cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Don't overlook condoms for HIV prevention

The attention of the international community is being diverted from the hard work of primary prevention The 2002 international AIDS conference highlighted tremendous clamour for antiretroviral therapy, while little attention was paid to primary prevention by behavioural intervention. The international community seems diverted from the hard work of primary prevention, but progress on treatment access must not come at the expense of prevention by behaviour change, including condom promotion. Condoms are effective for HIV prevention. Targeted condom programmes can be extremely cost effective. The provision of condoms to those most in need remains hindered by multiple hurdles, including provider bias, ready physical access, and myth/rumour. Still, hopes for better access to HIV treatment in the future cannot divert us from the prevention needs of the present. We urge donors to do more now to learn how best to promote condoms as part of a package of comprehensive primary HIV prevention through behaviour change. The number of condoms procured by leading donors has diminished over the past 5 years, and was no greater in 2000 than it was in 1990. About 3.5 million new HIV infections occurred worldwide in 2001.1 The number of HIV infected people in Africa has approximately doubled since 1996. How should we assign priorities in our response to the pandemic? At the 2002 international AIDS conference in Barcelona, the greatest clamour was for antiretroviral therapy (ART); the loudest advocacy was that lack of access to ART in resource poor settings must change.2 Little attention was paid to primary prevention by behavioural intervention. Using the CD Rom …
Isolation of scotopic human electroretinograms using color adaptation and pattern reversal stimuli.

The human electroretinogram was recorded in response to alternations of a 500 nm checkerboard stimulus pattern presented against adaptation backgrounds of different wavelengths. A modification of Stiles' color adaptation paradigm was adapted to electroretinography. The results provided electrophysiological t.v.i. curves (threshold versus intensity curves) and permitted a determination of spectral sensitivity. The t.v.i. curves matched those seen in psychophysics. The spectral curve showed a close agreement with the scotopic CIE function.
Multi-Cycle Driven Isolated Attosecond Pulse Generation

Conversion of 1% of the fundamental pulse intensity to another wavelength before high-harmonic generation is shown theoretically to quadruple the period of the attosecond pulse train in the cutoff photon-energy region. In simulations, a 24-fs pulse can produce an isolated attosecond pulse.
Depression Among Korean Immigrant Elders Living in Canada and the United States: A Comparative Study

Korean immigrant elders in North America experience a high level of depression. This study explored the correlates of depression among a sample of 245 Korean immigrant elders living in metropolitan cities in Canada (n = 128) and a southwestern state in the United States (n = 117), using a stress-coping framework. Results revealed discrepancies between the 2 subgroups. Years since immigration and number of health concerns were positively associated, and English proficiency was negatively associated with depressive symptoms among Korean immigrant elders in the United States; only health status was significant among Korean immigrant elders in Canada. Implications of the study are presented.
Effects of benzimidazole analogs on cultures of differentiating rodent embryonic cells

Abstract Micromass cell culture systems for rat embryo midbrain (CNS) and limb bud (LB) cells were employed to assess the in vitro developmental toxicity of the benzimidazole analogs, mebendazole (MBZ), thiabendazole (TBZ), and nocodazole (NCZ), in addition to the classic microtubule inhibitor, colchicine. Comparison was made to albendazole (ABZ), a previously studied benzimidazole anthelmintic. Two parameters for assessing developmental toxicity were measured: differentiation and cytotoxicity. The relative potencies of the benzimidazole analogs in the micromass system (NCZ > MBZ ∼ ABZ ⪢ TBZ) mirrored their effectiveness in an assay for in vitro inhibition of mammalian tubulin polymerization. Colchicine also exhibits a high affinity for mammalian tubulin and was a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation, chondrogenesis, and neuronal differentiation. Immunofluorescent staining of Day 1 LB cultures with a monoclonal antibody to β-tubulin revealed that these agents elicited mitotic arrest. Many anti-tubulin agents are teratogenic in rats and their in vivo developmental toxicity may reflect perturbation of microtubular structure or function. With the exception of TBZ, these agents should be considered potential developmental toxicants since they inhibit cell growth and differentiation of micromass cultures at nanomolar concentrations.
Facing the Music: Voices from the Margins

Recent philosophy of music in the Anglophone analytic tradition has produced many fine-grained analyses of musical practices within the context of the Western fine-art tradition. It has not for the most part, however, been self-conscious about the normative implications of that orienting tradition. As a result, the achievements of recent philosophical discussions of music have been unnecessarily constricted. The way forward is to enrich the range of musical practices philosophy takes as its target of examination.
Radix-2 Division Algorithms with an Over-Redundant Digit Set

This paper presents a derivation of four radix-2 division algorithms by digit recurrence. Each division algorithm selects a quotient digit from the over-redundant digit set {−2, −1, 0, 1, 2}, and the selection of each quotient digit depends only on the two most-significant digits of the partial remainder in a redundant representation. Two algorithms use a two’s complement representation for the partial remainder and carry-save additions, and the other two algorithms use a binary signed-digit representation for the partial remainder and carry-free additions. Three algorithms are novel. The fourth algorithm has been presented before. Results from the synthesized netlists show that two of our fastest algorithms achieve an improvement of 10 percent in latency per iteration over a standard radix-2 SRT algorithm at the cost of 36 percent more power and 50 percent more area.
Potency of SCH 23390 for decreasing sucrose intake in rat pups depends on mode of ingestion.

