cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
IM-01ANTI-TUMOR EFFECT OF TRASTUZUMAB, GM-CSF AND IL-2 COMBINATORIAL THERAPY IN PEDIATRIC EPENDYMOMA.

We have previously shown that (i) the amount of tumor-infiltrating microglia/macrophage (M/M) in pediatric brain tumor ependymoma (EPN) is positively correlated with survival and (ii) identified an immunosuppressive phenotype in poor prognosis subgroup A of EPN. These data support the development of immunotherapy for EPN, a tumor in which approximately 50% of patients suffer recurrence and for which chemotherapy has not yet shown any benefit. In these preclinical and clinical studies we evaluated the combination of therapeutic antibody trastuzumab, GM-CSF and IL2 for the treatment of EPN. Transcriptomic analysis identified ERBB2, targetable by therapeutic antibody trastuzumab, as overexpressed in EPN. Flow cytometric analysis showed that trastuzumab was bound to ErbB2-expressing EPN tumor and infiltrating M/M. Tumor infiltrating M/M express high levels of high-affinity Fc-gamma receptor CD64 which we suspect are binding the Fc of trastuzumab. Allogeneic and autologous EPN cell line immune cell co-cultures demonstrated significantly increased ADCC with combined trastuzumab and GM-CSF. Primary human EPN organotype culture studies demonstrated decreased tumor proliferation and increased immune cell proliferation in response to combined trastuzumab, GM-CSF and IL2. To date we have recruited 4 patients to the first pilot clinical study of GM-CSF delivered prior to surgery in children with relapsed EPN. Transcriptomic analysis of post-treatment tumor samples demonstrated that GM-CSF upregulated antigen processing and presentation genes, a hallmark of an activated immunophenotype. These results demonstrate that combined trastuzumab/GM-CSF/IL2 is effective at not only priming the newly recruited immune cells to target the tumor but may also reverse the immunosuppressive phenotype. The potential of complementary combinatorial immunotherapeutic regimens in EPN warrants expedited investigation.
Consistency and Change Air Transport Research in the Wake of September 11

The past few years have been tumultuous for air transportation. As is well known, the air transport industry was dealt a series of substantial blows in 2001 that forced the industry to contract. The articles included in this special issue discuss the effects of these events and offer a balanced account of the air transport industry in general. Although the events of September 11 and the various changes implemented by the air carriers have undoubtedly had a negative impact on air transport, there is no sign that the industry will not remain a critical component in the global economy and the national system of transportation. The collection of articles presented herein contribute to our understanding of critical issues in air transport at an important time in the industry’s ongoing evolution.
Localization of the Vinblastine-binding Site on β-Tubulin

Abstract A fluorescent vinblastine derivative, vinblastine-4′-anthranilate, has been shown to inhibit polymerization of rat brain tubulin (IC50 = 4.8 μM). Binding of the drug to tubulin increases fluorescence intensity, causes a small emission blue shift, and has a quantum yield of 0.037. Fluorescence increases as a function of drug concentration, with a high affinity site and an undetermined number of lower affinity sites. Photolabeling, by exciting the fluorescent drug-tubulin complex at the absorption maximum of anthranilate, yields a covalent adduct confined to β-tubulin. Its formation is specific in that it is blocked by maytansine or vinblastine. Tryptic hydrolysis identifies a single fluorescent β-peptide coinciding with residues 175–213. The interactions between various ligands at this central portion of β-tubulin are discussed.
Alternative Developmental Evaluation Model for a Changing Health Care Environment ♦ 86

The interdisciplinary evaluation (IE) model has been well established in Centers for Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. This model may be less competitive in a health care environment dominated by patient volume, economics, and outcomes. IE generates long waiting lists resulting in delayed diagnosis and access to care. An alternative evaluation model addressed staff cut-backs, cost accountability, timing and delivery of appropriate services without compromising quality of care. Patients (N=88) in the alternative model(AM) were compared to those (N=94) in the routine clinic (RC). IE averaged 6 hrs per patient with medical, psychological, speech, social, vision and hearing evaluations at a minimum for RC. In AM a decision protocol was used to select appropriate patients for a 90 minute medical and social assessment including standardized developmental screening tools. Of new patients, 49(56%) received AM. Trained social workers used the decision protocol after medical records were procured and considered age, reason for visit, previous testing, and driving distance. AM patients were 3 and 10 years old, 76.9% were males, 88.5% received Medicaid, and 84.6% were referred in by physicians or health clinics. Compared to RC, the time on the waiting list was shortened by 2 months (10.2 vs 18.5 wks) for AM families. The charge per AM patient decreased by 30% ($548 vs $779), with similar level of reimbursement over the 5 mo. AM patients had fewer clinical contacts (6.9 vs 8.1). Surveyed by mail, AM caregiver satisfaction was high (80%), with 72% reporting their questions or concerns were addressed. All surveyed student clinicians (N=8) agreed AM provided a good IE learning opportunity. Outcomes from AM were medical referrals (15.4% for genetics, 15.4% for further laboratory studies, 11.5% for MRI studies, 26.9% for ADHD testing, 15.4% for hearing reassessment, 15.4% for optometry, and 11.5% for physical therapy), IQ testing (42.3%), speech/language therapy (26.9%) and other interventions (family counseling 11.5% preschool 23%). Over half (52%) of families reported recommended services were easily obtained. AM used an IE team effectively to screen for neurodevelopmental disabilities, shorten staff time, costs and waiting lists. Medical concerns were identified sooner by AM and its decision protocol used more community resources than RC.
Agritourism as a sustainable adaptation strategy to climate change in the Andean Altiplano

