cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Failure to find pregnancy effects on cortical thickness

There are reports by Diamond and her colleagues, based on measurements made shortly after parturition, that pregnancy increases the size of the cerebral cortex in rats. As a prelude to examining the cellular basis for this phenomenon, we measured the size of the cortex in three coronal planes in hooded rats on the last day of their pregnancy and in control, nonpregnant female littermates. No differences were found between the pregnant and control rats. We conclude that either the events on the day of parturition alter the size of the cortex or the effects of pregnancy on the cortex are not reliable.
The Vocative Adjectives Biaus, Dous and chiers in Old French

The Vocative Adjectives biaus, dous and chiers in Old French:These three epithets are used with far more frequency than any other adjectives accompanying titles of address in direct discourse. Nevertheless, they are not used in great abundance until the romances of Chretien de Troyes, who employs them with ever increasing frequency throughout his romance production. The article briefly retraces the attestations of their semantic values and literary applications in rhymed verse narratives of the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.
Development of a large, low-mass, water Cherenkov counter

Abstract The development of a large water Cherenkov counter for use in triggering over a large side aperture of the Brookhaven National Laboratory Multi-Particle Spectrometer is described. Design considerations, prototype-testing, and testing and utilization of the full-scale counter are discussed. The water radiator occupied a volume of 7.6 × 102 × 229 cm3; the large walls of the radiator box were constructed of PVC foam with aluminum skins, and were supported only at the periphery. Light was collected vertically along the 102 cm dimension, with one 2″ photomultiplier (RCA 4507) employed for each of the eight cells. The major inside reflectors were aluminized mylar sealed within a glass envelope for reasons of durability and also of total internal reflection within the glass. With highly relativistic particles, efficiencies of 99.2% or greater were obtained at midplane from all cells; efficiencies decreased one percent or less near the bottom of the cells. Light produced by knock-on electrons from low-momentum protons was found to increase slowly with radiator thickness. This light was discriminated against with high efficiency. The Cherenkov counter was used as a major trigger element to distinguish side-pion from proton-recoil events in a recent MPS experimental run at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron.
Race and the culture of anthropology

The number of panels on “multiculturalism” and “cultural studies” at the AAA's annual meetings has increased significantly. Many anthropologists believe that the discipline has been in the vanguard of debates on racism and multiculturalism, that it stands for precisely those issues raised in the “culture wars”: the equal valuation of all cultures. Yet this is not the case. Multiculturalism and cultural studies have emerged as counterdisciplinary formations which radically foreground race and racial identity precisely because anthropology cannot do so.
The glmS Ribozyme Cofactor is a General Acid–Base Catalyst

The glmS ribozyme is the first natural self-cleaving ribozyme known to require a cofactor. The d-glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN6P) cofactor has been proposed to serve as a general acid, but its role in the catalytic mechanism has not been established conclusively. We surveyed GlcN6P-like molecules for their ability to support self-cleavage of the glmS ribozyme and found a strong correlation between the pH dependence of the cleavage reaction and the intrinsic acidity of the cofactors. For cofactors with low binding affinities, the contribution to rate enhancement was proportional to their intrinsic acidity. This linear free-energy relationship between cofactor efficiency and acid dissociation constants is consistent with a mechanism in which the cofactors participate directly in the reaction as general acid-base catalysts. A high value for the Bronsted coefficient (β ~ 0.7) indicates that a significant amount of proton transfer has already occurred in the transition state. The glmS ribozyme is the first self-cleaving RNA to use an exogenous acid-base catalyst.
Pliocene export production and terrigenous provenance of the Southern Cape Basin, southwest African margin

Abstract We have analyzed 33 Pliocene bulk sediment samples from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1085 in the Cape Basin, located offshore of western Africa in the Angola–Benguela Current system, for 17 major and trace elements, and interpreted their associations and temporal variations in the context of an allied data set of CaCO3, opal, and Corg. We base our interpretations on elemental ratios, accumulation rates, inter-element correlations, and several multi-element statistical techniques. On the basis of qualitative assessment of downhole changes in the distributions of P and Ba, utilized as proxies of export production, we conclude that highs in bulk and biogenic accumulation that occur at 3.2 Ma, 3.0 Ma, 2.4 Ma, and 2.25 Ma were caused by increases in export production as well as terrigenous flux, and record a greater sequestering of organic matter during these time periods. Studies of refractory elements and other indicator proxies (SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, MgO, V, Cr, Sr, and Zr) strongly suggest that the terrigenous component of the bulk sediment is composed of two compositional end-members, one being ‘basaltic’ in composition and the other similar to an ‘average shale’. The basaltic end-member comprises approximately 10–15% of the total bulk sediment and its presence is consistent with the local geology of source material in the drainage basin of the nearby Orange River. The increase in bulk accumulation at 2.4 Ma appears to reflect a greater relative increase in basaltic input than the relative increase in shale-type input. Although studies such as this cannot precisely identify the transport mechanisms of the different terrigenous components, these results are most consistent with variations in sea level (and associated changes in shelf geometry and fluvial input) being responsible for the changing depositional conditions along the Angolan Margin during this time period.
Infiltration and redistribution of perchloroethylene in partially saturated, stratified porous media

