cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inactivation of uPA and its receptor uPAR by 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) leads to the inhibition of prostate cancer cell growth and migration

3, 3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM) has been studied for its putative anti-cancer properties, especially against prostate cancer; however, its exact mechanism of action remains unclear. We recently provided preliminary data suggesting down-regulation of uPA during B-DIM (a clinically active DIM)-induced inhibition of invasion and angiogenesis in prostate cancer cells. Since the expression and activation of uPA plays important role in tumorigenicity, and high endogenous levels of uPA and uPAR are found in advanced metastatic cancers, we investigated their role in B-DIM-mediated inhibition of prostate cancer cell growth and motility. Using PC3 cells, we found that B-DIM treatment as well as the silencing of uPA and uPAR by siRNAs led to the inhibition of cell growth and motility. Conversely, over-expression of uPA/uPAR in LNCaP and C4-2B cells resulted in increased cell growth and motility, which was effectively inhibited by BDIM. Moreover, we found that uPA as well as uPAR induced the production of VEGF and MMP-9, and that the down-regulation of uPA/uPAR by siRNAs or B-DIM treatment resulted in the inhibition of VEGF and MMP-9 secretion which could be responsible for the observed inhibition of cell migration. Interestingly, silencing of uPA/uPAR led to decreased sensitivity to B-DIM indicating important role of uPA/uPAR in B-DIM-mediated regulation of prostate cancer cell growth and migration. Our data suggests that chemo-preventive and/or therapeutic activity of B-DIM is in part due to down-regulation of uPA-uPAR leading to reduced production of VEGF/MMP-9 which ultimately leads to the inhibition of cell growth and migration of aggressive prostate cancer cells.
Effect of threonine supplementation on hepatic polysome patterns and protein synthesis of rats fed a threonine-deficient diet

Abstract We have investigated changes in hepatic polysomal pattern and protein synthesis in rats fed a threonine-deficient diet for 1 week and the response that occurred subsequent to threonine supplementation. The experiments showed that: 1. 1. The percentage of hepatic ribosomes in free form or small aggregates was elevated in rats fed a threonine-deficient diet. 2. 2. Administration of threonine alone to rats previously fed the deficient diet increased the degree of ribosomal aggregation but administration of tryptophan or other amino acids was without effect. The shift in polyribosomes toward heavier aggregates was accompanied by an increase in [ 14 C]leucine incorporation in vivo into liver proteins. 3. 3. The increase in ribosomal aggregation after administration of threonine was only transitory but reaggregation could be initiated by subsequent administration of a mixture of amino acids devoid of threonine. 4. 4. Involvement of corticosteroid hormones in mediating the response induced by threonine was ruled out, since the stimulatory effects could be produced in both intact and adrenalectomized animals. 5. 5. Actinomycin D did not prevent the enhancement of hepatic protein synthesis induced by threonine, nor did it affect the extent of polysome reformation. The responses to threonine administration would thus seem not to require RNA synthesis which suggests that threonine exerts its effect through a cytoplasmic mechanism.
Expert vision systems integrating image segmentation and recognition processes

Abstract In this paper, we propose a prototype rule-based system which integrates segmentation and recognition processes to analyze and classify objects in an image. This is quite different from the traditional image analysis paradigm which treats segmentation as a prerequisite for recognition and interpretation. There are four basic components in the system, i.e., low-level image processing, feature computation, domain-independent, and domain-dependent subsystems. In the low-level image processing subsystem, various “nonpurposive” operators are employed to divide the image into uniform and homogeneous regions based on the information of intensities. The feature computation subsystem extracts features of each individual region. The domain-independent subsystem employs weak knowledge to filter out “obviously impossible” regions while the domain-dependent subsystem uses domain-specific knowledge to improve the results and finally recognize the objects of interest in the image. Two sets of images are used to demonstrate the capability and flexibility of this system. One set consists of distributor caps (auto parts) of different shapes. The other set is composed of tomographical image pairs acquired by MRI and PET.
The emerging anthropogenic signal in land–atmosphere carbon-cycle coupling

Earth system models do not currently account for unforced variability in land–atmosphere CO2 flux when simulating the responses of the terrestrial carbon cycle to anthropogenically forced changes in climate and atmosphere. Now, research shows that this unforced variability is larger than the forced response in many areas of the world, precluding detection of the forced carbon-cycle change for decades.
Cellulose synthesis by extracts of Acanthamoeba castellani during encystment. Stimulation of the incorporation of radioactivity from UDP-[14C]glucose into alkali-soluble and insoluble β-glucans by glucose 6-phosphate and related compounds

