cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The postnatal development of VIP binding sites in rat forebrain and hindbrain

Abstract The specific binding of 125 I-labeled vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) to brain membranes from the forebrain and hindbrain regions of 2 to 37-day postnatal rats was measured. In both regions of the brain, VIP binding was low but detectable two days after birth and rose markedly between postnatal days 7 and 17. This increase in VIP binding with age correlates well with observed increases in VIP-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity [19] and increases in VIP content as determined by radioimmunoassay [1, 7, 14, 15, 20]. In hindbrain, the density of VIP binding sites was substantially higher than the forebrain at two days, while at 37 days, they were about equal, suggesting that the hindbrain regions may mature neurochemically prior to the forebrain. Total binding sites for forebrain and hindbrain were about equal at birth for both brain regions, while forebrain had a substantially greater number of sites at 37 days postnatal. The presence of VIP binding sites in both forebrain and hindbrain early in postnatal development suggests that VIP may play a role in development of the brain.
Postnatal development of multiple opioid receptors in rat brain

Recent studies have demonstrated that opioid receptors may be functional at early stages of ontogeny, and may modulate specific developmental functions. It is presently unknown, however, which particular opioid receptor subtype(s) may be involved. In the pre-ent study, we have used selective radioligand binding conditions in combination with quantitative autoradiography to examine the ontogeny of mu-, kappa- and delta-opioid receptors in the developing rat brain. Membrane binding data indicate that the affinities of mu-, kappa- and delta-sites for radiolabeled drugs are similar in neonatal and adult rats. mu- And kappa-receptors are present in significant densities during early neonatal periods, while delta-receptors appear much later. Autoradiographic data indicate that mu- and kappa-receptors appear early in the development of several brain regions, including the neostriatum, olfactory tubercle and rostral midbrain, and later in other regions such as the thalamus and hypothalamus. Whereas the densities of kappa-binding sites remain relatively constant throughout development, there is a transient appearance and/or redistribution of mu-receptors in several brain areas. delta-Receptors are present in low densities in the basal forebrain at birth. The level of delta-receptor binding increases markedly during the third postnatal week in all brain areas examined. The early appearance of mu- and kappa-receptors during the ontogeny of the brain suggests that these receptors, at least in part, mediate the developmental actions of exogenous and endogenous opioids.
Direct spectrophotometric measurement of the ribosephosphate isomerase catalyzed reaction.

Abstract A direct and continuous spectrophotometric assay for ribosephosphate isomerase has been developed. The ultraviolet absorption spectrum of the product of the ribosephosphate isomerase catalyzed transformation of ribose 5-phosphate has a wavelength of maximum absorption at 280 mμ and a molar extinction coefficient, based on previous equilibrium constant determinations, of approximately 50. The spectrophotometric assay is valid for all states of purity of ribosephosphate isomerase. With this assay procedure, the Michaelis-Menten binding constant was determined to be 4.6 × 10 −3 M .
So, what is asset management anyway?

What is asset management? Is it a proven money saver? Does it offer expansion to the broadcast and media industries with only marginally increased overheads? This new technology has been the subject of excited talk for some time but, with numerous asset management systems available, the marketplace has been left in some confusion as to what it has to offer them. This paper provides a detailed look into the qualities and advantages of asset management. It maintains that media asset management (MAM) takes broadcasters a step beyond anything they have been able to do before. By utilising MAM, broadcast and media outlets can realise inter- and cross-departmental process improvement. This results in a lower cost of doing business or this extra media handling capacity can be applied to produce new revenue streams. At this time the broadcast industry is not especially receptive to sales pitches calling for new capital investment. Global business conditions have slowed capital investment in new equipment regardless of inherent value. Therefore, even before new technologies are evaluated, there are fundamental questions: does it help the business or save money? This paper aims to answer these questions based on the notion that asset management is, first and foremost a business decision.
A simple voting scheme generates all binary relations on finite sets

Abstract A simple head-to-head voting scheme in which voters hold complete and transitive preferences over alternatives generates all binary relations on finite sets. The minimal number of voters required to generate a binary relation provides a measure of complexity for binary relations. Complexity so defined tells us, by how much a given binary relation fails to qualify as a total preorder.
Deacetylase SIRT6 deaccelerates endothelial senescence

This editorial refers to ‘SIRT6 protects human endothelial cells from DNA damage, telomere dysfunction, and senescence’ by A. Cardus et al ., pp. 571–579, this issue. Vascular endothelial homeostasis is critical to health and is a significant factor in many human diseases. It is established that endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction is one of the earliest pathological steps in the initiation and progression of vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and vascular remodelling.1–3 How to maintain a healthy or repair an injured endothelial lining of the vasculature has been a scientific mystery and a clinical challenge. In general, two theories have been proposed. On the one hand, it is thought that during their turnover, injured ECs, due to senescence, ageing, or other pathological challenges, might be replaced by circulating EC progenitors that can repopulate the damaged endothelium. Although this hypothesis has undergone rigorous investigation and achieved some promising initial results,4,5 recent studies demonstrated that circulating EC progenitors do not contribute to the regeneration of a damaged endothelium, thus significantly reducing this theory's promise in the field.6 On the other hand, healing damaged EC areas with adjacent mature ECs through their migration and proliferation is still a viable theory.7 In order to achieve this ‘ in situ healing’, however, the pre-existing mature ECs in the vasculature may have to maintain a ‘threshold’ of healthy …
Simulating unsteady flow and sediment transport in vegetated channel network

