cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heparin‐binding outer membrane protein of chlamydiae

As an intracellular pathogen, the mechanism by which Chlamydia invade eukaryotic cells represents a cornerstone to understanding chlamydial biology. The ability of chlamydiae specifically to bind heparan sulphate or heparin and the association of this ability to bind and enter mammalian host cells was approached by searching experimentally for chlamydial outer membrane proteins that bind heparin. The 60 000 molecular weight cysteine-rich outer membrane complex protein, OmcB, bound heparin. The ability of OmcB to bind heparin was supported by mapping the region of the protein with heparin-binding capacity and demonstrating that an OmcB synthetic 20-mer peptide from this region specifically bound heparin. Surface localization of OmcB was shown using monospecific antisera specific to the 20-mer OmcB peptide that bound the surfaces of elementary bodies (EB) and by heparin-binding peptide cross-linking of EB surface proteins.
Predictors of prognosis in patients with olfactory disturbance.

Objective Although olfaction is often compromised by such factors as head trauma, viruses, and toxic agents, the olfactory epithelium and sectors of the olfactory bulb have the potential for regeneration. This study assessed the degree to which olfactory function changes over time in patients presenting to a university-based smell and taste center with complaints of olfactory dysfunction and the influences of etiology (eg, head trauma, upper respiratory infection), sex, age, smoking behavior, degree of initial dysfunction, and other factors on such change. Methods Well-validated odor identification tests were administered to 542 patients on 2 occasions separated from one another by 3 months to 24 years. Multivariable regression and χ2 analyses assessed the influences of the variables on the longitudinal changes in olfactory test scores. Results On average, smell test scores improved modestly over time. Patient age, severity of initial olfactory loss, and the duration of dysfunction at first testing were significant predictors of the amount of the change. Etiology, sex, time between the two test administrations, and initial smoking behavior were not significant predictors. The percentage of anosmic and microsmic patients exhibiting statistically significant change in function was 56.72 and 42.86%, respectively. However, only 11.31% of anosmic and 23.31% of microsmic patients regained normal age-related function over time. Interpretation Some recovery can be expected in a significant number of patients who experience smell loss. The amount of recovery depends on the degree of initial loss, age, and the duration of loss. Etiology, per se, is not a significant determinant of prognosis, in contrast with what is commonly believed. Ann Neurol 2007
Effects of mating disruption and conventional pesticide treatments on populations of the tufted apple bud moth, Platynota idaeusalis, in North Carolina apple orchards

Abstract Trials were conducted during four consecutive summers (1995–1998) in North Carolina apple orchards to compare the effects of mating disruption and conventional pesticide treatments on tufted apple bud moth, Platynota idaeusalis, populations with regard to number of males caught in pheromone traps, number of egg masses, number of leaf shelters, and feeding damage. Pheromone traps caught significantly fewer males in mating disruption than in non-disruption plots. For the first generation, the number of tufted apple bud moth egg masses was higher in the conventional treatment, but in the second-generation egg mass numbers did not differ among treatments. Neither the number of TABM leaf shelters found per hour, nor the percentage of fruit with TABM feeding damage was significantly different among treatments. However, when TABM populations were high, damage was generally greater in mating disruption plots. Because this insect is usually not of economic concern until populations reach high densities, this insect appears to be less amenable to control with mating disruption compared to other tortricids.
Learning visual composition preferences from an annotated corpus generated through gameplay

This paper describes a game called Panorama, designed to facilitate data collection to study visual composition preferences. Design considerations for Panorama, implementation of composition rules, and data collection for an experiment to learn individual and collective preferences is described. Images taken through gameplay in Panorama are automatically scored for composition quality and contribute to a corpus of domain-specific virtual photographs annotated by visual features and scores. Scores in Panorama represent rules of good composition from photography textbooks. In the current version, Panorama scores photographs along balance, thirds alignment, symmetry, and spacing dimensions. Pairwise preference rankings are collected on images from this corpus through crowd-sourcing. Results are presented from data on relative pairwise rankings on the images to learn individual as well as general composition preferences over features annotated in Panorama images. This work seeks to extend the ability of AI systems to learn and reason about high-level aesthetic features of photographs that could be utilized for various procedural camera control and aesthetic layout algorithms in video games.
Perception and Virtue Reliabilism

In some recent work, Ernest Sosa rejects the “perceptual model” of rational intuition, according to which intuitive beliefs (e.g., that \( 2 + 2 = 4 \)) are justified by standing in the appropriate relation to a nondoxastic intellectual experience (a seeming-true, or the like), in much the way that perceptual beliefs are often held to be justified by an appropriate relation to nondoxastic sense experiential states. By extending some of Sosa’s arguments and adding a few of my own, I argue that Sosa is right to reject the perceptual model of intuition, and that we should reject the “perceptual model” of perception as well. Rational intuition and perception should both receive a virtue theoretic (e.g., reliabilist) account, rather than an evidentialist one. To this end, I explicitly argue against the Grounds Principle, which holds that all justified beliefs must be based on some adequate reason, or ground.
Measurements of absorbed shortwave energy in a tropical atmosphere

