cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Hyperthyroid Fetus and Infant

After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Describe the etiology of transient and persistent neonatal hyperthyroidism. 2. Delineate the diagnostic tests for thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibodies. 3. Develop a treatment plan for fetal and neonatal hyperthyroidism and a management plan for subsequent pregnancies. 4. Provide guidelines for breastfeeding when the mother is receiving antithyroid medications. 5. Describe the long-term risks of neonatal hyperthyroidism. The first clinical description of neonatal hyperthyroidism was published in 1912, and the discovery of the transplacental passage of thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSI) provided an understanding for the etiology of this condition in 1964. There were, however, a few cases of persistent neonatal hyperthyroidism, initially described in 1976, that were inconsistent with the transient clinical course expected with a maternally acquired antibody. The etiology of persistent neonatal hyperthyroidism was clarified by the discovery of an activating germ-line mutation in the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor in 1995. When a mother has autoimmune thyroid disease, fetal and neonatal hyperthyroidism result from transplacental passage of TSI. The mother usually has a history of hyperthyroidism, but neonatal hyperthyroidism also has been reported in mothers who have hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto thyroiditis. The clinical status of the mother does not determine the infant’s risk for hyperthyroidism. The mother may have been treated with 131I or a subtotal thyroidectomy in the past and may be euthyroid or she may be receiving thyroid replacement therapy at the time of her pregnancy, but she still can be producing high titers of TSI. In a review of neonatal hyperthyroidism, mothers were clinically hyperthyroid during pregnancy in only 18 of 38 cases (47%). The prevalence of clinical hyperthyroidism in pregnancy has been reported to be 0.1% to 0.4% and is the most common endocrine disorder during pregnancy after diabetes. Clinical fetal and neonatal hyperthyroidism has been reported to occur …
Continuum radiation from active galactic nuclei

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be divided into two broad classes, where the emitted continuum power is dominated either by thermal emission (radio-quiet AGN), or by nonthermal emission (blazars). Emission in the 0.01–1 μm range is the primary contributor to the bolometric luminosity and is probably produced through thermal emission from an accretion disk, modified by electron scattering and general relativistic effects. The 1–1000 μm continuum, the second most important contributor to the power, is generally dominated by thermal emission from dust with a range of temperatures from ∼ 40 K to ∼ 1000–2000 K. The dust is probably reemitting 0.01–0.3 μm continuum emission, previously absorbed in an obscuring cone (or torus) or an extended disk. The 1–10 keV X-ray emission is rapidly variable and originates in a small region. This emission may be produced through Compton scattering by hot thermal electrons surrounding an accretion disk, although the observations are far from being definitive. The weak radio emission, which is due to the nonthermal synchrotron process, is usually elongated in the shape of jets and lobes (a core may be present too), and is morphologically distinct from the radio emission of starburst galaxies. In the blazar class, the radio through ultraviolet emission is decidedly non-thermal, and apparently is produced through the synchrotron process in an inhomogeneous plasma. The plasma probably is moving outward at relativistic velocities within a jet in which the Lorentz factor of bulk motion (typically 2–6) increases outward. This is inferred from observations indicating that the opening angle becomes progressively larger from the radio to the optical to the X-ray emitting regions. Shocks propagating along the jet may be responsible for much of the flux variability. In sources where the X-ray continuum is not a continuation of the optical-ultraviolet synchrotron emission, some objects show variability consistent with Compton scattering by relativistic electron in a large region (in BL Lacertae), while other objects produce their X-ray emission in a compact region, possibly suggesting pair production. When orientation effects are included, all AGN may be decomposed into a radio-quiet AGN, a blazar, or a combination of the two. Radio-quiet AGN appear to have an obscuring cone or torus containing the broad emission line clouds and an ionizing source. Most likely, the (non-relativistic) directional effects of this obscuring region give rise to the difference between Seyfert 1 and 2 galaxies or narrow and broad line radio galaxies. For different orientations of the nonthermal jet, relativistic Doppler boosting can produce BL Lacertae objects or FR I radio galaxies, or at higher jet luminosities, flat-spectrum high-polarization quasars or FR II radio galaxies.
SU-E-J-163: Video-Based Patient Motion Detection during the Treatment Delivery.

