cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pedogenic formation of montmorillonite from a 2:1-2:2 intergrade clay mineral

Montmorillonite was found to be the dominant clay mineral in surface horizons of certain soils of the North Carolina Coastal Plain whereas a 2:1–2:2 intergrade clay mineral was dominant in subjacent horizons. In all soils where this clay mineral sequence was found, the surface horizon was low in pH (below 4·5) and high in organic matter content. In contrast, data from studies of other soils of this region (Weed and Nelson, 1962) show that: (1) montmorillonite occurs infrequently; (2) maximum accumulation of the 2:1–2:2 intergrade normally occurs in the surface horizon and decreases with depth in the profile; (3) organic matter contents are low; and (4) pH values are only moderately acid (pH 5–6). It is theorized that the montmorillonite in the surface horizon of the soils studied originated by pedogenic weathering of the 2:1–2:2 intergrade clay mineral. The combined effects of low pH (below 4·5) and high organic matter content in surface horizons are believed to be the agents responsible for this mineral transformation. The protonation and solubilization (reverse of hydrolysis) of Al-polymers in the interlayer of expansible clay minerals will occur at or below pH 4·5 depending on the charge and steric effects of the interlayer. A low pH alone may cause this solubilization and thus mineral transformation, but in the soils studied the organic matter is believed to facilitate and accelerage the transformation. The intermediates of organic matter decomposition provide an acid environment, a source of protons, and a source of watersoluble mobile organic substances (principally fulvic acids) which have the ability to complex the solubilized aluminum and move it down the profile. This continuous removal of solubilized aluminum would provide for a favorable gradient for aluminum solubilization. The drainage class or position in a catena is believed to be less important than the chemical factors in formation of montmorillonite from 2:1–2:2 intergrade, because montmorillonite is present in all drainage classes if the surface horizon is low in pH and high in organic matter.
The Effect of Furazolidone Consumption on Drug Content of Chicken Tissues and Eggs, Color of Shell, Yolk and Whole Eggs Homogenate

ABSTRACT FURAZOLIDONE [Furoxone or 5- (nitro-2-furfurylidene)-3-amino-2-oxa- zolidone] is a synthetic antimicrobial nitrofuran which has recently become widely used as a poultry feed additive, serving to prevent or treat various common infectious diseases, including salmonellosis in both turkeys (Grumbles et al., 1954), and chickens (Lucas, 1955). The prevalence of carriers of Salmonella gallinarum among hens treated with furazolidone is low (Smith, 1955) and the drug shows similar effect in S. pullorum infection, permitting also the sterilization of chronic carriers (Smith, 1954). Treatment with furazolidone also exerts a pronounced preventive effect on the occurrence of Salmonella organisms in eggs of infected chickens (Wilson, 1956). In view of these uses and effects, and of the fact that chlortetracycline may be found in tissues and eggs of hens receiving this antibiotic in the feed (Durbin et al., 1955), it was decided to investigate this question with respect to furazolidone Previous reports have indicated that furazolidone . . .
Bringing Semantics into Focus Using Visual Abstraction

Relating visual information to its linguistic semantic meaning remains an open and challenging area of research. The semantic meaning of images depends on the presence of objects, their attributes and their relations to other objects. But precisely characterizing this dependence requires extracting complex visual information from an image, which is in general a difficult and yet unsolved problem. In this paper, we propose studying semantic information in abstract images created from collections of clip art. Abstract images provide several advantages. They allow for the direct study of how to infer high-level semantic information, since they remove the reliance on noisy low-level object, attribute and relation detectors, or the tedious hand-labeling of images. Importantly, abstract images also allow the ability to generate sets of semantically similar scenes. Finding analogous sets of semantically similar real images would be nearly impossible. We create 1,002 sets of 10 semantically similar abstract scenes with corresponding written descriptions. We thoroughly analyze this dataset to discover semantically important features, the relations of words to visual features and methods for measuring semantic similarity.
Wing dimorphism in Gryllus rubens: genetic basis of morph determination and fertility differences between morphs.

The genetic basis of wing morph determination and fertility differences between wing morphs were studied in the wing-dimorphic cricket, Gryllus rubens. Using pair corsses, a significant effect of genotype on morph determination was documented in F3 progeny of field-collected crickets. The effect of genotype was significantly stronger in females than in males. Results are consistent with an earlier study (Zera and Tiebel 1988) showing that wing development is more strongly buffered from environmental variation in females. Segregation patterns were consistent with a polygenic mode of inheritance and provided no evidence for the existence of genes of major effect, maternal effects, or sex linkage. Only a weak morph x sex association was observed. These results contrast those of Walker (1987) where sex-linked loci of major effect on morph determination were identified in crosses between long-wing and short-wing-selected strains of G. rubens. Short-winged female G. rubens began ovipositing earlier and oviposited significantly more eggs than long-winged females during the first 24 days after adult eclosion. The greater reproductive output of the short-winged morph was due entirely to greater oviposition during the first two weeks after adult eclosion. Preliminary results indicate that flight may further accentuate the reduced reproductive output of long-winged versus short-winged females. These data provide the foundation for investigating the endocrine basis of morph-associated fertility variation in G. rubens and its mechanistic relationship with morph determination.
Alleviating the impact of tree saturation on multistage interconnection network performance