Abstract To investigate the role of dopaminergic mediation of the positive reinforcing effect of sucrose during development, we tested the effects of the D-1 antagonist, SCH 23390, on the intake of 10% sucrose in 7-, 14-, and 21-day-old rats during independent ingestion (pups lick sucrose from the floor of a beaker) or during continuous intraoral infusion of sucrose. SCH 23390 inhibited intake more independent ingestion tests than in intraoral catheter tests. At 7 and 14 days this difference was qualitative—SCH 23390 was efficacious in independent ingestion test, but not in intraoral catheter tests. At 21 days the difference was quantitative—SCH 23390 decreased intake in both test, but was more potent in independent ingestion tests. SCH 23390 decreased intake during independent ingestion tests without changing latency to eat or time-sampled activity scores at 7 and 14 days, but not at 21 days; thus the inhibition of intake is not accounted for by a generalized motor deficit at 7 and 14 days. Possible explanations for the differential potency include density of reinforcement, pattern of central dopamine metabolism, and interference with the appetitive movements required to maintain contact with the sucrose in the independent ingestion test.
Cubism and the Medical School Curriculum

The rationales for including the medical humanities in the medical school curriculum are well accepted; in many schools the medical humanities are well established. Yet, pedagogical questions remain, and those who teach in such programs and others like them in health care settings find themselves ill-equipped to conceptualize curricular and instructional issues unique to humanistic inquiry in medical settings. This article identifies one such conceptual framework: using cubism as a metaphor to think about the medical humanities curriculum, in this case, imaginative literature portraying death and dying. The author uses Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych, and Olsen's Tell Me a Riddle to illustrate how literary inquiry might enable medical students and other health care providers to think about the lives of their dying patients from multiple perspectives.
POPULATION DYNAMICS OF A DIVERSE RODENT ASSEMBLAGE IN MIXED GRASS-SHRUB HABITAT, SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO, 1995–2000

We followed seasonal and year-to-year population dynamics for a diverse rodent assemblage in a short-grass prairie ecosystem in southeastern Colorado (USA) for 6 yr. We captured 2,798 individual rodents (range, one to 812 individuals per species) belonging to 19 species. The two most common species, deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), generally had population peaks in winter and nadirs in summer; several other murid species demonstrated autumn peaks and spring nadirs; heteromyids were infrequently captured in winter, and populations generally peaked in summer or autumn. Interannual trends indicated an interactive effect between temperature and precipitation. Conditions associated with low rodent populations or population declines were high precipitation during cold periods (autumn and winter) and low precipitation during warm periods (spring and summer). Severity of adverse effects varied by species. Heteromyids, for example, were apparently not negativ...
Intracellular transport of class I HLA molecules is affected by polymorphic residues in the binding groove

Intracellular transport of class I MHC complexes is dependent on assembly of class I heavy chains with β2-microglobulin (β2m) and peptides. This suggests that amino acid residues of individual class I molecules which are important for their stability and transport are likely to include those which contribute to binding of a majority of the cleft-associated peptides. To identify such critical residues, substitutions at polymorphic positions within the peptide binding cleft were introduced into a mutant HLA-A*0201 molecule bearing an additional gly>lys substitution at position 242 (242K). The 242K mutation weakens association of the HLA-A*201 heavy chain with β2m and was used to enhance potential effects of substitutions in the peptide binding groove on class I stability. Critical in choosing which binding cleft positions to mutate was the observation that HLA-A*6801 was less sensitive to the effects of 242K mutation than HLA-A*0201 and A*6901. This suggested that one or more of the six residues in the α2 domain differing between HLA-A*6901 and A*6801 were likely to affect class I complex stability. Positions 95, 97, 107, 114, 116, and 156 in either 242K or wild-type HLA-A*0201 molecules were therefore each converted to those residues found in HLA-A*6801. One of the second-site substitutions, arg>met at position 97, increased stability and restored surface expression of the 242K molecule. Five other substitutions either had no additional effect or further impaired 242K stability. Substitution of his>arg at position 114 blocked surface expression of both 242K and wild-type HLA-A*0201 molecules. These results demonstrate that polymorphic residues in the binding cleft influence the stability of class I complexes, and suggest that position 97 plays a critical role in stabilizing class I molecules for transport.
Clonal aging in Paramecium tetraurelia. II. Evidence of functional changes in the macronucleus with age