Abstract Contamination of the subsurface by nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) is a widespread problem. To investigate the behavior of a nonspreading, dense NAPL (DNAPL) in the vadose zone, we conducted perchloroethylene (PCE) infiltration experiments in nominally 1- and 2-dimensional (D), stratified porous media. In addition, the usefulness and limitations of a multifluid flow simulator to describe PCE infiltration and redistribution under the experimental conditions were tested. The physical simulations were conducted in a column (1-D) and a flow container (2-D) which were packed with two distinct layers of coarse-grained sand and a fine-grained sand layer in between. Volumetric water and PCE contents were determined with a fully automated dual-energy gamma radiation system. While migrating through the drier parts of the coarse-grained sand layers, PCE appeared to wet the water–air interface rather than displacing any water. In the wetter parts of the porous medium, PCE displaced water and behaved as a true nonwetting fluid. PCE showed a limited response to gradients in capillary pressure and rather high values for the volumetric PCE content were measured in the fine-grained sand layers. This was attributed to the nonspreading nature of PCE. The multifluid flow simulator appeared to predict the initial PCE movement in the vadose zone reasonably well. However, the model was not capable of predicting the final amounts of PCE retained in either the unsaturated or saturated part of the flow domain, mainly because the simulator does not consider the nonspreading flow behavior of NAPLs.
Introduction and indications for functional endonasal (endoscopic) sinus surgery

Chronic sinusitis is a frequent indication for functional endonasal sinus surgery (FESS). The object of FESS is to restore the normal anatomy in the osteomeatal complex region, which is thought to be the key area in the development of chronic sinus disease. Patient selection is critical. Patients with symptoms suggestive of chronic or recurrent sinus involvement should have intranasal endoscopic evaluation of the osteomeatal area. Decision for surgery is based on demonstration of abnormalities on coronal computed tomographic scanning.
Visual event-related potentials index focused attention within bilateral stimulus arrays. I. Evidence for early selection

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from the scalp while subjects attended to sequences of bilaterally symmetrical arrays of 4 letters (2 in each visual half-field) that were flashed briefly at intervals of 280-520 msec. These sequences also included randomized presentations of unilateral 'probe' stimuli consisting of irrelevant bars (experiment 1) or potentially relevant letter pairs (experiment 2). The task was to pay attention to the letter pairs in either the left or the right half-field on a given run and to press a button when the two letters matched one another (targets). The ERPs to the bilateral arrays included an early positive wave (P1, peaking at 135 msec) that was enhanced over posterior scalp sites contralateral to the attended visual field. Both types of probe stimulus also elicited a larger early positivity in the P1 latency range (100-200 msec) when delivered to the attended half-field, followed in some cases by a more prolonged positive deflection. Notable for its absence was any sign of an enlarged posterior N1 component (160-200 msec), which was prominent in the ERP to attended-field stimuli in previous studies using randomized sequences of unilateral stimuli. Attended-field targets elicited large N2 and P3 (P300) components, which were greatly reduced or absent when targets occurred in the unattended field. The observed ERP effects were interpreted in terms of early sensory selection during visual spatial attention.
Advanced collective communication in aspen

Aspen is a programming language that relies on high-level messaging to support communication among different program tasks executing in parallel. Unlike MPI, the computational logic of Aspen tasks is specified and developed independently of the global communication structure of the program. A root module specifies the communication structure of the program. The semantics and generality of these specifications enable novel forms of collective communication, including asynchronous and concurrent collective operations and reduction type operations with subsets of the participants being receivers of the reduced data, and with receivers that do not provide data to the reduction. This paper describes efficient implementations of these and other collective communication operations in Aspen. We demonstrate the ease-of-use of these features using several code examples and quantify their performance impact through both microbenchmarks and a quantum chemistry code used in rubber chemistry. Aspen's performance is competitive with, or slightly better than, the performance of MPI implementations for both the chemistry application and the microbenchmarks.
Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. kleinii subsp. nov. (Enterobacteriales: Enterobacteriaceae)

Association between bacteria Photorhabdus and their nematode hosts Heterorhabditis represents one of the emerging models in symbiosis studies. In this study, we isolated the bacterial symbionts of the nematode Heterorhabditis georgiana. Using gyrB sequences for phylogenetic analysis, these strains were shown to be part of the species of Photorhbdus luminescens but with clear separation from currently recognized subspecies. Physiological properties and DNA-DNA hybridization profiles also supported the phylogenetic relationship of these strains. Therefore, a new subspecies, Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. kleinii subsp. nov., is proposed with the type strain KMD37(T) (=DSM 23513 =ATCC =NRRL B-59419).
Computationally efficient design of optimal output feedback strategies for controllable passive damping devices

