cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Women, violence, and HIV: a critical evaluation with implications for HIV services.

Objective: Violence is highly prevalent among women with HIV. Determining whether HIV is causally related to violence, and whether risk for violence is increased by certain HIV prevention practices, has been difficult. Methods: We review recent literature concerning (1) violence and HIV serostatus, including the risk for violence associated with disclosure of a positive serostatus, and (2) violence associated with requests that male sex partners use condoms. Results: Studies suggest that women with or at risk for HIV come from populations that are also at risk for violence. Violence is not statistically increased among HIV-infected women compared to demographically and behaviorally similar uninfected women. However, for a small proportion of women, violence may occur around disclosure or in response to condom negotiation. Conclusions: Integrating violence screening and referral into HIV services could help many women obtain the assistance they need while minimizing the risk for violence that may be associated with partner notification or condom requests.
Preparing the civil engineering education and profession for the next century

The world is moving rapidly towards economic integration. Engineering standards and engineering education constitute a major tool in technically shaping economic integration. Civil engineering education and the profession are easier to unify, worldwide, than any other engineering field. The developing countries, the industrial world as well as the multinational corporations stand to benefit from such unification in education and technical standards. There are ways to bring about a worldwide unified engineering education, such as establishing an International Bureau of Engineering Technology and an International Bureau for Engineering Exchanges. The International Association for Continuing Engineering Education can play a leading role in establishing such organisations. Computers have become a powerful tool in solving all types of engineering problems. Therefore, civil engineering programs should be revised to include more intensified computer usage in solving civil engineering problems. The problem of crowded civil engineering programs can be solved by using computer–aided instruction in the process of civil engineering education, and as a tool to make the difficult subjects easier to understand. The question of which computer language is the best fit for civil engineering education should be addressed.
Thyroxine Elicits Divergent Changes in mRNA Levels for Two Urea Cycle Enzymes and One Gluconeogenic Enzyme in Tadpole Liver

Abstract Thyroxine-induced metamorphosis of the tadpole to the frog ( Rana catesbeiana ) is marked by increased activities of the urea cycle enzymes in liver. Cloned cDNAs for two mammalian urea cycle enzymes—carbamyl-phosphate synthetase I and argininosuccinate synthetase—were shown to cross-hybridize with the corresponding mRNAs in tadpole liver. Thyroxine treatment produced nearly 10-fold, coordinate increases in hybridizable mRNA levels for these two enzymes in tadpole liver. This increase is sufficient to account for reported increases in enzyme levels and synthesis rates, demonstrating that thyroxine largely regulates concentrations of these enzymes at a pretranslational step(s). In contrast, levels of phospho enol pyruvate carboxykinase mRNA in tadpole liver decreased by more than 90% following thyroxine treatment. This differs from the thyroxine-induced increases in synthesis rates of enzyme and mRNA reported for phospho enol pyruvate carboxykinase in rat liver. However, the decreased levels of this mRNA in tadpole liver may represent a secondary response due to thyroxine-stimulated release of insulin.
Statistical methods for paired comparisons of SPECT brain images

Nicholas LangeBrown University, Division of Biology and MedicineBox G-A4, Providence, Rhode Island 02912Lorcan A. O'TuamaHarvard Medical School, Division of Nuclear Medicine,Department of Radiology, Children's HospitalBoston, Massachusetts 02115S. Ted TrevesHarvard Medical School, Division of Nuclear Medicine,Department of Radiology, Children's HospitalBoston, Massachusetts 02115ABSTRACT
Effects of Short-Term Volunteer Experience on Self-Perceptions and Prosocial Behavior

(1995). Effects of Short-Term Volunteer Experience on Self-Perceptions and Prosocial Behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 135, No. 5, pp. 663-665.
The Role of the Hematologist/Oncologist in the Care of Patients with Vascular Anomalies

Pediatric hematologist/oncologists have a critical role in the diagnosis and management of patients who have complex vascular anomalies. They provide the clinical and medical skills needed to diagnose, treat, and manage these patients. Hematologist/oncologists also provide support for clinical trials and drug development to further treatment options for these patients.
Ergotism: the satan loosed in Salem?

Purpose To compare rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (SICH) and good clinical outcome at 90 days in patients with ischemic strokes from anterior circulation emergent large vessel occlusions (ELVO) treated with mechanical thrombectomy using either Solumbra or A Direct Aspiration first-Pass Thrombectomy (ADAPT) techniques. Methods We compared clinical characteristics, procedural variables, and clinical outcomes in patients with anterior circulation ELVOs treated with mechanical thrombectomy using either a Solumbra or ADAPT technique at our institution over a 38-month period. SICH was defined using the SITS-MOST criteria. A good clinical outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0–2 at 90 days. Results One hundred patients were included, 55 in the Solumbra group and 45 in the ADAPT group. Patients in the ADAPT group had higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (19.2 vs 16.8, p=0.02) and a higher proportion of internal carotid artery terminus thrombi (42.2% vs 20%, p=0.03) than patients in the Solumbra group. Patients in the ADAPT group had a trend toward a lower rate of SICH than patients in the Solumbra group (2.2% vs 12.7%, p=0.07). Patients in the ADAPT group had a significantly higher rate of good clinical outcome at 90 days than patients in the Solumbra group (55.6% vs 30.9%, p=0.015). Use of the ADAPT technique (OR 6 (95% CI 1.0 to 31.2), p=0.049) was an independent predictor of a good clinical outcome at 90 days in our cohort. Conclusions In our cohort, the ADAPT technique was associated with significantly higher good clinical outcomes at 90 days in patients with acute ischemic stroke due to anterior circulation ELVOs treated with mechanical thrombectomy.
Anterior pituitary and pituitary-dependent target organ function in men infected with the human immunodeficiency virus