Abstract Measurements of the upward and downward solar irradiance between sea level and 20,000 feet over the tropical Atlantic have shown values of atmospheric absorption exceeding computational estimates for a cloudless sky. The disagreement between observations and calculations is greater than either the observation error or the calculation uncertainty for a gaseous atmosphere. It is a logical conclusion that the disagreement comes about from the neglect of some atmospheric constituent in the calculations. Possible explanations for the high values of absorbed solar energy include increased path length due to the scattering by aerosols or absorption by the aerosols themselves.
Original Articles: Kidney Cancer: Prospective Analysis of Multifocality in Renal Cell Carcinoma: Influence of Histological Pattern, Grade, Number, Size, Volume and Deoxyribonucleic Acid Ploidy

ABSTRACTIn an effort to characterize more fully multifocal renal cell carcinoma, 100 radical nephrectomy specimens with localized renal cell carcinoma were analyzed in a prospective fashion. Analysis of each specimen consisted of preoperative computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, standard pathological examination with frozen section and 3 mm. step sectioning under magnification. Multifocal renal cell carcinoma was found in 16 specimens. Multifocal disease was suspected by preoperative imaging in 7 specimens (44%) and confirmed after standard pathological investigation in 10 (63%). Papillary and mixed histological patterns occurred at a significantly increased rate in specimens with multifocal disease (p = 0.011). Other parameters, such as stage, tumor size and volume, histological grade and deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy were evaluated and did not correlate with the presence or extent of multifocality. The number of secondary tumors per specimen varied from 1 to 50 (median 2) and were of hi...
Restriction and modification enzymes detect no allosteric changes in DNA with bound lac repressor or RNA polymerase

Abstract A 203 base-pair fragment containing the lac operator/promoter region of Escherichia coli was inserted into the EcoRI site of the plasmid vector pKC7. Rates of restriction endonuclease cleavage of the flanking EcoRI sites and of several other restriction sites on the DNA molecule were then compared in the presence and absence of bound RNA polymerase or lac repressor. The rates were identical whether or not protein had been bound, even for sites as close as 40 base-pairs from a protein binding site. No difference was detected using supercoiled, nicked circular, or linear DNA substrates. No apparent change in the rates of methylation of EcoRI sites by EcoRI methylase was produced by binding the regulatory proteins.
‘You Can Tell Right Away at Letter A’: The Public Sphere of Sixties Rock

Writing the record: the Village Voice and the birth of rock criticism, by Devon Powers, Amherst, University of Massachsetts Press, 2013, 176 pp., $22.95 (paperback), ISBN-10 1625340125The republic ...
The type I and type II γ-aminobutyric acid/benzodiazepine receptor: 1. Purification and two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of the receptor from cortex and cerebellum

The gamma-aminobutyric acid/benzodiazepine receptor complex was purified from rat cortex and cerebellum by benzodiazepine affinity chromatography. Receptors purified from cortex and cerebellum showed different relative affinities for Cl 218872, a non-benzodiazepine ligand which discriminates type I and type II receptors. In contrast, no differences in subunit composition could be detected between these two purified receptor preparations when analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.
Resistance to IT Change in the AEC Industry: Are the Stereotypes True?

Information technology (IT) change is difficult to implement successfully. Cultural (people) issues are a major barrier to IT implementation in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry and existing change models have limitations, particularly with respect to cultural issues, which directly affect the ability of companies within the AEC industry to successfully implement IT change. This paper discusses research exploring the relationships between a resistance to change index (RTCI) and the demographics of individuals to understand different AEC participants’ resistance to IT change. Identifying individuals that exhibit different intensities of resistance to IT change efforts and their attendant demographics provides benchmark data to organizations. The ability to identify potential resistors is the first step in helping ensure that new technology implementations succeed. Data was collected from a 156-person sample of the AEC population to determine the relationships among different de...
Evaluation of the MIDAS DBMS in an equation-solving environment

The paper describes an evaluation of a data base management system, MIDAS, for the solution of linear equations. A brief description of the system is given. It is used and evaluated employing skyline and hypermatrix approaches for solving large matrix equations. Performance of the two subsystems of MIDAS—MIDAS/N and MIDAS/R—is measured and compared in terms of several system parameters. Programming for efficient use of the available memory is noted. Suggestions for application programming using MIDAS are given. Major conclusions of the study are that memory management schemes, data structures, and data access methods of the DBMS play very important roles for its efficient use in dynamic environment. Such methods must be developed and implemented for large-scale engineering applications.
Plasma corticosterone levels in stressed rats following the administration of pentobarbital, morphine and diphenylhydantoin