The contribution of the macronucleus of Paramecium tetraurelia to the long term proliferation potential of a cell line was tested using a nuclear transplantation protocol. Macronuclei from young or old wild-type cells were injected into genetically marked host cells of a standard clonal age. The subsequent proliferation to clonal death of successfully and stably transformed hybrids was compared to the proliferation of injected but untransformed lines (injection controls). Young macronuclear donor material significantly prolonged the proliferation of the hybrid cell lines over that of the injection controls, but old donor material caused only a slight increase in post-injection proliferation of the hybrids. Total cell proliferation was also considered. Comparison of the total life spans of injected, non-transformed lines with uninjected host controls demonstrates that the injection itself has no significant effect upon proliferation potential. The mean life spans of uninjected donor controls and the mean total life spans of the transplanted macronuclear material (donor age at injection plus subsequent hybrid proliferation) are similar, regardless of the age of the donor at the time of transplantation. These results suggest that there is an age-related decrease in the ability of a macronucleus to support subsequent cell growth and division. The results also show that the proliferation potential of the donor macronucleus does not appear to be changed to any great degree by transplantation into a host cell of different clonal age. The macronucleus thus "remembers its age" after transplantation. Coupled with an absence of any detectable cytoplasmic effects upon aging during vegetative growth, these results argue in favor of a macronuclear determination of the proliferation potential of a cell line. The identification of a macronuclear basis for clonal aging in P. tetraurelia should permit a better directed approach for further research in this area.
Appendix 1—Hydrology and physiography of limestone terranes

On April 28, 1947, a symposium was held as part of the Annual Meeting of the Section of Hydrology, American Geophysical Union, on the subject Ground-water hydrology Of limestone terranes. The session was reported in the minutes of the Annual Meeting [Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union, v. 28, p. 511, 1947]. At least three of these papers have appeared. HAMILTON [1948] emphasized that the control of solutional activity is by joints and bedding planes and noted the greater extent to which solution has progressed in the valleys than in the interstream areas. MONEYMAKER [1948] states that there is extensive solution in the area, extending “hundreds of feet below the present water table” and controlled more by geologic structure than by the purity (sic) of the rock. He concludes that the solutional activity has been in progress for a very long time.
Hematopoietic neoplasia in Mya arenaria : Prevalence and indices of physiological condition

A field survey of hematopoietic neoplasia (Hn) in the soft shell clamMya arenaria (L.) was undertaken using an immunoperoxidase diagnostic technique. Monthly collections ofM. arenaria were made at two sites: Little Buttermilk Bay and New Bedford Harbor, both in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, USA, from May 1986 to October 1987. Clams were diagnosed for leukemia and analyzed for soft-tissue dry weight, condition index, and carbon and nitrogen content of the soft tissue. Prevalence of leukemia inM. arenaria exhibited a seasonal fluctuation with a maximum prevalence in fall (September to October) and a minimum prevalence in early summer (March to July). A second maximum peak in late winter (January to March) was observed at one site. Leukemia primarily affected clams that were 3 to 4 yr post-settlement. Lower prevalence levels were observed in both younger and older clams. LeukemicM. arenaria with advanced stages of the disease, were in poorer physiological condition based on dry weight of the soft tissue, condition index, and carbon content of the tissue. Nitrogen metabolism appeared to be unimpaired. Significant differences were observed between the two sites with respect to prevalence of Hn and the physiological condition of clams. Differences in disease prevalence between the two sites may be the result of unknown environmental factors that facilitate initiation of the disease or, that compromise the defense mechanisms of the clams.
Ion implanted contiguous disk magnetic bubble devices: Projections of performance

A critical analysis is made of the contiguous disk magnetic bubble technology. First, an analysis is made of existing components and devices. Factors such as current density, power dissipation, and frequency of operation are considered. Then, having established the present status of these components, scaling rules for the materials and components are derived. Using these scaling rules projections are made of the performance of devices which are scaled to higher density. It is shown that the existing device components have sufficiently low current densities and power dissipation that 4-μm period storage devices operating at frequencies up to 200 kHz are feasible. Furthermore, scaling rules indicate that 2-μm period devices may also be expected to operate with similar power dissipation and no problems with electromigration. Contiguous disk devices are thus projected to surpass conventional Permalloy bubble devices by a factor of 16 in density and to offer a reduction in power dissipation. Performance will be at least equal to that of conventional devices and will be limited by the rotating field drive circuitry.
Characterization of Municipal Waste Combustion Air Pollution Control Residues as a Function of Particle Size

ABSTRACT Air Pollution Control (APC) residues from Municipal Waste Combustion (MWC) typically contain high concentrations of potentially toxic metals. APC residues, consisting of fly ash and lime spray drier scrubber residue, were sieve separated into six size fractions. Residue characterization included physical and morphological classification and chemical speciation. Elemental distributions as a function of particle size indicated parabolic distributions for matrix species and sigmoidal distributions for volatile species. Unreacted lime in the scrubber residue preferentially was present in the smallest fractions which greatly altered the elemental distribution profiles. Mathematical correction for this highly water soluble portion of the residue normalized the data which showed extreme similarity between facilities. Parabolic profiles became nearly linear with negative slopes and sigmoidal trends were transformed into exponential curves. This included adjusted lead concentrations approaching 2 wt% and ...
Keyboards for the handicapped: a new concept