Abstract The Andean Altiplano has a diversity of landscapes supporting rural livelihoods. Climate change historical trends and projections point to disruptions in the livelihoods of farmers in this region. This context of climate change requires system-wide analysis to determine socio-ecological adjustments. In response, we conceptualized agritourism as a climate change adaptation strategy capable of supplementing agricultural incomes and sustaining rural livelihoods in the Andean Altiplano. We operationalized the framework of change with data gathered from 134 households in Ancoraimes (Bolivian Altiplano) to identify attributes that could enable or constraint agritourism development at five intervention scales: production, livelihood, community/watershed, landscape/ecosystem, and government. By assessing the climate and socio-economic drivers and dynamics of change, and the local assets enabling agency in rural communities, agritourism is presented as a short-term strategy to increase household's revenues, reduce risks associated with agricultural production, and decrease the depletion of natural resources (soils, water, biodiversity) for the long-term sustainability of Andean agriculture-based livelihoods.
China's Urban Housing Development in the Shift from Redistribution to Decentralization

This paper examines the influence of economic and housing reforms on urban housing development in China during the early transition from central state redistribution to administrative and fiscal decentralization. In socialist redistributive economies, the central state historically favored production investment at the expense of housing investment, monopolized the limited urban housing investment through administrative planning, and allocated urban housing as a heavily subsidized redistributive good. These policies contributed to serious urban housing shortages as an entrenched social problem in China. Panel regression analysis is used to model determinants of urban housing development in an early phase of economic and housing reform. The findings suggest the effects of continuing state redistribution and accelerated decentralization on urban housing development. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.
TH-D-BRD-05: Replacement for Generalized Equivalent Dose in Phenomenological NTCP Models

Purpose: phenomenological normal tissue complications probability (NTCP) models use generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) as a summary measure which converts an inhomogeneous dose distribution into an "equivalent" uniform dose. We have investigated adapting gEUD models to brachytherapydose distributions which are characterized by small focal hotspots. We have found that small hotspots dominate the behavior of gEUD measure. As it is unlikely that clinical NTCP values are determined to this extent by small focal hotspots, we have developed an alternative to gEUD‐based dose‐volume histogram reduction for adapting the phenomenological NTCP models to combined external‐beam and brachytherapy treatments. Our revised metric allows for local saturation in biological effectiveness in volume‐limited high‐dose regions. Materials & Methods: Three summary measures were computed on rectal DVHs. The gBEUD is an equivalent of gEUD, but with the physical dose replaced by biologically equivalent dose (BED). The tESD and vESD measures compute ESD index (equivalent uniform dose leading to the same cell survival fraction as the inhomogeneous dose distribution) on high BED portions of rectal DVHs. The tESD measure uses common BED threshold for all DVHs, which becomes an adjustable parameter of the measure. The vESD measure uses common fraction of the rectal volume as an adjustable parameter, and thus computes a BED threshold for each DVH. Properties of the three measures are compared. A database of 9 prostate patients with 7‐field IMRT boost plans and HDR brachytherapy boost plans delivering biologically equivalent D98 doses were used for the study. Results: For 6 of the 9 patients the gBEUD increased by approximately 100% due to doses confined to volumes <1% of the organ volume. The gEUD/gBEUD measures could be replaced by ESD based metrics, which explicitly incorporate saturation of biological effectiveness of high doses. Acknowledgments: Supported by NIH Grant P01 CA11602.
Point: Full Disclosure—Presentations and Publications Should Include Dollar Amounts and Duration of Surgeon-Industry Relationships

Much has been written regarding relationships between practicing physicians, the pharmaceutical industry, and device manufacturers and their interface with the medical and ethical duties we have to our patients. As medical fiduciaries, we are obligated to discharge our responsibilities of trust openly and ethically. It has been suggested that even such trivial items as pens and notepads should be refused, as the acceptance of such items might “endanger patients” through a sense of “reciprocity, the need to give something back to the giver,” and thereby compromise faithful execution of our duties [1].
Consumer health beliefs and food supplement use by the elderly