Purpose: During the treatment, a patient is continuously monitored by video cameras. The therapists are supposedly to watch the monitors and interrupt the treatment if any significant patient motion is spotted. Unfortunately, patient motion can easily be overlooked with this manual approach, especially when there are many other monitors in the control console area. Motion detection algorithms can help to prevent this situation by alerting therapists if a significant motion is detected. Methods: We propose a method based on matrix decomposition into low rank and sparse matrices to separate background and moving objects from a video camera. The matrix is formed with image frames of the video and after decomposition, the low rank component represents the background and the sparse component is used to identify moving subjects in the video. The matrix decomposition is performed by solving a convex optimization problem via an efficient alternating direction method. Combining prior knowledge about the motion of treatment machines, our method can reliably extract the actual patient motion from the machine motion and background changes. Results: We tested the algorithm using videos obtained from a volunteer lying on the treatment couch under the linac. We managed to isolate the patient and treatment machine motions from the background. Conclusion: Our algorithm can separate the patient motion from the background and therefore makes it possible to efficiently detect when this motion is above a certain threshold. This method requires that a large number of frames are acquired, but the concept can be extended to real time by adaptively update the low rank component.
Rapid hydrogenation of a North Dakota lignite

Abstract Samples of lignite from the Hagel bed of North Dakota have been flash heated in a stream of high-pressure hydrogen with heating times (or solid-contact times) of a few seconds and product resident times from a fraction of a second to 10 s. Hydrocarbon product yields were determined for a series of temperatures from 550 to 850 °C, with a range of hydrogen pressures from 1 to 27 · 6 MPa. Total conversion of carbon to organic products at 750 °C and 10 · 3 MPa was 33%. The effect of heating time on yields was small; increasing the heating time from 5 s to 5 min increased the yields of liquid products only slightly, and the yields of gaseous products by about a factor of 2. Under most conditions methane and benzene predominated in their respective classes, particularly under conditions giving optimum liquid yields. For a 5 s heating time, maximum liquid yield occurred at 750 °C and 27 · 6 MPa hydrogen pressure. Gas yields continued to increase with increasing pressure and temperature, methane constituting >95% of the gas at 850 °C. Tars were always formed to the extent of some 20–40% of total product. Varying the average product vapour-residence time from 0.3 to 9.7 s did not alter the methane and benzene yields appreciably, but the yields of other hydrocarbons and tar were considerably reduced and the carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide ratio was lowered significantly.
The Role Of Models In Computer Science

Taking Brian Cantwell Smith's study, “Limits of Correctness in Computers,” as its point of departure, this article explores the role of models in computer science. Smith identifies two kinds of models that play an important role, where specifications are models of problems and programs are models of possible solutions. Both presuppose the existence of conceptualizations as ways of conceiving the world “in certain delimited ways.” But high-level programming languages also function as models of virtual (or abstract) machines, while low-level programming languages function as models of causal (or physical) machines. The resulting account suggests that sets of models embedded within models are indispensable for computer programming.
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the North Korean Revolution, 1945-1950

Women today are struggling with all their passion and all their strength day and night for the creation of a new history of a democratic country. Today in the streets, men, women, the old, the young, everyone stops to listen to the women.———Nam Hyǒn-sǒ, “Women of a New Country,” January 1947In Korea from ancient times, the master of the home was thought to refer to the husband … we now realize that the master of the home must be the woman, that is, the wife or mother.———Chang Chǒng-suk, “The New Home and Housewife,” October 1947 All social revolutions in modern history, from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the Cuban one of 1959, have attempted to address the status of women as a critical element of social change.1 North Korea was no different. With Japan's defeat in World War II, Korea was liberated from its thirty-five-year colonial rule, and as in many postcolonial nations after the war, revolution was in the air.2 When the Cold War came early to the peninsula, Korea took two divergent paths. Divided at the 38th parallel into separate occupation zones, with the United States in the south and the USSR in the north, social reforms were carried out swiftly in the north, aided and abetted by the Soviets, while in the south, the American occupiers saw most Korean political movements as too radical and suppressed them. In what follows, I focus on the formative years of early North Korean history, the five-year period between the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945 and the start of the Korean War in 1950. I show how North Korea from the outset attempted to meld the old and the new through the figure of the revolutionary mother as a uniquely feminine revolutionary subjectivity. This sets the North Korean case apart from other historical examples of social revolutions and their handling of “the woman question.”
Tchebyshev triangulations of stable simplicial complexes

We generalize the notion of the Tchebyshev transform of a graded poset to a triangulation of an arbitrary simplicial complex in such a way that, at the level of the associated F-polynomials @?"jf"j"-"1((x-1)/2)^j, the triangulation induces taking the Tchebyshev transform of the first kind. We also present a related multiset of simplicial complexes whose association induces taking the Tchebyshev transform of the second kind. Using the reverse implication of a theorem by Schelin we observe that the Tchebyshev transforms of Schur stable polynomials with real coefficients have interlaced real roots in the interval (-1,1), and present ways to construct simplicial complexes with Schur stable F-polynomials. We show that the order complex of a Boolean algebra is Schur stable. Using and expanding the recently discovered relation between the derivative polynomials for tangent and secant and the Tchebyshev polynomials we prove that the roots of the corresponding pairs of derivative polynomials are all pure imaginary, of modulus at most one, and interlaced.
Measurement of Density, Sound Velocity, Surface Tension, and Viscosity of Freely Suspended Supercooled Liquids