Abstract Plasma corticosterone concentrations were determined in serial plasma samples from individual rats as a measure of pituitary-adrenal activity. Pentobarbital produced a fall in corticosterone concentration in the absence of noxious stimuli but did not block the rise in plasma corticoids following mild stress. Morphine, in large doses, stimulated the pituitary-adrenal mechanism while smaller doses, in combination with pentobarbital, had a blocking effect on the pituitary response to surgery and hemorrhage. Some degree of tolerance developed to the ability of morphine to prevent the rise in plasma corticosterone when given in combination with pentobarbital. Chronic administration of diphenylhydantoin diminished the pituitary-adrenal response to stress under the conditions of this study but it did not block the ACTH releasing effect of high doses of morphine.
Image intensification and control using a Digicon

The Digicon detector, (in which accelerated photoelectrons are detected by solid state devices), has been used in various UV and visible photon counting applications, including the spectrographs in the Hubble Space Telescope'. Since the input photons are converted to electrons prior to detection, electronic image control such as gating, deflection and magnification is possible. A novel Digicon in which all three modes of image control are used has been designed. In this tube, magnetic deflection is used to randomly select a small area of the photocathode to be magnified for detection by a two dimensional diode array. Features of this design are presented along with preliminary data from demountable design-verification experiments. The data include magnified images in addition to the time dependence of the deflection magnetic field.
Effects of prefrontal lesions on lexical processing and repetition priming : an ERP study

The role of left prefrontal cortex in lexical-semantic processing remains a matter of some debate. Functional neuroimaging experiments have reported blood flow changes in left inferior prefrontal cortex (LIPC) during tasks that involve word retrieval and semantic processing. Some of these studies have also implicated LIPC in repetition priming. To determine the necessity of prefrontal cortex for these types of memory and to elucidate their time-course, behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) correlates of lexical processing and repetition priming were examined in 11 stroke patients with lesions centered in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (areas 9 and 46). Damage extended inferiorly and posteriorly to areas 6, 8, 44, and 45 in some subjects, so patients were subdivided into anterior and posterior frontal subgroups. Visually presented words and pronounceable non-words were repeated after one of three delays. Subjects categorized stimuli as either words or non-words in a lexical decision task. Controls showed significant word priming at all three delays. Old words elicited more positive-going potentials than new words, beginning at 300 ms and lasting until 500-700 ms. This ERP repetition effect was reduced, but not eliminated, by both anterior and posterior frontal lesions. However, behavioral priming was intact in the patients, suggesting that prefrontal cortex may modulate the neural generators in posterior cortical regions that are critical for priming. Left posterior frontal lesions resulted in impaired performance in the lexical decision task and a reduction in the amplitude of the late positive component (LPC). These latter findings suggest that left posterior prefrontal cortex is important for the categorization and selection processes required by lexical-semantic tasks.
Direct adaptive control of a utility-scale wind turbine for speed regulation

The accurate modeling of wind turbines is an extremely challenging problem due to the tremendous complexity of the machines and the turbulent and unpredictable conditions in which they operate. Adaptive control techniques are well suited to nonlinear applications, such as wind turbines, which are difficult to accurately model and which have effects from poorly known operating environments. In this paper, we extended the direct model reference adaptive control (DMRAC) approach to track a reference point and to reject persistent disturbances. This approach was then used to design an adaptive collective pitch controller for a high-fidelity simulation of a variable-speed horizontal axis wind turbine. The objective of the adaptive pitch controller was to regulate generator speed in Region 3 and to reject step disturbances. The control objective was accomplished by collectively pitching the turbine blades. The turbine simulation models the controls advanced research turbine (CART) of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The CART is a utility-scale wind turbine that has a well-developed and extensively verified simulator. This novel application of adaptive control was compared in simulations with a classical proportional integrator (PI) collective pitch controller. In the simulations, the adaptive pitch controller showed improved speed regulation in Region 3 when compared with the PI pitch controller. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of cell phones on international motor vehicle fatality rates: A panel-data analysis

This paper analyzes the effects of cell phone usage and economic freedom on motor vehicle death rates by estimating regression models on data for three years across 38 countries. The models incorporate a representative set of motor vehicle fatality determinants. Results indicate that cell phone use has a statistically significant nonlinear impact on highway death rates and that economic freedom does not appear to have an effect.
Fitness cost of LINE-1 (L1) activity in humans.

The self-replicating LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposon family is the dominant retrotransposon family in mammals and has generated 30–40% of their genomes. Active L1 families are present in modern mammals but the important question of whether these currently active families affect the genetic fitness of their hosts has not been addressed. This issue is of particular relevance to humans as Homo sapiens contains the active L1 Ta1 subfamily of the human specific Ta (L1Pa1) L1 family. Although DNA insertions generated by the Ta1 subfamily can cause genetic defects in current humans, these are relatively rare, and it is not known whether Ta1-generated inserts or any other property of Ta1 elements have been sufficiently deleterious to reduce the fitness of humans. Here we show that full-length (FL) Ta1 elements, but not the truncated Ta1 elements or SINE (Alu) insertions generated by Ta1 activity, were subject to negative selection. Thus, one or more properties unique to FL L1 elements constitute a genetic burden for modern humans. We also found that the FL Ta1 elements became more deleterious as the expansion of Ta1 has proceeded. Because this expansion is ongoing, the Ta1 subfamily almost certainly continues to decrease the fitness of modern humans.
A comparison of parabolic wave theories for linearly elastic solids