Abstract To evaluate pituitary and pituitary-dependent target organ function in men infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 26 ambulatory HIV-positive men (13 with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome [AIDS]) and nine healthy control men were administered rapid sequential injections of thyrotropin (TSH)-releasing hormone (TRH), gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), ovine corticotropin (ACTH)-releasing hormone (oCRH), and human growth hormone-(GH)-releasing hormone (hGHRH). Blood samples were collected before and for 90 minutes after the injections for immunoassay of pituitary hormones, cortisol, testosterone, and free thyroxine (fT 4 ). Data were analyzed for each group of men considering basal, peak, and incremental responses to the releasing hormones, as well as the time course of response of each hormone. Mean basal serum GH concentrations were the same in all groups (control, AIDS, and non-AIDS HIV-positive), but stimulated GH levels were substantially higher at all time points in both groups of HIV-positive subjects. Results for prolactin (PRL) were similar, although stimulated PRL levels were increased significantly only in the AIDS group. The mean basal serum TSH concentration and stimulated TSH levels at 60 and 90 minutes were significantly greater in the AIDS group than in the control group. Basal mean fT 4 concentration in the AIDS group was significantly less than in the control group. Mean basal and stimulated serum (total) testosterone concentrations in all groups were the same. However, basal serum luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations in both groups of HIV-infected men were significantly greater than in controls; stimulated (peak) LH levels were not different from control levels. Basal and peak stimulated plasma ACTH concentrations were significantly increased in both HIV-infected groups. Basal serum cortisol levels were also greater, on average, in HIV-infected groups, although stimulated (peak) cortisol responses were not different. These results indicate that basal serum concentrations of TSH, LH, ACTH, and cortisol are modestly increased in men with AIDS, and that maximum levels of GH, PRL, TSH, and ACTH stimulated by the releasing hormones are also increased in this group. Measurements obtained in the non-AIDS HIV-infected men showed a pattern generally similar to that obtained in men with AIDS, but less marked. The basis for the increased pituitary activity is unknown; we speculate that it is due to modestly impaired target organ function and to increased hypothalamic stimulation.
Cleaving C-Hg bonds: two thiolates are better than one.

Organomercurial lyase (MerB) catalyzes the difficult cleavage of C-Hg bonds to hydrocarbon and mercuric dithiol products. Model compounds providing two or three thiolate ligands activate organomercurials toward acidic cleavage under mild conditions, which supports a mechanism in which MerB enzymes use two conserved active-site cysteines to activate the substrate.
Mirex-induced adaptive liver growth in rats subjected to thyroidectomy.

The organochlorine compound mirex (dodecachlorooctahydro-1,3,4-metheno-2H-cyclobuta-CD-pentalene) induces an adaptive liver growth dependent on the hormonal status of the experimental animal. In the intact laboratory rat, mirex induces liver growth that is an expression of both cellular hyperplasia and hypertrophy. However, in rats subjected to adrenalectomy, mirex induces liver growth that is essentially hyperplastic. Corticosterone supplements given to rats subjected to adrenalectomy and treated with mirex restore the hypertrophic component of liver growth. Therefore it appears that the expression of the hypertrophic component of mirex-induced liver growth is corticosterone dependent. To further explore the hormonal modulation of the expression of mirex-induced adaptive liver growth, rats subjected to thyroidectomy were studied. In male rats subjected to thyroidectomy, a single oral dose of mirex (100 mg/kg body wt) increased relative liver weight (liver wt/body wt × 100) by 62% within 72-hr after mirex administration. Liver growth occurred in the absence of [H]thymidine incorporation into liver DNA. Thus the observed liver growth was totally hypertrophic. However, in mirex-dosed rats subjected to thyroidectomy given twice-daily subcutaneous injections of thyroxine (5 mg/kg body wt), relative liver weight was increased by 204% of the control value within 72-hr after mirex administration, and there was a peak of [H]thymidine incorporation into liver DNA 54 hr after mirex administration. These studies suggest that the expression of hyperplasia in mirex-induced adaptive liver growth is thyroxine dependent. (HEPATOLOGY 1992;15:923–927).
Polyclonal hyperimmunoglobulinemia (PHIg): a vestige of primeval immunity?