Seven western states in the U.S.A. were surveyed by mail and telephone to assess consumer-health beliefs and the use of food supplements (vitamins and minerals) as part of the overall western region project. A 57.9% return resulted in a sample size of 1,730 adults and 528 of these were 60 years of age and over. The sample included significantly greater numbers of regular users of vitamins and mineral supplements than non-users or occasional users. More women than men were regular users. Compared with those who never used vitamin and mineral supplements, regular users had distinct patterns of health beliefs and practices. Regularly, they relied heavily on the medical profession for general health information. They obtained supplement and diet information from diet books and periodicals and also believed that taking vitamins and minerals prevented serious illness, reduced stress, prevented colds, skin problems, heart attacks, cancer, and other health problems. While they believed their overall well-being was improved through the use of supplements, their responses did not indicate that use of supplements ensured good health or that the current food supply filled nutritional needs. Conclusions are that specific educational programmes about the value and use of food supplements need to be designed for the target audience. Furthermore, all professionals who work in the large array of food service positions should share the responsibility for providing accurate information and advertising.
Antagonists of CD117 (cKit) Signaling Inhibit Mast Cell Accumulation in Healing Skin Wounds

Mast cells (MCs) have important functional roles in leukocyte recruitment, pain, and wound healing, and increased tissue resident MC function has been associated with several fibrotic diseases. Consequently, the study of MCs in situ can be a direct approach to studying the pharmacodynamic impact of MC-directed therapeutics in tissues. Here we describe an automated laser scanning cytometry assay that was used to characterize the kinetics of MC accumulation in healing skin wounds and to study the effect of inhibiting CD117 (cKit) signaling. The number of tryptase-positive MCs approximately doubled 14 days after cutaneous injury in nonhuman primates. Treatment of animals with anti-CD117 or imatinib mesylate (Gleevec®) reduced MC accumulation at the edge of healing wounds in mice and nonhuman primates, respectively. In translating this MC assay to become a biomarker for human studies, no differences in dermal MC numbers were evident between genders, ages or body mass index from 20 healthy donors. These data suggest that skin is a practical and useful tissue for tracking pharmacodynamic effects of MC-directed therapies. © 2008 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Gender role conflict, gender-typed characteristics, self-concepts, and sport socialization in female athletes and nonathletes

Gender role conflict, masculinity, femininity, physical appearance self-concept, athletic competence self-concept, body image self-concept, and athletic participation by parents among female athletes and nonathletes were examined in 76 female athletes and 69 female nonathletes (N= 145). Similar to previous research, results indicated no significant differences in the gender role conflict of female athletes and nonathletes. Results also indicated that, as predicted, female athletes exhibited significantly more positive athletic competence self-concept, body image self-concept, and athletic participation by parents than female nonathletes. Both participants' body image self-concept and parental sport participation were significantly and inversely related to their amount of gender role conflict. Implications for differences in the social personality and gender role development of female athletes and nonathletes are discussed.
A convenient synthesis of a novel nucleoside analogue: 4-(alpha-diformyl-methyl)-1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-2-pyrimidinone

The nucleoside analogue 4-(alpha-diformyl-methyl)-1-(beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-2-pyrimidinone (5) was prepared from the corresponding 4-methyl pyrimidinone nucleoside by means of the Vilsmeier reaction. The unprotected nucleoside can be phosphorylated directly with phosphorus oxychloride in triethyl phosphate.
Mortgage Foreclosure and Health Disparities: Serial Displacement as Asset Extraction in African American Populations

In this paper we offer a conceptualization of mortgage foreclosure as serial displacement by highlighting the current crisis in the context of historically repeated extraction of capital—economic, social, and human—from communities defined at different scales: geographically, socially, and that of embodied individuals. We argue that serial displacement is the loss of capital, physical resources, social integration and collective capacity, and psycho-social resources at each of these scales, with losses at one level affecting other levels. The repeated extraction of resources has negative implications for the health of individuals and groups, within generations as well as across generations, through the accumulation of loss over time. Our analysis of the foreclosure crisis as serial displacement for African American households in the United States begins with the “housing niche” model. We focus on the foreclosure crisis as an example of the interconnectedness of structured inequality in health and housing. Then we briefly review the history of policies related to racial inequality in homeownership in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We end with an analysis of the scales of displacement and the human, social, and capital asset extraction that accompany them.
Statistical scission model of fission-fragment angular distributions

A statistical scission model is applied to heavy-ion--induced fission. Comparison of model calculations to experimental data on fission-fragment angular distributions shows excellent agreement for systems in a large range of fissility parameter, excitation energy, and spin value. For many of these reactions, the traditional transition-state model and its extensions are inapplicable or fail to reproduce the data.
mRNA species regulated during the differentiation of HL-60 cells to macrophages and neutrophils☆

