cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of Tumor Cell Colony Formation in Culture by a Monoclonal Antibody to Endogenous Lectins

The presence of endogenous, galactoside-specific lectin molecules on the surface of various neoplastic cells has been demonstrated recently using monoclonal antibody (mAb) 5D7 [Raz et al., EMBO (Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ.) J., 3: 2979, 1984]. The effect of this mAb on the growth of several transformed and tumor cell lines of murine and human origin was investigated using in vitro techniques. A dose-dependent reduction (30 to 100%) in colony formation on a solid substrate or in a semisolid medium was observed when the cells were cultured in the presence of 15 to 100 micrograms of mAb 5D7 per ml of medium. Inhibition of anchorage-independent growth was more pronounced (2- to 3-fold) than inhibition of anchorage-dependent growth for most of the cells. The growth-inhibitory effects of mAb 5D7 were not the result of a cytolytic activity, for neither DNA nor protein synthesis was suppressed in semiconfluent cell cultures after 3 days of exposure to the antibody. Other mAbs that recognize cell surface components, such as chondroitin sulfate or fibronectin, failed to inhibit colony formation. These results suggest that endogenous tumor cell-surface lectin molecules may be involved in intercellular interactions or interactions between the cells and exogenous ligands; these interactions are important for growth regulation.
Bone density measurements in pediatric patients with renal osteodystrophy.

Peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) can selectively measure the densities of cortical and trabecular bone, but there is limited information about its use in patients with renal osteodystrophy. Thus pQCT (Norland XCT-2000, Stratec, Pforzheim, Germany) was performed at the ultradistal radius in 21 patients aged 16±3.6 (SD) years on continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis. Trabecular bone density (TBD) was higher in patients, 206±16 mg/cm3, than in controls, 182.7±24.8 mg/cm3 (P<0.0001), whereas cortical bone density (CBD) was lower in patients, 946.5±147.5 mg/cm3, than in controls, 1,153±25.4 mg/cm3 (P<0.001). TBD was inversely correlated with age (r=−0.59, P=0.05), height (r=−0.59, P<0.01), and weight (r=−0.51, P<0.05). In contrast, CBD was positively correlated with age (r=0.53, P<0.05), height (r=0.56, P<0.05), and weight (r=0.53, P<0.05). CBD was inversely related to serum alkaline phosphatase (r=−0.71, P<0.001) and parathyroid hormone levels (r=−0.50, P<0.05). In patients with adynamic bone, TBD was less, 192±9 mg/cm3, than in those with high-turnover lesions, 215±13 mg/cm3, P<0.001. CBD, however, was lower in patients with high-turnover lesions, 900±151 mg/cm3, than in those with low turnover, 1,022±111 mg/cm3, P<0.05. Compared with controls, in patients with high-turnover lesions, CBD was lower (P<0.0001) and TBD higher (P<0.0001). These findings suggest that pQCT may be an additional tool in the assessment of renal osteodystrophy.
Process simulation and analysis with heterogeneous models

Publisher Summary This chapter describes how symbolic techniques can be applied to general FORmula TRANslation (FORTRAN) code to perform automatically many tedious, time-consuming, and error prone tasks required when using state-of-the-art algorithms for numerical calculations. Using this new approach, external models written in FORTRAN can be properly incorporated into an equation-oriented modeling environment. This allows the modeler to create heterogeneous models using both FORTRAN and the high level input language of the process simulator, depending on which is more suitable for the particular facet of the overall model. Using the symbolic and code generation components of DAEPACK, external FORTRAN code can be properly incorporated into a modern process modeling environment. Just as modern equation-oriented environments that can generate all of the information necessary for robust, efficient, and correct numerical calculation from a model written in the simulator's input language, DAEPACK can generate new code that computes the same information from the original FORTRAN code. This allows heterogeneous models to be developed where the modeler selects different languages for different portions of the flow-sheet model depending on the expressive power of the language, what is being modeled, and the skill of the modeler.
“DVT” of the Heart: A “Novel” Treatment for an Old Problem

Thrombotic lesions of saphenous venous grafts (SVGs) are frequently encountered, and interventions may be technically fraught with embolic complications. The following 2 cases suggest the potential role in selected cases of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in the treatment of SVG thrombosis to
The American Middle Class: A Cultural History Lawrence R. Samuel. New York: Routledge, 2014.