This paper presents a one-dimensional model for simulating flood routing and sediment transport over mobile alluvium in a vegetated channel network. The modified St. Venant equations together with the governing equations for suspended sediment and bed load transport were solved simultaneously to obtain flow properties and sediment transport rate. The Godunov-type finite volume method is employed to discretize the governing equations. Then, the Exner equation was solved for bed elevation change. Since sediment transport is non-equilibrium when bed is degrading or aggrading, a recovery coefficient for suspended sediment and an adaptation length for bed load transport were used to quantify the differences between equilibrium and non-equilibrium sediment transport rate. The influence of vegetation on floodplain and main channel was accounted for by adjusting resistance terms in the momentum equations for flow field. A procedure to separate the grain resistance from the total resistance was proposed and implemented to calculate sediment transport rate. The model was tested by a flume experiment case and an unprecedented flood event occurred in the Santa Cruz River, Tucson, Arizona, in July 2006. Simulated results of flow discharge and bed elevation changes showed satisfactory agreements with the measurements. The impacts of vegetation density on sediment transport and significance of non-equilibrium sediment transport model were discussed.
Effect of glutaraldehyde fixation on the localization of various oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes in the brain of rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta.

Histochemical investigations have been made on the localization of certain oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes in the different areas of rhesus monkey brain using unfixed, freshfrozen tissue and 3% glutaraldehyde-fixed material. After glutaraldehyde fixation, the oxidative enzymes lose most of their activity normally demonstrable in the fresh-frozen section. The hydrolytic enzymes are somewhat resistant to fixation but also lose about half of the enzyme activity observed after no fixing procedure. The glycogen is better preserved in the glutaraldehyde-fixed material compared to fresh-frozen or even formaldehyde-fixed tissue. The significance of these observations is discussed in relation to glutaraldehyde as a fixative of choice in electron histochemistry.
U.S. health care reform: Will it change postgraduate surgical education?

The principal goals of the pending health care reform initiatives in the United States are improving access to health care and controlling its costs. There are multiple proposals designed to reach these goals. Regardless of the final result, health care reform is likely to have significant implications for postgraduate surgical education. The teaching environment is already rapidly changing. Present environmental influences include the explosion of surgical knowledge, demographic changes, expansion of regulatory requirements from within the health care delivery system and within surgery as a discipline, societal and cultural changes, and economic pressures. Current and pending concerns prompt several questions: What should we teach? Where do we teach? How long should it take? Who are our learners? How do we evaluate our educational programs? Who should pay? A number of predictable changes affecting surgical education are proposed. New, more complex technologies will result in increased surgical specialization. Demands on surgical education will require that it be shorter, more relevant, more efficient, more effective, and more accountable. Surgical manpower requirements must be more clearly defined. Better and more relevant measures of clinical outcomes will be developed. Use of improved informational technology to manage clinical activity will expand. Solutions to the problem of foreign medical graduates will be clarified. The issue of who pays for surgical education will require resolution with some new and creative results. A proposal for shorter and more effective surgical residency is advocated.
Improving exemplar based inpainting method with a fuzzy approach

Image inpainting is a repairing method for missed or damaged area in the images. This field of image processing research is very active over recent years and many researchers work on it to create new methods or improve existing methods. Exemplar-based inpainting is one of them and dropping effect is a problem in this method that effect on inpainting results. In this article, a fuzzy method for solving dropping effect is presented. The proposed approach presents better quality on the final results.
Chronic use of opioid analgesics in non-malignant pain: Report of 38 cases

Thirty-eight patients maintained on opioid analgesics for non-malignant pain were retrospectively evaluated to determine the indications, course, safety and efficacy of this therapy. Oxycodone was used by 12 patients, methadone by 7, and levorphanol by 5; others were treated with propoxyphene, meperidine, codeine, pentazocine, or some combination of these drugs. Nineteen patients were treated for four or more years at the time of evaluation, while 6 were maintained for more than 7 years. Two-thirds required less than 20 morphine equivalent mg/day and only 4 took more than 40 mg/day. Patients occasionally required escalation of dose and/or hospitalization for exacerbation of pain; doses usually returned to a stable baseline afterward. Twenty-four patients described partial but acceptable or fully adequate relief of pain, while 14 reported inadequate relief. No patient underwent a surgical procedure for pain management while receiving therapy. Few substantial gains in employment or social function could be attributed to the institution of opioid therapy. No toxicity was reported and management became a problem in only 2 patients, both with a history of prior drug abuse. A critical review of patient characteristics, including data from the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire in 24 patients, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory in 23, and detailed psychiatric evaluation in 6, failed to disclose psychological or social variables capable of explaining the success of long-term management. We conclude that opioid maintenance therapy can be a safe, salutary and more humane alternative to the options of surgery or no treatment in those patients with intractable non-malignant pain and no history of drug abuse.
Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of a Left Posterior Accessory Atrioventricular Connection in a Patient with the Wolff–Parkinson–White Syndrome