Using cDNA clone banks from differentiated and undifferentiated HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells, we have selected clones for genes which are regulated during this differentiation. Regulation of the corresponding mRNAs in HL-60 cells during both monocytic and neutrophilic differentiation was measured for 21 of these clones. The levels of mRNA hybridizing to some of these clones changed by more than 100-fold during differentiation. Unlike erythropoiesis or myogenesis, in which the synthesis of a few new proteins is synchronously regulated, mRNAs in differentiating HL-60 cells are asynchronously regulated, suggesting a complex series of regulatory events. About half of these regulation-selected clones contained repeat sequences, including both Alu and novel repeat families. Most of the regulated genes are members of extensive gene families.
Environmental science: A new direction in environmental studies

Environmental science is defined as an interdisciplinary field of study which attempts to measure and evaluate the impact of man on the structure and function of social and ecological systems, and which focuses upon the management of these systems for their benefit and survival. Curricula in environmental science must be structured in order to provide (a) for quantitative interdisciplinary problem‐solving methodology, (b) for multidisciplinary (applied) areas of specialization, and (c) for on‐the‐job (real‐world) training or research experience. The academic philosophy for such curricula is discussed.
Interpersonal and Achievement Orientations and Specific Stressors Predict Depressive and Aggressive Symptoms

From a prospective study of the development of psychopathology, 129 adolescents were identified who transitioned to a new school in ninth grade. The current study examined the contributions of sex, interpersonal and achievement orientations, peer and academic stressors, and their interactions to the prediction of depressive and aggressive symptoms following the high-school transition. Among girls, higher levels of interpersonal and achievement orientations were associated with increases in depressive and aggressive symptoms, respectively, following the experience of domain-congruent stressors. The positive relation between academic stressors and depressive symptoms was significantly stronger for girls than boys. For boys, high levels of academic stressors were associated with increases in aggressive symptoms regardless of their level of achievement orientation.
The Distribution of Carbonic Anhydrase and Ribulose Diphosphate Carboxylase in Maize Leaves

Extraction of maize (Zea mays) leaves by progressive grinding under suitably protective conditions yields total carbonic anhydrase activities (4800 units per milligram chlorophyll) comparable to the activity in spinach (Spinacia oleracea) leaves. The total ribulose diphosphate carboxylase activity was also equal to or greater than the best literature values for maize. Of the total leaf carbonic anhydrase, 72.5% on a chlorophyll basis was present in the mesophyll cells and 14.2% in the bundle-sheath cells. The distribution of the total leaf ribulose diphosphate carboxylase between the mesophyll and bundle-sheath cells was 42.0 and 48.7% respectively. There was three times as much total chlorophyll in extracts of the mesophyll cells compared with the bundle-sheath cells of maize. Similar results for the above distribution of the two enzymes were found using a differential grinding technique. The possible function of carbonic anhydrase in photosynthesis is discussed. The equal distribution of ribulose diphosphate carboxylase activity between the mesophyll and bundle-sheath cells casts doubt upon the hypothesis that a rigid biochemical compartmentation exists between these cell types in maize.
GDP-mannose mannosyl hydrolase catalyzes nucleophilic substitution at carbon, unlike all other Nudix hydrolases.

GDP-mannose mannosyl hydrolase (GDPMH) from Escherichia coli is a 36.8 kDa homodimer which, in the presence of Mg2+, catalyzes the hydrolysis of GDP-α-d-mannose or GDP-α-d-glucose to yield sugar an...
Some Effects of Different Kinds of Hay in the Ration on the Performance of Dairy Cows

Summary Experiments have been carried out at the Beltsville Station of the Bureau of Dairy Industry for the last 10 years in which cows have been kept continuously for long periods on rations of grain and hay without pasture. The general health, reproductive capacity, milk yield, and staying powers of the cows have been studied on rations of which the roughage consisted of various grades of alfalfa and of timothy hay. On the rations containing a liberal proportion of alfalfa hay of high quality the cows have maintained their health, milk yield, and reproductive capacity for periods ranging up to more than 7 years. When the roughage consisted of timothy hay of mediocre or low quality, the milk yield has been: somewhat reduced, the health and staying powers of the cows have been decidedly less satisfactory than on the alfalfa rations, and the reproductive capacity has been very seriously interfered with. There has been some difficulty about producing pregnancy in the cows on such rations and a very marked tendency for them to throw premature calves which either are dead or are weak and often blind. Five cows which were kept for periods o from 9 months to somewhat more than 3 years on rations of grain and U. S. No. 3 timothy hay have given birth to 10 calves, all of which were born somewhat prematurely, and none of which was normal. Six were born dead, the other 4 were weak and 3 of them were blind. These abnormal calvings took place in spite of the fact that the cows were carefully protected from infectious abortion, and were shown to be free from this disease throughout the experimental period both by the agglutination test and by bacteriological examination of the stillborn calves. Experiments have been started to learn to what extent the poor quality of the timothy hay was responsible for the abnormal calvings in these experiments. This part of the work is still very incomplete but 1 cow, which has been kept for more than 4 years on a ration of grain and U. S. No. 1 timothy hay, has given birth to 3 calves, all of which were alive and normal, and none of which was born as much as 14 days before it was due.
Network community discovery: solving modularity clustering via normalized cut