A keyboard has been designed and constructed for persons restricted to using a head or mouth stick. The keyboard is not a modification of existing keyboard technology but involves a completely new concept. The keyboard, called a 2DOF keyboard, requires only two degrees of freedom motion for actuation. The problems of simultaneous key requirements, accidental key strikes, and multiple strikes of the same key have been solved. The keyboard is transparent to the personal computer to which it is connected, allowing use of any available software.
Effects of sacrocolposuspension on the lower urinary tract

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Urinary incontinence and micturition disorders have been reported to be common in patients who have had sacrocolposuspension procedures for vaginal vault prolapse. From interviews with 213 patients who had this procedure in Birmingham from 1986 to 1992, it was found that 53% related complaints of some urine leakage and 44% related other complaints, including frequency, urgency, and voiding dysfunction. It is also well known that frequently urinary symptoms accompany severe defects in pelvic support. Our purpose was to determine whether sacrocolposuspension and cul-de-sac obliteration, with or without retropubic suspension and posterior colporrhaphy, had a causal relationship to lower urinary tract dysfunction or symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: Forty-five patients who had the procedures were felt to be evaluable on the basis of preoperative documentation of a history of lower urinary tract symptoms and an evaluation. Four to eighty months after surgery (mean 31 months, median 24 months) these patients were interviewed by use of a verbally administered questionnaire assessing symptoms, and 24 patients underwent urodynamic testing. Preoperative and postoperative data collected subjectively and objectively were analyzed with Fisher's exact test (two-tailed) or paired t test analysis. RESULTS: Lower urinary tract symptoms or dysfunction occurred in 87% of patients before and 49% of patients after sacrocolposuspension for vaginal vault prolapse in spite of correction of bladder support defects. Stress urinary incontinence was effectively treated in 92% of patients who underwent appropriate bladder neck suspension procedures. There was no evidence that subjective or objective voiding dysfunction, urinary frequency, urgency or urge incontinence, or subjective and objective stress incontinence increased after the above procedures. None of the seven patients who had no urinary symptoms preoperatively had new-onset lower urinary tract symptoms postoperatively that could be attributed to the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Lower urinary tract dysfunction is common in patients with significant pelvic relaxation. (2) Careful evaluation of the lower urinary tract is essential for treatment choice and to effectively counsel patients with total prolapse. (3) Sacrocolposuspension in itself does not significantly effect lower urinary tract function or symptoms.
Biochemical markers of thrombolytic success

This paper reviews the clinical criteria necessary for use of thrombolytic drug therapy, the role of monitoring biochemical markers for detection of successful reperfusion following thrombolytic therapy, and the role of monitoring markers following percutaneous intervention to assess risk. Review of several studies demonstrates that early monitoring of myoglobin, cardiac troponin I, cardiac troponin T, and CK MB mass provides greater than 80% sensitivity and specificity for detecting reperfusion within 90 minutes following the initiation of therapy. However, the number of acute myocardial infarction patients studied are small. Since no prospective studies are reported, additional studies are necessary prior to clinical acceptance of routine monitoring of markers for detection of reperfusion. Most important, TIMI 3 flow patients cannot be differentiated from TIMI 2 flow patients. Monitoring markers after PTCA does appear to assist in short term (30 day) risk stratification. However, more studies are needed...
Insect small nuclear RNA gene promoters evolve rapidly yet retain conserved features involved in determining promoter activity and RNA polymerase specificity

In animals, most small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) are synthesized by RNA polymerase II (Pol II), but U6 snRNA is synthesized by RNA polymerase III (Pol III). In Drosophila melanogaster, the promoters for the Pol II-transcribed snRNA genes consist of approximately 21 bp PSEA and approximately 8 bp PSEB. U6 genes utilize a PSEA but have a TATA box instead of the PSEB. The PSEAs of the two classes of genes bind the same protein complex, DmSNAPc. However, the PSEAs that recruit Pol II and Pol III differ in sequence at a few nucleotide positions that play an important role in determining RNA polymerase specificity. We have now performed a bioinformatic analysis to examine the conservation and divergence of the snRNA gene promoter elements in other species of insects. The 5' half of the PSEA is well-conserved, but the 3' half is divergent. Moreover, within each species positions exist where the PSEAs of the Pol III-transcribed genes differ from those of the Pol II-transcribed genes. Interestingly, the specific positions vary among species. Nevertheless, we speculate that these nucleotide differences within the 3' half of the PSEA act similarly to induce conformational alterations in DNA-bound SNAPc that result in RNA polymerase specificity.
Electrophysiology of Scorpion Peg Sensilla