From top to bottom the tracings represent the surface electrocardiogram (Lead V1) and bipolar intracardiac electrograms recorded from the high right atrium (HRA) and right ventricular apex (RVA) during right atrial pacing (S denotes a stimulus artifact of the right atrial pacer). Radiofrequency current (55 V for 30 seconds) was applied through the distal electrode of an exploring catheter positioned on the ventricular side of the mitral annulus close to the ventricular insertion of the accessory atrioventricular connection. Within three beats after the application of radiofrequency current (solid arrow), conduction over the accessory pathway was eliminated and ventricular . . .
Architecting the search for terrestrial planets and related origins (ASTRO)

As a cornerstone in NASA's Origins program, the primary goal of the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission is to directly detect the existence of Earth-like planets around nearby stars. This paper presents a process and a software tool, based on a quantitative systems engineering methodology, to conduct architectural trade studies during the TPF mission conceptual design phase.
Range inclusion and factorization of operators on classical Banach spaces

Abstract We prove that if Z is one of the classical Banach spaces l p (1 p p ≠ 2), L p 1 ⩽ p p ≠ 2), c 0 or C ( K ) with K compact and metric, then there exist operators A , B on Z with Range A ⊆ Range B , yet A ≠ BC for any operator C on Z .
Ultrastructure of the somatic portion of the gonads in asteroids, with emphasis on flagellated-collar cells and nutrient transport.

Somatic portions of gonads in two phanerozonian sea-stars, Ctenodiscus crispatus and Hippasteria phrygiana, were similar in all aspects of gross structure and histology seen previously in both forcipulate and spinulosan asteroids. For the first time, detailed ultrastructural observations have been made of cells and tissues that reveal several features believed to be of universal occurrence in the gonads of asteroids. These include flagellated-collar cells in the visceral peritoneum and other coelomically derived epithelia, muscular-flagellated-collar cells in the visceral peritoneum and genital coelomic (perihaemal) sinus, the digestion of collagen fibers by cells in the connective tissue layer, and the intimate relationship of the genital haemal sinus and the entire germinal epithelium. Structural and functional compartmentalization are discussed in relation to major activities of the gonad throughout the annual reproductive cycle. The distinctive ultrastructure and current generation of flagellated-collar cells found in the visceral peritoneum are analyzed relative to their role in nutrient transport to gonadal tissues. The single flagellum of each flagellated-collar cell beats in coordination with those on neighboring cells to produce extremely rapid, oriented currents of coelomic fluid. The form of beating in an individual flagellum is planar, and the resulting synchronized activity of many adjacent flagella is non-metachronal; both of these characteristic aspects of current production have, thus far, been encountered together only in the Echinodermata. Flagellated-collar cells are efficient in generating currents which mix contents of the coelomic fluid, and they can presumably supply themselves with nutrients. It is concluded that nutrients so obtained are generally not passed through the wall of the gonad to the germinal epithelium and, as a result, have little to do with nutrition of somatic and germinal cells of the germinal epithelium. Alternatively, well-developed genital portions of the haemal system of the sea-star are advanced as the major channels supplying nutrients to germinal epithelia during gametogenesis.
Excess pore pressure resulting from methane hydrate dissociation in marine sediments: A theoretical approach

[1] This study quantifies the excess pore pressure resulting from gas hydrate dissociation in marine sediments. The excess pore pressure in confined pore spaces can be up to several tens of megapascals due to the tendency for volume expansion associated with gas hydrate dissociation. On the other hand, the magnitude of excess pore pressure in well-connected sediment pores is generally smaller, depending primarily on the hydrate dissociation rate and the sediment permeability. Volume expansion due to gas hydrate dissociation in well-connected pore spaces is related via Darcy's law to an increase in pore pressure and its gradient in sediment, which drives an additional upward fluid flow through the sediment layer overlying the gas hydrate dissociation area. The magnitude of this excess pore pressure is found to be proportional to the rate of gas hydrate dissociation and the depth below seafloor and inversely proportional to sediment permeability and the depth below sea level. The excess pore pressure is the greatest at low initial pressures and decreases rapidly with increasing initial pressure. Excess pore pressure may be the result of gas hydrate dissociation due to continuous sedimentation, tectonic uplift, sea level fall, heating or inhibitor injection. The excess pore pressure is found to be potentially able (1) to facilitate or trigger submarine landslides in shallow water environments, (2) to result in the formation of vertical columns of focused fluid flow and gas migration, and (3) to cause the failure of a sediment layer confined by low-permeability barriers in relatively deep water environments.
A Research Agenda for Peace and Security Studies

On national matters it is unlikely that the editorials of a regional paper have any impact at all. They may be of some marginal value to the local congressional delegation, but no member of Congress would want to view editorials as anything like expressions of public opinion in his district. Although editorial writers of the regional press may be uncomfortable with the thought, their editorials on national and international subjects probably amount to nothing so much as pontification. I did my share.
Response of Texas bluegrass to season of nitrogen fertilization on the Louisiana Coastal Plain.