Abstract Tree saturation in a multistage interconnection network due to hotspot access can result in drastically degraded bandwidth and mean latency. Several solutions for preventing tree saturation or avoiding traffic congestion, enhancing overall network band-width and latency, have been proposed. One class of these solutions may be effective in many situations, but tends to offer disappointing performance when hotspot requests are not combinable, whereas the other class of solutions is generally applicable to all situations, but often gives rise to decreased bandwidth under uniform traffic when no hotspot exists. In this paper, we investigate a new approach that can provide good performance regardless of whether hotspot requests are combinable and, in addition, can improve network bandwidth in the absence of a hotspot. This is made possible by utilizing multiqueues at switch inputs and at network primary inputs to ensure a considerably larger traffic flow toward memory modules under both uniform and nonuniform reference patterns. Simulation studies reveal that if hotspots are present, this approach indeed alleviates the impact of tree saturation on regular requests effectively, exhibiting a performance better than that of most prior solutions. With its general applicability and reasonably low hardware complexity, the proposed approach appears to be readily suitable for practical applications.
Amphetamine: Effects of central or systemic injection on hypothalamic activity

Dose-response curves showing the effects of amphetamine administration upon multiple unit activity from the lateral hypothalamic area and the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus were obtained. Systemic administration of dextroamphetamine sulfate produced dose-dependent increases in multiple unit activity from both structures, while the direct microinjection of amphetamine into the structures themselves produced a dose-dependent decrease in neural activity from both structures. These data suggest that neither the lateral hypothalamic “feeding center,” nor the ventromedial hypothalamic “satiety center,” are the neuroanatomical substrate of amphetamine-produced anorexia.
Octodon degus: A Diurnal, Social, and Long-lived Rodent

Octodon degus is a moderate-sized, precocious, but slowly maturing, hystricomorph rodent from central Chile. We have used this species to study a variety of questions about circadian rhythms in a diurnal mammal that readily adapts to most laboratory settings. In collaboration with others, we have found that a number of fundamental features of circadian function differ in this diurnal rodent compared with nocturnal rodents, specifically rats or hamsters. We have also discovered that many aspects of the circadian system are sexually dimorphic in this species. However, the sexual dimorphisms develop in the presence of pubertal hormones, and the sex differences do not appear until after gonadal puberty is complete. The developmental timing of the sex differences is much later than in the previously studied altricial, rapidly developing rat, mouse, or hamster. This developmental timing of circadian function is reminiscent of that reported for adolescent humans. In addition, we have developed a model that demonstrates how nonphotic stimuli, specifically conspecific odors, can interact with the circadian system to hasten recovery from a phase-shift of the light:dark cycle (jet lag). Interestingly, the production of the odor-based social signal and sensitivity to it are modulated by adult gonadal hormones. Data from degu circadian studies have led us to conclude that treatment of some circadian disorders in humans will likely need to be both age and gender specific. Degus will continue to be valuable research animals for resolving other questions regarding reproduction, diabetes, and cataract development.
Protective Structures with Waiting Links and Their Damage Evolution

The paper is concerned with simulation of the damage spread in protective structures with “waiting links.’ These highly nonlinear structures switch their elastic properties whenever the elongation of a link exceeds a critical value; they are stable against dynamic impacts due to their morphology. Waiting link structures are able to spread “partial damage’ through a large region, thereby dissipating the energy of the impact. We simulate various structures with waiting links and compare their characteristics with conventional designs. The figures show the damage propagation in several two-dimensional structures.
Photodissociative formation of ion pairs from molecular hydrogen and the electron affinity of the hydrogen atom

Abstract Photodissociative production of ion pairs from H 2 has been observed in the wavelength range 706–718 A at spectral resolution of 0.4 and 0.22 A. From measured thresholds for production of H − from H 2 molecules in each of the three lowest rotational states, the lower bound EA(H) ⩾ 0.754 ± 0.002 eV is obtained, in excellent agreement with the theoretical electron affinity of 0.75421 eV. For formation of D − from D 2 , a threshold assigned to molecules in the rotational state J = 2 has been measured, from which the bound EA(D) ⩾ 0.757 ± 0.005 eV is obtained. Negative ion yield curves are presented for hydrogen.
Destruction of Botulinum Toxin by Milk Bacteria

Summary It has been shown that certain bacteria commonly found in milk have the power of destroying toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum . The data reported in this and a previous paper have shown that this destruction may be caused by Streptococcus lactis, Lactobacillus casei, Bacterium coli, Bacterium communior, Bacterium aerogenes , and Proteus vulgaris . It is believed that these results explain in part the fact that milk and dairy products are seldom if ever agents in the dissemination of botulism. The fact that Streptococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei have the power to destroy botulinum toxin is of particular interest in connection with cheese, since in most types of cheese Streptococcus laclis is the predominating organism during the early stages of ripening, while Lactobacillus casei is one of the predominating organisms in all types of cheese during the later stages of ripening.
Ethical issues in the treatment of hepatitis C.