Abstract Injection of antigen induces a massive secretion of immunoglobulin having no discernible antibody activity. This polyclonal hyperimmunoglobulinemia (PHIg) occurs in a variety of species and displays several characteristics such as time course, anamnesis and specificity which distinguishes it from specific antibody responses. Alternatively, secretion of the non-specific immunoglobulin is dependent on many of the same mechanisms important in the development of specific antibody production. These include specific antigenic recognition as well as the presence of functional thymus-derived lymphocytes. The immunoglobulin present in the PHIg response includes antibody activity to previously experienced antigens as well as to certain autoantigens. In addition, the immunoglobulin produced during the PHIg response may play an important role in maintaining a homeostatic balance within the immunological apparatus. These facts have been used to generate an hypothesis which relates the PHIg response to primitive immunological reactivity in non-vertebrate forms.
Digital Video Watermarking in P-Frames

Most video watermarking algorithms embed the watermark in I-frames, which are essential for the video signal, but refrain from embedding anything in P- and B-frames that are highly compressed by motion compensation. Furthermore, these algorithms do not take advantage of temporal masking in subjective perception of the video. In this paper, we explore the capacity of P-frames and the temporal masking effect in the video signal. The challenge in embedding watermark bits in P-frames is that the video bit rate can increase significantly. Thus, we choose to embed watermark bits only in nonzero AC residuals in P-frames. Changing zero-valued coefficients to nonzero values can significantly increase the video bit rate because H.264 (and earlier coders as well) uses run length codes. We show that avoiding zero-valued coefficients significantly reduces the percentage increase in the compressed video bit rate and makes watermark embedding in P-frames practical. Since the nonzero residuals in P-frames correspond to non-flat areas that are in motion, temporal and texture masking will be exploited at the same time. This is confirmed by showing the resemblance of the plots of the number of nonzero residuals in each frame to motion intensity plots.
DNA targeting and cleavage by an engineered metalloprotein dimer.

Nature has illustrated through numerous examples that protein dimerization has structural and functional advantages. We previously reported the design and characterization of an engineered “metallohomeodomain” protein (C2) based on a chimera of the EF-hand Ca-binding motif and the helix–turn–helix motif of homeodomains (Lim and Franklin in Protein Sci. 15:2159–2165, 2004). This small metalloprotein binds the hard metal ions Ca(II) and Ln(III) and interacts with DNA with modest sequence preference and affinity, yet exhibits only residual DNA cleavage activity. Here we have achieved substantial improvement in function by constructing a covalent dimer of this C2 module (F2) to create a larger multidomain protein. As assayed via fluorescence spectroscopy, this F2 protein binds Ca(II) more avidly (25-fold) than C2 on a per-domain basis; in gel shift selection experiments, metallated F2 exhibits a specificity toward 5′-TAATTA-3′ sequences. Finally, Ca2F2 cleaves plasmid DNA and generates a linear product in a Ca(II)-dependent way, unlike the CaC2 monomer. To the best of our knowledge this activation of Ca(II) in the context of an EF-hand binding motif is unique and represents a significant step forward in the design of artificial metallonucleases by utilizing biologically significant metal ions.
Light induced interactions of benzo[a]pyrene with carboxylic acids.

The in vitro photochemical behaviour of benzo[a]pyrene (BP) in presence of short and long chain carboxylic acids is studied. The direct irradiation (295–400 or 320–400 nm) of BP in solution in the presence of saturated carboxylic acids destroys more than 70% of this carcinogen in 72 h with a 150 W Xe arc lamp. Consumption of BP alone under similar conditions is less than 10%. The principal product resulting from direct interaction of BP with carboxylic acids is characterized as 6-acyloxybenzo[a]pyrene by means of UV, IR, NMR and mass spectroscopy. The other pathways of destruction may involve polymerization. Saturated fatty acids are shown to favour photoacyloxyation, while unsaturated fatty acids appear to facilitate polymerization of BP. The effect of different factors, such as the carboxylic acid involved, solvent, and wavelength on photoacyloxylation reaction as well as on the consumption of BP is discussed. Photoinduced interaction of BP with carboxylic acids seems to involve radical cation as well as free radicals of the hydrocarbon. Biological properties of BP esters in terms of primary irritancy and carcinogenic activity have also been tested by mouse skin assay. Both long and short chain esters do not show any carcinogenic activity; conversely, long chain esters are shown to be more severe irritants as compared to short chain esters or BP.
Techniques for scalable and effective routability evaluation