Non-contact methods have been implemented in conjunction with levitation techniques to carry out the measurement of the macroscopic properties of liquids significantly cooled below their nominal melting point. Free suspension of the sample and remote methods allow the deep excursion into the metastable liquid state and the determination of its thermophysical properties. We used this approach to investigate common substances such as water, o-terphenyl, succinonitrile, as well as higher temperature melts such as molten indium, aluminum and other metals. Although these techniques have thus far involved ultrasonic, electromagnetic, and more recently electrostatic levitation, we restrict our attention to ultrasonic methods in this paper. The resulting magnitude of maximum thermal supercooling achieved have ranged between 10 and 15% of the absolute temperature of the melting point for the materials mentioned above. The physical properties measurement methods have been mostly novel approaches, and the typical accuracy achieved have not yet matched their standard equivalent techniques involving contained samples and invasive probing. They are currently being refined, however, as the levitation techniques become more widespread, and as we gain a better understanding of the physics of levitated liquid samples.
Parylene-PDMS Bilayer Coatings for Microelectronic and MEMS Packaging

Current microelectronic devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) require that packaging costs be reduced with more enhanced device performance. In addition, the packaging materials are often exposed to harsh environments, for which their performance is drastically degraded. Importantly, such devices become lighter and smaller, precluding the use of conventional packaging materials and schemes. Given that, surface coatings can provide an alternative solution for some of the aforementioned issues. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a good candidate material in many encapsulating applications but its surface must be effectively protected due to its poor surface properties. In this study, the PDMS surface is coated with the parylene C film through a vapor-phase deposition. Proper surface modification of PDMS is then essential to generate desirable interfacial adhesion and performance between the parylene C and the PDMS. Effects of plasma treatment were examined in this study to evaluate their effectiveness on the surface modification of the PDMS. In order to explore mechanical performances of the bilayer coatings, dynamic nanoindentation and feedback-control nanoindentation testings were employed. In addition, extensive surface characterizations are performed with atomic force microscope (AFM) and optical microscope (OM).
Effect of Plexiglas Animal Holders on Microwave Energy Absorption

As a followup on the recent reports of perturbations of microwave exposure fields by dielectric animal holders, a theoretical study to determine the resultant changes in the energy absorption of the animals is reported. It is concluded that the changes in energy absorbed by the animals are small compared to the large perturbations of the exposure fields due to the holders.
Programmable-weight building blocks for analog VLSI neural network processors

Although the neural network paradigms have the intrinsic potential for parallel operations, a traditional computer cannot fully exploit it because of the serial hardware configuration. By using the analog circuit design approach, a large amount of parallel functional units can be realized in a small silicon area. In addition, appropriate accuracy requirements for neural operation can be satisfied. Components for a general-purpose neural chip have been designed and fabricated. Dynamically adjusted weight value storage provides programmable capability. Possible reconfigurable schemes for a general-purpose neural chip are also presented. Test of the prototype neural chip has been successfully conducted and an expected result has been achieved.
The public/private partnership: Ensuring the future of basic oceanographic research

How can the National Ocean Service (NOS) and private industry work together to best use our resources to realize the full potential for ocean use? The current Administration has emphasized the necessity of fostering strong private industry/government partnerships. In doing this, the government should provide basic research, but private industry must put it to work. NOS is fulfilling its mandate of providing basic oceanographic research and has established partnerships with industry in order to develop cooperative projects that are mutually beneficial and effect technology transfer. Through activities such as the NOAA Users' Conference and regional Project PORTS workshops, private industry has learned of NOS's services and NOS has increased its awareness of the oceanographic industry's needs. In order for NOS to continue to meet those needs, more attention must be focused on the importance and usefulness of applied oceanographic products. Only when the public is aware of the vast potential and applicability of ocean resources will the necessary support be found for basic oceanographic research.
Erratum to: Letter to the Editor: The ongoing tyranny of statistical significance testing in biomedical research

We thank Tyler VanderWeele [1] for his kind words about our recent paper on statistical significance [2]. We will thank him even more in the future if he stops suggesting that we are intent on ‘‘dismissing the P-value entirely.’’ We oppose some uses of P-values, not P-values themselves. If any of us does issue a call for P-values to be banished, it will require no reading between the lines to discern. Long ago, one of us [3] suggested that interpretation might be enhanced by inspecting the graph of all P-values for all hypothetical values of the measure one is estimating. Our support for the continued reporting of point estimates and confidence intervals [2] was tantamount to encouraging the reporting of three P-values: P = 1 for the point estimate and P = 0.05 for each of the interval’s limits (if the confidence level is 95%). How these recommendations can be viewed as aligning us with those who would instruct authors ‘‘to refrain from giving P-values entirely’’ is a mystery. To be fair, VanderWeele does not defend the reporting of all P-values. He has a specific P-value in mind, one so special it has become known as ‘‘the’’ P-value. It is the P-value for the null hypothesis. We have no objection to the reporting of this or any other P-value. What matters to us at present is what VanderWeele would have us do with it. As we have tried to stress, we believe it is wise for epidemiologic researchers to focus on estimates: point estimates, interval estimates or entire P-value or likelihood functions. Estimates are what systematic reviewers seek when they review a literature. When they do not find them and find null P-values instead, they are understandably disappointed, for they know their review will not reach as deep an understanding of the state of epidemiologic research on the topic as it might have. When we look at the forest plot in the Figure [4], we see 13 estimates. Apparently, VanderWeele sees something else: up to 13 ‘‘findings.’’ We are not sure how he defines this key term in his framework. It would appear that a finding cannot be a null P-value, as he urges us to use null P-values in coming to judgments about findings. It would also seem that findings, as the objects of those judgments, cannot be the judgments themselves. Our best guess is that VanderWeele’s ‘‘findings’’ are estimates, though we suspect that not every estimate qualifies. VanderWeele seems to view chance and bias as competing, alternative explanations for findings. Chance is to be considered first, for reasons that are obscure to us, with the aim of ‘‘dismissing’’ it, for reasons that seem just as obscure. Given a very low null P-value, he would have us The online version of the original article can be found under doi:10.1007/s10654-010-9507-8.
Correlation of Ultrasound With Autopsy-Verified Neuropathology in Neonates 1852