Background & Aims: Four million Americans are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), making it the most common blood-borne infection in the United States. Members of disadvantaged groups such as prisoners and those with psychiatric disorders have a higher prevalence of HCV infection than the general population. Ethical, clinical, economic, and social barriers often prevent these patients from receiving the effective antiviral treatments now available. These barriers to care have received little attention in the literature, and yet, knowledge of the ethical and social justice aspects of HCV treatment can enhance the quality of gastroenterologists' patient care. Methods: This article analyzes 5 clinical-ethical arguments frequently presented for limiting patient access to HCV treatment: risk/benefit balance, justice, compliance, cost-effectiveness, and discrimination. Results: Appropriate psychiatric and substance use intervention can result in a favorable cost-effectiveness and risk/benefit balance for treating members of disadvantaged groups. Although members of disadvantaged populations might exhibit higher rates of psychiatric side effects and poorer compliance with antiviral regimens, collaborative care can improve adherence and reduce adverse effects. The principle of justice might warrant treatment of these populations if the rate of adherence and risk/benefit balance is not significantly different than in other populations. Discrimination against persons with hepatitis C often reduces access to care among prisoners and other stigmatized groups. Conclusions: This analysis suggests that if gastroenterologists and mental health and substance abuse professionals actively collaborate, access to antiviral therapy for HCV can, in many cases, be safely and effectively expanded to disadvantaged populations.
Developing a Framework to Support Shared Decision Making for Youth Mental Health Medication Treatment

Medical shared decision making has demonstrated success in increasing collaboration between clients and practitioners for various health decisions. As the importance of a shared decision making approach becomes increasingly valued in the adult mental health arena, transfer of these ideals to youth and families of youth in the mental health system is a logical next step. A review of the literature and preliminary, formative feedback from families and staff at a Midwestern urban community mental health center guided the development of a framework for youth shared decision making. The framework includes three functional areas (1) setting the stage for youth shared decision making, (2) facilitating youth shared decision making, and (3) supporting youth shared decision making. While still in the formative stages, the value of a specific framework for a youth model in support of moving from a client-practitioner value system to a systematic, intentional process is evident.
Planar cell polarity: the importance of getting it backwards.

Summary The core and Fat–Dachsous signaling systems locally align planar cell polarities in Drosophila epithelia. Three recent papers address how coupling between these systems can be altered and reversed by the products of the gene prickle.
Pions from resonance decay in Brookhaven relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Abstract Because of possible effects from flow, it has proved difficult to unambiguously determine the freeze-out temperatures reached in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We show that pions from the decay of the Δ(33) resonance have a very different p ⊥ distribution than primary pions. Since the ratio of Δ (33) resonances to nucleons depends, through Boltzmann factors, sensitively on the temperature, these pions can be utilized as a thermometer in AGS experiments. We find the temperature for 14.6 GeV/nucleon Si + Au central collisions to be T ≳150 MeV.
Sulfonic Acids: Catalysts for the Liquid-Liquid Extraction of Metals

Three sulfonic acid extractants, dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (HDNNS), didodecylnaphthalene sulfonic acid (HDDNS) and di-(2-ethyl-hexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate (Aerosol OT, AOT) are compared as to their effects on the extraction of nickel with LIX63. The acidic extractants interact synergistically with the oxime. Interfacial tension results are presented which demonstrate that the sulfonates form reversed micelles in non-polar organic solvents. It is proposed that the reversed micelles catalyze the extraction by specific solubilization of both the metal and the extractant, resulting in an increase in the interfacial concentration of the reacting species. The ability of LIX63 to chelate with nickel without deprotonating permits the synergism to occur at low pH.
Biopolymer metal catalysts for the hydrolysis of nerve gases

Abstract Glucosamine oligomers — monomer through tetramer — form complexes with Cu 2+ that catalyse the hydrolysis of the ‘nerve gas’ 1,2,2-trimethylpropyl-methylphosphonofluoridate (soman) by cleaving the P-F bond. A 1/1 glucosamine/Cu 2+ ratio whether as glucosamine or glucosamine units, gives the highest hydrolytic rate over the 11.5/1 to 1/1 range. This trend also appears to hold for a glucosamine polymer, chitosan, which, when complexed with Cu 2+ also hydrolyzes soman. The relatively low rate of hydrolysis by this polymer-Cu 2+ complex, while not yet explainable, is consistent with an extrapolation of the monomer-through-tetramer series. The question may be raised as to whether these biopolymer metal complexes provide any clues to the involvement of Mn 2+ in the functioning of one class of P-F cleaving enzymes.
Effect of DDT on the Nursing Neonate