Abstract The Schrodinger equation describes a theory for propagating scalar waves which is frequently termed a parabolic theory. This theory has been demonstrated to provide a paraxial, or narrow-angled, approximation to the theory of acoustic wave propagation, described by the Helmholtz equation, by a variety of seemingly different procedures. Several authors have considered the question of an approximation to the time harmonic equations of linear elastodynamics, which is parabolic in the above described sense. Since none of the deivation procedures employed can be termed rigorous, and since the results of these procedures are different, the validity of each of the theories is suspect and all should be considered further. In this paper we consider three parabolic theories of elastodynamics; by Hudson, by Landers and Claerbout, and by McCoy; and apply them in turn to a computational experiment that can be solved in the perturbation limit using the exact equations of elastodynamics. The principal conclusion achieved is that an approximate theory for propagating vector waves must be based on a representation of the vector wave field, that explicitly incorporates different wave speeds for the dilitational and rotational components, if predictions of the approximate theory are to approach those of the exact formulation for narrow angles.
Studies on the offspring of two schizophrenic parents

IT IS now generally agreed that both heredity and environment are important in producing schizophrenia. Indeed, this is so well recognized that, as Kringlen (1967) has recently pointed out, the conclusion is a “trivial” one. The key to schizophrenia, therefore, may be understood to lie in the nature of the interaction between genie products and environmental factors. The question to be asked is not “What are the reiative contributions of heredity and environment”, but rather “What kinds of environmental input trigger manifestations of the disorder in genotypically vulnerable persons, and why are these important, in a psychophysiological sense?’ If schizophrenia were a disease occurring in self-reproducing plants, it would only be necessary to submit the clones to a spectrum of environments to obtain an index of the range of reaction of the genotype-or series of genotypes if different clones were found to express the disease under certain conditions. As it is, there are at least two approaches to the problem of interaction in schizophrenia. One is a retrospective approach that seeks to analyze interaction through intensive historical probing of the environmental dissimilarities experienced by genotypically identical individuals, i.e., monozygotic twins, who are discordant for the manifestation of schizophrenia (Allen, 1954; Pollin et al., 1966). The second is a prospective design. It involves developmental studies of high-risk populations in which the attempt is made to chart, in medias res, the impact of environmental factors upon the course of behavioral maturation and to correlate these longitudinally with mental status outcome in later years. High-risk populations for developmental studies are, by definition, children with schizophrenia in one or both parents. There are, to my knowledge, two longitudinal investigations on high-risk populations now active, viz. those of Mednick and Schulsinger in Denmark and of Rosenthal and colleagues in 1srael.l These studies deal chiefly with the children of one affected parent. In this paper I should like to consider the offspring of two schizophrenic parents (dual matings) as candidates for longitudinal research and to present, in a tentative way, a design
SU-E-T-288: Prediction of Initial Thyroid Therapy Clinical Exposure Rates Given the Amount of I-131 Activity and the Patient Habitus

Purpose: Thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular) patients were evaluated for initial external radiation exposure rate (r) at the time of ingestion of their I‐131 capsule. It is important to measure this rate (mR/h) and establish its variation with individual physical parameters such as age, sex, height, weight and body mass index (BMI). In this way, staff and public exposures can be estimated a priori for any future I‐131 therapy given the parameters of the prospective patient. Methods: Over the 2006 to 2010 interval, 156 consecutive individuals were measured for r values. A calibrated ion chamber was used to determine the initial exposure rate at one meter from the navel. Because of HIPPA requirements, only 61 of these patients could have their medical records reviewed for personal information. For this subset of individuals, correlations were made of r/activity with age, sex, height, body mass and body mass index (BMI). Results: The average female initial exposure rate was 0.150 +/− 0.044 mR/(h*mCi) with the male value being 0.154 +/− 0.033 mR/(h*mCi). There was no significant correlation on initial rate/activity with age, sex or height. Significant negative correlation of r/activity was found (p < 0.05) for patient weight (−0.296) and BMI (−0.386). In the former case, the probability was 0.021 and in the latter 0.00214 that the correlation was due to random causes. Conclusions: Mean initial exposure rate/activity for male (24) and female (37) patients were not significantly different. Largest correlation of r/activity was seen with the BMI index with weight being the second strongest correlation. Average patient initial exposure rate/activity at 1 meter decreased from 0.17 mR/(h*mCi) to 0.13 mR/(h*mCi) as BMI increased from 20 to 40 Kg/(m*m). BMI has significant effect on clinical exposure rates in thyroid cancer therapy.
Weaving generic programming and traversal performance

Developing complex software requires that functions be implemented over a variety of recursively defined data structures. While the design (and modeling) of structures is itself difficult, complex data can require even more complex functions. In this paper, we introduce a declarative form of traversal-based generic programming that modularizes functions over a structure using function-objects. Our approach is supported by a library and set of generative tools, collectively called DemeterF, which are used to implement modular, adaptive functions. While our traversals support high-level abstractions resulting in modular and extensible functions, we retain genericity, flexibility and performance through traversal generation and inlining.
Pregnancy-specific stress, preterm birth, and gestational age among high-risk young women.