Routing congestion has become a critical layout challenge in nanoscale circuits since it is a critical factor in determining the routability of a design. An unroutable design is not useful even though it closes on all other design metrics. Fast design closure can only be achieved by accurately evaluating whether a design is routable or not early in the design cycle. Lately, it has become common to use a “light mode” version of a global router to quickly evaluate the routability of a given placement. This approach suffers from three weaknesses: (i) it does not adequately model local routing resources, which can cause incorrect routability predictions that are only detected late, during detailed routing; (ii) the congestion maps obtained by it tend to have isolated hotspots surrounded by noncongested spots, called “noisy hotspots”, which further affects the accuracy in routability evaluation; and (iii) the metrics used to represent congestion may yield numbers that do not provide sufficient intuition to the designer, and moreover, they may often fail to predict the routability accurately. This article presents solutions to these issues. First, we propose three approaches to model local routing resources. Second, we propose a smoothing technique to reduce the number of noisy hotspots and obtain a more accurate routability evaluation result. Finally, we develop a new metric which represents congestion maps with higher fidelity. We apply the proposed techniques to several industrial circuits and demonstrate that one can better predict and evaluate design routability and that congestion mitigation tools can perform much better to improve the design routability.
Post-entry and volcanic contaminant abundances of zinc, copper, selenium, germanium and gallium in stratospheric micrometeorites

Some fraction of Zn, Cu, Se, Ga and Ge in chondritic interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the lower stratosphere between 1981 May and 1984 June has a volcanic origin. I present a method to evaluate the extent of this unavoidable type of stratospheric contamination for individual particles. The mass-normalized abundances for Cu and Ge as a function of mass-normalized stratospheric residence time show their time-integrated stratospheric aerosol abundances. The Zn, Se and Ga abundances show a subdivision into two groups that span approximately two-year periods following the eruptions of the Mount St. Helens (1980 May) and El Chichon (1982 April) volcanoes. Elemental abundances in particles collected at the end of each two-year period indicate low, but not necessarily ambient, volcanic stratospheric abundances. Using this time-integrated baseline, I calculate the straospheric contaminant fractions in nine IDPs and show that Zn, SE and Ga abundances in chondritic IDPs derive in part from stratospheric aerosol contaminants. Post-entry elemental abundances (i.e., the amount that survived atmospheric entry heating of the IDP) show enrichments relative to the CI abundances but in a smaller number of particles than previously suggested.
Effects of Freeze-Thaw Cycling on Material Properties of Cancellous Cervine Bone as Characterized by Nanoindentation

Cancellous bone is an important load-bearing component of whole bone, and due to the plate-and-rod nature of trabeculae, small-scale testing is required to measure material parameters for use in modern analytic techniques such as finite element modeling [1, 2]. These material properties are measurable via nanoindentation techniques. During nanoindentation, the indenter tip is forced into the surface of the material while the applied load and tip displacement are monitored. Using these data, along with the tip’s cross-sectional area, mechanical properties are determined. Dynamic testing quantifies viscoelastic response and can obtain material response parameters such as storage and loss moduli. During dynamic testing, a low magnitude sinusoidal force is superimposed on a constant static force. The displacement response is measured at the same frequency as the applied oscillating force, and the resulting phase lag is related to material damping [3].Copyright © 2013 by ASME
A real-time computer vision platform for mobile robot applications

Abstract A portable platform is described that supports real-time computer vision applications for mobile robots. This platform includes conventional processors, an image processing front-end system, and a controller for a pan/tilt/vergence head. The platform is ruggedized to withstand vibration during off-road driving. The platform has successfully supported experiments in video stabilization and detection of moving objects for outdoor surveillance, gradient-based and correlation-based image flow estimators, and indoor mobility using divergence of flow. These applications have been able to run at rates ranging from 3 to 15 Hz for image sizes from 64 × 64 to 256 × 256.
Absolute Stability of Melvin's Magnetic Universe

The physical structure of Melvin's magnetic universe is briefly examined and its dynamical behavior under arbitrarily large radial perturbations is discussed. It is shown that no radial perturbation can cause the magnetic field to undergo gravitational collapse to a singularity or electromagnetic explosion to infinite dispersion. Rather, when arbitrarily perturbed inside a finite region, the magnetic and gravitational fields undergo damped, turbulent oscillation until they have radiated away from the perturbed region all the energy associated with the perturbation. Then they settle down into Melvin's unperturbed, static configuration.
The effects of social comparison on ability evaluations

Investigated the effects of comparisons with similar and dissimilar performances on estimates of relative ability. Male and female undergraduates (n = 162) took a test of analogy-making ability, and received veridical feedback about their own performance and manipulated feedback about the scores of other college students. Supporting Festinger's similarity hypothesis, variations within a range of small discrepancies between self and others' scores produced significant changes in ability estimates, while variations within a range of large discrepancies had no significant impact. This pattern of results only held for discrepancies relative to the modal score of others, and not relative to their highest or lowest scores. There were also indications that subjects with average performances were less influenced by the comparison feedback than were subjects with low or high scores. The discussion focused on the similarities and contrasts between seeking comparison information versus being influenced by it.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase activation regulates intestinal epithelial differentiation.