LOFROTH observed that the average breast-fed baby in the United States ingests twice the amount of DDT deemed safe by the World Health Organization (0.010 mg), while corresponding Swedish and British infants consume 0.017 mg of DDT compounds per day per kg body weight1. We have studied the effects of DDT on neonatal Holtzman rats housed in individual cages at 25±1.0° C and allowed Purina Lab Chow with drinking water ad lib. Forty parturient rats were divided into four groups of ten. Group 1 served as controls, group 2 received 1 mg, group 3 received 5 mg and group 4 received 25 mg of Technical DDT (Cl3CCH(C6H4Cl)2) (Eastman Organic Chemicals) per kg body weight, starting 24 h after delivery and daily for 21 days thereafter. DDT in sesame oil was administered to the experimental groups intraperitoneally. Control animals received only the sesame oil vehicle. After evaluation of growth and mortality rates, the animals were killed and calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron and zinc in neonatal livers were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry2.
Validation and performance of an invertebrate index of biotic integrity for Lakes Huron and Michigan fringing wetlands during a period of lake level decline

Development of indicators of ‘ecosystem health’ for the Great Lakes was identified as a major need at the State-of-the-Lakes Ecosystem Conference in 1998, 2000, and 2002. Our goal was to develop an invertebrate-based index of biotic integrity that was robust to water level fluctuations and applied to broad classes of lacustrine wetlands across wave-exposure gradients. Our objectives were to evaluate the performance and test the robustness of our preliminary index (e.g., Burton et al., 1999) at a range of water levels, eliminate any problems with the index of biotic integrity, remove the preliminary status, test the index on similar wetlands of Lake Michigan, and establish stressor:ecological-response relationships. Twenty-two sites, both open- and protected-fringing lacustrine marshes of Lake Huron and Michigan were selected for study. Correspondence analysis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to test the robustness of existing metrics and search for additional metrics. Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests were use...
Development of a New Variant of the Migita Reaction for Carbon−Sulfur Bond Formation Used in the Manufacture of Tetrahydro-4-[3-[4-(2-methyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl]thio]phenyl-2H-pyran-4-carboxamide

Palladium-catalyzed carbon−sulfur bond formation using modified Migita reaction conditions was explored and applied to the synthesis of a former antiasthma drug candidate, tetrahydro-4-[3-[4-(2-methyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl]thio]phenyl-2H-pyran-4-carboxamide (5). The reaction was developed into a general method for thioaryl halide cross-coupling, and a specific example of its use to synthesize a key intermediate, tetrahydro-4-[3-(4-fluorophenyl)thio]phenyl-2H-pyran-4-carboxamide (6) was demonstrated at large scale to provide phase II clinical supplies of 5. Comparison of the multistep phase I process and the two-step phase II process showed an overall yield advantage over the bond-forming steps from common starting material (1) to API 5 of 40%. The ligand effect in the modified Migita reaction is described in detail. The second step of the scale-up process illustrated formation of carbon−nitrogen bonds without use of palladium catalysis, providing a contrast to the first reaction; both reactions were dev...
Pentose transport by the ruminal bacterium Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens

Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens is a fibrolytic ruminal bacterium that degrades hemicellulose and ferments the resulting pentose sugars. Washed cells of strain D1 accumulated radiolabelled xylose (Km = 1.5 μM) and arabinose (Km = 0.2 μM) when the organism was grown on xylose, arabinose, or glucose, but cultures grown on sucrose or cellobiose had little capacity to transport pentose. Glucose and xylose inhibited transport of each other non-competitively. Both sugars were utilized preferentially over arabinose, but since they did not inhibit transport of arabinose, it appeared that the preference was related to an internal metabolic step. Although the protonmotive force was completely abolished by ionophores, cells retained some ability to transport pentose. In contrast, the metabolic inhibitors iodoacetate, arsenate, and fluoride had little effect on protonmotive force but caused a large decrease in intracellular ATP and xylose and arabinose uptake. These results suggested that high-affinity, ATP-dependent mechanisms were responsible for pentose transport and hexose sugars affected the utilization of xylose and arabinose.
Intentions and ethical behavior in trust games

Abstract This paper explores if knowledge of one's partner's intention affects cooperative behavior. Results of a trust game experiment show that Player 1's elicited intentions are consistent over an imperfect information treatment, when Player 2 is not aware of her partner's intention, and a perfect information treatment, when she knows it. Evidence highlights that people's intentions on one side of the games shape their beliefs as to how their partner wants them to act when the roles are reversed. Moreover, in the perfect information treatment, participants act in a manner consistent with their own intentions, suggesting that ethical considerations permeate behavior.
CHEMICAL FINDINGS IN THE BLOOD OF THE DOG AFTER CLOSED-LOOP OBSTRUCTION OF THE JEJUNUM.