We examined the correlation between cranial sonogram (CS) and autopsy neurodiagnoses in 51 infants. As shown in the data table, of 21 cases of periventricular leukomalacia(PVL), 7 had been diagnosed by CS prior to infant demise; 12 of 14 cases of false negative (FN) diagnoses could be explained by either time interval (TI) between CS and demise or the microscopic nature (M) of the PVL at autopsy. Other diagnoses are similarly outlined: IVH--intraventricular hemorrhage; PH--parenchymal hemorrhage; FP--false positive; FN--false negative; TI--time interval (# of cases); M--microscopic lesions (# of cases).
Transmission of 8 and 15 MeV neutrons through oriented 165Ho

Abstract The effect of nuclear orientation on the neutron total cross section of 165 Ho has been measured at neutron energies at 8 and 15 MeV. The result is in reasonable agreement with the theoretical prediction of a coupled channel calculation.
Surface tension and adsorption properties of a series of bolaamphiphilic poly(fluorooxetane)s

Studies of surface tension, adsorption parameters, and dynamic surface tension were performed on a series of bolaamphiphilic α,ω-(diammonium disulfato)poly(fluorooxetane)s of several perfluoroalkyl chain lengths. Similar measurements were performed on a small-molecule, anionic fluorosurfactant with a −C8F17 perfluoroalkyl group that is known to be an effective flow and leveling aid in aqueous coatings. Molecular area demands for the poly(fluorooxetane)s were found to be relatively small for a polymeric species and may indicate a change in conformation between bulk solution and interface. Other adsorption parameters were found to be similar to those of the small-molecule fluorosurfactant. Diffusion coefficients were found to be slightly smaller for the poly(fluorooxetane)s compared to the small-molecule fluorosurfactant.
A C-shaped nanoaperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser for high-density near-field optical data storage

We designed and demonstrated a unique C-shaped nanoaperture (C-aperture) Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser with an estimated maximum net power of 113 μW coming from a 70nm C-aperture. Simulation shows the near-field FWHM spot size at 30nm away from the C-aperture is 94nm and 108nm in X and Y direction. We estimate the peak near-field intensity from the C-aperture VCSEL to be as high as 13.7mW/μm 2 . This high intensity and small spot size is promising to realize high-density near-field optical data storage.
Early Canadian results on the long-range transport of chernobyl radioactivity

The levels of Chernobyl-derived radionuclides were measured in several rain, snow and water filtration plant floc samples collected from various locations in Canada. The data indicate that the Chernobyl release had negligible effect on the radiological quality of Lake Ontario waters. The detection of some activation products in pre-Chernobyl samples, presumably arising from the accidental release of radioactivity during weapon testing at the Nevada site, is also reported. Some data from the ongoing measurements on rain samples are presented to discuss the possible use of Chernobyl radionuclides for delineating tropospheric transport processes. Fractionation factors for the major radionuclides are also reported.
Azide adducts of stearoyl-ACP desaturase: a model for μ-1,2 bridging by dioxygen in the binuclear iron active site