OBJECTIVE There is evidence that pregnancy-specific stress is associated with preterm birth. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between change in pregnancy-specific stress over the course of pregnancy and birth outcomes (i.e., preterm birth and gestational age) in an understudied but vulnerable group using a theoretically derived model. METHODS Multivariate linear and logistic regression techniques were used to examine the association between pregnancy-specific stress (measured in second and third trimester) and length of gestation (i.e., preterm birth and gestational age) among a sample of 920 Black and/or Latina adolescent and young women. RESULTS Second trimester pregnancy-specific stress was not associated with preterm birth or gestational age. Third trimester pregnancy-specific stress was associated with preterm birth but not with gestational age. Change in pregnancy-specific stress between second and third trimester was significantly associated with increased likelihood of preterm delivery and shortened gestational age, even after controlling for important biological, behavioral, psychological, interpersonal, and sociocultural risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Findings emphasize the importance of measuring pregnancy-specific stress across pregnancy, as the longitudinal change from second to third trimester was significantly associated with length of gestation measured both as a dichotomous variable (preterm birth) and a continuous variable (gestational age). Furthermore, this is the first study to observe the association of pregnancy-specific stress with length of gestation in this understudied population-unique in age, race, and ethnicity.
Cu/Nitroxyl Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidation of Primary Amines into Nitriles at Room Temperature.

An efficient catalytic method has been developed for aerobic oxidation of primary amines to the corresponding nitriles. The reactions proceed at room temperature and employ a catalyst consisting of (4,4'- t Bu2bpy)CuI/ABNO (ABNO = 9-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-3-one N-oxyl). The reactions exhibit excellent functional group compatibility and substrate scope, and are effective with benzylic, allylic and aliphatic amines. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that aerobic oxidation of the Cu catalyst is the turnover-limiting step of the reaction.
Magnetic susceptibility in a layered superlattice

Abstract Paramagnetic and diamagnetic contributions to the magnetic susceptibility are calculated for a layered superlattice as a function of the temperature in both degenerate and nondegenerate regimes. The susceptibility shows distinctly different temperature dependences as the inter-layer bandwidth as well as the Fermi energy is varied from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional regime, thus giving valuable information about the electron density and the inter-layer tunneling.
Amorphous TiO2 Nanotube Anode for Rechargeable Sodium Ion Batteries

Sodium ion batteries are an attractive alternative to lithium ion batteries that alleviate problems with lithium availability and cost. Despite several studies of cathode materials for sodium ion batteries involving layered oxide materials, there are few low-voltage metal oxide anodes capable of operating sodium ion reversibly at room temperature. We have synthesized amorphous titanium dioxide nanotube (TiO2NT) electrodes directly grown on current collectors without binders and additives to use as an anode for sodium ion batteries. We find that only amorphous large diameter nanotubes (>80 nm I.D.) can support electrochemical cycling with sodium ions. These electrodes maximize their capacity in operando and reach reversible capacity of 150 mAh/g in 15 cycles. We also demonstrate for the first time a full cell all-oxide Na ion battery using TiO2NT anode coupled to a Na1.0Li0.2Ni0.25Mn0.75Oδ cathode at room temperature exhibiting good rate capability.
An experimental and computational study of 1,2-hydrogen migrations in 2-hydroxycyclopentylidene and its conjugate base.

Thermal decomposition of α-hydroxydiazirine 2 gives primarily cyclopentanone and some allylic alcohol, in similar amounts as the known cyclohexyl analogue 1. Calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G*) also show cyclopentanone to be the major product of this carbene rearrangement. Diazirine 2 and the lithium salt of the corresponding conjugate base 3 were decomposed by photolysis. The proportion of ketone formed increases with deprotonation, a trend also found computationally. In comparison, the base-induced isomerization of cyclopentene oxide, which proceeds via α-elimination to a carbenoid intermediate similar to that obtained from 3, yields primarily allylic alcohol rather than ketone; neither ring size nor charge thus accounts for the unusual product distribution observed. Interestingly, the calculations reveal that in the gas phase with no counterion, the singlet, oxyanionic carbene, and the α-deprotonated epoxide are the same, rather than discrete structures. This intramolecular complexation stablilizes the oxyani...
In vivo 31P-NMR studies of myocardial high energy phosphate metabolism during anoxia and recovery.

Abstract 31 P NMR spectra of heart in-situ in live guinea pigs were obtained continuously in 20.5 s time blocks during 3 min of anoxia, during subsequent reoxygenation and, in separate animals, during terminal anoxia. Reversible anoxia resulted in rapid degradation of phosphocreatine ( t 1 2 = 54.5 ± 2.5 s) which recovered fully during reoxygenation. Heart P i increased during anoxia and returned to basal levels after oxygen was restored. During 3 min of anoxia, no significant changes in ATP levels or pH were detected. The results demonstrate that it is feasible to measure rapid fluxes of high energy phosphates by 31 P NMR in intact animals during and after anoxic stress to the myocardium.
Immune response to the West Nile virus in aged non-human primates.