The American Middle Class: A Cultural History Lawrence R. Samuel. New York: Routledge, 2014.Anyone who follows headlines knows that the American middle class is in serious trouble. And it's been that way for a long, long time.According to Lawrence R. Samuel, the heyday of America's middle class was the era of the happy homemakers and contented consumers, from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. Ironically, catastrophic forces made its prosperity possible. First came the Great Depression, when almost no one had enough money, and then the Second World War, when there was work for everyone. And what jobs they were, including mid-level management and skilled labor with high union-scale wages. Then add to that mix the legacy of five Democratic presidential administrations that practiced progressive taxing. As a net result, the disparity between the wealth of the highest and lowest classes had been reduced, and the disparity between the highest and lowest wage/salary earners had been flattened. The new middle-class affluence fueled the baby boom: a returning war veteran could earn enough money on his salary alone to support a large family.Raised to think of the United States as a classless, democratic society, Americans are uncomfortable with the very notion of class. But think about it they did. In 1949, Life magazine's influential photographic essay "American Community" divided citizens into distinct classes based on the status of their home, neighborhood, occupation, and source of income. Most readers saw themselves in the middle-a tendency that continues to this day.Samuel's book surveys what the last half century, one decade at a time, has had to say about the middle class in popular newspapers, magazines, and books. The book has a lot of doom and gloom to consider. In the 1960s, arguments over civil rights, the Vietnam War, and equal rights for women fractured the harmony within the middle class. In the 1970s, inflation plus recession, known as stagflation, reduced purchasing power. In the 1980s, tax breaks for the rich, known as trickle-down economics, moved wealth away from the middle class. In the 1990s, the necessity for moonlighting and the two-career family weakened home life. And in the millennium, the perfect storm of lost jobs, collapsed home values, and shrunken retirement funds eroded the already declining confidence of the middle class.Amazingly throughout this half century, three key points have remained constant. …
Molecular mechanisms of pyrimidine dimer excision in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: excision of dimers in cell extracts.

Abstract Cell-free extracts prepared from rad1-19, rd2-2, rad3-1, rad4-3, rad7-1, rad10-1, rd14-1, rad16-1, and cyc1-1 (rad7) mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae all catalyze the preferential excision of thymine-containing pyrimidine dimers from ultraviolet-irradiated DNA specifically incised with M. luteus ultraviolet deoxyribonucleic acid incising activity.
Peptidyl-prolyl Isomerase Pin1 as a Potential Target to Protect Synaptic Function in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease (P1.236)

OBJECTIVE: To gain insight into the pathological role of Pin1 in conjunction with the three pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD): β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques, hyperphosphorylated tau tangles, and synaptic loss. This investigation will also examine the role of Pin1 as a potential therapeutic target to prevent synaptic loss in preclinical AD induced by overactivity of NMDA receptors or oligomers of Aβ. BACKGROUND: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by synaptic loss which correlates strongly with memory impairment. The loss of Pin1, a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase, increases the formation of plaques and tangles in preclinical AD. Pin1 also decides the fate of proteins through the ubiqutin proteasome system. Shank3 proteins are modified by ubiquitin and lost in AD. Shank3 proteins organize glutamate receptors in the postsynaptic density (PSD) and stimulate the formation of spines. Pin1 could play a pathological role in Shank protein loss and could be used as a therapeutic target for preventing synaptic loss in preclinical AD. DESIGN/METHODS: Human AD cortical tissues were used to identify the pathological changes of Pin1 in dendritic rafts and PSD by proteomics and western blot. To detect the pathological roles of Pin1 at the synapse, we utilized cultured cortical neurons from Pin1-knocked out mice, or the cultured neurons from wild-type mice treated with Pin1 inhibitor or Pin1 ShRNA. The synaptic proteins and ubiqutinated-proteins were analyzed; meanwhile, aberrant dendritic spines were detected by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: The loss of Pin1 activity may modify PSD proteins by ubiquitin, such as Shank 3 in AD, leading to aberrant synapses, making the synapses more susceptible to the toxicity of Aβ oligomers and NMDA-receptor overactivity, and inhibiting synapse formation. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that Pin 1 protein may serve as a target for protecting synaptic function and for regulating synaptic regeneration in the preclinical stages of AD. Disclosure: Dr. Ong has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chow has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gong has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lippa has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Sage Publications. Dr. Lippa has received research support from Elan Corporation/Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, and UCB Pharma.
Transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus

Abstract The PDA occlusion device continues to be an investigational tool in the United States, but it has been approved for clinical use in Canada, Great Britain, and many European and Middle Eastern countries. The worldwide experience is comparable to the experiences in the North American multicenter studies. 7,8 In our opinion, this procedure will soon become the treatment of choice for closure of patent ductus arteriosus in patients weighing >6 kg. Design changes in the device and delivery system should make it feasible to treat even smaller infants and to increase the rate of complete closure in all patients.
The Physics of High-Field Superconductors: New materials, used in lossless magnets at low temperatures, challenge scientific understanding

The recent burst of effort in the area of high-field superconductors has led to the construction of 70,000-oersted coils and the expectation that 100,000-oersted fields will be attained in the near future. The general theory suggests that fields above 300,000 oersteds are conceivable and that current densities of millions of amperes per square centimeter may be attained. Theory and experiment suggest that the upper critical field of materials such as Nb3Sn and Nb.75Zr.25 is determined by their tendency to form a mixed state, and that a crucial question concerning their other properties is that of the interaction of this mixed state with imperfections. Lastly, it is possible to make a synthetic high-field superconductor by mechanically subdividing an ideal superconductor.
Knitting a finer net for photons