The stearoyl-acyl carrier protein Δ9 desaturase (Δ9D) uses an oxo-bridged diiron center to catalyze the NAD(P)H– and O2–dependent desaturation of stearoyl-ACP. Δ9D, ribonucleotide reductase, and methane monooxygenase have substantial similarities in their amino acid primary sequences and the physical properties of their diiron centers. These three enzymes also appear to share common features of their reaction cycles, including the binding of O2 to the diferrous state and the subsequent generation of transient diferric-peroxo and diferryl species. In order to investigate the coordination environment of the proposed diferric-peroxo intermediate, we have studied the binding of azide to the diiron center of Δ9D using optical, resonance Raman (RR), and transient kinetic spectroscopic methods. The addition of azide results in the appearance of new absorption bands at 325 nm and 440 nm (kapp≈3.5 s–1 in 0.7 M NaN3, pH 7.8). RR experiments demonstrate the existence of two different adducts: an η1–terminal structure at pH 7.8 (14N3– asymmetric stretch at 2073 cm–1, resolved into two bands with 15N14N2–) and a μ-1,3 bridging structure at pH<7 (14N3– asymmetric stretch at 2100 cm–1, shifted as a single band with 15N14N2–). Both adducts also exhibit an Fe–N3 stretching mode at ≈380 cm–1, but no accompanying Fe–O–Fe stretching mode, presumably due to either protonation or loss of the oxo bridge. The ability to form a μ-1,3 bridging azide supports the likelihood of a μ-1,2 bridging peroxide as a catalytic intermediate in the Δ9D reaction cycle and underscores the adaptability of binuclear sites to different bridging geometries.
Metastatic Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma Secreting Thyroid Hormone and Radioiodine Avid without Stimulation: A Case Report and Literature Review

Introduction. This is an extremely rare case of a patient with metastatic follicular thyroid cancer who continued to produce thyroid hormone and was iodine scan positive without stimulation after thyroidectomy and radioiodine (I-131) therapy. Patient Findings. A 76-year-old Caucasian male was diagnosed with metastatic follicular thyroid carcinoma on lung nodule biopsy. Total thyroidectomy was performed and he was ablated with 160 mCi of I-131 after recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) stimulation. Whole body scan (WBS) after treatment showed uptake in bilateral lungs, right sacrum, and pelvis. The thyroglobulin decreased from 2,063 to 965 four months after treatment but rapidly increased to 2,506 eleven months after I-131. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) remained suppressed and free T4 remained elevated after I-131 therapy without thyroid hormone supplementation. He was treated with an additional 209 mCi with WBS findings positive in lung and pelvis. Despite I-131, new metastatic lesions were noted in the left thyroid bed and large destructive lesion to the first cervical vertebrae four months after the second I-131 dose. Conclusions. This case is exceptional because of its rarity and also due to the dissociation between tumor differentiation and aggressiveness. The metastatic lesions continued to secrete thyroid hormone and remained radioiodine avid with rapid progression after I-131 therapy.
The Role of Biochemical and Neurohumoral Factors in the Laboratory Evaluation of Antiepileptic Drugs

SUMMARY The influence on seizure susceptibility of changed concentrations of free neurotransmitters at their receptor sites in brain has been examined in the light of findings from two approaches to the problem. The first involves direct observations of the effects of intracarotid, intracisternal or intraventricular injections of the neurohumors as well as the local application of these chemicals to exposed brain tissue. The second involves inferences drawn from the actions of a variety of drugs that alter the synthesis, storage, release or reuptake of the transmitters. Most of the data indicate that excess free acetylcholine in the brain increases seizure susceptibility, whereas norepinephrine decreases it. Dopamine, serotohin^and y-aminobutyric acid appear to have anticonvulsant activity, but the evidence is less persuasive than that for norepinephrine. RESUME Ľinfluence des changements de concentration des neurotransmetteurs libres au niveau de leurs recepteurs dans le cerveau sur la susceptibilityeaľegard de crises a eteetudiee a la lumiere des constatations faites suivant deux manieres differentes ďaborder le probleme. La premiere de ces methodes repose sur des observations directes des effets ďinjections intra-carotidiennes, intra-cisternales ou intra-ventriculaires de neuro-humeurs ainsi que des effets ďapplications locales de ces substances chimiques sur des tissus cerebraux mis a nu. La deuxieme se fonde sur des deductions tirees des effets de differents medicaments qui entrainent des modifications dans la synthese, la mise en reserve, la liberation ou la re-absorption des transmetteurs. La plupart des donnees ainsi recueillies indiquent qu'un exces ďacetylcholine libre dans le cerveau augmente la susceptibilitye aux crises tandis que la norepinephrine la diminue. La dopamine, la serotonine et ľacide gamma-aminobutyrique semblent avoir une activite anticonvulsive, mais les indications dans ce sens sont moins probantes que pour la norepinephrine.
Striated Pattern of the Testicle On Ultrasound: An Appearance of Testicular Fibrosis

Ultrasound of the scrotum is important in the evaluation of scrotal pathology since it is able to evaluate size, shape and echo texture as well as paratesticular structures. Detection of an intratesticular mass or grossly altered testicular architecture often leads to orchiectomy to exclude malignancy. We report a case in which the testicle had a striated appearance, which proved to represent testicular fibrosis and not malignancy.
Capillary Precipitation of a Highly Polymorphic Organic Compound

Crystallization of pharmaceutically active compounds from saturated solutions by means of solvent evaporation typically involves a nucleation and growth process. At slow solvent evaporation rates, ...
Insulin receptor binding and degradation in IM-9 cultured human lymphocytes - importance of extracellular degradation.