Modularity clustering is a recently introduced clustering objective function for graph clustering. It has been widely used in bioinformatics and social networks. Its relation to data mining field has yet to be explored. In this paper, we show that a normalized version modularity clustering is identical to the popular normalized cut spectral clustering. This also provides an effective algorithm to solve the modularity clustering problem. We demonstrate this algorithm on several datasets.
Reliability and Validity of Self-Report CD4 Counts in Persons Hospitalized with HIV Disease

Studies of health care outcomes and clinical decision making for people with HIV disease depend on CD4 cell count data to accurately assess the stage of disease. The possibility of obtaining reliable and valid data from self-reported CD4 counts is an unexplored source of potentially important, cost-effective information for these purposes. We examined the extent of agreement of self-reported CD4 counts with medical record CD4 among 120 patients (95% male, 69% white, 5% injection drug users) hospitalized with HIV-related illness at seven Los Angeles area hospitals. Average record and report CD4 counts did not differ significantly, and record and report CD4 counts were highly correlated (product moment correlation of 0.84, intraclass correlation of 0.82). Agreement between self-reports and medical records varied by CD4 level: at higher levels of CD4, the differences between self-reports and medical records tended to be larger, with self-reports yielding upwardly biased estimates compared to the medical records. These findings suggest that self-report CD4 data may provide clinically adequate estimates of true CD4 counts. The study needs to be replicated in other populations, notably those with larger numbers of subjects who are female, of minority ethnicity, or injection drug users.
Motion control of the SOFIA cavity door drive system

This paper describes the architecture and modeling of the motion control system for the cavity door drive system developed by Woodward MPC Inc., for the SOFIA aircraft. We also describe some of the fault tolerance features in the system architecture designed to meet the safety requirements. Finally, simulation results are presented that demonstrate the tracking capabilities of the door drive control system.
The impact of industrial structure and the exchange-rate exposure of industry portfolio returns

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that industrial structure is an important determinant of the exchange-rate exposure of industry portfolio returns. A time series regression is conducted on the sample of industries by regressing the rate of change of a trade-weighted US dollar index on the industry portfolio return while controlling for the US market. The regression was conducted using monthly data over a 3-year period (1995–1997). The results indicate that industries that are classified as being globally competitive and those that primarily serve the consumer sector of the economy have significant levels of exposure. The paper also provides some evidence on market efficiency as it pertains to changes in the value of the dollar.
A new putative cellulose-synthesizing complex of Coleochaete scutata

Cells of the charophycean alga,Coleochaete scutata active in cell wall formation were freeze fractured in the search for cellulose synthesizing complexes (TCs) since this alga is considered to be among the most advanced and a progenitor to land plant evolution. We have found a new TC which consists of two geometrically distinctive particle complexes complementary to one another in the plasma membrane and occasionally associated with microfibril impressions. In the E-fracture face is found a cluster of 8–50 closely packed particles, each with a diameter of 5–17 nm. Most of these particles are confined within an 80 nm circle. In the P-fracture face is found an 8-fold symmetrical arrangement of 10 nm particles circumferentially arranged around a 28 nm central particle. The TCs ofC. scutata are quite distinctive from the rosette/globule TCs of land plants. The 5.5×3.1 nm microfibril inC. scutata is also distinctive from the 3.5×3.5 nm microfibril typical of land plants. The phylogenetic implications of this unique TC in land plant evolution are discussed.
CYCLIC SUBGROUPS ARE QUASI-ISOMETRICALLY EMBEDDED IN THE THOMPSON–STEIN GROUPS

We give criteria for determining the approximate length of elements in any given cyclic subgroup of the Thompson–Stein groups F(n1,…,nk) such that n1 - 1|ni - 1 ∀i ∈ {1,…,k} in terms of the number of leaves in the minimal tree-pair diagram representative. This leads directly to the result that cyclic subgroups are quasi-isometrically embedded in the Thompson–Stein groups. This result also leads to the corollaries that ℤn is also quasi-isometrically embedded in the Thompson–Stein groups for all n ∈ ℕ and that the Thompson–Stein groups have infinite dimensional asymptotic cone.
Our evolving understanding of migraine with aura

Migraine aura consists of fully reversible focal neurologic symptoms that may precede or coexist with headache in a significant minority of migraine patients. Typical aura symptoms include visual, sensory, and language disturbances. The most recent International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version) has added other aura types such as brainstem localizing symptoms, lateralizing weakness, and monocular visual loss. Currently available data from animal models and functional neuroimaging in humans implicate cortical spreading depression (CSD) as the phenomenon underlying migraine aura. Ongoing study suggests that susceptibility to migraine aura and CSD may be genetically mediated. CSD appears to be a potential target for future development of migraine-specific preventive therapies.
Chronic non-granulomatous supraglottitis: a rare and difficult disease.