We describe a modification of an existing tip-recording technique1,2 for electrophysiologically investigating short, peg-like sensory sensilla3,4. On the mid-ventral surface of all scorpions are two appendages called pectines, which have dense fields of mechano- and chemosensory peg sensilla5,6. One method for assessing chemoresponsiveness of these sensilla uses a tungsten electrode for extracellularly recording neural activity within a sensillum as a volatile odorant is introduced to the sensory field5,7. The limitations of this method include slow data collection and uncontrolled stimulant introduction to, and removal from, the peg field. To overcome these limitations, we developed a new tip-recording technique that uses nonpolar mineral oil as a medium through which to deliver water-based tastants to individual peg sensilla8,9. We have successfully applied this method to obtain sensillar chemoresponses to citric acid, ethanol, and salt. Here we describe the experimental protocol for such a study9. We think this new method may be useful for studying the response properties of other arthropod chemosensory systems, including those of insects10, 11 and crustaceans12.
An Artificial Primosome: Design, Function, and Applications

Double-stranded (ds) DNA is capable of the sequence-specific accommodation of an additional oligodeoxyribonucleotide strand by the peptide nucleic acid(PNA)-assisted formation of a so-called PD-loop. We demonstrate here that the PD-loop may function as an artificial primosome within linear, nonsupercoiled DNA duplexes. DNA polymerase with its strand displacement activity uses this construct to initiate the primer extension reaction at a designated dsDNA site. The primer is extended by several hundred nucleotides. The efficiency of dsDNA priming by the artificial primosome assembly is comparable to the single-stranded DNA priming used in various assays. The ability of the PD-loop structure to perform like an artificial primosome on linear dsDNA may find applications in biochemistry, molecular biology, and molecular biotechnology, as well as for DNA diagnostics. In particular, multiple labels can be incorporated into a chosen dsDNA site resulting in ultrasensitive direct quantification of specific sequences. Furthermore, nondenaturing dsDNA sequencing proceeds from the PD-loop. This approach opens the way to direct isothermal reading of the DNA sequence against a background of unrelated DNA, thereby eliminating the need for purification of the target DNA.
Distributed Modal Voltages of Nonlinear Paraboloidal Shells With Distributed Neurons

Effective health monitoring and distributed control of advanced structures depends on accurate measurements of dynamic responses of elastic structures. Conventional sensors used for structural measurement are usually add-on discrete devices. Lightweight distributed thin-film piezoelectric neurons fully integrated (laminated or embedded) with structural components can serve as in-situ sensors monitoring structure's dynamic state and health status. This study is to investigate modal voltages and detailed signal contributions of linear or nonlinear paraboloidal shells of revolution laminated with piezoelectric neurons. Signal generation of distributed neuron sensors laminated on paraboloidal shells is defined first, based on the open-voltage assumption and Maxwell's principle. The neuron signal of a linear paraboloidal shell is composed of a linear membrane component and a linear bending component; the signal of a nonlinear paraboloidal shell is composed of nonlinear and linear membrane components and a linear bending component due to the von Karman geometric nonlinearity. Signal components and distributed modal voltages of linear and nonlinear paraboloidal shells with various curvatures and thickness are investigated.
NONINFLAMMATORY, NON-NEOPLASTIC DISORDERS OF THE SALIVARY GLANDS

Noninflammatory, non-neoplastic diseases comprise a diverse group of disorders that can present in a variety of ways. In general, a careful history will sharply focus the diagnostic possibilities. Although the diagnosis usually will be certain following the physical examination, additional testing may be needed to facilitate treatment planning. Sialolithiasis, cystic lesions, radiation injury, treatment to the parotid glands, sialodenosis, and other disorders are discussed in this article.
Expression of rat complement control protein Crry on tumor cells inhibits rat natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

Crry is a rodent membrane–bound inhibitor of complement activation and is a structural and functional analog of the human complement inhibitors decay-accelerating factor and membrane cofactor protein. We found previously that expression of rat Crry on a human tumor cell line enhances tumorigenicity in nude rats. In this study, we investigated the effect that rat Crry expressed on tumor cells has on rat cell–mediated cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). The expression of rat Crry on the surface of different human tumor cell lines inhibited ADCC mediated by rat natural killer (NK) cells. C3 opsonization is known to enhance NK cell–mediated cytolysis, and a potential mechanism for Crry-mediated inhibition of NK cell lysis is through Crry modulation of C3 deposition on target cells. However, the transfection of tumor cell lines with Crry enhanced their resistance to NK cell–mediated lysis in the absence of exogenous complement. The resistance of Crry-expressing tumor cells to NK cell–mediated ADCC could be reversed by treatment with anti–Crry F(ab)2. In addition, anti–Crry F(ab)2 enhanced the susceptibility of 13762 rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells (that endogenously express Crry) to ADCC mediated by allogeneic rat NK cells in the absence of added complement. We found no evidence that rat NK cells were a source of complement for target cell deposition during the in vitro cytolysis assay. These data suggest a novel function for rat Crry in tumor immune surveillance that may be unrelated to complement inhibition.
The native α2β2 tetramer is the only subunit structure of the insulin receptor in intact cells and purified receptor preparations