Insulin degradation in IM-9 cultured human lymphocytes occurs extracellularly. In the presence of 0.1% bovine serum albumin, insulin degradation products are formed thatare soluble in 5% trichloroacetic acid. In the presence of 5% bovine serum albumin, the major products of insulin degradation are insoluble in 5% trichloroacetic acid and have little or no biological activity. Inhibition of binding with Concanavalin A or antireceptor antibody does not affect the rate of insulin degradation.
Selection of atrazine-resistant tobacco variants from photomixotrophic cultures

Abstract Photomixotrophic cell cultures of Nicotiana tabacum L. (cv. Wisconsin 38) were established and used to select atrazine resistant variants. Thirty-seven plants were regenerated and rooted in the presence of atrazine from clonal cell lines selected for resistance. Variants showed variability in pollen viability, leaf shape and size, plant height, seed set and floral structure. Most morphological abnormalities were associated with chromosomal abnormalities and an increased frequency of chromosomal abnormalities were associated with higher atrazine concentrations in the selection media. Herbicide binding to chloroplast thylakoid membranes, oxygen evolution, leaf disk bleaching and leaf disk callusing were used as assays to determine resistance levels to atrazine in selected variants. The first two methods appeared to be the more accurate means of determining atrazine resistance. Some variability may be attributed to differences in physiological maturity, somaclonal variation, or to the sorting out of resistant and susceptible chloroplast populations.
Joint effects of germ-line TP53 mutation, MDM2 SNP309, and gender on cancer risk in family studies of Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Li–Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a rare familial cancer syndrome characterized by early cancer onset, diverse tumor types, and multiple primary tumors. Germ-line TP53 mutations have been identified in most LFS families. A high-frequency single-nucleotide polymorphism, SNP309 (rs2279744), in MDM2 was recently confirmed to be a modifier of cancer risk in several case-series studies: substantially earlier cancer onset was observed in SNP309 G-allele carriers than in wild-type individuals by 7–16 years. However, cancer risk analyses that jointly account for measured hereditary TP53 mutations and MDM2 SNP309 have not been systematically investigated in familial cases. Here, we determined the combined effects of measured TP53 mutations, MDM2 SNP309, and gender and their interactions simultaneously in LFS families. We used the method that is designed for extended pedigrees and structured for age-specific risk models based on Cox proportional hazards regression. We analyzed the cancer incidence in 19 extended pedigrees with germ-line TP53 mutations ascertained through the clinical LFS phenotype. The dataset consisted of 463 individuals with 129 TP53 mutation carriers. Our analyses showed that the TP53 germ-line mutation and its interaction with gender were strongly associated with familial cancer incidence and that the association between MDM2 SNP309 and increased cancer risk was modest. In contrast with several case-series studies, the interaction between MDM2 SNP309 and TP53 mutation was not statistically significant in our LFS family cohort. Our results showed that SNP309 G-alleles were associated with accelerated tumor formation in both carriers and non-carriers of germ-line TP53 mutations.
A proposal for cooperative cross-cultural research on ethnocentrism

The research setting envisaged is primarily that of anthropological field work, with ethnographers being encouraged to extend their data collection program to include this content, where not already a part of their scheduled activity. In this sense, first, the proposal is for cooperative research. To justify such cooperation in field work as well as for other reasons, it has seemed desirable to
INHIBITION OF AKT KINASE BY CELL-PERMEABLE CERAMIDE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR CERAMIDE-INDUCED APOPTOSIS

Ceramide is an important lipid messenger involved in mediating a variety of cell functions including apoptosis. However, mechanisms responsible for ceramide-induced apoptosis remain unclear. We investigated the possibility that ceramide may decrease antiapoptotic signaling in cells by inhibiting Akt kinase activity. Our data show that C2-ceramide induces apoptosis in HMN1 motor neuron cells and decreases both basal and insulin- or serum-stimulated Akt kinase activity 65–70%. These results are consistent with decreased Akt kinase activity being involved in the apoptotic effects of ceramide. This possibility is further supported by studies showing that constitutively active Akt kinase decreases C2-ceramide-induced death of HMN1 cells as well as COS-7 cells. Decreased Akt activity is not due to ceramide activating the ceramide-activated protein phosphatase or to a direct inhibition of Akt kinase by ceramide, suggesting that ceramide acts upstream of Akt kinase to decrease its activity. Treating cells with C2-ceramide does not affect phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1, interactions between insulin receptor substrate-1 and p85, or insulin-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, suggesting that the effects of C2-ceramide on Akt kinase are not mediated through modulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In sum, our results suggest that inhibition of the key antiapoptotic kinase, Akt, may play an important role in ceramide-induced apoptosis.
Hand-Calculated Procedure for Rigidity Computation of Shear Walls with Openings

AbstractThe behavior of a solid shear wall is well understood, and the rigidity of the wall can be accurately determined using a simple hand-calculated approach. However, the computation of the rigidity of a shear wall with openings is significantly more complex than that of a solid wall and, therefore, can only be accurately determined by using the computer-aided FEM. Although several conventional simplified hand-calculated procedures are available for practicing structural engineers, results from those procedures are highly approximate and may not be reliable. Therefore, a more accurate hand-calculated procedure, which considers the rotation at the tops of the piers and the effective length of the piers, is proposed to calculate the rigidity of shear walls with openings. A total of three different configurations of shear walls with openings are used as examples to assess the accuracy of the newly proposed hand-calculated method. The accuracy of the results derived from the newly proposed hand-calculated...
The Effects of Individual and Contextual Attributes on the Sizes of Recommended Salary Increases.