The chemical findings in the blood of 6 dogs with closed-loop obstruction of the upper jejunum are reported. The duration of life with closed loops is less than with simple obstruction. All animals showed a marked rise in non-protein nitrogen and urea nitrogen, and fall in chlorides. Usually the C02 combining power of the plasma is increased. The findings in closed-loop obstruction are essentially the same as in simple intestinal obstruction.
High-Speed Observations of Sprite Streamers

Sprites are optical emissions in the mesosphere mainly at altitudes 50-90 km. They are caused by the sudden re-distribution of charge due to lightning in the troposphere which can produce electric fields in the mesosphere in excess of the local breakdown field. The resulting optical displays can be spectacular and this has led to research into the physics and chemistry involved. Imaging at faster than 5,000 frames per second has revealed streamer discharges to be an important and very dynamic part of sprites, and this paper will review high-speed observations of sprite streamers. Streamers are initiated in the 65-85 km altitude range and observed to propagate both down and up at velocities nor- mally in the 10 6 -5 9 10 7 m/s range. Sprite streamer heads are small, typically less than a few hundreds of meters, but very bright and appear in images much like stars with signals up to that expected of a magnitude -6 star. Many details of streamer formation have been modeled and successfully compared with observations. Streamers frequently split into multiple sub-streamers. The splitting is very fast. To resolve details will require framing rates higher than the maximum 32,000 fps used so far. Sprite streamers are similar to streamers observed in the laboratory and, although many features appear to obey simple scaling laws, recent work indicates that there are limits to the scaling.
Axial-Weld Land Buckling in Compression-Loaded Orthogrid Cylinders

Large stiffened cylinders used in launch vehicles, such as the space shuttle external tank, are manufactured by welding curved panels into complete barrels. The effects of the axial-weld lands between the panels on the buckling strength of unpressurized cylinders are studied, along with the interaction between the acreage stiffener arrangement and the weld land geometry. The relatively thick, unstiffened axial-weld lands are shown to significantly reduce the buckling load when the cylinder is loaded in uniform axial compression, and a relationship between the reduction in buckling load and the orthogrid design is shown. Reducing the width of the weld lands is shown to be the most effective means of minimizing the reduction in buckling strength, and thicker weld lands are shown to not always increase their buckling resistance. Detailed models with individual stiffeners modeled as beams are used to show that the weld land buckling phenomenon is very sensitive to the specific location and geometry of stiffeners near the axial-weld lands. It is also shown that the buckling strength can be significantly improved by ensuring that the distance between the weld land and the adjacent longitudinal stiffener is minimized.
Gene expression profiling of α1b-adrenergic receptor-induced cardiac hypertrophy by oligonucleotide arrays

Objective: Cardiac hypertrophy is closely associated with the development of cardiomyopathies that lead to heart failure. The α1B adrenergic receptor (α1-AR) is an important regulator of the hypertrophic process. Cardiac hypertrophy induced by systemic overexpression of the α1b-AR in a mouse model does not progress to heart failure. We wanted to explore potential gene expression differences that characterize this type of hypertrophy that may identify genes that prevent progression to heart failure. Methods: Transgenic and normal mice (B6CBA) representing two time points were compared; one at 2–3 months of age before disease manifests and the other at 12 months when the hypertrophy is significant. Age-matched hearts were removed, cRNA prepared and biotinylated. Aliquots of the cRNA was subjected to hybridization with Affymetrix chips representing 12 656 murine genes. Gene expression profiles were compared with normal age-matched controls as the baseline and confirmed by Northern and Western analysis. Results: The non-EST genes could be grouped into five functional classifications: embryonic, proliferative, inflammatory, cardiac-related, and apoptotic. Growth response genes involved primarily Src-related receptors and signaling pathways. Transgenic hearts also had a 60% higher Src protein content. There was an inflammatory response that was verified by an increase in IgG and κ-chained immunoglobulins by western analysis. Apoptosis may be regulated by cell cycle arrest through a p53-dependent mechanism. Cardiac gene expression was decreased for common hypertrophy-inducing proteins such as actin, collagen and GP130 pathways. Conclusions: Our results suggest a profile of gene expression in a case of atypical cardiac hypertrophy that does not progress to heart failure. Since many of these altered gene expressions have not been linked to heart failure models, our findings may provide a novel insight into the particular role that the α1BAR plays in its overall progression or regression.
Cloninger's tridimensional theory of personality: Construct validity in a sample of college students

Abstract The construct validity of Cloninger's recently developed Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) was examined in a sample of 225 male and female college students. Scores for each of the personality dimensions (novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence) were analyzed with respect to gender, academic major, college GPAs, and abstraction test scores. Results support Cloninger's theoretical concept of three essentially independent personality dimensions. Construct validity for the TPQ was found in that females were higher than males on measures of harm avoidance and a measure of reward dependence, and engineers were lower on reward dependence and novelty seeking than other college students. Other analyses suggest that the interaction of personality traits and intellectual performance is dependent upon task demands.
256 ROLE OFTHE BOVINE OOCYTE-SPECIFIC PROTEIN JY-1 IN REGULATION OF MESSENGER RNA ABUNDANCE FOR GENES LINKED TO CUMULUS EXPANSION