Designing control strategies for smart structures, such as those with semiactive devices, is complicated by the nonlinear nature of the feedback control, secondary clipping control and other additional requirements such as device saturation. The usual design approach resorts to large-scale simulation parameter studies that are computationally expensive. The authors have previously developed an approach for state-feedback semiactive clipped-optimal control design, based on a nonlinear Volterra integral equation that provides for the computationally efficient simulation of such systems. This paper expands the applicability of the approach by demonstrating that it can also be adapted to accommodate more realistic cases when, instead of full state feedback, only a limited set of noisy response measurements is available to the controller. This extension requires incorporating a Kalman filter (KF) estimator, which is linear, into the nominal model of the uncontrolled system. The efficacy of the approach is demonstrated by a numerical study of a 100-degree-of-freedom frame model, excited by a filtered Gaussian random excitation, with noisy acceleration sensor measurements to determine the semiactive control commands. The results show that the proposed method can improve computational efficiency by more than two orders of magnitude relative to a conventional solver, while retaining a comparable level of accuracy. Further, the proposed approach is shown to be similarly efficient for an extensive Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the effects of sensor noise levels and KF tuning on the accuracy of the response.
CD8α+ dendritic cells are an obligate cellular entry point for productive infection by Listeria monocytogenes

Summary CD8α + dendritic cells (DCs) prime cytotoxic T lymphocytes during viral infections and produce interleukin-12 in response to pathogens. Although the loss of CD8α + DCs in Batf3 −/− mice increases their susceptibility to several pathogens, we observed that Batf3 −/− mice exhibited enhanced resistance to the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes . In wild-type mice, Listeria organisms, initially located in the splenic marginal zone, migrated to the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS) where they grew exponentially and induced widespread lymphocyte apoptosis. In Batf3 −/− mice, however, Listeria organisms remain trapped in the marginal zone, failed to traffic into the PALS, and were rapidly cleared by phagocytes. In addition, Batf3 −/− mice, which lacked the normal population of hepatic CD103 + peripheral DCs, also showed protection from liver infection. These results suggest that Batf3 -dependent CD8α + and CD103 + DCs provide initial cellular entry points within the reticuloendothelial system by which Listeria establishes productive infection.
Plasmodium berghei: possible role of thyroxine in growth and metabolism.

Plasmodium berghei infected C3H mice had lower parasitemias than the control mice on 4 (Days 4, 5, 7, and 8; P < 0.001, 0.02, 0.001, and 0.02, respectively) out of 7 check days when treated with 0.1% 6-propylthiouracil (6-PT) in water ad lib. The 6-PT-treated mice also survived longer than the control mice in 2 experiments: 11.8 (8–13) days vs 10.7 (8–13) days (P < 0.001); and 10.4 (9–11) days vs 9.4 (9–10) days (P < 0.001). Parasitemias of mice treated with 0.1% 6-PT + D-thyroxine (T4) were consistently higher on 6 of 7 check days than the 6-PT-treated group, with the 9th day count of 69.0 ± 11.6 for the 6-PT + T4 group being significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the count of 52.9 ± 19.9 for the 6-PT only group. Reduced T4 production, due to the 6-PT-induced hypothyroidism (lower 131I uptakes), may have caused the parasitemia reduction. Differences in temperature and metabolism do not appear to be involved. More experiments (in vitro) are necessary in order to determine definitely whether T4 is involved in the growth and metabolism of malaria parasites.
PRIVACY PREFERENCE AND INTERPERSONAL DISTANCING

Based on Altman's (1975) proposal that adjusting the distance between oneself and ochers is mediated in part by variation in desire for privacy, it was predicted rhar low need for privacy would lead to closer interpersonal distancing with a stranger than would high need for privacy. Moreover, low control over choosing interpersonal distance was expected to lead to negative personal feelings and to unfavorable evaluations of others and of the surrounding environment as a whole. A median split (Mdn = 146.75) was employed to divide a sample of 83 male and 78 female undergraduates into groups scoring high and low on Marshall's (1974) Privacy Preference Scale. Subjects sat next to a male or a female confederate on a 5-ft. wide bench. Microswitches under the bench's padding were wired such that distance of a seated person from a reference point could be readily determined on a digital readout in an adjacent room. In a high control condition, the confederate was seated first and subjects were free to choose their own distance away. In a low control condition, subjects were seated first and the confederate sat 18 in. from the subject. Sub jects left after completing a number of questionnaires. Seating distance was analyzed only for the high control group, since distance was constant for the low control group. One-way analysis of variance across three measurements of distance (taken approximately 10 min. apart) gave a sigmificant effect for time (F,.,,o = 3.67, p < .05), with distance increasing across time (M = 27.49, 28.15,
Alcohol treatment utilization: findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Abstract Background Epidemiological studies consistently show low rates of alcohol treatment utilization among individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, there is not as great consistency in the characteristics that predict alcohol treatment utilization. Methods Using data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), we examined attributes associated with treatment utilization among individuals with an AUD. We used stepwise backward selection logistic regression analysis to examine demographic and clinical predictors of treatment utilization, in order to identify opportunities to improve the delivery of services to this population. Results Only 14.6% of individuals who met lifetime criteria for an AUD reported ever having received alcohol treatment (including self-help group participation). A greater proportion of respondents with both alcohol abuse and dependence (27.9%) reported having received treatment, compared with 7.5% of those with alcohol abuse only and 4.8% of those with alcohol dependence only. Older individuals, men, and those who were divorced, had less education or more lifetime comorbid mood, personality, and drug use disorders were also more likely to have received treatment. Conclusions The majority of individuals with an AUD never receive formal alcohol treatment, nor do they participate in self-help groups. Although natural recovery from an AUD is well documented, participation in alcohol treatment is associated with improved outcomes. The data presented here should be taken into account when efforts are made to enhance alcohol treatment utilization.
Hyperekplexia: a treatable neurogenetic disease

