization, and the number of distinct maxima in the evoked current. Similar responses were found in rat trigeminal ganglion cells. The heterogeneity in the magnitude of the currents evoked by 0.1 μM capsaicin likely reflects different types of capsaicin-sensitive neurons; a result consistent with in vitro extracellular recordings from capsaicin-sensitive sensory afferents (Seno and Dray 1993).
Possibilities For The Study Of Blood Platelets Using Soft X-Ray Microscopy

Two imaging techniques, soft x-ray contact microscopy using a stationary source and transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) were used in parallel for the study of human blood platelets. Thin sections of fixed cell preparations on EM grids were examined by the two methods and images of the same individual cells could be compared. Not all electrondense structures could be seen in contact x-ray images. However, other structures in the same cells, not identified by TEM, could be seen in soft x-ray contact pictures. In addition, whole cell mounts of intact platelet microtubules were examined by the two techniques. These electrondense structures were not photondense and disappeared in the x-ray pictures. Whole cell mounts of partially activated human platelets were also examined in parallel, by the use of the scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the x-ray images, a new platelet cytoskeleton could be seen in the partially activated cells. This was made of radial, filamentous structures departing from a centralized and retracted bunch of platelet organelles and, at times, extending into pseudopods outside the cell perimeter. The gas puff Z pinch method was also used in the study of live and partially activated human platelets. An image of multiple craters and undulating cell cords, in addition to a polarized and contracted bunch of platelet organelles, could be seen, while few pseudopods were seen extending beyond the cell perimeter. Some individual platelet granules could be identified in the cell craters, others were seen in the medium, outside the cell. A tear in the cell surface structure could also be identified. The latter was interpreted as a possible portal for the partial extrusion of platelet granules during platelet activation.© (1984) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Polycomb-group gene eed regulates thymocyte differentiation and suppresses the development of carcinogen-induced T-cell lymphomas

The Polycomb -group gene eed regulates thymocyte differentiation and suppresses the development of carcinogen-induced T-cell lymphomas