We have previously demonstrated a requirement of the oocyte-specific protein JY-1 for oocyte and early embryonic development in cattle. Microin- jection of JY-1 siRNA into cumulus-enclosed germinal vesicle-stage oocytes impedes progression to metaphase II and cumulus expansion during in vitro maturation and limits subsequent embryonic development following in vitro fertilization. Negative effects of siRNA-mediated reduction in JY-1 on oocyte maturation, cumulus expansion, and initial cleavage divisions following in vitro fertilization can be rescued bysupplementation with recom- binant JY-1 protein during oocyte culture. However, the mechanisms involved in JY-1 regulation of above developmental endpoints are unknown. The objective of the current study was to determine whether JY-1-induced regulation of cumulus expansion during meiotic maturation is linked to alterations in mRNA abundance for genes that promote formation and stabilization of the mucified extracellular matrix characteristic of an expanded cumulus layer. Cumulus-enclosed germinal vesicle stage-bovine oocytes were microinjected with JY-1 siRNA, subjected to negative control siRNA microinjection or served as uninjected controls (n = 10 oocytes/treatment; n = 5 replicates), and cultured for 48 h in maturation medium containing 50 μM S-roscovitine to block spontaneous germinal vesicle breakdown. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were then washed and in vitro matured for an additional 24 h in maturation medium minus S-roscovitine. Additional JY-1 siRNA injected and uninjected cumulus-enclosed oocytes were cultured as described earlier but in the presence of 1 ng/mL of recombinant JY-1 protein (n = 10 oocytes/treatment; n = 5 replicates). Dose of recombinant JY-1 protein utilized was previously shown to reverse inhibitory effects of JY-1 siRNA injection on cumulus expansion. After in vitro maturation, cumulus cells were harvested and RNA isolated and subjected to reverse transcription. Real-time PCR analysis was then conducted to determine the effect of treatments on cumulus-cell mRNA abundance for HAS2, HAS3, PTX3, and TNFAIP6. Effects of JY-1 supplementation or depletion (siRNA injection) on cumulus-cell mRNA abundance for HAS2 and HAS3 (enzymes involved in hyaluronan synthesis) were not observed. However, abundance of mRNA for TNFAIP6 and PTX3 (molecules implicated in stabilization of the hyaluronan-rich extracellular matrix) was reduced (relative to uninjected and negative control siRNA groups) in response to JY-1 siRNA injection (P < 0.05) and effects of JY-1 siRNA were rescued by JY-1 protein treatment (P < 0.05). Effects of JY-1 protein supplementation on cumulus-cell TNFAIP6 and PTX3 mRNA in uninjected controls were not observed. Results support a requirement of the oocyte-specific protein JY-1 for regulation of expression of genes functionally linked to stabilization of the hyaluronan-rich extracellular matrix and cumulus expansion. This research was supported by USDA 2008-35203-19094 to G. W. Smith.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Rehabilitation in Athletes Biomechanical Considerations

Postoperative rehabilitation is a major factor in the success of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction procedure. Clinical investigations of patients after ACL reconstruction have shown that immobilisation of the knee, or restricted motion without muscle contraction, leads to undesired outcomes for the articular, ligamentous, and musculature structures that surround the knee. Early joint motion is beneficial for; reducing pain, capsular contractions, articular cartilage, and for minimising scar formation that limit joint motion. These findings, combined with graft materials that have biomechanical properties similar to the normal ACL, and adequate fixation strength, have led many to recommend aggressive rehabilitation programmes that involve contraction of the dominant quadriceps muscles. Recently, a prospective, randomised study of rehabilitation following ACL reconstruction has presented evidence that a closed kinetic chain exercise programme (foot fixed against a resistance) results in anterior-posterior knee laxity values that are similar to the contralateral normal knee. Also, open kinetic chain exercises (foot not fixed against a resistance) result in increased anterior-posterior knee laxity compared with the normal knee. Criteria must be observed because the relationship between rehabilitation exercises and the healing response of an ACL graft is unknown at present. Biomechanical studies of healing ACL grafts performed in animals have shown that the graft requires a long time to revascularise and heal, and that the biomechanical behaviour of the graft never returns to normal. Functional knee braces provide a protective strain-shielding effect on the ACL when anterior shear loads and internal torques are applied to the knee in the non-weight-bearing condition. However, the strain shielding effect of functional braces decrease as the magnitude of anterior shear and internal torque applied to the knee increase. Future studies should strive to determine the actual loads transmitted across the knee and ACL graft strain during various rehabilitation exercises and relate these to the healing response of the knee and graft.
Purification and activation of recombinant p38 isoforms alpha, beta, gamma, and delta.