Abstract Hyperekplexia is primarily an autosomal dominant disease characterized by exaggerated startle reflex and neonatal hypertonia. It can be associated with, if untreated, sudden infant death from apnea or aspiration pneumonia and serious injuries and loss of ambulation from frequent falls. Different mutations in the α1 subunit of inhibitory glycine receptor (GLRA1) gene have been identified in many affected families. The most common mutation is Arg271 reported in at least 12 independent families. These mutations uncouple the ligand binding and chloride channel function of inhibitory glycine receptor and result in increased excitability in pontomedullary reticular neurons and abnormal spinal reciprocal inhibition. Three mouse models from spontaneous mutations in GLRA1 and β subunit of inhibitory glycine receptor (GLRB) genes and two transgenic mouse models are valuable for the study of the pathophysiology and the genotype–phenotype correlation of the disease. The disease caused by mutation in GLRB in mice supports the notion that human hyperekplexia with no detectable mutations in GLRA1 may harbor mutations in GLRB. Clonazepam, a gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor agonist, is highly effective and is the drug of choice. It enhances the GABA-gated chloride channel function and presumably compensates for the defective glycine-gated chloride channel in hyperekplexia. Recognition of the disease will lead to appropriate treatment and genetic counseling.
Evaluating the role of regional and local processes in structuring a larval trematode metacommunity of Helisoma trivolvis

Metacommunity theory has advanced our understanding of how local and regional processes aff ect the structure of ecological communities. While parasites have largely been omitted from metacommunity research, parasite communities can provide the large sample sizes and discrete boundaries often required for evaluating metacommunity patterns. Here, we used assemblages of fl atworm parasites that infect freshwater snails ( Helisoma trivolvis ) to evaluate three questions: 1) what factors aff ect individual host infections within ponds? 2) Is the parasite metacommunity structured among ponds? And 3) what is the relative role of local versus regional processes in determining metacommunity structure and species richness among ponds? We examined 10 821 snails from 96 sites in fi ve park complexes in the San Francisco Bay area, California, and found 953 infections from six parasite groups. At the within-pond level, infection status of host snails correlated positively with individual snail size and pond infection prevalence for all six parasite groups. Using an ordination method to test for metacommunity structure, we found that the parasite metacommunity was organized in a non-random pattern with species responding individually along an environmental gradient. Based on a model selection approach involving local and regional predictors, parasite species richness and metacommunity structure correlated with both local abiotic (pH and total dissolved nitrogen) and biotic (non-host mollusk density, and H. trivolvis biomass) factors, with little support for regional predictors. Overall, this trematode metacommunity most closely followed the predictions from the species sorting or mass eff ects metacommunity paradigm, in which community diversity is fi ltered by local site characteristics.
Building New Democrats or New Bin Ladens? The US Illusion of Spreading Democracy and Fighting Terrorism

The United States proclaims two major foreign policy objectives: to fight terrorism wherever it is found and to spread democracy wherever it can be promulgated. It is steadfastly believed that these two priorities can be achieved simultaneously and do not collide. This article explains how these two objectives, as presently pursued by the US, will in fact inevitably collide. The Central Asian region is used as empirical evidence. This collision not only undermines the short-term objective of fighting terrorism, it engages other states in ways that undermine democracy long-term and enflames Islamic rage not only against the local regimes but also against America itself. This collision is an absence of synergy between professed US diplomacy and actual policy implementation. The US is thereby its own worst enemy in the war against terror because instead of building democracy it is building new bin Ladens.
The Run on Rice