Abstract Texas bluegrass (Poa arachnifera Torr.) has shown potential for use as a cool‐season perennial pasture grass in the southern Great Plains, where it occurs as a natural component of rangeland plant communities, and into the western Coastal Plain. Responsiveness of this grass to nitrogen (N) fertilization appeared to be limited to the spring growing period in initial evaluations in Louisiana. A field plot experiment was conducted to assess forage production and quality responses to season of N fertilization on the Syn‐1 population of Texas bluegrass. Winter forage production responses to 50 kg N ha‐1 were obtained in the 1997–98 growing season but not in 1998–99 after stands had been depleted by summer drought. Greatest yield increases resulted from spring N application, however, fall plus winter fertilization provided the most uniform distribution of forage through the cool season. Forage fiber fractions, in vitro digestibility, and crude protein were not affected by N fertilization. Both amount a...
Cortical afferents to the smooth-pursuit region of the macaque monkey’s frontal eye field

In primates, the frontal eye field (FEF) contains separate representations of saccadic and smooth-pursuit eye movements. The smooth-pursuit region (FEFsem) in macaque monkeys lies principally in the fundus and deep posterior wall of the arcuate sulcus, between the FEF saccade region (FEFsac) in the anterior wall and somatomotor areas on the posterior wall and convexity. In this study, cortical afferents to FEFsem were mapped by injecting retrograde tracers (WGA-HRP and fast blue) into electrophysiologically identified FEFsem sites in two monkeys. In the frontal lobe, labeled neurons were found mostly on the ipsilateral side in the (1) supplementary eye field region and lateral area F7; (2) area F2 along the superior limb of the arcuate sulcus; and (3) in the buried cortex of the arcuate sulcus extending along the superior and inferior limbs and including FEFsac and adjacent areas 8, 45, and PMv. Labeled cells were also found in the caudal periprincipal cortex (area 46) in one monkey. Labeled cells were found bilaterally in the frontal lobe in the deep posterior walls of the arcuate sulcus and postarcuate spurs and in cingulate motor areas 24 and 24c. In postcentral cortical areas all labeling was ipsilateral and there were two major foci of labeled cells: (1) the depths of the intraparietal sulcus including areas VIP, LIP, and PEa, and (2) the anterior wall and fundus of the superior temporal sulcus including areas PP and MST. Smaller numbers of labeled cells were found in superior temporal sulcal areas FST, MT, and STP, posterior cingulate area 23b, area 3a within the central sulcus, areas SII, RI, Tpt in the lateral sulcus, and parietal areas 7a, 7b, PEc, MIP, DP, and V3A. Many of these posterior afferent cortical areas code visual-motion (MT, MST, and FST) or visual-motion and vestibular (PP, VIP) signals, consistent with the responses of neurons in FEFsem and with the overall physiology and anatomy of the smooth-pursuit eye movement system.
Fast spatial co-location mining without cliqueness checking

In this paper, we propose a novel, spatial co-location mining algorithm which automatically generates co-located spatial features without generating any non-clique candidates at each level. Subsequently our algorithm is more efficient than other existing level-wise co-location algorithms because no cliqueness checking is performed in our algorithm. In addition, our algorithm produces a smaller number of co-location candidates than the other existing algorithms.
Electromagnetic magic: The relativistically rotating disk

A closed form analytic solution is found for the electromagnetic field of the charged uniformly rotating conducting disk for all values of the tip speed $v$ up to $c$. For $v=c$ it becomes the Magic field of the Kerr-Newman black hole with $G$ set to zero. The field energy, field angular momentum and gyromagnetic ratio are calculated and compared with those of the electron. A new mathematical expression that sums products of 3 Legendre functions each of a different argument, is demonstrated.
The Potential for Beneficial Re-use of Sewage Sludge and Coal Combustion By-products

Abstract Growth in population and industrial production results in increased production of municipal and industrial wastes. Two waste products are considered here, coal combustion by-products and sewage sludge. Combinations of these two waste products have the potential to serve as fertilizer replacements or soil amendments in a wide variety of applications. The potential for utilizing these waste products as soil amendments and fertilizers for agricultural production is considered here. We find that, in general, using coal combustion by-products mixed with sewage sludge can save farmers money by replacing commercial fertilizers.
Combined steric and electronic effects of positional substitution on dimethyl-bipyridine rhenium(I)tricarbonyl electrocatalysts for the reduction of CO2