p38 is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase that is activated by inflammatory cytokines and cellular stress. At present, four isoforms of p38 have been identified and termed alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. We expressed each p38 homolog in Escherichia coli and purified the recombinant isoforms. p38alpha and C-terminal Flag-tagged p38beta were purified by Q-Sepharose fast flow, hydroxyapatite, and Q-Sepharose high-performance chromatography. His-tagged p38gamma was purified using Ni2+-NTA resin followed by Mono Q chromatography. Glutathione S-transferase-Flag p38delta was purified using M2 affinity agarose and gel-filtration chromatography. Upstream activators of p38, constitutively active (ca) MKK3 and MKK6, were also cloned, purified, and used to activate each p38 isoform. p38 alpha, gamma, and delta were phosphorylated by both MKK6 and caMKK3. p38beta was phosphorylated only by MKK6. Mass spectrometry analysis and kinase assays showed that MKK6 was the superior reagent for phosphorylating and activating all p38 isoforms.
ATP Depletion Affects NPM Translocation and Exportation of rRNA from Nuclei

Abstract Nucleophosmin/B23 (NPM) is a nucleolar phosphoprotein which shifts from nucleoli to the nucleoplasm in cells treated with certain cytotoxic agents (NPM-translocation). NPM requires GTP for localization into nucleoli ( J. Biol. Chem. 268, 5823–5827, 1993). To understand more about NPM's dynamic localization, the effects of lowering ATP on NPM-translocation and rRNA synthesis were studied. When the ATP level in HeLa cells was reduced by sodium azide, NPM-translocation was blocked. Similar results were obtained when ATP was depleted by other agents, suggesting that ATP depletion was responsible for the blocking of NPM-translocation. It was found that newly synthesized rRNA accumulated in the nuclei during ATP-depletion. Significantly larger than normal nucleoli were also observed. These results indicate that NPM may be involved in the transportation of newly synthesized ribosomes.
Smoothed nodal forces for improved dynamic crack propagation modeling in XFEM

Improvements in numerical aspects of dynamic crack propagation procedures by the extended finite element method are described and studied. Using only the discontinuous enrichment function in XFEM gives a binary description of the crack tip element: it is either cut or not. We describe a correction force to modify the forces to smoothly release the tip element while the crack tip travels through the element. This avoids creating spurious stress waves and improves the accuracy of the stress intensity factors during propagation by decreasing the oscillations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Exploring the Link Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Dementia

The literature contains conflicting evidence about the effect of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the risk of subsequent dementia. Gardner et al . now report the results of a carefully designed experiment that avoids a previous experimental problem: Patients with TBI also have characteristics that increase their risk for dementia. To get around this confounder, the authors compared patients with TBI to a particularly appropriate control group: patients with trauma but not TBI (nonbrain trauma). Patients (55 years and older) were included if they had a diagnosis of TBI or nonbrain trauma during an emergency department or inpatient visit in 2005 or 2006. The authors hypothesized that the risk for a dementia diagnosis in a subsequent visit would increase with age and TBI severity, after controlling for confounders. Approximately 30% of the 164,661 trauma patients had TBI. A total of 10,971 (6.7%) patients were diagnosed with dementia during the follow-up period. They found that TBI was in fact associated with a dementia diagnosis, with a hazard ratio of 1.26 (95% confidence interval 1.21 to 1.31). (Moderate to severe TBI was associated with increased risk of dementia across all ages, while mild TBI was associated with increased risk only in patients aged 65 to 74 years.) Although this study used a retrospective design and an administrative database with limited clinical data, these results are the most suggestive to date that experiencing TBI predisposes at least some people to dementia. R. C. Gardner et al ., Dementia risk after traumatic brain injury vs nonbrain trauma: The role of age and severity. JAMA Neurol. 10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.2668 (2014). [[Full Text]][1] [1]: http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1919070
Measuring the specific surface area of natural and manmade glasses: effects of formation process, morphology, and particle size

Abstract The specific surface area of natural and manmade solid materials is a key parameter controlling important interfacial processes in natural environments and engineered systems, including dissolution reactions and sorption processes at solid–fluid interfaces. To improve our ability to quantify the release of trace elements trapped in natural glasses, the release of hazardous compounds trapped in manmade glasses, or the release of radionuclides from nuclear melt glass, we measured the specific surface area of natural and manmade glasses as a function of particle size, morphology, and composition. Volcanic ash, volcanic tuff, tektites, obsidian glass, and in situ vitrified rock were analyzed. Specific surface area estimates were obtained using krypton as gas adsorbent and the BET model. The range of surface areas measured exceeded three orders of magnitude. A tektite sample had the highest surface area (1.65 m2 g−1), while one of the samples of in situ vitrified rock had the lowest surface area (0.0016 m2 g−1). The specific surface area of the samples was a function of particle size, decreasing with increasing particle size. Different types of materials, however, showed variable dependence on particle size, and could be assigned to one of three distinct groups: (1) Samples with low surface area dependence on particle size and surface areas approximately two orders of magnitude higher than the surface area of smooth spheres of equivalent size. The specific surface area of these materials was attributed mostly to internal porosity and surface roughness. (2) Samples that showed a trend of decreasing surface area dependence on particle size as the particle size increased. The minimum specific surface area of these materials was between 0.1 and 0.01 m2 g−1 and was also attributed to internal porosity and surface roughness. (3) Samples whose surface area showed a monotonic decrease with increasing particle size, never reaching an ultimate surface area limit within the particle size range examined. The surface area results were consistent with particle morphology, examined by scanning electron microscopy, and have significant implications for the release of radionuclides and toxic metals in the environment.
Is it the patient or the IVF? Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome in both spontaneous and assisted reproductive conceptions.