Abstract Background & Aims: The human colon cancer–derived cell line HT29 displays a multipotent phenotype. A subclone of HT29 cells containing numerous mucous granules and termed HT29-18-N2 was studied to determine the cellular mechanisms underlying a switch to the differentiated phenotype. Methods: Northern (RNA) blotting, immunoblotting, and immunocytochemistry of HT29-N2 cells, grown under glucose-containing and glucose-free conditions with or without the use of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059, were performed. Results: Loss of activation of the MAP kinases ERK 1 and ERK 2 in HT29-N2 cells upon a change to glucose-free growth medium preceded the change in phenotype and up-regulation of the goblet cell gene product intestinal trefoil factor (ITF). Long-term pharmacological MAP kinase inhibition with the MEK inhibitor PD98059 induced expression of the terminal differentiation markers ITF, sucrase-isomaltase, and the mucin gene MUC2. This was accompanied by morphological evidence of gland formation and mucin secretion and the appearance of discrete goblet cell and enterocyte populations. Induction of ITF and sucrase-isomaltase after MEK inhibition in HT29-N2 cells did not involve loss of MAP kinase responsiveness and was not mediated by receptor tyrosine kinases. Conclusions: Regulation of ERK activation may be a key biochemical switch responsible for terminal differentiation of components of the crypt-villus unit. GASTROENTEROLOGY 1999;116:1072-1080
Classifier Fusion for Acoustic Emission Based Tool Wear Monitoring

It is often difficult for a single classifier to achieve perfect classification during process monitoring. Sensor fusion enables the final decision to be improved, but uses voting methods, which usually do not perform well when there is a tie vote. In this paper, classifier fusion with class-weighted voting is investigated to further enhance the performance of monitoring systems. The overall performances of individual classifiers are used as the weighting factors to classifier fusion based on majority voting. When applied to tool wear monitoring of the coroning process, the classifier that was based on overall performance weighting improved the classification rate to 95.6% and the one based on state performance weighting showed 98.5% classification, compared to 87.7% for classifier fusion with unity weighting. A classifier fusion further increased performance from 98.5% to 99.7% by applying a penalty vote on the weighting factor.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
New Approach of Whole Engine Structural System Design

Fuel-efficient jet engines are developed by many companies. In the conventional design approach of a jet engine, many parameters are investigated independently. Consequently, a developed jet engine by this approach meets conventional design criteria but there is still room for improvement of engine performance. In this research, the new design approach of a jet engine that integrates these design objectives is developed and performance of a jet engine is evaluated. The goal is to develop the design approach of a fuel-efficient and robust jet engine.In current design, a jet engine is developed with a focus on not only performance improvement but also robustness. Therefore, Taguchi method is adopted in order to assess robustness. By this method, a jet engine is optimized based on the analysis that minimizes deterioration and variation of SFC. As a result, more efficient engine design is realized with the new design approach that directly deals with SFC.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
A new synthesis of L-threo-hex-2-enaro-1,4-lactone (“saccharoascorbic” acid): A method for the protection of the enediol of ascorbic acid

Abstract A new synthesis of l - threo -hex-2-enaro-1,4-lactone ( 4 ) (“saccharoascorbic acid”) is presented, whose unique feature involves oxidation of the side chain of ascorbic acid. Ascorbate 2-sulfate ( 1 ) was selectively oxidized in water at pH 8–8.5 with platinum-on-carbon catalyst to yield the 2-sulfate ( 3 ) of 4 . Hydrolysis of 3 in 15% trifluoroacetic acid for 90 min at 70° yielded 4 . The procedure affords a useful preparation of 4 , and demonstrates the excellence of sulfation for protection of the enediol of ascorbic acid during synthetic manipulations of the side chain. The sulfated ring is stable to oxidizing agents and to base, yet sulfate is readily removed by acid hydrolysis. The properties of a new compound ( 3 ) of biological significance, and those of the previously uncharacterized 4 , are reported.
The ATG12-Conjugating Enzyme ATG10 Is Essential for Autophagic Vesicle Formation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Autophagy is an important intracellular recycling system in eukaryotes that utilizes small vesicles to traffic cytosolic proteins and organelles to the vacuole for breakdown. Vesicle formation requires the conjugation of the two ubiquitin-fold polypeptides ATG8 and ATG12 to phosphatidylethanolamine and the ATG5 protein, respectively. Using Arabidopsis thaliana mutants affecting the ATG5 target or the ATG7 E1 required to initiate ligation of both ATG8 and ATG12, we previously showed that the ATG8/12 conjugation pathways together are important when plants encounter nutrient stress and during senescence. To characterize the ATG12 conjugation pathway specifically, we characterized a null mutant eliminating the E2-conjugating enzyme ATG10 that, similar to plants missing ATG5 or ATG7, cannot form the ATG12-ATG5 conjugate. atg10-1 plants are hypersensitive to nitrogen and carbon starvation and initiate senescence and programmed cell death (PCD) more quickly than wild type, as indicated by elevated levels of senescence- and PCD-related mRNAs and proteins during carbon starvation. As detected with a GFP-ATG8a reporter, atg10-1 and atg5-1 mutant plants fail to accumulate autophagic bodies inside the vacuole. These results indicate that ATG10 is essential for ATG12 conjugation and that the ATG12-ATG5 conjugate is necessary to form autophagic vesicles and for the timely progression of senescence and PCD in plants.
Bradykinin enhancement of PGE2 signalling in bovine trabecular meshwork cells.