By etching an array of tiny holes in a semiconductor crystal, one can prevent light of certain wavelengths from propagating. Now these photonic bandgaps are approaching the technologically fertile optical regime.
The swelling of core tablets during aqueous coating II: An application of the model describing extent of swelling and water penetration for insoluble tablets

AbstractA mathematical model successfully describing the extent of swelling and water penetration for dicalcium phosphate dihydrate(Ditab) tablets is able to be applied to the anhydrous form. The extent of swelling/water penetration behavior exhibited by anhydrous dicalcium phosphate(ATAB) is quite different from that of dihydrate form, which exhibits non-swelling. More water tends to penetrate into ATAB tablets than those tablets prepared from Ditab. The water uptake is coincident to the very large surface tablet porosity.
Does lake size matter? Combining morphology and process modeling to examine the contribution of lake classes to population-scale processes

With lake abundances in the thousands to millions, creating an intuitive understanding of the global distribution of morphology and processes in lakes is challenging. To improve researchers’ understanding of large-scale lake processes, we developed a parsimonious mathematical model based on the Pareto distribution to describe the distribution of lake morphology (area, perimeter, and volume). While debate continues over which mathematical representation best fits any one distribution of lake morphometric characteristics, we recognize the need for a simple, flexible model to advance understanding of how the interaction between morphometry and function dictates scaling across large populations of lakes. These models make clear the relative contribution of individual lakes to the total amount of lake surface area, volume, and perimeter. They also highlight the critical thresholds at which total perimeter, area, and volume would be evenly distributed across lake-size classes having Pareto slopes of 0.63, 1.00, and 1.12, respectively. These morphological models can be used in combination with process models to create overarching “lake population” level models of process. To illustrate this potential, we combined the model of surface area distribution with a model of carbon mass accumulation rate. We found that even if smaller lakes contribute relatively less to total surface area than larger lakes, the increasing carbon accumulation rate with decreasing lake size is strong enough to bias the distribution of carbon mass accumulation toward smaller lakes. This analytical framework provides a relatively simple approach to upscaling morphology and process that can be easily generalized to other ecosystem processes.
Dynamics of extracellular matrix production and turnover in tissue engineered cardiovascular structures.

Appropriate matrix formation, turnover and remodeling in tissue-engineered small diameter vascular conduits are crucial requirements for their long-term patency and function. This complex process requires the deposition and accumulation of extracellular matrix molecules as well as the remodeling of this extracellular matrix (ECM) by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors (TIMPs). In this study, we have investigated the dynamics of ECM production and the activity of MMPs and TIMPs in long-term tissue-engineered vascular conduits using quantitative ECM analysis, substrate gel electrophoresis, radiometric enzyme assays and Western blot analyses. Over a time period of 169 days in vivo, levels of elastin and proteoglycans/glycosaminoglycans in tissue-engineered constructs came to approximate those of their native tissue counter parts. The kinetics of collagen deposition and remodeling, however, apparently require a much longer time period. Through the use of substrate gel electrophoresis, proteolytic bands whose molecular weight was consistent with their identification as the active form of MMP-2 (approximately 64--66 kDa) were detected in all native and tissue-engineered samples. Additional proteolytic bands migrating at approximately 72 kDa representing the latent form of MMP-2 were detected in tissue-engineered samples at time points from 5 throughout 55 days. Radiometric assays of MMP-1 activity demonstrated no significant differences between the native and tissue-engineered samples. This study determines the dynamics of ECM production and turnover in a long-term tissue-engineered vascular tissue and highlights the importance of ECM remodeling in the development of successful tissue-engineered vascular structures.
Photooxidation of Toluene and p-Xylene in Cation-Exchanged Zeolites X, Y, ZSM-5, and Beta: The Role of Zeolite Physicochemical Properties in Product Yield and Selectivity

The photooxidation of toluene and p-xylene with molecular oxygen and visible light has been investigated in several cation-exchanged zeolites. In general, the yield of the photooxidation products, for fixed irradiation time and intensity, was found to correlate with the electric field intensity at the cation sites within the zeolites. On the basis of measurements of CO vibrational frequencies, electric fields of approximately 3−7 V nm-1 are indicated for the cation-exchanged zeolites X, Y, ZSM-5, and Beta used in these studies. These large electric fields are thought to promote photooxidation by stabilizing an intermolecular charge transfer state (R+·O2-) that is formed upon excitation with visible light. The measured electric field was found to correlate with the product yield and was highest in divalent cation-exchanged zeolites with high Si/Al ratios, such as BaZSM-5 and BaBeta. For zeolites containing the same cation, the selectivity of toluene to form benzaldehyde and p-xylene to form p-tolualdehyde ...
Geographical Variation in Wood Thrush Song