In a series of experiments, college students, line managers, and compensation managers allocated salary increases to hypothetical job holders who varied in the criticality of their positions for accomplishment of organizational goals, occupational marketability, job performance, personal need for money, and increase in capability since the last performance review. Results indicated that though performance had the largest impact, a number of nonperformance factors also influenced the recommendations. Salary recommendations were lower when constrained by a budget, and performance, growth in capabilities, marketability, and criticality were all significantly related to the magnitudes of suggested increases.
Collaborative Communication in Pediatric Palliative Care: A Foundation for Problem-Solving and Decision-Making

In an ideal world, all of us—patients, parents, family members, nurses, physicians, social workers, therapists, pastoral care workers, and others—would always work together in a collaborative manner to provide the best care possible. This article bases the framework for this ideal upon studies of communication between patients, families, and clinicians, as well as more general works on communication, collaboration, decision-making, mediation, and ethics, and is comprised of four parts: what is meant by collaborative communication; key concepts that influence how we frame the situations that children with life-threatening conditions confront and how these frameworks shape the care we provide; general topics that are important to the task of collaborative communication, specifically how we use heuristics when we set about to solve complicated problems; and three common tasks of collaborative communication, offering practical advice for patient care.
Deep-ultraviolet contact photolithography

The patterning of 100 nm features via contact photolithography is described. Details of a conformable embedded-amplitude mask and pattern transfer into a tri-layer resist with this mask are presented. In-plane pattern-placement errors for this lithographic process have been measured to be less than 60 nm.
Targeting Receptor Tyrosine Kinase on Lymphatic Endothelial Cells for the Therapy of Colon Cancer Lymph Node Metastasis

Oral treatment with the dual-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor AEE788 effectively reduces the number of peritumoral lymphatic vessels and the incidence of lymph node metastasis in nude mice with human HT29 colon cancer cells growing in the cecum. Whether inhibition of lymph node metastasis in colon cancer can be achieved by directly targeting lymphatic endothelial cells remains unclear. Using a microsurgical approach, we generated conditionally immortalized lymphatic endothelial cell lines from the H-2Kb-tsA58 mouse mesentery and characterized these cells for the expression of lymphatic endothelial cell markers. Lymphatic endothelial cells were stimulated in culture with an array of tumor cell-produced cytokines, leading to the identification of redundant pathways for proliferation and survival. Treatment with AEE788 decreased the migration, proliferation, and survival of lymphatic endothelial cells, demonstrating that oral treatment with AEE788 effectively decreases the incidence of colon cancer lymphatic metastasis due, in part, to the direct inhibition of lymphatic endothelial cell signaling.
Differential Acute Toxicity of Tetrachlorobenzene Isomers to Oligochaetes in Soil and Water: Application of the Critical Body Residue Concept

The acute, lethal potency of the 1,2,3,4-, 1,2,4,5- and 1,2,3,5-tetrachlorobenzene isomers was compared in the terrestrial and aquatic oligochaetes Eisenia andrei and Tubifex tubifex. 1,2,4,5-TeCB was neither lethal, nor produced any perceptible adverse effects, at lipid normalized concentrations predicted to be lethal according to the well-established critical body residue concept. If a narcotic is defined as a substance capable of inducing narcosis, rather than a substance displaying certain physical or chemical properties (e.g., log Kow), then we do not believe these findings challenge the critical body residue because by the former definition, 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene is not a narcotic.
Anthropometric Measures of Rural, Elderly, Community-Dwelling Women and the Ability of the DETERMINE Checklist to Predict These Measures

Abstract Using a stratified random sample of 249 rural community-dwelling women, age 65 or older, this study evaluated the predictability of the DETERMINE checklist to identify those with at-risk anthropometric measures. A modified DETERMINE checklist found 7% and 42% of the sample to be at high and moderate nutrition risk respectively. Overall, stepwise logistic regression identified four DETERMINE checklist questions that predicted at-risk anthropometric measures: illness, weight change, poor fruit, vegetable or dairy intake, and difficulty shopping, cooking and feeding oneself. Weight change and illness identified at-risk anthropometric measures in the oldest-old, whereas poor fruit, vegetable or dairy product consumption identified those with at-risk anthropometric measures in the young old.
Modulation-induced frequency shifts in a coherent-population-trapping-based atomic clock