Abstract Kinins and prostaglandins activate signalling pathways in cells of the trabecular meshwork and have opposing effects on outflow resistance to aqueous humor. Consequently, interactions between these pathways may be important in the regulation of intraocular pressure. In the present study, the influence of bradykinin on PGE 2 signalling was examined in primary cultures of bovine trabecular meshwork cells. Incubation of cells with bradykinin produced a concentration-dependent (EC 50 =3·6±0·7 n m ) elevation of intracellular free Ca 2+ . At a maximal concentration of 100 n m , the increase in Ca 2+ was rapid, peaking in 30 sec, and then slowly returned to baseline. This effect was completely inhibited in cells pretreated with the selective B 2 kinin receptor antagonist, Hoe-140. Treatment of trabecular meshwork cells with PGE 2 , in comparison, had no effect on cellular Ca 2+ but produced a concentration-dependent increase in adenosine 3′, 5′-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) formation. Bradykinin had no effect on basal cAMP. However, incubation of cells with PGE 2 in combination with bradykinin resulted in a 3- to 5-fold enhancement of PGE 2 -stimulated cAMP production. Bradykinin enhancement of cAMP stimulation was concentration-dependent with an EC 50 of 3·6±1·8 n m . Treatment of cells with bradykinin increased the response maximum for PGE 2 signalling, while the EC 50 for PGE 2 was not changed. This action of bradykinin was again blocked in cells pretreated with Hoe-140. Bradykinin also produced a 2- to 3-fold increase in isoproterenol and cholera toxin-stimulated cAMP accumulation. However, when adenylyl cyclase was stimulated directly with forskolin, bradykinin failed to alter cAMP production. These results indicate that bradykinin activates B 2 kinin receptors in trabecular meshwork cells to amplify PGE 2 -stimulated cAMP formation by facilitating the interaction between activated G s and the catalytic unit of adenylyl cyclase.
Ligand effects on the stability of the insertion products: A DFT study of oxidative addition of NH3 to iridium(I) complex

The density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to study the effects of PCP ancillary ligands on the relative stabilities of hydrido amido complexes and ammonia coordination complexes. Calculations on the four compounds 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b containing PCP ligands with t-butyl groups on P atoms showed that 1b is more stable than 1a and 2a is more stable than 2b. Calculations also showed that the relative energies of hydrido amido complexes with respect to the isomeric ammonia coordinated complexes vary with the different substituent groups (R = H, Me and tBu) on the P atoms of the PCP ligands. An alternative method to study the ligand effects introduced by different substituents on the P atoms is to vary the nuclear charge on the P atoms of PCP ligand. The relative energies were predicted to decrease with the nuclear charge of the P atoms on the PCP ligands, which indicates that increasing the electron donating ability tend to favor the hydrido amido complexes over the ammonia coordination complexes: Figure options Download full-size image Download as PowerPoint slide
Dynamics of female pelvic floor function using urodynamics, ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

In this review the diagnostic potential of evaluating female pelvic floor muscle (PFM) function using magnetic and ultrasound imaging in the context of urodynamic observations is considered in terms of determining the mechanisms of urinary continence. A new approach is used to consider the dynamics of PFM activity by introducing new parameters derived from imaging. Novel image-processing techniques are applied to illustrate the static anatomy and dynamics of PFM function of stress incontinent women pre- and post-operatively as compared to asymptomatic subjects. Function was evaluated from the dynamics of organ displacement produced during voluntary and reflex activation. Technical innovations include the use of ultrasound analysis for movement of structures during maneuvers that are associated with external stimuli. Enabling this approach is the development of criteria and fresh and unique parameters that define the kinematics of PFM function. Principal among these parameters, are displacement, velocity, acceleration and the trajectory of pelvic floor landmarks. To accomplish this objective, movement detection, including motion tracking algorithms and segmentation algorithms were developed to derive new parameters of trajectory, displacement, velocity and acceleration, and strain of pelvic structures during different maneuvers. Results highlight the importance of timing the movement and deformation to fast and stressful maneuvers, which are important for understanding the neuromuscular control and function of PFM. Furthermore, observations suggest that timing of responses is a significant factor separating the continent from the incontinent subjects.
A user interface for simulating calligraphic pens and brushes

CAD and graphics packages running on microcomputers are becoming increasingly popular for applications such as business charts, engineering designs, and computer art. Such packages typically provide a choice of different line styles and widths for creating drawings and images. Text is usually created using the fonts provided by the packages. Variations from the pre-defined line styles and fonts are allowed but are usually defined in an awkward, pixel by pixel process. Certain drawing and writing implements, specifically calligraphic pens and brushes, do not migrate naturally to a raster-display, keyboard-entry, mouse-dragging environment. This paper describes a user interface being developed at the University of North Florida Center for Human-Machine Studies to simulate calligraphic pens and brushes for use in a low cost environment, namely, a microcomputer equipped with a mouse device. This is the environment chosen simply because of its availability and also due to lack of a low cost (or even a high cost) input device that allows a natural simulation of painting or drawing with calligraphic pens and brushes. The interface along with underlying algorithms and data structures is described. Some example characters and “art work” are also presented. The objective of the interface is to allow the production of such characters and “art work” using the concept of a more natural “brush stroke” rather than a pixel-by-pixel or manual-outline and painting process.
Computer and Information Networks