In a comparison of samples of wood thrush song recorded from southern New York State and coastal South Carolina, the following results demonstrate the striking similarity of song in these widely separated areas: (1) Of 25 discrete song types defined for the New York sample, 19 were found in South Carolina, (2) the relative abundances of the different song types were significantly correlated in two samples, and (3) according to a detailed quantitative analysis, the structure of the most common song type was the same in the two samples. Subtle differences did occur between the two samples. Although some of these differences may have been due merely to random sampling error, one difference-the absence of six song types from the South Carolina sample-could not be dismissed in this way. This result indicates that some song types are not widely distributed. Another difference between the two samples had to do specifically with one of the song types absent from South Carolina. In the South Carolina sample were six unclassified songs that, although structurally diverse, all had certain features in common with the missing type and therefore may be related to it by cultural evolution.
Heterogeneity and Causality

Before R. A. Fisher introduced randomized experimentation, the literature on empirical methods emphasized reducing heterogeneity of experimental units as the key to inference about the effects caused by treatments. To what extent is heterogeneity relevant to causal inference when ethicalor practical constraints make random assignment infeasible?
PLA2G3 promotes mast cell maturation and function

Mast cell-derived group III phospholipase A2 (PLA2G3) and fibroblast prostaglandin synthase contribute to a PGD2 and mast-cell-DP-1-dependent mast cell-fibroblast paracrine axis that can enhance mast cell maturation and mediator secretion.
Investigation of healthcare-associated transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among patients with malignancies at three hospitals and at a residential facility

BACKGROUND Immunocompromised patients have an increased risk of experiencing progression of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) to active tuberculosis (TB) disease. In January 2002, 2 patients with leukemia (Patients 1 and 2) developed pulmonary TB after recent exposure at 3 hospitals (Hospital A, Hospital B, and Hospital C) and at a residential facility for patients with cancer. Neither was known to have LTBI. Within 1 year, 3 other patients with malignancy and TB disease had been identified at these facilities, prompting an investigation of healthcare facility–associated transmission of M. tuberculosis. METHODS The authors performed genotypic analysis of the five available M. tuberculosis isolates from patients with malignancies at these facilities, reviewed medical records, interviewed individuals who had identical M. tuberculosis genotypic patterns, and performed tuberculin skin testing (TST) and case finding for possible exposed contacts. RESULTS Only Patients 1 and 2 had identical genotypic patterns. Neither patient had baseline TST results available. Patient 1 had clinical evidence of infectiousness 3 months before the diagnosis of TB was ascertained. Among employee contacts of Patient 1, TST conversions occurred in 1 of 59 (2%), 2 of 34 (6%), 2 of 32 (6%), and 0 of 8 who were tested at Hospitals A, B, and C and at the residential facility, respectively. Among the others who were exposed to Patient 1, 1 of 31 (3%), 1 of 30 (3%), 0 of 40 (0%), and 12 of 136 (9%) who were tested had positive TSTs at Hospitals A, B, and C and at the residential facility, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Delayed TB diagnosis in 2 patients with leukemia resulted in the transmission of M. tuberculosis to 19 patients and staff at 3 hospitals and a residential facility. Baseline TB screening and earlier clinical recognition of active disease could reduce healthcare facility–associated transmission of M. tu-berculosis among patients with malignancy. Cancer 2004. Published 2004 by the American Cancer Society.
Physical and Molecular Properties of Starch Acetates Extruded with Water and Ethanol

Starch acetate with degrees of substitution of 2 and 3 was extruded with either water or ethanol in a single screw extruder. Properties of the extrudates such as unit and solid density, specific mechanical energy, water absorption and water solubility indices, and molecular degradation and degree of substitution (DS) of the starch were measured. The samples extruded with water had lower spring indices, lower water absorption, and higher solid density than acetylated starch extruded with ethanol. The samples with DS of 2 required less specific mechanical energy and had higher solid density and water absorption indices than starch with DS of 3. Both independent variables influenced unit density and water solubility indices. A slight decrease in the average molecular weight was registered as a result of the extrusion processing.
pH-Dependent metabolism of thiosulfate and sulfur globules in the chemolithotrophic marine bacterium Thiomicrospira crunogena

Respiring cells of the chemolithotrophic bacterium Thiomicrospira crunogena produced sulfur globules from the sulfane sulfur of thiosulfate below pH 7, and consumed the globules above pH 7. The switch in metabolism was immediate and reversible upon titration of the culture. The consumed sulfur globules remained in a membrane-bound form and were not oxidized unless the medium was depleted of thiosulfate. Sulfur globule production but not uptake was blocked by azide. Anoxia, thiol-binding agents, and inhibitors of protein synthesis blocked globule uptake. Transitory accumulations of sulfite and polythionates appeared to be reaction products of thiosulfate and sulfur globules. A model depicting the pH sensitivity and biochemistry of sulfur globule production and consumption is proposed.
Quadratic forms used as non-parametric two-sample test criteria

The non-parametric criterion considered here for testing two independent samples of size m and n from two populations with the same continuous distribution function is of the form where μ = E(Z) and the ith element of Z, Z i , is the number of observations from one sample whose values lie within the ith sample block, the interval formed by ki ordered observations of the second sample, for i = l, 2, …c. Tables for the approximated distribution of the criterion Q(m,n;c) for different cases of interest are suggested.
Increasing Tuition's Affordability

Universities around the country are working in a challenging fiscal environment to find ways to make college affordable while increasing educational quality, outcomes, and accessibility.
Primary torsion of the omentum.