We investigate systematic errors associated with a common modulation technique used for phase-sensitive detection of a coherent-population-trapping (CPT) resonance. In particular, we show that modification of the CPT resonance line shape due to the presence of off-resonant fields leads to frequency shifts that may limit the stability of CPT-based atomic clocks. We also demonstrate that an alternative demodulation technique greatly reduces these effects.
Functional Roles of the N- and C-Terminal Regions of the Human Mitochondrial Single-Stranded DNA-Binding Protein

Biochemical studies of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replisome demonstrate that the mtDNA polymerase and the mtDNA helicase are stimulated by the mitochondrial single-stranded DNA-binding protein (mtSSB). Unlike Escherichia coli SSB, bacteriophage T7 gp2.5 and bacteriophage T4 gp32, mtSSBs lack a long, negatively charged C-terminal tail. Furthermore, additional residues at the N-terminus (notwithstanding the mitochondrial presequence) are present in the sequence of species across the animal kingdom. We sought to analyze the functional importance of the N- and C-terminal regions of the human mtSSB in the context of mtDNA replication. We produced the mature wild-type human mtSSB and three terminal deletion variants, and examined their physical and biochemical properties. We demonstrate that the recombinant proteins adopt a tetrameric form, and bind single-stranded DNA with similar affinities. They also stimulate similarly the DNA unwinding activity of the human mtDNA helicase (up to 8-fold). Notably, we find that unlike the high level of stimulation that we observed previously in the Drosophila system, stimulation of DNA synthesis catalyzed by human mtDNA polymerase is only moderate, and occurs over a narrow range of salt concentrations. Interestingly, each of the deletion variants of human mtSSB stimulates DNA synthesis at a higher level than the wild-type protein, indicating that the termini modulate negatively functional interactions with the mitochondrial replicase. We discuss our findings in the context of species-specific components of the mtDNA replisome, and in comparison with various prokaryotic DNA replication machineries.
Pharmacology of ethanol and glutamate antagonists on rodent sleep: a comparative study.

Twenty-five Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with electrodes for standard sleep-wake cycle recordings. A guide cannula was stereotaxically implanted into the lateral ventricle. Rats were divided into five groups (n = 5) and challenged with an intraventricular administration of 10 μl of a 5 nM solution of either: ethanol (EtOH), MK-801, AP5 (noncompetitive and competitive NMDA receptor antagonists, respectively), CNQX (AMPA receptor antagonist), or saline. Rats were recorded polygraphically for the following 4 h. Results showed that, at comparable doses, all tested drugs reduced REM sleep. No significant changes were detected in slow-wave sleep or wakefulness. This selective effect of glutamatergic antagonists suggests that glutamate may be a selective modulator of REM sleep. These findings also show that EtOH shares similar pharmacological effects on the sleep-wake cycle of the rat. Ultimately, glutamatergic mechanisms could contribute to the EtOH-mediated reduction of REM sleep.
Polymeric microfluidic devices for the monitoring and separation of water-borne pathogens utilizing insulative dielectrophoresis

We have successfully demonstrated selective trapping, concentration, and release of various biological organisms and inert beads by insulator-based dielectrophoresis within a polymeric microfluidic device. The microfluidic channels and internal features, in this case arrays of insulating posts, were initially created through standard wet-etch techniques in glass. This glass chip was then transformed into a nickel stamp through the process of electroplating. The resultant nickel stamp was then used as the replication tool to produce the polymeric devices through injection molding. The polymeric devices were made of Zeonor® 1060R, a polyolefin copolymer resin selected for its superior chemical resistance and optical properties. These devices were then optically aligned with another polymeric substrate that had been machined to form fluidic vias. These two polymeric substrates were then bonded together through thermal diffusion bonding. The sealed devices were utilized to selectively separate and concentrate a variety of biological pathogen simulants and organisms. These organisms include bacteria and spores that were selectively concentrated and released by simply applying D.C. voltages across the plastic replicates via platinum electrodes in inlet and outlet reservoirs. The dielectrophoretic response of the organisms is observed to be a function of the applied electric field and post size, geometry and spacing. Cells were selectively trapped against a background of labeled polystyrene beads and spores to demonstrate that samples of interest can be separated from a diverse background. We have implemented a methodology to determine the concentration factors obtained in these devices.
Philanthropic Soldiers, Practical Orientalism, and the Occupation of Iraq

This article discusses the ways in which white, male, United States soldiers make sense of both themselves and Iraqi others. Drawing from qualitative interviews with twenty-four said soldiers from southern Indiana, most of whom having deployed to Iraq, it is shown how these soldiers perform gendered and racialized Orientalist discourses to rationalize United States empire and in particular the military occupation of Iraq. Specifically, imperialist discourses that imagine a superior “us” and an inferior “them” and understand United States state violence as ultimately a Western humanitarian “rescue” are shown to be powerful cultural logics in the sense-making practices of the interviewed soldiers. This article then is concerned with what others have called “practical Orientalism”—or the ways in which formal and official Orientalist discourses are adopted by everyday actors.