Objectives: To examine chronic non-granulomatous supraglottitis, a rare disorder of uncertain aetiology with few reported cases in the literature. Case reports: We describe two cases of chronic non-granulomatous supraglottitis that led to persistent respiratory compromise. Patients underwent extensive investigation that failed to reveal a definitive diagnosis. Conclusion: In patients suffering from chronic inflammation of the supraglottic larynx without evidence of infection, neoplasm or granulomatous disease, many disorders must be ruled out in order to diagnose chronic non-granulomatous supraglottitis, which is a diagnosis of exclusion. We review the literature on this rare entity, discuss current management strategies, and suggest an algorithm for diagnostic investigation.
Crop genetic resource policy: the role of ex situ genebanks

The world-wide capacity of genebanks for ex situ conservation of crop genetic resources has increased greatly since the 1970s, improving the access of crop breeders to landraces and wild and weedy relatives. But utilization of genebank resources has not kept pace. The set of popular cultivars in major crops is typically rather small, and their ancestry encompasses only a fraction of the genetic diversity currently available in other cultivars. Discussions of farmers’ rights that focus on compensation for current incorporation of farmers’ varieties in new cultivars have diverted attention from the question of why so little of the newly accessible genetic diversity is currently being utilized by public and private breeders. To optimize the future provision of genebank services, research is needed on the costs of genebanks, the market for their services, the use of genetic resources by breeders, and the implications of recognition of farmers’ rights, evolving intellectual property rights, continued funding problems and developments in biotechnology.
Synthesis, Structures, Properties and DFT Studies of a New Bicopper Complexe [Cu(Hdmg)4(Hdmg)(teda)]·6H2O

A new copper complexe [Cu (Hdmg)4(teda)]6H2O(H2dmg=dimethyl glyoxime;teda=triethylenediamine) was synthesized by solution method of nickel nitrate with corresponding ligands. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that crystal belongs to monoclinic, space group C2/c. The Cu2+ is five-coordinated with five N atoms of two dmg molecules and one teda molecule. The pdc anions, as a bridging ligand, link two adjacent Cu ions, forming a dinuclear structure. The structures and properties of complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis and IR spectrum. We also studied the electronic structure and orbital energies of the title complex by DFT methods, and the results reveals that the energy gap between LUMO and HOMO is disappeared. CCDC: 952374
Organic carbamates in drug design and medicinal chemistry.

The carbamate group is a key structural motif in many approved drugs and prodrugs. There is an increasing use of carbamates in medicinal chemistry and many derivatives are specifically designed to make drug–target interactions through their carbamate moiety. In this Perspective, we present properties and stabilities of carbamates, reagents and chemical methodologies for the synthesis of carbamates, and recent applications of carbamates in drug design and medicinal chemistry.
In plane view: an exercise in visualization

We offer a problem in visualization which uses multivariable calculus concepts. The problem is essentially to describe (mathematically) what we can see on one mountain while sitting on an adjacent mountain. We present how our students, working in groups, attack the problem and the issues which surround the solution strategies produced. We have successfully used this problem for a number of years in our courses, devoting several class periods and about 2‐3 weeks outside of class to student development of a solution strategy. The problem serves to develop visualization skills, verbalization of mathematical concepts, and implementation of problem‐solving notions in mathematics including gradients, optimization, integration, surface area, and programming.
EFFECT OF ADAPTIVE SEATING ON PULMONARY FUNCTION OF CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

The vital capacity (VC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and expiratory time (ET) of eight cerebral-palsied children aged between five and 12 years was measured, when seated in a regular sling-type wheelchair and in an adaptive seating system. The results showed a 57.7 per cent increase in VC, a 51.6 per cent increase in FEV1 as a percentage of VC, and a 55 per cent increase in ET in the adaptive seating system compared with the standard wheelchair. These results have important implications for speech, sitting for prolonged periods and prevention of hypoxia and pulmonary hypertension.
Bladder Perforation Secondary to Primary Systemic Amyloidosis

Amyloidosis is a disorder of protein folding characterized by extracellular aggregation and deposition of amyloid protein fibrils. Light-chain amyloidosis, also known as primary systemic amyloidosis, is the most common form of the disease. We present a case of an 84-year-old male with a history of systemic primary amyloidosis causing genitourinary, cardiac, and autonomic dysfunction who presented with hematuria and hypotension secondary to bladder perforation. He underwent open repair of a large extraperitoneal bladder defect. He ultimately died as a result of medical complications from his disease.
Non-conformal decoration of semiconductor nanowire surfaces with boron nitride (BN) molecules for stability enhancement: degradation-resistant Zn3P2, ZnO and Mg2Si nanowires