Summary Twelve patients with primary torsion of the greater omentum are reported and the entity is discussed. The condition manifests itself with symptoms and signs of an acute surgical abdomen mimicking usually acute appendicitis or acute cholecystitis. The diagnosis can only be established by laparotomy and should be suspected when the pathologic findings at operation are not consistent with the clinical impression. Free serosanguineous fluid, which invariably will be present within the abdominal cavity, should prompt the surgeon to examine the omentum. Recognition of the lesion is important particularly in the patient operated on for acute appendicitis through a small low abdominal incision. Although the lesion is not life-endangering, segmental omentectomy will minimize postoperative morbidity and also remove an inflammatory nidus for later formation of intra-abdominal adhesions. Recovery is usually rapid and complete.
‘Where the little life unfolds’: women's citizenship, moral regulation and the production of scale in early twentieth-century Halifax, Nova Scotia

Abstract This article examines the contingent connections between moral regulation and the production of scale in the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the early twentieth century, a group called the Halifax Local Council of Women (HCW) unveiled an important program of moral regulation. Targeting the lives of the city's children, this program aimed to inculcate moral norms primarily through the reorganization of space. In the interest of morality, the HCW campaigned against various unwholesome spaces in the city and sought to introduce new, more wholesome spaces for the city's children. At first glance, the HCW's program of moral regulation would seem to involve a transfer of women's activities and capacities from the scale of the ‘home’ to the ‘local’ scale; rather than caring for children in the home, the HCW would now be caring for them wherever the ‘little life unfolds.’ A closer examination, however, shows that the local scale was not so much occupied as it was produced by the HCW and its morality program. In tracking the co-production of moral regulation and geographical scale, this paper aims to reveal the spatial conditions through which one group of people seeks to manage the lives of others.
Beyond reductionism, with invidious comparisons between behavioral and paretian sociology

An acceptable reductive analysis does no more nor less than find the constitutive elements of a phenomenon. It should focus on observables, including indirectly given data but not including merely convenient assumptions. It should state propositions which refer to variables which are generalizable. Using these criteria, behaviorism is found to be wanting. In contrast, Pareto's model of five significant residues provides for a constitutive analysis which uses observables and generalizable variables.
Expression of the orpk disease gene during kidney development and maturation

Further analysis of the orpk mouse model of human autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease is providing more insight into the function of the Tg737 gene and the pathobiology of renal cystic disease. Here we have determined the temporal-spatial profile of Tg737 expression and ascertained the profile of disease pathology utilizing Tg737 Δ2–3βGal /+ and Tg737 Δ2–3βGal / Tg737 orpk compound heterozygotes from embryonic day 13.0 (E13.0) to postnatal day 270 (D270). This has allowed us to correlate disease progression and Tg737 expression in the context of the mutant orpk phenotype. These data reveal that Tg737 is dynamically regulated during kidney development and during postnatal kidney maturation in normal and in orpk mutants. This expression pattern correlates with the pathology of the disease, such that tubular segments with the highest expression levels are most protected from cystic disease. These data indicate that kidney tubules require a threshold level of Tg737 function for normal tubular development, structure, and function. In addition, these data demonstrate that the timing of cyst formation and severity of cyst progression is modulated differently in different regions of the nephron in this model.
Short term forecasting of electricity prices for MISO hubs: Evidence from ARIMA-EGARCH models

This study estimates three time series models (ARIMA, ARIMA-EGARCH, and ARIMA-EGARCH-M) for hourly real time electricity prices for each of the five hubs of the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) and examines the in- and out-of-sample forecasting performance of the respective models. The results from the ARIMA models reveal the presence of autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity. Recognizing the possibility of asymmetric time-varying volatility, the EGARCH specification for the variance equation demonstrates the presence of an inverse leverage effect in electricity prices for each hub. With respect to forecasts, no one model clearly dominates the others in terms of in-sample forecasting performance based on four forecast evaluation statistics. However, the ARIMA-EGARCH-M model outperforms the other models (Michigan hub is the exception) in terms of the out-of-sample forecasting performance.
Uncoupling of fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum's calcium uptake and extra ATPase activity found in the absence of oxalate.