The most basic conclusion coming out of the EDUCOM seminars is that computer networking must be acknowledged as an important new mode for obtaining information and computation (15). It is a real alternative that needs to be given serious attention in current planning and decision-making. Yet the fact is that many institutions are not taking account of networks when they confer on whether or how to replace their main computer. Articulation of the possibilities of computer networks goes back to the early 1960's and before, and working networks have been in evidence for several years now, both commercially and in universities. What is new, however, is the unmistakable recognition-bordering on a sense of the inevitable-that networks are finally practical and here to stay. The visionary and promotional phases of computer networks are over. It is time for hard-nosed comparative analysis (16). Another conclusion of the seminars has to do with the factors that hinder the fuller development of networking. The major problems to be overcome in applying networks to research and education are political, organizational, and economic in nature rather than technological. This is not to say that the hardware and software problems of linking computers and information systems are completely solved, but they are not the big bottlenecks at present. Research and educational institutions must find ways to organize themselves as well as their computers to work together for greater resource sharing. The coming of age of networks takes on special significance as a result of widespread dissatisfactions expressed with the present computing situation. There is a feeling that the current mode of autonomous, self-sufficient operation in the provision of computing and information services is frequently wasteful, deficient, and unresponsive to users' needs because of duplication of effort from one installation to another, incompatibilities, and inadequate documentation, program support, and user assistance. Complaints about the relative lack of uniform standards and the paucity of information on what programs and data are available and how to get and use them are commonplace. The human tendency, when beset by problems such as these, is to seek a savior in the next new technology-networks in this case. But networking does not in and of itself offer a solution to current deficiencies. What it does offer is a promising vehicle with which to bring about important changes in user practices, institutional procedures, and government policy that can lead to effective solutions. Thus more critical than whether networking is developed and applied is how it is developed and applied. For example, networking emphasizes the need for standards and good documentation. Unless effective mechanisms are developed and strong measures taken in networking to ensure that suitable standards and documentation are developed, present inadequacies could get worse, not better.
The development of children's mental multiplication skills

Abstract Simple multiplication skills of subjects from third grade through college were studied. Data from Experiment 1 indicated that to solve simple multiplication problems, even third graders rely heavily on memory retrieval rather than on reconstructive procedures such as counting. Reaction time was predicted better by normative measures of problem difficulty or strength at all ages than by structural variables associated with the problems (e.g., size of multipliers). Furthermore, confusion problems, those with an incorrect answer that is multiplicatively related to the problem (e.g., 4 × 8 = 24), affected error rates beginning with fifth grade and reaction times beginning with seventh grade; by late elementary school, then, retrieval involves automatic activation of related information. In Experiment 2, subjects in all grades demonstrated automaticity of fact retrieval on simple problems, although children under seventh grade did not demonstrate automatic facilitation on more difficult problems. The data are consistent with the position that arithmetic processing in simple multiplication is at least partially automatic, even by the third grade, and with current models based on network or associative knowledge structures in long-term memory.
Systems Bioethics and Stem Cell Biology

The complexities of modern science are not adequately reflected in many bioethical discussions. This is especially problematic in highly contested cases where there is significant pressure to generate clinical applications fast, as in stem cell research. In those cases a more integrated approach to bioethics, which we call systems bioethics, can provide a useful framework to address ethical and policy issues. Much as systems biology brings together different experimental and methodological approaches in an integrative way, systems bioethics integrates aspects of the history and philosophy of science, social and political theory, and normative analysis with the science in question. In this paper we outline how a careful analysis of the science of stem cell research can help to refocus the discussions related to the clinical applications of stem cells. We show how inaccurate or inadequate scientific assumptions help to create a set of unrealistic expectations and badly inform ethical deliberations and policy development. Systems bioethics offers resources for moving beyond the current impasse.
Reduction of learned helplessness by central administration of quaternary naltrexone.

Abstract Prior research has established that escape impairment resulting from prior inescapable shock (IS) could be reversed by the peripheral administration of the opiate antagonist naltrexone (NTX), but not the quaternary form of naltrexone (QNTX), which when systemically administered, does not readily pass the blood-brain barrier. As it was unclear whether the failure of systemically administered QNTX to reduce shuttle escape deficits following exposure to IS could be attributed to reasons other than the restricted access of QNTX to receptor sites in the brain, rats were affixed with chronic indwelling ventricular cannulae to allow direct brain administration of QNTX. The present experiment found a significant attenuation of the escape deficit produced by prior inescapable shock following the intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of QNTX (10 μg/rat). These data provide further evidence of a mediational role for central opiate receptors in the expression of escape interference following inescapable shock.
Electron‐Rich Diferrous–Phosphane–Thiolates Relevant to Fe‐only Hydrogenase: Is Cyanide “Nature's Trimethylphosphane”?