This year has brought vivid television images of food riots in poor countries and unpleasant surprises at the supermarket checkout counter in rich ones. Is the era of cheap food really over? By mid 2008, U.S. dollar prices for food grains had more than doubled compared with just two years ago. Over half of the increase occurred in the first six months of this year. The price of rice a staple food for half the world s population jumped to $907 per ton in April, almost triple November 2007 levels. In response, major grain exporting countries introduced export bans, sending importers nervously searching world markets to secure supplies. Food prices are still only around half what they were during the worst of the great world food crisis of 1973-74 in inflation-adjusted terms, and no more than their average during the 1960s (according to our calculations that measure food prices relative to an index of global manufactured export prices). But this will hardly be of comfort to the hundreds of millions of poor people with less to eat today, who are experiencing a sharp fall in their already meager living standards. So what are the causes of the present surge in world food prices, in particular for rice? And what can be done about it? Many explanations have been put forward for the hike in food prices, some better supported than others. One popular notion is that prices are rising because of rapid income growth and rising food demand in Asia, particularly in China and India. But this idea which, incidentally, neatly puts the blame for rising prices on developing countries does not square too well with the facts. Growth in Asian rice consumption has been slowing for decades despite rapid economic growth, falling from 2-3 percent a year in the 1970s and 1980s to only 0.9 percent a year so far in the 2000s. (Annual growth in overall world consumption so far this decade is roughly 1 percent.) A variant of this argument is that Asians are upgrading their diets and eating more meat, which is indirectly boosting demand for animal feed. This certainly appears to be true for oilseeds like soybean meal, demand for which has been rising rapidly in China's poultry and livestock industry. But it is much less clear that it has been boosting grain demand. Rice is not widely used for this purpose. And growth in Asian demand for other grains for feedstuff has been falling not rising due to improved efficiency in use. Such growth fell from a staggering 12-13 percent a year in the
Non-cooperative institutions for sustainable common pool resource management: Application to groundwater

As demands for limited natural resources increase, developing management institutions that ensure the sustainability of such resources is essential. Many natural resources are Common Pool Resources (CPRs), managed under different non-cooperative, cooperative, and externally imposed management frameworks. While early studies of non-cooperative CPR management suggest inevitable “tragedy of the commons,” here we discuss how users can avoid tragic outcomes by changing their decision making rationales and exploitation strategies even in a non-cooperative environment. This paper introduces and compares various types of non-cooperative institutions that are available to manage CPRs. These management institutions are then applied, using a numerical groundwater exploitation example, to determine how different planning variables are affected by the choice of management institution. Results indicate that CPR users can improve their gains by considering the externalities and developing long-term exploitation plans, as opposed to short-term plans with no consideration of externalities that result in rapid exhaustion of the resource and lead to the so-called “tragedy of the commons.”
Variable differentiation patterns of acute myelogenous leukaemia blasts in liquid suspension cultures

To study the ability of acute myelogenous leukaemia blasts to spontaneously differentiate in vitro, bone marrow and/or blood mononuclear cells from 63 patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia were incubated in liquid suspension cultures containing human serum, without addition of chemical inducers of differentiation. Cultures were examined weekly for disappearance or persistence of blasts, and for appearance of morphologically recognizable granulocytes and macrophages. Culture outcomes were extremely variable, ranging from lack of appearance of differentiated cells to complete disappearance of blasts with replacement by mature cells. In 50 cases an increase (25-185%) in the absolute number of differentiated cells in culture was noted during the culture period. Full differentiation was seen exclusively in cultures from 13/48 (27.1%) patients studied at diagnosis, as compared to 0/20 patients studied at relapse (P less than 0.01). The ability to fully or partially differentiate in culture was lost to a significant degree at relapse (13/20 patients) as compared to diagnosis (48/48 patients, P = 0.0001). At diagnosis full differentiation in culture was associated with a significantly higher remission rate than partial differentiation (89% versus 40%, P less than 0.02). Origination of mature cells from leukaemic rather than normal precursors was suggested by the appearance of Auer rods in mature cells in seven cases, by the correlation of types of differentiated cells seen in culture with the FAB class of leukaemia and by cytogenetic data in one case.
Some mechanical properties of phase separated Pd0.74Au0.08Si0.38 metallic glasses

Abstract The effect of phase separation and crystallization of glassy Pd0.74Au0.08Si0.18 on its tensile behavior, fracture strength, hardness and fracture morphology has never been investigated. The results are discussed in terms of the dilatation mechanism for flow. An “intrinsic” normal fracture stress of 165 kg mm−2 has been found for the fully amorphous specimens.
Acute back pain: benefits and risks of current treatments

AbstractObjective:To review the efficacy and safety of current treatments for acute low back pain.Research design and methods:PubMed was searched for clinical trials in which the words, acute, back, and pain all appeared in the study summary. The search was from the earliest references included in this database (1949) until 1 May 2009. This resulted in retrieval of 129 papers. Review of study summaries indicated that 36 provided information about either a topical treatment or oral therapy for acute low back pain. In addition, studies included as part of the evidence base for the Evidence Review of American Pain Society/American Academy of Pain Medicine Evidence Review for Evaluation and Management of Low Back Pain were reviewed.Results:Recommended topical and systemic pharmacologic treatments for acute low back pain include application of superficial heat, acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), skeletal muscle relaxants/benzodiazepines, and opioids including tramadol. Only a small n...
Differential expression of C-CAM cell adhesion molecule in prostate carcinogenesis in a transgenic mouse model.