Abstract The extra ATPase and calcium uptake activities of fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum may be uncoupled by increasing pH, freezing, and aging if they are measured in the absence of oxalate. As such uncoupling has not been found when oxalate is included in the assay medium, it is suggested that oxalate changes the mechanism of these processes.
Ingestion-independent rates of ammonium excretion by the copepod Calanus pacificus

The relationship between food ingested and NH + 4 excretion rate was investigated for female Calanus pacificus collected in August, 1982, from the San Juan Archipelago, Washington State, USA. The copepods were preconditioned to 6 densities of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (0 to 104 cells ml−1) for 30 h before the experiment. The experiment was conducted with nutrients added in excess to maintain equal rates of NH + 4 uptake by the diatoms at all densities. Although ingestion rates of C. pacificus varied from 0 to over 20% of body N d−1 at the different food levels, excretion was a constant 6.6 nM NH + 4 copepod−1 h−1 or about 10% of body N d−1. This ingestion-excretion relationship, which is consistent with previous respiration and fecundity studies, suggests that the ecological dominance of C. pacificus only under conditions of high food abundance may be due to a dramatic increase in its growth efficiency as ingestion increases above the level supporting a constant metabolic rate. The maintenance of a constant level of metabolism during relatively short periods of low food abundance may be advantageous if it allows the copepod to exploit more effectively short-term variability in its food resulting from environmental heterogeneity or vertical migration.
Augmentation index and systolic load are lower in competitive endurance athletes.

Background Arterial stiffness increases with age, and chronic endurance exercise has been shown to attenuate increases in arterial stiffness in older individuals. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of varying fitness levels on wave reflection in young healthy adults. Methods A total of 32 subjects (16 competitive endurance athletes and 16 recreationally active subjects) underwent brachial artery blood pressure (BP) measurement (by sphygmomanometry) and central aortic pressure (by noninvasive radial artery applanation tonometry and use of a generalized transfer function) measurements at rest. Central aortic augmentation index (AI), an index of wave reflection, and tension-time index (TTI), an indicator of systolic load, were calculated from the aortic pressure waveform. Physical fitness was determined through a maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) test performed on a treadmill. Results The two groups did not differ in age, height, weight, resting BP, or blood lipids. The VO2max was significantly higher in the competitive group compared with the recreational group (65 ± 1.9 v 49 ± 1.8 mL/kg/min, P Conclusions Wave reflection is lower in competitive endurance athletes who have higher fitness levels and who exercise at a higher intensity, for a longer duration, and more frequently as compared with recreationally active individuals. These differences may be due to functional changes that occur as a result of training.
Sound production evoked by electrical stimulation of the brain in toadfish (Opsanus beta).

Abstract Partially immobilized toadfish were stimulated electrically while under light anaesthesia. A one-to-one response (one sound pulse for each stimulation pulse) resulted from stimulation in the lower medulla and cervical spinal cord. Grunt sounds similar to those evoked by prodding a toadfish were elicited by stimulation at 20 to 50 Hz of many points in the midbrain and medulla as well as single sites in the hypothalamus and spinal cord. Both grunt and one-to-one responses were elicited at the same time from points in the medulla and spinal cord. Sounds similar to the boatwhistle call were evoked by stimulation at 50 to 100 Hz in the mediobasal region of the rostral medulla.
Restriction endonuclease analyses of the incompatibility group P-1 plasmids RK2, RP1, RP4, R68, and R68.45

The P-group plasmids RP1, RP4, RK2, R68 and R68.45 were analyzed by the following restriction endonucleases:BamHI,BglII,EcoRI,HindIII,PstI,PvuII,SalI, andSmaI. No differences between RP1, RP4, and RK2 were found, and the plasmid R68.45 was found to contain a direct duplication of an existing DNA sequence in R68. Our map of RK2 differs from the published map of RK2 in the corresponding region of the R68 map that is duplicated in R68.45.
A conceptual Object-Oriented Bayesian Network (OOBN) for modeling aircraft carrier-based UAS safety risk

This paper illustrates the conceptual development of a demonstration Object-Oriented Bayesian Network (OOBN) to integrate the hazards associated with an experimental Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) planned for deployment from an aircraft carrier. The final Air/Ship Integration (A/SI) demonstration model is characterized by a top-level Bayesian network model with nine sub-nets comprising 70 causal factors with 15 mitigations. With the creation of a probabilistic model, inferences about changes to the states of the causal factors given the presence or absence of controls or mitigations can be ascertained. These inferences build on qualitative reasoning and enable an analyst to identify the most prominent causal factor groupings leading to a prioritization of the most influential causal factors. Mitigation effects can be systematically studied and assessed. The A/SI OOBN demonstration model illustrates the construction of an integrative safety risk model that may be used to compute a higher-order system misha...
Ecological studies on Potamogeton pectinatus L. IV. Nutritional ecology, field observations