Background: Risk of encephalitis from West Nile virus (WNV) infection increases dramatically with age. Understanding the basis of this susceptibility requires development of suitable animal models. Here, we investigated the immune response to WNV in old non-human primates. Methodology/Principal Findings: We investigated clinical, immunological and virological correlates of WNV infection in aging non-human primates. Aged (17-30yrs) and adult (6-9yrs) Rhesus macaques (RM) were challenged with WNV in the presence or the absence of the mosquito salivary gland extract (SGE) to approximate natural infection. None of the 26 animals exhibited clinical signs of the disease. Quantitative PCR suggested discrete and short-lived viremia, but infectious virus was never isolated. There was markedly increased, age-independent, proliferation of CD3- non-B cells, followed by Bcell proliferation, which correlated to the loss of detectable WNV genomes. Moreover, animals primed with mosquito salivary gland extract exhibited reduced circulating WNV RNA. While we found the expected age-associated reduction in T cell proliferation, adaptive immunity did not correlate with infection outcome. That was further confirmed in a cohort of thymectomized and/or CD8 T-cell depleted Cynomolgus macaques (CM; N = 15), who also failed to develop WNV disease. Conclusions/significance: Results are consistent with strong and age-independent innate resistance of macaques against WNV challenge. This animal model is therefore not suitable for vaccine and therapeutic testing against WNV. However, understanding the basis of their innate resistance against WNV in macaques could provide helpful clues to improve anti- WNV protection of older adults. © 2010 Wertheimer et al.
Serotonin receptor changes after chronic antidepressant treatments: Ligand binding, electrophysiological, and behavioral studies

Abstract Early biochemical research on antidepressant treatments provided evidence that the treatments alter catecholaminergic and serotonergic activity. The mechanisms of action proposed by the resulting biogenic amine hypotheses of affective disorders, however, are not consistent with the delayed onset of therapeutic effects of antidepressant treatments nor with the acute effects of more recently developed antidepressant drugs. Recent investigation of chronic antidepressant treatments using ligand binding, electrophysiological, and behavioral techniques have attempted to identify subgroups of receptors that might be affected uniquely and specifically by chronic antidepressant treatments. Such receptor changes have been suggested to form a basis for the mechanism of action of antidepressants. At the present time, however, the data produced by ligand binding experiments and electrophysiological experiments investigating serotonergic functioning do not fit together. In addition, interpretational problems and internal contradictions exist within each of the three bodies of data when straightforward hypotheses regarding a serotonergic role in antidepressant treatment are formulated. In order to clarify the serotonergic role in antidepressant drug and ECS effects the functional significance of observed changes in putative serotonergic receptors must be discovered. Unfortunately, putative receptors identified by ligand binding cannot be directly compared to those identified by electrophysiological techniques, because these two methods require the disassembly of the organism in mutually incompatible ways. In order to prove that either or both techniques do in fact identify functional serotonin receptors, investigators need to proceed both more microscopically and also more globally. Further anatomical and physiological studies are necessary to locate putative receptors and to demonstrate their place in existing serotonergic networks. Further behavioral studies must be done to relate alterations in receptor characteristics to the functioning of the intact organism.
Modulation of mitomycin C resistance by glutathione transferase inhibitor ethacrynic acid.

Abstract This study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism(s) of cross-resistance (4.9-fold) to mitomycin C(MMC) in a multi-drug-resistant cell line, P388/R-84. Intracellular accumulation of MMC by sensitive (P388/S) and P388/R-84 cells was comparable. Despite a 32% reduction in NADPH cytochrome P -450 reductase activity (responsible for MMC activation) in P388/R-84 cells, the rate of MMC bio-reduction by sensitive and resistant cells was similar. These results suggested that MMC resistance in P388/R-84 cell line must depend on factors other than impaired drug accumulation or bio-activation. Recent studies suggest that glutathione transferase (GST) dependent drug detoxification also contributes to cellular resistance of a variety of alkylating agents. Even though overexpression of GST have been noted in some MMC resistant tumor cells, it is not known if its level affects sensitivity to MMC. We have, therefore, determined the effect of ethacrynic acid (an inhibitor of GST activity) treatment on MMC cytotoxicity in P388/R-84 cells, which have about 2-fold higher GST activity than P388/S cells. The IC 50 value for the inhibition of GST activity in vitro by ethacrynic acid (EA) was 16.5 μM (5 μg/ml). A depletion in intracellular GSH was also observed by treating P388/R-84 cells with EA alone or in combination with MMC. A non-toxic concentration of EA (1 μg/ml); 3.3 μM) increased MMC cytotoxicity by 36% in P388/R-84 cells. MMC cytotoxicity was increased 2-fold by EA treatment in glutathione (GSH)-depleted P388/R-84 cells. These results suggest that GST mediated drug inactivation may represent another important mechanism of MMC resistance.
Nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (Nampt) is required for de novo lipogenesis in tumor cells.