Abstract The native subunit structure of the insulin receptor was reinvestigated by two-dimensional nonreducing/reducing gel electrophoresis. Human insulin receptor expressed in murine fibroblasts was found to be a single oligomer, the α 2 β 2 heterotetramer. The structure was assessed using receptor metabolically labeled with [ 35 S]methionine, and using receptor autophosphorylation at two levels of purification: the insulin affinity-purified receptor and the more commonly used wheat germ agglutinin-Sepharose-enriched fraction from whole membrane extracts. Lower molecular weight oligomers and free subunits were observed only upon heating the sample prior to electrophoresis. This artifact of sample handling was dependent upon three factors: (i) temperature, (ii) time of heating, and (iii) impurities typically present in partially purified receptor preparations. We conclude that the α 2 β 2 tetramer is the only insulin receptor subunit structure native in intact cells and subsequently isolated from cell membranes.
Metal Ion Activation of Phosphate Transfer by Bidentate Coordination

The hydrolysis of methyl phosphate bound to the triethylenetetramine-cobalt(III) ion is much faster than the hydrolysis of either dimethyl phosphate bound to the same cation or methyl phosphate bound to the pentamminecobalt-(III) ion. The rate enhancement is attributed to bidenate coordination of the methyl phosphate. This feature suggests a pseudorotation mechanism analogous to that proposed by Westheimer for the hydrolysis of ethylene methyl phosphate. Stabilization of bidentate coordination might play a role in metal ion activation of phosphate-transfer enzymes.
Color Compression Results In A Digital Videodisc Of Prints And Photographs

We describe a Library of Congress experimental project involving the in-house production of a digital videodisc containing digitized and compressed video still frame images from the Library's collections of prints and photographs and other sources. The medium used was a 130 mm (5 1/4 inch) write once-read many (WORM) digital optical disk with a capacity of 200 megabytes per side. This equated to about 1800 images per side. We demonstrated that component (RGB) digital encoding combined with a nominal 10 X compression yielded high quality displays which, with rare exceptions which are discussed, were indistinguishable from source video images on a conventional analog videodisc. We further demonstrated that 100 successive generations of digitized and compressed video could be produced with no discernable impairment to the image. We discuss the objectives, the experimental configuration, and applications of this system.
Visual evoked potentials in mild senile dementia of alzheimer type

Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) to chessboard shift and to flash stimulation were recorded from 40 subjects with senile dementia of Alzheimer type (SDAT) and 40 individually matched control subjects. All of the SDAT subjects had only a mild degree of dementia and were still living in the community. Analysis of variance showed significant differences between demented and control group means for 3 chessboard shift VEP measures, the demented group having longer latency of peaks P3 and N3, and larger amplitude of segment N2-P3. These three are the earliest reported changes in the VEP in Alzheimer disease, since the flash VEPs showed no measure in which the demented and control group means differed significantly.
The influence of solution chemistry on REE uptake by Ulva lactuca L. in seawater

Abstract Simultaneous uptake of Ce(III), Eu(III), Gd(III), Yb(III), and Zn(II) by an organic substrate, Ulva lactuca L., was examined in seawater. REE behavior was observed to be strongly dependent on solution complexation. Over a range of carbonate ion concentrations between 10−6 mol kg-soln−1 and 7 × 10−3 mol kg-soln−1, the affinity of Ulva lactuca for Gd(III) decreased by approximately two orders of magnitude. The influence of carbonate complexation on REE solid/solution distributions was much larger for Yb(III) than for Gd(III) and was larger for Gd(III) than for Ce(III). At carbonate ion concentrations greater than about 6 × 10−5molkg-soln−1, REE solid/solution partition coefficients, DT(M) = (REEactivityg−1Ulva)/(REEactivityg−1seawater) exhibited the order Ce(III) > Eu(III) > Gd(III) > Yb(III). At carbonate ion concentrations less than about 3 × 10=−5molkg-soln−1, the affinity of Ulva lactuca L. for REEs exhibited the order Eu(III) >Gd(III) >Ce(III) >Yb(III). Our partition coefficient observations are in general accord with shale-normalized REE abundance patterns in seawater. Adsorption by organic substrates can produce heavy REE enrichments in seawater relative to the LREEs, Gd(III) solution enrichments relative to Eu(III), and, at relatively low carbonate ion concentrations, enrichments of very light REEs compared to their immediate neighbors. The behavior of Zn(II) in our study differed considerably from the REEs. The partition of Zn(II) between Ulva and seawater is not strongly dependent on carbonate ion concentration.
A multiple imputation method for missing covariates in non-linear mixed-effects models with application to HIV dynamics.