Abstract The use of CO2 as a chemical feedstock has been the focus of much research in recent years due to the promise for carbon neutral fuel storage in chemical bonds. Specifically, electrocatalysts of the type Re(bpy)(CO)3Cl (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine and analogues thereof) have been studied for their ability to reduce CO2 to CO. These catalysts are among the most active, selective, and robust homogeneous catalysts for CO2 reduction in the literature. Previous studies have involved understanding the mechanism for catalysis and the inductive effect of bipyridine functional groups on catalysis. In the study reported herein, we have assessed the CO2 reduction capabilities of a series of Re(n,n′-dimethyl-bpy)(CO)3Cl (n = 3 and 5) catalysts with a bpy modified at the 3 and 5 positions with methyl substituents. While the 5,5′-positional substituents have the effect of increasing catalytic activity (icat/ip = 29.6) over the unsubstituted catalyst (icat/ip = 20.3); steric hindrance in the 3,3′-substituted bpy has the effect of decreasing catalytic activity (icat/ip = 17.0). This decreased catalytic current response can be explained by steric hindrance in the 3,3′-substituted catalyst disfavoring optimal charge transfer in the catalytic cycle.
Carbon black–polymer interaction: A measure of reinforcement

The interaction of carbon blacks with high polymers during the mixing process was studied by using fillers having a wide range of surface characteristics. Glass beads, Graphon, high-structure blacks, and heat-treated blacks were mixed with elastomers in the Brabender Plasticorder. With the use as a rubber matrix of a high polymer that did not materially change during the mixing process in molecular weight or viscosity, excellent correlation was found between final torque required for mixing and black structure and between peak torque and bound rubber. Increasing interaction was shown to lead to increased mixing torque, increased Mooney viscosity, increased modulus, and higher state of cure, as measured by swelling. If the high polymer matrix breaks down during the mixing process these influences of interaction are mostly obscured by diminishing molecular weight.
Outcomes after orthotopic liver transplantation in 15 HIV-infected patients

Background. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been associated with poor outcomes after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has led to an increasing number of successful OLTs. The aim of this study was to examine survival and cause-specific mortality in HIV-infected patients after OLT at our institution. Methods. A retrospective analysis of all HIV patients that underwent OLT was compared to all non-HIV patients undergoing OLT during the same period. Cumulative patient and cause-specific survival were calculated using Kaplan-Meier methods; the log-rank test was used to compare the two cohorts. Fifteen HIV-infected patients and 857 non-HIV patients underwent OLT between June 1, 1999 and May 1, 2006. Results. The actuarial 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates posttransplant (±standard error) were 73.3% (±11.4%) for the HIV group (unchanged from 1 to 3 years) versus 86.9% (±1.2%), 82.0% (±1.4%), and 79.4% (±1.5%) for the non-HIV group. Cumulative survival among HIV-infected recipients was not different from the non-HIV population (P=0.20). A difference was observed between the two groups in mortality rates due to infectious causes: the percentage of HIV patients dying from infection was 26.7% (4 of 15) vs. 8.2% (70 of 857) in the non-HIV group (P=0.006). Conclusions. PostOLT survival was comparable in HIV and non-HIV recipients; however, HIV patients had significantly higher mortality from infectious complications. This difference occurred despite adequate control of HIV postOLT. These findings suggest that OLT can be safely performed for HIV-infected patients; however, these patients are at higher risk of mortality from infectious complications.
Increased Functional Stability and Homogeneity of Viral Envelope Spikes through Directed Evolution

The functional HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimer, the target of anti-HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies (Abs), is innately labile and coexists with non-native forms of Env. This lability and heterogeneity in Env has been associated with its tendency to elicit non-neutralizing Abs. Here, we use directed evolution to overcome instability and heterogeneity of a primary Env spike. HIV-1 virions were subjected to iterative cycles of destabilization followed by replication to select for Envs with enhanced stability. Two separate pools of stable Env variants with distinct sequence changes were selected using this method. Clones isolated from these viral pools could withstand heat, denaturants and other destabilizing conditions. Seven mutations in Env were associated with increased trimer stability, primarily in the heptad repeat regions of gp41, but also in V1 of gp120. Combining the seven mutations generated a variant Env with superior homogeneity and stability. This variant spike moreover showed resistance to proteolysis and to dissociation by detergent. Heterogeneity within the functional population of hyper-stable Envs was also reduced, as evidenced by a relative decrease in a proportion of virus that is resistant to the neutralizing Ab, PG9. The latter result may reflect a change in glycans on the stabilized Envs. The stabilizing mutations also increased the proportion of secreted gp140 existing in a trimeric conformation. Finally, several Env-stabilizing substitutions could stabilize Env spikes from HIV-1 clades A, B and C. Spike stabilizing mutations may be useful in the development of Env immunogens that stably retain native, trimeric structure.
Expression of executioner procaspases and their activation by a procaspase-activating compound in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

Intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways converge to activate common downstream executioner caspases (caspase-3, -6, and -7), resulting in cell death. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), neoplastic B cells evade apoptosis owing to the overexpression of survival proteins. We hypothesized that direct activation of procaspases could bypass the apoptosis resistance induced by the upstream prosurvival proteins. The procaspase-activating compounds (PAC-1), including B-PAC-1 (L14R8), convert inactive executioner procaspases to their active cleaved forms by chelation of labile zinc ions. Both at transcript and protein levels, primary CLL cells express high levels of latent procaspases (3, -7, and -9). B-PAC-1 treatment induced CLL lymphocyte death which was higher than that in normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells or B cells, and was independent of prognostic markers and microenvironmental factors. Mechanistically, B-PAC-1 treatment activated executioner procaspases and not other Zn-dependent enzymes. Exogenous zinc completely, and pancaspase inhibitors partially, reversed B-PAC-1-induced apoptosis, elucidating the zinc-mediated mechanism of action. The cell demise relied on the presence of caspase-3/7 but not caspase-8 or Bax/Bak proteins. B-PAC-1 in combination with an inhibitor of apoptosis protein antagonist (Smac066) synergistically induced apoptosis in CLL samples. Our investigations demonstrated that direct activation of executioner procaspases via B-PAC-1 treatment bypasses apoptosis resistance and is a novel approach for CLL therapeutics.
Catecholamine excretion in young white and Negro males with normal and elevated blood pressure.

Abstract This study was designed to compare the urinary excretion of norepinephrine and epinephrine in young hypertensive Negro males with excretion in normotensive Negro and white males of similar age and social class. Diet, physical fitness, physical activity, drug usage, and use of nicotine were considered. Day-night differences in catecholamine excretion, reproducibility of individual and group catecholamine excretion rates on two occasions and a comparison of catecholamine excretion by normotensive and hypertensive subjects during a period of limited activity on a metabolism ward and a period of usual activity outside the hospital were studied. No significant differences were found in catecholamine excretion between Negro and white or between hypertensive and normotensive young males either on a metabolism ward or during their usual daily activities. The premature and excessive occurrence of hypertension in the Negro does not appear to be related in its early sustained period to sympathomimetic overactivity to the extent that the latter process is reflected in catecholamine excretion rates.
Plasma density measurement in a gas-filled X-band backward wave oscillator with a double conversion heterodyne microwave interferometer☆

Abstract Plasma density was measured with a heterodyne microwave interferometer in both a gas-filled X-band backward wave oscillator (BWO) and in a smooth tube. Plasma is generated by impact ionization of a 650 kV, 2 kA electron beam. For fixed gas pressure we found that the plasma density rise in the operating BWO was much faster than in a smooth tube, indicating that Trivelpiece-Gould modes, or high power microwaves, increase plasma generation. Additional plasma enhanced BWO microwave output power. Measured plasma density at optimum power levels was n cr ≈ 6 × 10 12 cm −3 at onset of emitted microwaves.
Primary pathogens and their role in the development of an epizootic in the gypsy moth

Abstract The development of an epizootic was studied in a dense population of larvae of the gypsy moth, Porthetria dispar. The two pathogens involved were a nuclear-polyhedrosis virus and a variant of Streptococcus faecalis. It was known that there was approximately 10% acute infection from trans-ovum transmission of the nuclear-polyhedrosis virus. The origin of the initial inoculum of the variant of S. faecalis is unknown but it became common in the second, and later instars. The behavior of the larvae increased the relative density of the population and enhanced the rate of larva-to-larva spread of the pathogens. Larvae in the first four instars fed most heavily in the tops of trees and dead larvae accumulated on the upper surfaces of the leaves. These cadavers disintegrated and adhered firmly to the leaves, forming an abundant source of inoculum for feeding larvae. This occurred early enough to account for the later, massive increase in disease. Results from counts in the field and collections of larvae reared in the laboratory indicated that there was an increasing rate of infection and mortality that reached a climax when larvae were in the last instars. The threatened defoliation did not occur and the population declined sharply. Although the nuclear-polyhedrosis virus appeared to be most important, up to 50% of the larvae in some collections were killed by the variant of S. faecalis. Observations indicated that the epizootic was density-dependent and that the rapid spread of pathogens in the susceptible population was enhanced by the behavior of the larvae during the early instars.
The characterization of (+/-)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide-DNA adducts and (+/-)-anti-dibenzo[a,l]pyrene diolepoxide--DNA adducts in the same DNA sample using solid-matrix phosphorescence