AbstractPurpose: The transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) model, in which various grades of prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and prostate cancer with metastases can be reproducibly generated, is a paradigm for prostate disease progression. We have previously shown that C-CAM, an adhesion molecule, can suppress the growth of prostate cancer. In this report, we describe immunohistochemical characterization of differential expression of C-CAM at various stages of prostate tumorigenesis in the TRAMP model.Materials and Methods: We sampled prostate specimens and periaortic lymph nodes from TRAMP mice. Indirect immunohistochemical staining with a polyclonal anti-C-CAM antibody was performed on the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens. After castration at 12 weeks of age, the TRAMP mice developed androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC) and lymph node metastasis at 18 to 24 weeks of age. Samples from these castrated mice were also analyzed.Results: C-CAM protein was expressed in ...
Sources of light-charged-particle emission in the reaction 480 MeV 56Fe+natAg.

Inclusive and exclusive measurements of light-charged particles (/sup 1,2,3/H,/sup 4/He) and heavy fragments have been made for the reaction 480 MeV /sup 56/Fe+/sup nat/Ag. The backward hemisphere emission of /sup 4/He and /sup 1/H in coincidence with a heavy fragment can be well described by evaporative emission from a combination of three sources: the detected fragment, the undetected fragment, and the composite system prior to scission. Multiplicities for each of these sources are determined for two coincident fragment groups: a fusion-fission-like group and a deeply-inelastic-reaction group. These multiplicities have also been studied at two angles for the trigger fragment (theta/sub TR/ = 26/sup 0/ and 50/sup 0/). For theta/sub TR/ = 26/sup 0/ the multiplicity of the light-charged particles (/sup 1/H or /sup 4/He) emitted from the composite nuclear system (i.e., prior to scission) is approx. =(2/3 for the fusion-fission-like fragments, compared to approx. =(1/3 for the deeply inelastic reactions. This decrease implies that the deeply inelastic reactions occur in approx. =(1/2 the time required for fission reactions. For the deeply inelastic reactions, these multiplicities change with trigger angle. This result also suggests that the lifetime of the composite system exerts some control on the extent of evaporative particle emission.more » Energy and angular distributions of the coincident light particles suggest extensive emission from a strongly deformed composite system, such as that of a system en route to scission. Low-energy /sup 4/He particles at forward angles, which cannot be attributed to evaporation, exhibit a dependence on the angle with respect to the scission axis. This result is attributed to emission that occurs very near to the instant of scission.« less
Flow structure and channel morphology at a natural confluent meander bend

Abstract Previous experimental, field, and modeling studies of confluence dynamics have focused mainly on junctions formed by straight channels. In contrast, natural rivers often meander and tributaries can enter meandering rivers on the outside of bends to form a junction planform known as a confluent meander bend. In this study, field measurements of three-dimensional velocity components and bed topography at a confluent meander bend reveal a complex hydrodynamic environment that responds to changes in momentum-flux ratio, while channel morphology remains relatively stable. Flow from the tributary deflects high-velocity flow and helical motion in the curving main river toward the inside of the bend, inducing bed scour and inhibiting point-bar development. The high junction angle forces the tributary flow to abruptly realign to the orientation of the downstream channel, initiating a counter-rotating helical cell over the outer portion of the bend. Two surface-convergent helical cells persist through the downstream channel, where the combined flows accelerate as the channel cross-sectional area is constricted by a bar along the downstream junction corner, precluding flow separation. Long-term stability of its planform suggests that this confluent meander bend represents a quasi-stable channel configuration. Overall, patterns of flow and channel morphology are quite different from typical patterns in most meander bends, but are generally consistent with a conceptual model of confluent meander bends derived from previous laboratory experiments and numerical modeling.
Predictors of Depth of Maximal Insertion at Double-Balloon Enteroscopy