A simple and reliable strategy for stabilizing the surfaces of compound semiconductors was presented. The strategy involved decorating the surfaces of compound semiconductor nanowires non-conformally with small molecules of boron nitride (BN). More specifically, Zn3P2, ZnO and Mg2Si nanowires, highly useful in energy conversion device fabrication (e.g., photovoltaics and thermoelectrics), have been stabilized against air- and acid-assisted degradation by decorating their surfaces with small molecules of BN. It is believed that the decoration of the nanowire surfaces with BN molecules made the nanowire surfaces non-wettable to water and aqueous acid solutions, and thereby imparted them enhanced resistance against water- and acid-assisted degradation. This procedure did not alter the bandgap of the nanowires. Moreover, this procedure aided in retaining the electrical conduction between the nanowire interfaces when the nanowires are assembled into mats or pellets. This strategy solves one of the primary bottlenecks in the widespread use of nanowires in energy conversion device fabrication, namely their stability. It is believed that this strategy is applicable for stabilizing other compound semiconductor nanowires, including nitrides, sulfides, silicides and antimonides.
Short-term administration of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate reduces hepatic steatosis and protects against warm hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in steatotic mice

Hepatic steatosis increases the extent of cellular injury incurred during ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the major flavonoid component of green tea (camellia sinensis) is a potent antioxidant that inhibits fatty acid synthase (FAS) in vitro. We investigated the effects of EGCG on hepatic steatosis and markers of cellular damage at baseline and after I/R injury in ob/ob mice. Animals were pretreated with 85 mg/kg EGCG via intraperitoneal (ip) injection for 2 days or oral consumption in the drinking water for 5 days before 15 minutes of warm ischemia and 24 hours of reperfusion. After EGCG administration, total baseline hepatic fat content decreased from baseline. Palmitic acid and linoleic acid levels also were reduced substantially in all ECGC-treated animals before I/R. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels decreased in all EGCG-treated animals compared with control animals after I/R. Histologic analysis demonstrated an average decrease of 65% necrosis after EGCG administration. EGCG administration also increased resting hepatic energy stores as determined by an increase in cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) with a concomitant decrease in uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) before I/R. Finally, there was an increased level of glutathione (GSH) in the EGCG-treated mice compared with the vehicle-treated mice both at baseline and after I/R. In conclusion, taken together, this study demonstrates that treatment with ECGC by either oral or ip administration, significantly protects the liver after I/R, possibly by reducing hepatic fat content, increasing hepatic energy status, and functioning as an antioxidant.
The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and the acute stress response: Maternal genotype determines offspring phenotype

α7 Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAchRs) modulate immune activation by suppressing production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in peripheral immune cells. α7nAchRs also modulate inhibitory output in the hippocampus, which provides input to key circuits of the HPA axis. Therefore, the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene (CHRNA7) may be associated with cortisol stress response. Polymorphisms in the CHRNA7 promoter decrease its expression and may dampen the cholinergic response, leading to an increase in inflammation. Increased inflammation may change the intrauterine environment, altering neuroendocrine development in the offspring. Maternal CHRNA7 genotype could affect an offspring's HPA regulation via reprogramming in utero. Patients with allergic disorders have a differential cortisol response to stress. This study utilized samples collected from a cohort of 198 adolescents in a previous study of atopic disorders, who demonstrated a disturbance in HPA response associated with atopy. Salivary cortisol samples collected from the adolescents after a series of laboratory procedures and DNA samples collected from the adolescents and their parents were used for further analysis. DNA samples were genotyped for allelic variation in the CHRNA7 promoter. Genetic association analyses with the cortisol levels were performed in the adolescents. Maternal genotype influences were investigated for the CHRNA7 gene. We also included maternal and child atopy diagnosis as covariates in determining cortisol levels and tested for association of CHRNA7 to atopy. Polymorphisms in the CHRNA7 promoter were associated with lower cortisol levels after a small laboratory stress. Our findings also show that although the child's CHRNA7 genotype affects stress response, the maternal genotype has a stronger influence on cortisol release after stress in male offspring. These effects were independent of atopy status.
A framework for object recognition in a visually complex environment and its application to locating address blocks on mail pieces

A computational framework for recognizing an object of interest in a complex visual environment is developed. Arising from the problem of finding the destination address block on a mail piece, a general framework for coordinating a collection of specialized image analysis tools is described. The framework is based on the blackboard model of problem-solving with enhancements to account for object recognition in a visually complex environment. Those enhancements include (i) a systematic derivation of knowledge sources that describes a methodology for developing knowledge sources in an application domain, (ii) a dependency graph to specify the interdependency between knowledge sources, (iii) a control mechanism that detects the varying degrees of complexity in the input, and adjust the behavior of the system so that the effort expended in gathering evidence is in accordance with the complexity of inputs, (iv) a formalism for estimating the utility of a tool so that the effective knowledge sources get high priorities to be invoked, (v) the organization of a knowledge source which allows the image analysis related knowledge sources to be reapplied on unsatisfactory initial results, and (vi) an evidence combination scheme to combine confidence values associated with pieces of evidence generated by various knowledge sources. An address block location system (ABLS) is developed and implemented in accordance with this framework and shown to be capable of dealing with a wide range of environments: from those having a high degree of global spatial structure (e.g., letter mail envelopes which conform to specifications) to those with no structure (e.g., magazines with randomly pasted address labels). Experimental results with a database of difficult cases demonstrating the promise of the computational framework are presented.
Genes and Co-Expression Modules Common to Drought and Bacterial Stress Responses in Arabidopsis and Rice