Solid-matrix phosphorescence (SMP) spectra and lifetimes were used to characterize the (+/-)-anti-benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide [(+/-)-anti-B[a]PDE] and (+/-)-anti-dibenzo[a,l]pyrene diolepoxide [(+/-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE] bonded to the same sample of DNA. SMP spectra and lifetimes were also acquired for two samples of DNA that had only (+/-)-anti-B[a]PDE or (+/-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE bonded to the individual samples of DNA. A detailed comparison of the SMP properties was made among the three samples of DNA. The SMP excitation spectra for the (+/-)-anti-B[a]PDE-DNA and the (+/-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE-DNA adducts were very similar. However, the SMP emission spectra of the two DNA adduct systems were very dissimilar with a major emission band for the (+/-)-anti-B[a]PDE-DNA adducts appearing at 613 nm and for the (+/-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE-DNA adducts a major band was at 558 nm. It was possible to selectively use SMP emission wavelengths and obtain a SMP excitation of spectrum of the (+/-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE-DNA adducts in the dual adducted DNA sample without the (+/-)-anti-B[a]PDE-DNA adducts emitting SMP. In addition, it was shown that the SMP emission spectrum of the dual adducted DNA sample could be used to detect both adduct systems in the modified DNA sample. It was demonstrated that the SMP lifetimes could be effectively employed to characterize the dual adducted DNA sample. For example, the SMP decay curve for the (+/-)-anti-DB[a,l]PDE-DNA adducts could be acquired without any SMP emission from the (+/-)-anti-B[a]PDE-DNA adducts. Also, ln(SMP intensity) versus time plots were very useful in characterizing the dual adducted DNA sample.
The teacher: An explication

All good teaching retains something of the human and personal. In method, the teacher may create an area of objectivity in the classroom; but the humanizing element is never sacrificed. A good teacher can teach with a book, or a newspaper, or a piece of chalk on the blackboard. Visual aids are not all electronically projected. In the classroom there are items that can be inventoried: a floor, walls, windows, ceiling, and certain furnishings. And yet, there are intangible materials of teaching that cannot be itemized and placed upon an inventory sheet, though partial lists have been made. In a good school the windows and working area are clean, materials are presented in reasonable order, and the teacher seems comfortably rather than officiously aware of something intangible. To an observer the pupils and the teacher seem engaged in some high, purposeful secret. The observer may look about with some embarrassment: That is a classroom that still has magic in it. The voices of individual children speak out with such force and clarity that the observer may hastily consider the state of his soul. He is on holy ground. The teacher is a person. The good teacher is a creative person, and almost of necessity, an isolated person. To consider teachers as people "just like everybody else," even as you and I, is to invite trouble and misinterpretation. They are different because of the nature of their calling and the demands made upon them by society, and by their own attitudes created to help them fulfill their task. A teacher is both a real and an unreal "characterization." They are both what they are and what you expect them to be. You have helped to create the teachers you get. The teachers you keep are those who like what you have made of them. The teachers you are losing are those who do not like what you are about to make of them. But a good teacher will usually stand her ground; she will usually wait it out with you. Each year she plays the tragic-comic role of one entering
Kinetics of growth of developing spherulites

A model containing two rate constants is presented for the development of spherulites from sheaves. One, GR, is a radial spherulite growth constant while the other, GS, describes the rate of increase of apex angle of the sheaf. On the basis of this model, Avrami kinetics are developed which predict a change in the Avrami constant n from 5 to 3 as the sheaf develops into a spherulite. HV light-scattering patterns are calculated according to this model and are found to compare favorably with those found during the early stages of the crystallization of poly(ethylene terephthalate).
TU‐A‐213A‐02: Quantitative PET/CT Imaging for Drug Discovery, Clinical Trials, and Individual Response to Therapy

Recent publications have established quantitative measures of tracer uptake used in positron emission tomography(PET)imaging as a predictor of patient outcome including pathologic response, disease‐free survival and overall survival in single institution imaging and therapy trials. There is increasing interest in using PET as a biomarker to evaluate response to therapy and possibly as an endpoint for cancertherapeutic response in multi‐center trials. However, several sources of variance and inherent in quantifying PET tracer uptake should understood and determined in order to ascertain the significance of differences in serial measurements and aid estimation of expected variances during clinical trial design. In this presentation we will review the major sources of bias and variability from the patient, imaging protocol, data processing, and image analysis. We will also briefly discuss artifacts from PET and PET/CT imaging. The presentation will conclude with a review of efforts to address complexities that arise from combining quantitative PET/CT data from multiple patients at multiple sites. Research partially supported by NCI Contract 24XS036‐004 (RIDER).
Psychosocial aspects of maxillofacial rehabilitation. Part I. The effect of primary cancer treatment

Abstract One-hundred thirty-nine patients at the University of California Maxillofacial Rehabilitation Clinic were given a psychosocial questionnaire. The items of the questionnaire covered a variety of significant areas and were tabulated by computer. The results helped to define this patient population in terms of social stability, income and occupation, drinking and smoking habits, age, sex, and educational background. Aspects of the patient's self-imge before and after his primary cancer treatment were presented.
Retinal Vascular Repair and Neovascularization are not dependent on CX3CR1 Signaling in a Model of Ischemic Retinopathy