Abstract The chemical characteristics of the plant parts and habitats of several populations of Potamogeton pectinatus L. in The Netherlands and France (Camargue) were studied. In the natural habitat P. pectinatus occurs in a broad range of ion concentrations, compared with that of aquatic macrophyte habitats in general. Cluster analysis of the chemical composition of water and interstitial water showed a division in a relatively large and a smaller group of observations in both cases. Cluster analysis of the plant parts also indicated two main groups. The roots and shoots of the larger group were chemically characterized by their low phosphorus and sodium contents. The reproductive parts (achenes and tubers) mostly showed low sodium, magnesium and potassium contents. Achenes were additionally characterized by low phosphorus and nitrogen contents. In general, both cluster and correlation analyses of the chemical data indicated a relationship between ambient water, pore water and the roots and shoots of P. pectinatus. The chemical composition of the reproductive parts, achenes and tubers, was more independent of the chemical environment, compared with the other plant parts. It is concluded that cluster analysis can be very useful to analyse complex ecological data sets and to identify structural, functional and environmental units.
Extraction of petroleum hydrocarbons from soil by mechanical shaking

A shaking extraction method for petroleum hydrocarbons in soil was developed and compared to Soxhlet extraction. Soxhlet extraction is an EPA-approved method for volatile and semivolatile organic contaminants from solid materials, but it has many disadvantages including long extraction periods and potential loss of volatile compounds. When field-moist soils are used, variability in subsamples is higher, and the extraction of hydrocarbons with a nonpolar solvent may be less efficient. A shaking method was designed to fill the need for simpler and more efficient extraction of petroleum hydrocarbons from soil. A systematic study of extraction conditions was performed for various soil types, soil weights, solvents, extraction times, and extraction cycles. The results were compared to those for Soxhlet extraction. Shaking 1 g of soil with a sequence of three 10-mL aliquots of dichloromethane or acetone was found to be equivalent to Soxhlet extraction for total petroleum hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Shaking with acetone was more consistent than all other methods for the extraction of specific compounds from aged, contaminated soil. The shaking method appears to be applicable to a wide range of soil types and petroleum contaminants but should be compared to Soxhlet extraction for new conditions.
Blocking in rabbit eyeblink conditioning is not due to learned inattention: indirect support for an error correction mechanism of blocking.

Blocking is a classical conditioning task in which prior training to one cue such as a tone reduces learning about a second cue such as a light, when subsequently trained as a tone-light compound. Blocking has been theorized to come about through a US-modulated error correction mechanism by Rescorla & Wagner (1972) as well as through a mechanism of learned inattention as theorized by Mackintosh (1973). In the case of eyeblink conditioning, an error correction mechanism has been hypothesized to take place in the cerebellum while some form of inattention has been hypothesized to take place in the hippocampal region. The hypothesis we are testing is whether the mechanism of learned inattention is involved in blocking in rabbit eyeblink conditioning. If blocking in eyeblink conditioning is produced by a mechanism of learned inattention, then training to a previously blocked cue should be slower than training to that cue in a naive animal. Rabbits that had received tone training followed by tone-light training exhibited blocking. Rabbits that had been previously blocked to the light acquired conditioned responses to the light at the same rate as naive rabbits. This finding failed to support the hypothesis that blocking in rabbit eyeblink conditioning is due to learned inattention, but does support the Rescorla-Wagner mechanism of error correction. The present finding along with previous work on error correction mechanism in the cerebellar-brainstem circuit (Kim et al., 1998) lend support to the theory that blocking, at least in rabbit eyeblink conditioning, seems to be due to an error correction mechanism rather than a learned inattention mechanism.
Dynamics of fluorescence dequenching of ostrich-quenched fluorescein biotin: a multifunctional quantitative assay for biotin.

Abstract We describe a simple and rapid quantitative assay for biotin and biotin conjugates. The assay is based on the kinetic analysis of the enhancement of fluorescence of streptavidin/fluorescein biotin complexes in the presence of biotin. The kinetic response of fluorescence enhancement is proportional to the concentration of biotin. Standard calibration curves based on the kinetic response are obtained and detection limits of ≈10−9 M are established. Because the assay is amenable for use in small volumes of 5–50 μL or bead-based assays, the detection limits can be extended to the femtomole range. Since the assay depends on kinetic analysis, routine quantitation can be achieved without reference to standard curves. The dynamic aspects allow the assay to be extended to a broader range of applications including its use as an indicator of reagent mixing in laminar-flow assays carried out in microfluidic devices.
Sex-ratios of the wasp Nasonia vitripennis from self-versus conspecifically-parasitized hosts : local mate competition versus host quality models

Sex ratio patterns in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis are frequently cited in support of a major group of evolutionary sex ratio models referred to as local mate competition (LMC) models. It has been shown repeatedly that, as predicted by LMC models, females generally oviposit a greater proportion of sons in previously parasitized hosts than in unparasitized hosts. However, this sex ratio pattern is also a prediction of another group of sex ratio models, the host quality models. Here I test a prediction of LMC models that is not also a prediction of host quality models: a female should produce a greater proportion of sons when she parasitizes a host previously parasitized by a conspecific female than when she parasitizes a host previously parasitized by herself. Females made this predicted distinction between self- and conspecifically-parasitized hosts under some conditions. There was no evidence that a female recognizes a self-parasitized host when her exposure to the host is interrupted by exposure to an unparasitized host, or that a female can distinguish between hosts parasitized by sisters versus nonsisters.
Conference at the crossroads: Future prospects for the conference of the Committee on Disarmament

The Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (CCD), a 26-member committee chaired by the US and the USSR and reporting annually to the UN General Assembly, has been stalled for three years over two issues which neither super power wishes to agree on: chemical weapons and a comprehensive nuclear testing ban. As a result, the future viability of the world's only multilateral forum for negotiating arms control is in jeopardy. In recent years a movement has been initiated by certain non-aligned states—mostly notably Mexico, Sweden, and Yugoslavia—to shake up the procedural foundations of the CCD so as to bring about substantive changes in its agenda, its manner of operation, its composition, and its results. The immediate diplomatic vehicle for this procedural revolution is the convening of a new deliberative forum, the World Disarmament Conference (WDC). The WDC has been debated in the last three General Assemblies where it has evolved in substance and built a constituency of support so that there is a distinct possibility such a body may be convened in the next few years. Its most significant achievement would be to bring France and China into world disarmament forums, and to legitimize on-going bilateral and regional arms control structures which have been created in the absence of movement at the CCD.
Nihilism and Scepticism About Moral Obligations

There are many disagreements about what people have moral obligations to do, but almost everyone believes that some people have some moral obligations. Moreover, there are some moral obligations in which almost everyone believes. For example, if I promise to give a talk at this conference, I have a moral obligation to do so. Of course, my obligation might be overridden. Moreover, even if my obligation were overridden, I would still have a moral obligation to give a talk at this conference.
Interaction of separation discomfort with contact comfort and discomfort in the dog

This experiment concerns 2 issues: the time of onset of the process of social attachment in the dog, and the nature of the interaction between the emotion of separation distress and that caused by discomfort. The subjects were 48 puppies from 4 genetic backgrounds: beagles, Telomians, and their reciprocal F1 hybrids. Puppies were divided into 4 groups nd isoalted for short periods under comfortable and uncomfortable conditions beginning at 3, 11, 17, and 25 days from birth. The dependent variable was distress vocalization during a 10-min period. Separation distress did not occur before 11 days and remained at a low level until 21 days, when it rose rapidly. The process of attachment is thus initiated in the transition period but does not reach a high level until some 2 weeks later. Interaction between the 2 kinds of affect is compatible and additive.
VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY AND METAPLASIA.

Of nineteen rats on a complete diet (Group III, Diet + C. L. O.), none showed foci of squamous keratinizing epithelium in abnormal situations. Of twenty-six rats on a diet deficient in vitamins A and D (Group I, Diet—A–D), twenty-three showed metaplastic changes of varying degree in one or more organs; the metaplasia was of columnar, cuboidal, and transitional epithelium to the squamous keratinizing type. Of eighteen rats on a diet deficient in vitamin A alone (Group II, Diet—A), seventeen showed epithelial metaplasia similar to that of Group I in one or more organs. In Groups I (Diet—A–D) and II (Diet—A) the changes occurred in one or more of the following organs: trachea, large bronchi, small bronchi or bronchioles in lung, posterior nares, accessory salivary glands of base of tongue, paraocular, submaxillary, sublingual, and parotid glands, renal pelvis, ureter, and bladder. The metaplastic changes were as extensive in the rats of Group II on a diet deficient in vitamin A alone as in those of Group I which received a diet deficient in vitamins A and D.
Sacred Giants: depiction of Bombacoideae on Maya ceramics in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.

Sacred Giants: Depiction of the Malvaceae Subfamily Bombacoideae on Maya Ceramics in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize This study categorized and identified plants depicted on Maya ceramics from the Classic Period (250 a.d.–900 a.d.). We chose art objects with a predominance of iconographic images of Malvaceae subfamily Bombacoideae, which are easily identified morphologically and have culinary, medicinal, ceremonial, economic, and cosmological significance to the Maya. Among ten species of Bombacoideae native to the Southern Lowlands region of Central America (Belize, parts of Guatemala, and Mexico), the Maya utilized at least six, which also have Maya names. We observed four or five bombacoid species depicted on Maya ceramics; most images were identifiable to genus. Burial urns and incensarios (incense burners) commonly had images of trunk spines of Ceiba pentandra, the Maya “World Tree.” Flowers of Pseudobombax ellipticum, a plant used to make ceremonial beverages, were most similar to floral images portrayed on vessels, bowls, and plates, although the morphologically similar flowers of Pachira aquatica may also be depicted. Plants representing Quararibea funebris or Q. guatemalteca, which were used during preparation of cacao beverages, were discernable on drinking vessels.