Plants are simultaneously exposed to multiple stresses resulting in enormous changes in the molecular landscape within the cell. Identification and characterization of the synergistic and antagonistic components of stress response mechanisms contributing to the cross talk between stresses is of high priority to explore and enhance multiple stress responses. To this end, we performed meta-analysis of drought (abiotic), bacterial (biotic) stress response in rice and Arabidopsis by analyzing a total of 386 microarray samples belonging to 20 microarray studies and identified approximately 3100 and 900 DEGs in rice and Arabidopsis, respectively. About 38.5% (1214) and 28.7% (272) DEGs were common to drought and bacterial stresses in rice and Arabidopsis, respectively. A majority of these common DEGs showed conserved expression status in both stresses. Gene ontology enrichment analysis clearly demarcated the response and regulation of various plant hormones and related biological processes. Fatty acid metabolism and biosynthesis of alkaloids were upregulated and, nitrogen metabolism and photosynthesis was downregulated in both stress conditions. WRKY transcription family genes were highly enriched in all upregulated gene sets while ‘CO-like’ TF family showed inverse relationship of expression between drought and bacterial stresses. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis divided DEG sets into multiple modules that show high co-expression and identified stress specific hub genes with high connectivity. Detection of consensus modules based on DEGs common to drought and bacterial stress revealed 9 and 4 modules in rice and Arabidopsis, respectively, with conserved and reversed co-expression patterns.
Population ecology and dispersal of Culex tarsalis (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Coachella Valley of California

During 5 bimonthly experiments in 1993, 55, 548 host-seeking and 22, 563 newly emerged Culex tarsalis Coquillett females were marked with fluorescent dust and released at a marsh along the Salton Sea. Overall, 3, 758 (6.7%) host-seeking and 37(0.2%) newly emerged females were recaptured in dry ice-baited traps and walk-in red boxes operated for 7-12 consecutive days after release. The recapture of newly emerged females was unexpectedly low and insufficient for further analysis. The recapture rates and dispersiveness of females collected host-seeking within the study area were not different from females collected host-seeking at a site 16 km SE of the release site, indicating that Cx. tarsalis may not rely on memorized flight paths. Loss rates of host-seeking females were high, because many females readily dispersed from the marsh study area during host-seeking flights. Estimates of population size ranged from 914,000 in February to 4,000 in July and were well correlated with catch size in CO 2 traps. The wing length and fructose positivity rate of released females did not vary as a function of age or dispersal distance at recapture. Parity of released females increased over time, but nullipars were collected during all recapture periods, perhaps indicating difficulty in blood meal acquisition. Cohort dispersal progressed at the rate of about 0.2 km/d and was sufficient to disseminate arboviruses in the southern Coachella Valley
Registration, orientation, and similarity of molecular electrostatic potentials through multipole matching

The use of a multipolar decomposition of the far electrostatic potential for the purposes of molecular field similarity comparison between structurally different molecules has been impractical because the multipolar decomposition depends on the center of expansion. That center of expansion is essentially arbitrary, which renders the multipolar coefficients to be a nonunique characterization of the field. This article provides the definition of a center of expansion at which the multipolar decomposition is unique. For the first time, it is possible to use multipolar decomposition to characterize molecular fields beyond the first term, which is invariant under translation of the center of expansion. Calculations are performed for two structurally distinct types of HIV-1 inhibitors, three non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and three phospholipids using these unique multipolar descriptors. Differences and similarities in the calculated values of these descriptors will be shown to parallel the differences and similarities of molecular charge distributions. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Dust Exposure in the Chrysotile Asbestos Mines and Mills of Quebec

Past and present features of the Quebec chrysotile mining and milling environment and methods used to establish indices of exposure for epidemiological studies are described. Environmental dust concentrations used for calcuation of dust exposure indices were derived mainly from systematic midget-impinger samples taken since 1948, and from field surveys made in 1968, using impinger and a variety of other techniques. Though dust levels within the industry fluctuated widely, there was a steady fall from an average of approximately 75 million particles per cubic foot (MPCF) in 1948 to less than 10 MPCF in 1968. Considerable variation in the fiber content of airborne dust in this industry suggests that any safety standard should probably take account of fibrous and nonfibrous components.