The two-step one-pot oxidative decarbonylation of [Fe 2 -(S 2 C 2 H 4 )(CO)4(PMe 3 ) 2 ] (1) with [FeCp 2 ]PF 6 ,, followed by addition of phosphane ligands, led to a series of di-ferrous dithiolato carbonyls 2-6. containing three or four phosphane ligands. In situ measurements indicate efficient formation of 1 2 + as the initial inlennediale of the oxidation of 1, even when a deficiency of the oxidant was employed. Subsequent addition of PR 3 gave rise to [Fe 2 (S 2 C 2 H 4 )(μ-CO)(CO) 3 (PMe 3 ) 3 ] 2 + (2) and [Fe 2 -(S 2 C 2 H 4 )(μ-CO)(CO) 2 (PMe 3 ) 2 (PR 3 ) 2 ] 2 + (R=Me 3. OMe 4) as principal products. One terminal CO ligand in these complexes was readily substituted by MeCN. and [Fe 2 (S 2 C 2 H 4 )(u-CO)(CO) 2 -(PMe 3 ) 3 (MeCN)] 2 + (5) and [Fe 2 -(S 2 C 2 H 4 )(μ-CO)(CO)(PMe 3 ) 4 (MeCN)] 2 + (6) were fully characterized. Relevant to the H r e d state of the active site of Fe-only hydrogenases, the unsymmetrical derivatives 5 and 6 feature a semi-bridging CO ligand trans to a labile coordination site.
Selegiline in the treatment of Parkinson's disease--long term experience.

– L-deprenyl (selegiline) has been reported as a safe effective adjunctive agent to levodopa in the control of Parkinson's symptoms, as well as a means of preventing the progressive nature of the disease process. In an ongoing study, now in its 12th year, L-deprenyl has been administered 1. as monotherapy or 2. in combination with levodopa, to previously untreated patients in the early phases of the disease; 3. added to an existing regimen of levodopa when optimal therapeutic results are not being obtained. This report reviews our experience in each of these three treatment categories. Results obtained to date, indicate that L-deprenyl administered alone does not prevent the occurrence of signs of Parkinson's disease. It's administration with levodopa, as initial therapy, allows for use of lower dosage and less side effects of the latter agent. When L-deprenyl is added to sub-optimal responders to levodopa, it attenuates fluctuating responses, particularly those of the ‘end-of-dose’variety.
Effects of acute δ9-THC administration on EEG and EEG power spectra in the rat

Abstract This study was designed to determine the acute effects of Δ 9 -THC on the cortical EEG with the spectral analysis technique. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with chronic cortical and temporalis muscle electrodes. Intraperitoneally administered Δ 9 -THC (5 and 10 mg/kgmg/kg) produced a reduction in peak-to-peak voltage of the desynchronized cortical EEG during wakefulness. Associated spectral power was reduced to about 50% of control during the first hour after injection of Δ 9 -THC and gradually returned toward the control value over an 8-hr period. Occurrences of Δ 9 -THC-induced high-voltage EEG bursts, overriding the reduced EEG tracing, were associated with an EEG spectral peak at 6 Hz. The first few slow-wave sleep (SWS) episodes appearing after Δ 9 -THC administration were associated with more slow-frequency waveforms and more slow-frequency spectral power than with control slow-wave sleep episodes. During control rapid eye movement (REM) sleep episodes, an EEG theta wave pattern, with an associated spectral peak at about 8 Hz, was characteristic. Conversely, the first few REM sleep episodes emerging after Δ 9 -THC administration contained overriding high-voltage bursts, the related power spectra of which had two peaks at about 7 and 11 Hz.
A micro-architectural based structural model for elastomeric electrospun scaffolds

Interest in electrospun polymeric nano-microfibers for tissue engineering applications has rapidly grown during the last decade. In spite of this technique’s flexibility and ability to form complex fiber assemblies, additional studies are required to elucidate how the fibrous microstructure translates into specific tissue (or meso-scale) level mechanical behavior. Deterministic structural models can quantify how key structures contribute to the mechanical response as a function of bulk deformation across multiple scales, as well as provide a better understanding of cellular mechanical response to local micro-structural deformations. Our ultimate aim is to utilize such models to assist tissue engineering scaffold design. In the current work, we present a novel approach to automatically quantify key micro-architectural descriptors (fiber overlaps, connectivity, orientation, and diameter) from SEM images of electrospun poly (ester urethane) urea (PEUU) to recreate statistically equivalent scaffold mechanical models. An appropriate representative volume element (RVE) size was determined by quantifying the point of stabilization of the architectural descriptors over image areas of increasing size. Material models were then generated specifying: fiber overlap density, fiber orientation, connectivity and fiber diameter. Macro-meso mechanical response was predicted via FEM simulations.Copyright © 2010 by ASME