Tumor cells have increased metabolic requirements to maintain rapid growth. In particular, a highly lipogenic phenotype is a hallmark of many tumor types, including prostate. Cancer cells also have increased turnover of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a coenzyme involved in multiple metabolic pathways. However, a specific role for NAD+ in tumor cell lipogenesis has yet to be described. Our studies demonstrate a novel role for the NAD+-biosynthetic enzyme Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) in maintaining de novo lipogenesis in prostate cancer (PCa) cells. Inhibition of Nampt reduces fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis. In particular, short chain saturated fatty acids and the phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids into which these fatty acids are incorporated were specifically reduced by Nampt inhibition. Nampt blockade resulted in reduced ATP levels and concomitant activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). In spite of this, pharmacological inhibition of AMPK was not sufficient to fully restore fatty acid synthesis. Rather, Nampt blockade also induced protein hyperacetylation in PC-3, DU145, and LNCaP cells, which correlated with the observed decreases in lipid synthesis. Moreover, the sirtuin inhibitor Sirtinol, and the simultaneous knockdown of SIRT1 and SIRT3, phenocopied the effects of Nampt inhibition on fatty acid synthesis. Altogether, these data reveal a novel role for Nampt in the regulation of de novo lipogenesis through the modulation of sirtuin activity in PCa cells.
CWC: A Distributed Computing Infrastructure Using Smartphones

Every night, many smartphones are plugged into a power source for recharging the battery. Given the increasing computing capabilities of smartphones, these idle phones constitute a sizeable computing infrastructure. Therefore, for an enterprise which supplies its employees with smartphones, we argue that a computing infrastructure that leverages idle smartphones being charged overnight is an energy-efficient and cost-effective alternative to running certain tasks on traditional servers. While parallel execution models and schedulers exist for servers, smartphones face a unique set of technical challenges due to the heterogeneity in CPU clock speed, variability in network bandwidth, and lower availability than servers. In this paper, we address many of these challenges to develop CWC—a distributed computing infrastructure using smartphones. We implement and evaluate a prototype of CWC that employs a novel scheduling algorithm to minimize the makespan of a set of computing tasks. Our evaluations using a testbed of $18$ Android phones show that CWC’s scheduler yields a makespan that is 1.6x faster than other simpler approaches.
Evaluating the performance of a computer-based consultant

The performance of a computer-based clinical consultation system is evaluated. The program, called MYCIN, is designed to function as an aid for infectious disease diagnosis and therapy selection, with an initial emphasis on bacteremias. The evaluation methodology is discussed, as well as the difficulties encountered in attempting to evaluate clinical judgments. Specialists in infectious diseases judged MYCIN's final therapy recommedation, and intermediate conclusions about the significance of the infection and identity of infecting organisms. The evaluation techniques described may be useful in assessing the performance of other clinical decision aids. Results of the evaluation show that the program's therapy recommedations meet Stanford experts' standards of acceptable practice 90.9% of the time (table 2), with some variation noted both among individual experts and between Stanford experts and others (tables 1, 2).
The Nature and Transmission of Substituent Electrical Effects in Alicyclic Solvolysis

The correlation of rate constants taken from the literature for 2-exo- and 2-endo-norbornyl derivatives substituted in positions 1, 4, 5-exo, 6-exo, 6-endo, and 7-anti with the triparametric LDR equation and relationships derived from it has been carried out. A delocalized (resonance) electrical effect has been found in all but the 4-substituted derivatives. The resonance effect may be somewhat greater when the leaving group is exo than when it is endo. Steric effects occur in the 6-endo-substituted derivatives. The transition state resembles a classical carbocation rather than the nonclassical norbornyl carbocation. The correlation of solvolysis rate constants for 2- and 3-substituted 1- and 4-exo-substituted 2-exo-adamantyl derivatives gave no reliable indication that a delocalized electrical effect existed in these systems. A study of solvolysis rate constants for 4-substituted 1-[2.2.2]bicyclooctanyl, 6-exo-substituted [2.2.2]bicyclooctan-2-exo-yl and 6-exo-substituted [2.2.2]bicyclo- octan-2-endo-yl derivatives showed a delocalized electrical effect only in the latter of these systems. Such an effect was also observed in 4-substituted 2-chloro-2-methylbutane solvolyses. The transmission of electrical effects is by a modified field effect. It is dependent on 1/n where n is the number of bonds intervening between substituent and reaction site.
On Wigner's Different Usages of Models

An extensive reading of Wigner’s scholarly contributions brings to light how he was led to pursue two radically different purposes when he appealed to models. The present paper sketches the logical background for this distinction, and illustrates it with some specific models Wigner considered.
Comparison of acute and subclinical pelvic inflammatory disease.