We propose a three-step multiple imputation method, implemented by Gibbs sampler, for estimating parameters in non-linear mixed-effects models with missing covariates. Estimates obtained by the proposed multiple imputation method are compared to those obtained by the mean-value imputation method and the complete-case method through simulations. We find that the proposed multiple imputation method offers smaller biases and smaller mean-squared errors for the estimates of covariate coefficients compared to other two methods. We apply the three missing data methods to modelling HIV viral dynamics from an AIDS clinical trial. We believe that the results from the proposed multiple imputation method are more reliable than that from the other two commonly used methods.
Influence of cosolvents on quinoline sorption by subsurface materials and clays

Quinoline sorption was measured on Na-saturated subsurface materials, a natural clay isolate, and montmorillonite, and was dominated by exchange of the quinolinium ion. In water/methanol and water/acetone mixtures, quinoline sorption on the subsoils and clays was lower than from water. In cosolvent, sorption followed the ionization fraction indicating the continued predominance of ion exchange. The reduction in quinoline sorption by cosolvent was similar for all the subsoils and clays indicating commonality in the surface-solute-solvent interaction. Conditional equilibrium constants (cKex) for quinoline exchange on the subsoils in water/methanol mixtures decreased log-linearly with mole percent cosolvent up to 20% methanol. This decrease closely followed the increase in quinoline solubility in the cosolvent mixtures. Acetone caused greater reduction in sorption than methanol, at comparable mole percent, in accordance with its lower dielectric constant and enhanced solvating power. A generalized thermodynamic approach based on the concept of transfer activity coefficients was developed to account for the cosolvent effect on cKex, and was successfully applied to the quinoline sorption data. The thermodynamic analysis suggested that enhanced solvation of the organic cation in the bulk solvent and desolvation of Na+ at the charged surface predominate the cosolvent effect.
Formation of elastic fibers and elastin in rabbit aortic smooth muscle cell cultures.

Cultured rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells produce elastic fibers and elastin in their extracellular matrix. Morphological analyses of elastic fibers indicate that they consist of two distinct components which play a major role in elastic fiber formation namely, the amorphous component and the “microfibrillar” component. During elastogenesis, the early fiber consists of small bundles of 11 nm microfilaments. Later, clearly distinguishable small conglomerates of amorphous material are found distributed among the bundles of filaments. The mature elastic fibers have large conglomerates of amorphous material with the filaments present within the interstices.Long term cultures of these cells in the second passage continue to accumulate elastin. The crosslinking amino acid isomers desmosine and isodesmosine, which are unique to insoluble elastin, increase with time in culture. Twenty-four hour pulses with l4C-proIine followed by measurements of l4C-hydroxyproline in the collagenase resistant protein of the cell...
Intraoperative Microscope-Mounted Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography for Evaluation of Retinal Anatomy during Macular Surgery

Objective To evaluate the use of microscope mounted spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to detect changes in retinal anatomy during macular surgery. Design Retrospective, observational case series. Participants We included 25 eyes of 24 consecutive patients who underwent SD-OCT during macular surgery. Methods A retrospective review of operative techniques, outcomes, and imaging for all patients who underwent intraoperative microscope mounted SD-OCT during surgery for macular hole or epiretinal membrane (ERM) from April 2009 to April 2010 was performed. Qualitative and quantitative characteristics of intraoperative and postoperative changes in retinal anatomy were studied. Main Outcome Measures Intraoperative change in macular hole dimensions and retinal thickness in patients with ERM owing to surgical manipulation measured using SD-OCT. Results Intraoperative SD-OCT from 13 eyes of 13 patients undergoing surgery for macular hole was reviewed. Two cases had images of suboptimal quality and were excluded. The remaining 11 eyes were subjected to quantitative analysis, which revealed stability of macular hole height and central hole diameter after internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling, but an increase in the diameter of subretinal fluid under the macula in ten of 11 eyes (average 87% wider). Intraoperative imaging from 12 eyes of 11 patients undergoing surgery for ERM was analyzed. Quantitative analysis revealed an average increase of retinal thickness after ILM peel of Conclusions Use of intraoperative SD-OCT has provided new insight into the changes to retinal anatomy during macular surgery and may prove to be a useful tool for vitreoretinal surgery. Further study is warranted to determine whether intraoperative changes such as the creation of shallow retinal detachments during uncomplicated macular surgery affects visual recovery. Financial Disclosure(s) Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
HIV-1 promotes quiescence in human neural progenitor cells

The exact mechanism by which human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) produces dementia remains obscure. We have recently found that chemokines can inhibit neural progenitor cell proliferation. We hypothesized that HIV-1 could also inhibit neural progenitor cell proliferation by chemokine receptor signaling. We found that HIV-1 coat proteins that used C-C chemokine receptor 3 or C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 as coreceptors inhibited proliferation of neural progenitor cells in isolated cultures, as well as in hippocampal slices. The cerebrospinal fluid from patients with dementia also inhibited neural progenitor cell proliferation in these culture systems. To obtain an in vivo correlation, we examined hippocampus tissue obtained from patients with dementia at autopsy and found reduced numbers of neural progenitor cells in patients with dementia, compared with patients without dementia. Apolipoprotein E3, but not E4, antagonized the effects of coat proteins. We found reduced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase in neural progenitor cells treated with coat proteins, which may explain the protein's mechanism of action. We conclude that HIV-1 inhibits neural progenitor cell proliferation, which may result in impaired ability to form new memories and learn new tasks.
A partial-DFT-based OFDM system resistant to channel nulls