Objective To describe two children diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) arising from a spontaneous conception and an assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle from one patient with a long-standing history of subfertility. Design Case report. Setting Academic medical center. Patient(s) Two children with the morphologic features of BWS as a result of a spontaneous conception and an ART cycle from the same patient. Intervention(s) Assisted reproductive technology. Main Outcome Measure(s) Neonatal and pediatric morphologic evaluation by geneticists. Result(s) Two children with the morphologic features consistent with the criteria for the diagnosis of BWS. Conclusion(s) Patients with subfertility may be carriers for genetic disorders that can be passed to a child with or without the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The use of ART may bypass natural selection mechanisms.
Iodine and sporadic goiter in childhood.

Summary Judging from the effects of treatment with iodine, reasons are given for the opinion that endemic and sporadic simple goiter in childhood may have different causes. Two pairs of identical twins with simple goiter of the sporadic type were followed for some years, one of each pair receiving intensive treatment with iodine and the other being left untreated. In neither of the cases could any effect of iodine be demonstrated. An increased demand for iodine in the food was obviously not the cause of the thyroid enlargement in these cases. Various possibilities regarding pathogenesis are discussed. The author is of the opinion that a reduced production of thyrotropic hormone by the anterior pituitary may be responsible for at least some cases of sporadic goiter just before and during puberty. The resulting compensatory enlargement of the thyroid in these cases is not the result of nutritional deficiency and consequently does not respond to the usual treatment with iodine.
Effects of deafness and blindness on the spatial correlates of hippocampal unit activity in the rat

Abstract Hippocampal cellular activity is closely related to a rat's position in a test environment, such as a radial arm maze. After maze rotation, the cellular activity in intact rats shows persistence with respect to the extramaze environmental cues. The present study investigated the persistence of hippocampal spatial cells in deaf and blind rats. The fields of 11 of 15 spatial cells followed the local maze cues after maze rotation, similar to the fields previously seen in rats with entorhinal lesions. The fields of the other 4 cells persisted in their initial spatial locations. Spinning the rats disrupted directional persistence in 3 of the 4 cells, suggesting a possible role for vestibular cues in spatial firing. The blind-deaf rats were not significantly impaired in their behavioral performance on the 6-arm maze or on a 17-arm maze. Sensory deprivation had the same effect as entorhinal lesions on spatial firing but not on maze performance.
Effect of lactose on nitrogen metabolism and phenol excretion in infants.

Summary Phenolic excretion was measured in five infants fed variations of common infant formulas. The main difference in the formulas was in substitution of Dextri-Maltose for part of the lactose in one feeding mixture. The nitrogen content was the same in type and quantity. Nitrogen retention was greater in the infants fed the lactose-containing formula. The infants tended to excrete more phenols during feeding of the formula containing Dextri-Maltose than during feeding periods on the formula containing lactose as the sole carbohydrate. Excretion of phenolic acids was much greater in the infants fed the formula containing Dextri-Maltose. The nature and significance of these phenolic acids are unknown. The range of normal phenolic acid excretion for infants is presented.
SCREEN, PHONE, AND VOICE USER INTERFACES

Office principles often have multiple ways to complete typical tasks. For example, scheduling can be done on a paper calendar, electronically, by phone store-and-forward, etc. Each of the ways has unique user-interface characteristics and limitations, as well as a set of economic costs and benefits. We recently completed a study where 18 users compared traditional screen-based, phone-based, and voice-activated interfaces to calendar facilities. The voice-activated and phone-based user interfaces showed the highest level of usability among the comparison set, showing significantly smaller times to complete tasks and assistance requirements than screen-based facilities. With respect to preference 75% percent of the users prefered using a voice-activated or phone-based system for the typical calendaring task of signing out of the office, while only 5% stated a preference for a screen-based system.
Depressor Extracts of Some Human Tissues.

ConclusionIn several human tissue extracts, including toxic thyroid tissue and carcinomatous tissue, depressor substances were found not to be present in unusual amounts. The major part of the depressor substance present in these tissue extracts does not acr like acetylcholine or histamine when tested for effect on the blood pressure of atropinized rabbits.