Objective:The objective of this study was to compare the demographic, clinical, and microbiologic findings in women with subclinical pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and women with acute PID.Study:A cross-sectional study was performed using cohorts from 2 separate studies of 1293 women at risk for
Significance of histiocytes in cervical smears from peri/postmenopausal women

Histiocytes in cervicovaginal smears from peri- or postmenopausal women have been viewed as a potential indicator of endometrial neoplasia, but recent studies have refuted that view. This study further defines the clinical significance of such findings. All cervical smears were selected from women (< or = 50 yr) in whom the presence of histiocytes was mentioned; pertinent clinical history, follow-up information, and selected slides were reviewed. Among 105,225 total cervicovaginal smears from a 3.5-yr period, 106 smears from 103 women were identified. Forty-two patients (41%) were on hormone replacement therapy (2 on tamoxifen), and 23 (22.3%) patients experienced vaginal bleeding, all of whom had biopsy or cytology follow-up. Ten (9.6%) patients had no follow-up, 35 (32%) had repeat smears only, and 58 (56.3%) had endometrial/endocervical sampling. In 28 patients, the index smear was categorized as other than within normal limits or benign cellular changes; of these, 24 had subsequent tissue sampling and 4 had cytology follow-up. Of the patients with tissue sampling, 51 (84%) had benign findings (including polyps), 2 (3.5%) had hyperplasia, and 5 (10%) had adenocarcinoma. All 5 patients with adenocarcinoma had endometrial glandular cells on the smear, and 4 had vaginal bleeding. One patient with hyperplasia had vaginal bleeding, and the other was on tamoxifen and had endometrial glandular cells on the smear. None of the patients having only histiocytes on their smears and no clinical symptoms or risk factors had endometrial adenocarcinoma or hyperplasia. These findings support the conclusion that the presence of histiocytes alone on cervicovaginal smears from peri- or postmenopausal women is nonspecific and of no major clinical significance in the absence of other clinical or cytologic findings.
Cholesterol: Myth vs Reality?

Of the four articles about cholesterol in the April 1993 issue ofAJDC, two present new data. Mietus-Snyder et al1report that nutritional counseling in a pediatric lipid clinic had virtually no effect on the children's serum lipid levels: the average change in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels was an increase of 0.03 mmol/L (1 mg/dL). Bachman et al2report that, even in their health maintenance organization setting where all services were offered at no cost to patients, most families did not comply with recommendations for cholesterol testing and treatment. To identify 25 children at "high risk," they reviewed more than 1000 questionnaires, measured 369 cholesterol levels (160 subjects refused testing) and performed 58 full lipid panels (35 subjects refused follow-up testing). The 25 children with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were then invited to attend a nutritional program. Sixteen of the 25 children did not attend any of
A colloidal interpretation of biological stimulation and depression.

Abstract Protoplasm undergoes great changes in fluidity during its normal activity. This range is increased by pathological conditions. Stimulation by xanthines and opiates solate the living substance. Depression or anesthesia by certain drugs and other agents gelate protoplasm. An increase in activity is, therefore, correlated with a dispersal or “relaxing” of the protein units in protoplasm, whereas anesthesia or suppressed activity is coincident with an aggregation or tightening of the interlocking linear molecules of protoplasm. Excessive loosening or tightening of the fibrous structural units results in death.
Cavity ringdown spectroscopy of NO with a cw single frequency quantum cascade laser

Summary form only given. Cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRS) enables the measurements of very weak absorption introduced.into a high-finesse optical cavity. This method is based on measuring a decay time of the cavity mode. In this contribution we shall report the ultrasensitive detection of NO by its fundamental absorption at 5.2 /spl mu/m by CRS technique. A continuous wave quantum cascade distributed feedback (QC-DFB) laser was used as the spectroscopic source.
Chelated zinc reduces the dietary zinc requirement of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus☆

Abstract The dietary zinc requirements of year-1 channel catfish were determined with an egg-white-based purified diet and with a soybean-meal-based practical diet, each supplemented with serial concentrations of zinc methionine (ZnMet) or zinc sulfate heptahydrate (ZnS). In the egg white diet, supplemental dietary zinc requirements, determined by broken-line regression analysis, for ZnMet and ZnS for maximum weight gain were 5.58 and 18.94 mg/kg, respectively, and for maximum bone zinc deposition were 6.58 and 19.91 mg/kg, respectively. In the soybean meal diet, supplemental dietary zinc requirements for ZnMet and ZnS for maximum weight gain were 5.91 and 30.19 mg/kg, respectively, and for maximum bone zinc deposition were 12.82 and ≥ 80 mg/kg, respectively. The relative bioavailabilities of ZnMet, with ZnS as the standard, were 352% for weight gain and 305% for bone zinc deposition in the egg white diet, and 482% for weight gain and 586% for bone zinc deposition in the soybean meal diet. This experiment showed that ZnMet has approximately 3 times the potency of ZnS in a purified diet and 4–5 times the potency of ZnS in a practical diet containing phytic acid for meeting the dietary zinc requirements of channel catfish.