In this paper, we present a partial DFT-based modified OFDM system that is resistant to channel nulls when both the transmitter and the receiver know the channel state information. We show the relationship between the method and filter bank precoding system as well as linearly precoded OFDM. Two optimal zero-forcing solutions are developed. The solutions inherit the fast implementation of OFDM and the superior performance of linear precoding system.
Training Issues for Counseling Psychologists in Working with Lesbian Women and Gay Men

Counseling psychology professional organizations clearly state that discrimination on the basis of minority status-be it racial/ethnic, sexual orientation, gender, or other-is unethical and unacceptable. Unfortunately, many counselors and counseling psychologists have received little training with regard to lesbian and gay issues. This article presents ways in which these issues can and should be incorporated into counseling psychology training programs. Academic and internship training are addressed, followed by a discussion of the importance of a safe and appropriate environment for lesbian and gay personnel Specific recommendations are presented and discussed.
How to Reduce an Unwritten Language to Writing: I

This is the first of several Short Takes articles that will deal with the reduction of previously unwritten languages or dialects to writing. This series will culminate in one or more articles on how to learn a field language. Obviously, before starting to learn a field language, it becomes necessary to systematically write down and organize words, phrases, and texts in order to aid one’s memory and facilitate ethnographic analysis. This article introduces the reader to vowel sounds and their transcription in human languages. In the early 1960s, several graduate students and I in Carl Voegelin’s research project Archives of the Languages of the World worked on excerpting phonologies and grammars of the available literature on languages. We learned quickly to take short word lists in some phonetic transcription, analyze them, and in a few minutes create a phonemic inventory or at least identify the majority of phonemes of a language. Ours was a quick and dirty method, sufficiently detailed to allow an assessment of the phonemic system for typological comparison and incidentally for unambiguous writing. This is precisely the technique for reducing a language to writing (Pike 1947) that a field ethnographer needs. I left Indiana University in 1963. By that time, we knew that the five-vowel system [i, u, e, o, a] (roughly the Spanish or Italian pronunciation) was used in over 90% of all languages of the world.
PathCase-SB architecture and database design

Background: Integration of metabolic pathways resources and regulatory metabolic network models, and deploying new tools on the integrated platform can help perform more effective and more efficient systems biology research on understanding the regulation in metabolic networks. Therefore, the tasks of (a) integrating under a single database environment regulatory metabolic networks and existing models, and (b) building tools to help with modeling and analysis are desirable and intellectually challenging computational tasks. Description: PathCase Systems Biology (PathCase-SB) is built and released. The PathCase-SB database provides data and API for multiple user interfaces and software tools. The current PathCase-SB system provides a databaseenabled framework and web-based computational tools towards facilitating the development of kinetic models for biological systems. PathCase-SB aims to integrate data of selected biological data sources on the web (currently, BioModels database and KEGG), and to provide more powerful and/or new capabilities via the new web-based integrative framework. This paper describes architecture and database design issues encountered in PathCase-SB’s design and implementation, and presents the current design of PathCase-SB’s architecture and database. Conclusions: PathCase-SB architecture and database provide a highly extensible and scalable environment with easy and fast (real-time) access to the data in the database. PathCase-SB itself is already being used by researchers across the world.
Workfare in Britain and America: A Personal View

But could workfare succeed in Britain? Professor Richard Nathan of Princeton University argues that the differences between Britain and America are such that workfare in Britain will require even larger changes in attitude than was the case in America.
Reverse logistics : the impact of timing and resources

Although reverse logistics has become a competitive necessity in many industries, there is a lack of agreement as to when formal reverse logistics programs should be introduced. The current research examines the issue of program introduction timing (first, early, late) in the context of the automobile aftermarket industry. The findings indicate that firms developing formal reverse logistics programs early in their industries – but not first – may be best positioned; however, there is also evidence that the timing/performance relationship can be influenced by resource commitment.
Nanotechnology environmental, health, and safety issues: brief literature review since 2000

Despite the many touted benefits of nanotechnology, growing concerns exist regarding the potential environmental, health, and safety (EHS) risks associated with nanomaterials. The number of published research papers in this area has grown significantly in recent years, mostly focused on nanotoxicology. Characterizing the current scientific literature is important for understanding the diversity of efforts over a range of fields. This article presents a brief review of nano-EHS literature published since 2000 with particular emphasis on non-toxicologcial risk analysis trends, although the number of such studies is limited compared to toxicological studies. Understanding these trends can provide important insights to scientists, engineers, and regulators.