Proliferative retinal neovascularization occurring in response to ischemia is a common mechanism underlying many retinal diseases. In recent studies, retinal microglia have been shown to influence pathological neovascularization, likely through an exchange of cellular signals with associated vascular elements. CX3CR1 is a chemokine receptor located specifically on microglia; its ligand, CX3CL1 (also known as fractalkine or neurotactin) displays pro-angiogenic activity both in in vivo and in vitro. Discovering the regulatory role, if any, that CX3CR1 signaling may have in ischemic retinopathy will shed light on the molecular nature of microglial-vascular interactions and clarify potential targets for future therapy. In this study, we examined this question by inducing and comparing ischemic vascular changes in transgenic mice in which CX3CR1 signaling is either preserved or ablated. Using a well-known oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model, we induced ischemic retinopathy in transgenic mice in which the gene for CX3CR1 has been replaced by green fluorescent protein (GFP) and their wild type controls. CX3CR1(+/+), CX3CR1(+/GFP), and CX3CR1(GFP/GFP) transgenic mice were exposed to 75% oxygen for 5 days starting from postnatal day (P) 7, and then transferred back to room air. At P12 and P17, the extents of vascular repair and neovascularization, and associated changes in retinal microglia distribution, were quantified and compared between mice of different genotypes. Neuronal loss in the retina following ischemia was also evaluated in paraffin sections. Our results show that: (1) CX3CR1 signaling is not required for normal vascular, microglial, and neuronal development in the retina in the first postnatal week, (2) the processes of retinal vascular repair and neovascularization following ischemia occur similarly with and without CX3CR1 signaling, (3) microglia redistribution in the retina and their association with vascular elements occurring concurrently is independent of CX3CR1, and (4) CX3CR1 does not influence the extent of neuronal cell loss in the retina following ischemia. Taken together, our findings indicate that the regulatory signals exchanged between microglia and vascular elements in the ischemic retinopathy animal model are unlikely to involve CX3CR1. These results have implications on therapeutic approaches to, pathological neovascularization involving the modulation of chemokine signaling in general, and the regulation of CX3CR1 signaling specifically.
Transvascular protein movement in the intact ischemic hindlimb

Postischemic limb swelling following reperfusion may be related to microvascular changes associated with ischemia. We used lymph-to-plasma total protein concentration ratios (LP) and lymph flow (QL) as an index of transvascular exchange in the intact dog hindlimb during steady state (C) (1 hr), ischemia (I) (6 hr), and reperfusion (R) (3 hr). Central pressures, femoral arterial and venous pressures (PA, PV), and QL were recorded every 15 min. Lymph was collected from a femoral lymphatic in the passively flexed leg (50 cycles/min). Three groups of animals were studied: GI, sham-operated (N = 5); GII, moderate ischemia (N = 7, PA = 30–45% C); and GIII, severe ischemia (N = 7, PA = 5–20% C). In GI, QL gradually increased over 10 hr without change in LP. Moderate ischemia produced a decrease in QL, 3.55 ± 2.02 mg/hr to 0.92 ± 0.53 mg/hr (P < 0.0001), and QL remained below baseline during R with no change in LP over the 10 hr. Severe ischemia produced a similar decrease in QL, 1.91 ± 2.05 mg/hr to 0.15 ± 0.1 mg/hr (P < 0.01); however, an increase to 2.56 ± 2.14 mg/hr occurred during R. Severe ischemia increased LP 0.42 ± 0.08 to 0.64 ± 0.23 (P < 0.001) and remained elevated during R at 0.63 ± 0.18 (P < 0.001). An increase in the wet-to-dry weight ratio of ischemic to nonischemic muscle after reperfusion was noted only in GIII, 3.82 ± 1.17 vs 2.60 ± 0.45 (P < 0.04). Severe ischemia produces changes in vascular integrity which augment protein flow. Prevention of these vascular changes may help to minimize the muscle swelling of reperfusion.
Ruptured Gall Bladder with Massive Intraperitoneal Hemorrhage with Recovery

Summary A case is reported of rupture of the gall bladder with massive intraperitoneal hemorrhage with recovery following surgery.
A framework for evaluating test pattern generation strategies

A formal approach for the analysis of heuristics used in automatic test pattern generation for combinational circuits is presented. A test pattern generation system that constructs a satisfying assignment for a Boolean formula describing the legal set of tests is discussed. Heuristics as modifications to the formula or the satisfier acting on the formula are described. Experimental results are provided for the system as a whole, and for the effects of four heuristics. >
Toward Improved Durability in Advanced Aircraft Engine Hot Sections

The conference on durability improvement methods for advanced aircraft gas turbine hot-section components discussed NASA's Hot Section Technology (HOST) project, advanced high-temperature instrumentation for hot-section research, the development and application of combustor aerothermal models, and the evaluation of a data base and numerical model for turbine heat transfer. Also discussed are structural analysis methods for gas turbine hot section components, fatigue life-prediction modeling for turbine hot section materials, and the service life modeling of thermal barrier coatings for aircraft gas turbine engines.
Optic Neuritis, A New Variant of Experimental Encephalomyelitis, A Durable Model for All Seasons, Now In Its Seventieth Year

One of the most enduring models of human disease now celebrates the seventieth anniversary of its publication in The Journal of Experimental Medicine . Thomas Rivers, working at the Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, along with his colleagues D.H. Sprunt and G.P. Berry,