The aim of this study was to determine the factors predictive of the depth of maximal insertion (DMI) at double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE). Eligible patients from the DBE database at our institution were stratified based on their anterograde or retrograde approach. The factors predictive of the DMI were calculated using ANOVA, Spearman, univariate, and multivariate regression analysis. A total of 79 patients had 98 procedures, 67 anterograde and 31 retrograde. Fifty-eight (73%) had previous abdominal surgeries. The average anterograde DMI was 187.5 cm, retrograde 116.5 cm. In univariate regression analysis, a history of abdominal surgery and surgery excluding appendectomy were negative predictors of the DMI for both the anterograde and retrograde approaches (P < 0.05). A history of bowel surgery and number of surgeries were negative predictive factors only for the anterograde approach (P < 0.005). In multivariate analysis, the number of abdominal surgeries (anterograde) and any abdominal surgery (retrograde) were predictors of the DMI (P = 0.02 and P = 0.003, respectively). Patients with three or more surgeries had a significantly lower DMI than those with ≤1 (137 vs. 214 cm, P < 0.001 for anterograde and 114 vs. 148 cm, P < 0.001 for retrograde). There was no correlation between the DMI and age, BMI, date of the study, or procedure duration for either approach. Previous abdominal surgeries can significantly impact the DMI at DBE.
Evolutionary History of Terrestrial Pathogens and Endoparasites as Revealed in Fossils and Subfossils

The present work uses fossils and subfossils to decipher the origin and evolution of terrestrial pathogens and endoparasites. Fossils, as interpreted by morphology or specific features of their hosts, furnish minimum dates for the origin of infectious agents, coevolution with hosts, and geographical locations. Subfossils, those that can be C14 dated (roughly under 50,000 years) and are identified by morphology as well as molecular and immunological techniques, provide time periods when humans became infected with various diseases. The pathogen groups surveyed include viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and select multicellular endoparasites including nematodes, trematodes, cestodes, and insect parasitoids in the terrestrial environment.
17.2: Polymer Effect on the Electro-Optic Properties of Blue-Phase Liquid Crystals

Polymer effect on the electro-optic properties of blue phase liquid crystal BPLC composites is investigated. A higher polymer concentration gives a more stable structure and faster response time, but its operating voltage is also higher. Monomer ratio also affects the stability of the polymer-stabilized BPLC. However, hysteresis is not affected by polymer concentration but mainly determined by the host liquid crystal and chiral dopants.
Surface restructuring of polymeric solids and its effect on the stability of the polymer—water interface

Abstract Polymeric solids possess the distinct capacity to alter their surface structures between different environments in order to minimize their interfacial free energy with a surrounding medium and thereby minimize the free energy of the system as well. This can sometimes lead to very low values of polymeric solid—environmental fluid interfacial free energies. Under such conditions, the solid—fluid interface is likely to become unstable to mechanical and/or thermal perturbations and this interfacial instability can promote the occurrence of undesirable effects such as the absorption of the fluid into the solid and/or the dissolution of the solid in the fluid. The above considerations were investigated on three types of polymeric surfaces, namely, control Teflon FEP, sputtered Teflon, and chemically etched-sputtered Teflon, which gave rise to high, medium, and low interfacial free energies with water, respectively, as a result of their surface restructuring in the aqueous environment. The dynamics of surface restructuring of the three surfaces under water were followed by measuring the changes in the contact angles of water drops on the solid specimen under octane, as a function of time. The solid—water interfacial free energies of the specimen were estimated by a suitable contact angle procedure which was developed for characterizing the wetting properties of such mobile surfaces in an aqueous environment. Based on the dynamics of solid surface restructuring under water and the contact angle procedure, it was seen that, only in the case of the chemically etched-sputtered solid surface (which reduces its interfacial free energy with water to a very low value as a result of its surface restructuring in the aqueous environment), the polymeric—solid interface becomes unstable and gives rise to the penetration of water into the solid and the possible dissolution of the solid in water. These contact angle results were well supported by the physicochemical characteristics of the different polymer surfaces used in this study.
Inhibition of DNA synthesis by RB: effects on G1/S transition and S-phase progression

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein, RB, is a negative regulator of cell proliferation. Growth inhibitory activity of RB is attenuated by phosphorylation. Mutation of a combination of phosphorylation sites leads to a constitutively active RB. In Rat-1 cells, the phosphorylation-site-mutated (PSM)-RB, but not wild-type RB, can inhibit S-phase entry. In PSM-RB-arrested G1 cells, normal levels of cyclin E and cyclin E-associated kinase activity were detected, but the expression of cyclin A was inhibited. The ectopic expression of cyclin E restored cyclin A expression and drove the PSM-RB expressing cells into S phase. Interestingly, Rat-1 cells coexpressing cyclin E and PSM-RB could not complete DNA replication. Microinjection of cells that have passed through the G1 restriction point with plasmids expressing PSM-RB also led to the inhibition of DNA synthesis. The S-phase inhibitory activity of PSM-RB could be attenuated by the coinjection of SV40 T-antigen, adenovirus E1A, or a high level of E2F-1 expression plasmids. However, the S-phase inhibitory activity of PSM-RB could not be overcome by the coinjection of cyclin E or cyclin A expression plasmids. These results reveal a novel role for RB in the inhibition of S-phase progression that is distinct from the inhibition of the G1/S transition, and suggest that continued phosphorylation of RB beyond G1/S is required for the completion of DNA replication.
Ultrafast relaxation of highly photoexcited carriers in p-type and intrinsic GaAs

The thermalization and energy relaxation of highly photoexcited carriers in p-type and intrinsic GaAs is investigated at room temperature using an ensemble Monte Carlo approach. We present an alternative model for treating carrier-carrier scattering in Monte Carlo simulations. The model takes into account the wave vector and frequency dependence of the dielectric function by using a screened Coulomb potential in q space due to a charge moving at the velocity of the center of mass of the interacting particles. In comparison to the statically screened model, the calculated effective carrier temperatures for an excitation density of 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{18}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$ are in good agreement with the experimental results for both p-type and intrinsic GaAs. At the lower doping and excitation density of 2.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{16}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}3}$, the dynamic and the static screening models result in a comparable time evolution of the carrier energies and band populations.
Ribonucleotide reductase from saccharomyces cerevisiae

Partially purified ribonucleotide reductase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was unstable in solution; however, enzyme activity could be maintained by quick-freezing and storage at low temperatures. The reduction of CDP was stimulated by ATPMg++, and maximal activity was obtained with E. coli thioredoxin as a reductant, but not with dithioerythritol.1 Enzyme activity was inhibited by dATP, hydroxyurea, and moderately high salt concentrations; addition of 5′-deoxyadenosylcobalamin or of iron salts was without effect. Gel filtration of the yeast extract yielded a fraction highly inhibitory to enzyme activity.
Column selection and method development for the determination of the enantiomeric purity of investigational non‐nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

DPC 961 and DPC 083 are investigational non-nucleoside reversed transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) being evaluated for the treatment of HIV infections (Corbett et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1999;43:2893-2897). Both compounds are chiral and are synthesized as single enantiomers by an asymmetric synthetic pathway (Magnus et al., Tetrahedron Lett 2000;41:3015-3019). A chiral method was developed to control the enantiomeric purity of the drug substance and to monitor for any chiral inversion in the drug substance and in the tablet formulation during stability studies. Three columns were evaluated: Chiralpak AD, Chirobiotic V, and Whelk-O. All three columns have broad applicability and can resolve enantiomers of compounds of very diverse molecular structure and polarity. The three columns were evaluated with various mobile phase compositions for their ability to resolve the racemic mixtures of DPC 083, DPC 961, and their respective enantiomers and for their selectivity toward the synthetic impurities of the two drug substances. Nonaqueous mobile phases were selected because the two drugs are poorly water soluble. The separation between the unwanted enantiomer of DPC 083 and DPC 961, which is a major impurity of DPC 083, in particular, was closely monitored. The final method was fully validated and is used for the routine testing of the drug substance and tablets.
The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Historians

It has been perhaps half a century since an historian could make a reputation by solemnly affirming, against the established nineteenth-century belief, the congeniality of history to eighteenth-century thinking. Hence the familiar, unrevised approach to eighteenth-century historiography is not the archaic notion of its essentially anti-historical character but rather the subsequent scheme, popularized by Carl Becker in the early 1930s, which acknowledged the importance of “the new history” in the philosophes ' “heavenly city.” According to this scheme, “the new history” was an integral production of the philosophes ' intellectual enterprise because it was “philosophy teaching by example”—because, that is, it was associated with the philosophes ' own religiosity, which was negatively related to the traditional doctrine of a Christian dispensation.
Quality-based optical routing protocol

Optical networking, with its almost unlimited bandwidth, is the only technology that can support communication new applications with high demand for bandwidth such as remote visualization, teleimmersion, collaborative e-science etc. In the optical networks presently deployed, each link is optically isolated by transponders doing O/E/O conversions. But these transponders are quite expensive and lack transparency; hence there is a strong motivation to use large all-optical networks. In all-optical networks, all routes need not have adequate signal quality. To provide reliable and transparent service, there is a strong interest in the industry for routing protocols that take into consideration the impairments of optical layer that degrade quality of the signal. We present a new routing protocol that uses information about the quality of signal to select paths in an all-optical network. Our simulations confirm that this new protocol reaches higher network utilization compared to existing ones.
Estimation of in-situ stresses from ultrasonic measurements

The results of an effort to develop a technique for estimating in-situ stresses by measurement of stress-induced velocity anisotropy around a borehole are presented. Relevant parameters required to make the estimate were identified and measured in the laboratory on a 35.6-cm (14.0-in.) cube of Nugget sandstone with a 10.2-cm (4.0-in.)-diameter hole under biaxial loading. Two pairs each of radially and tangentially polarized transducers were placed inside the hole with displacement directions either parallel or perpendicular to the principal stress directions. With this configuration, relative travel times were measured by both a pulsed phase-locked loop (P/sup 2/L/sup 2/) technique and a cross correlation of digitized waveforms. The biaxial velocity data were used to back-calculate the applied stress. The standard deviation of the differences between the calculated and applied stresses is 0.62 MPa (90 psi) for a stress level up to 8.63 MPa (1,252 psi).