Abstract 1. 1. The activity of a particulate enzyme prepared from encysting cells of Acanthamoeba castellanii (Neff), previously shown to catalyze the incorporation of glucose from UDP-[14C]glucose into both alkali-soluble and alkali-insoluble β-(1 → 4) glucans, was stimulated several fold by glucose-6-phosphate and several related compounds. 2. 2. Incorporation was observed when [ 14 C ] glucose -6-P was incubated with the particles in the presence of UDP-glucose. The results of product analysis by partial acid hydrolysis indicated that glucose-6-P stimulates the formation of both alkali-soluble and alkali-insoluble β-(1 → 4) glucans from UDP-[14C]-glucose and was itself incorporated into an alkali-insoluble β-(1 → 4) glucan. 3. 3. When particles incubated with UDP-[14C]glucose and glucose-6-P were reisolated and then reincubated with unlabeled UDP-glucose and glucose-6-P, a loss of counts from the alkali-soluble fraction was detected along with a corresponding rise in the radioactivity of the alkali-insoluble fraction. This suggests that the alkali-soluble β-glucan was converted to an alkali-insoluble product and possibly may be an intermediate stage in cellulose synthesis.
Dendritic cells crossprime allo-specific self-restricted CD4+T cells after coculture with dead allogeneic cells

Abstract Indirect alloreactivity, i.e. , the recognition of allopeptides on self-MHC molecules, contributes both to acute and chronic rejection of transplants. The antigen presenting cell priming these allo-specific self-restricted T cells is unknown. We demontrate that dendritic cells, which have been matured in the presence of necrotic allogeneic cells, can crossprime allo-specific self-restricted CD4 + T cells in vitro . We demonstrate dendrtitic cell mediated crosspriming of HLA-DR13 specific, HLA-DR7 restricted and HLA-DR1 specific, HLA-DR11 restricted CD4 + T cells. The allo-specific self-restricted CD4 + T cells primed in our culture system secrete predominantly Th1 and not Th2 cytokines. The use of dendritic cells to monitor the indirect pathway of alloreactivity should help to design and understand interventions against acute and chronic transplant rejection.
Application of the JDL data fusion process model for cyber security

A number of cyber security technologies have proposed the use of data fusion to enhance the defensive capabilities of the network and aid in the development of situational awareness for the security analyst. While there have been advances in fusion technologies and the application of fusion in intrusion detection systems (IDSs), in particular, additional progress can be made by gaining a better understanding of a variety of data fusion processes and applying them to the cyber security application domain. This research explores the underlying processes identified in the Joint Directors of Laboratories (JDL) data fusion process model and further describes them in a cyber security context.
Cerebellar Purkinje cell activity related to the classically conditioned nictitating membrane response.

Because of the purported critical role of cerebellar lobule HVI in classical conditioning of the nictitating membrane response of the rabbit, we recorded extracellularly from HVI Purkinje cells (PCs) during differential conditioning. Rabbits were trained using tonal conditioned stimuli (CSs) and stimulation of the periocular region as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Many PCs responded to the US, the most frequently observed response being a burst of simple spikes. PCs in HVI showed a variety of responses to CSs that were related to conditioned responses (CRs). The most frequently observed response was an increase in simple spikes correlated with CRs. The activity of many of these cells antedated CRs by 20–200 ms. A smaller proportion of cells exhibited inhibition of simple spike activity that antedated CRs. The existence of PCs that alter their firing before CRs suggests that they may be causally involved in this behavior, and in this respect they reinforce reports that lesions of HVI or its connections disrupt nictitating membrane CRs. Although complex spike activity was not generally related to the US or to CRs, a few PCs responded in relation to CRs with only complex spikes. In demonstrating CR-related activity in cerebellar PCs, this study supports theories of cerebellar learning such as those of Marr and Albus.
Mini-review: endocrine actions of fibroblast growth factor 19.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 19 is an atypical member of the fibroblast growth factor family of signaling molecules. FGF19, FGF21, and FGF23 comprise a phylogenetic subfamily with attributes that distinguish them from typical FGFs. The FGF19 subfamily has reduced heparin binding resulting from a disrupted β-trefoil domain. Reduced heparin binding allows these FGFs to diffuse beyond their site of origin and act as endocrine hormones. This family of FGFs is regulated, at least in part, by nuclear hormone receptors. FGF19 expression is regulated by the farnesoid X receptor, a nuclear hormone receptor that is a key regulator of bile acid biosynthesis and transport. In line with its regulation by a bile acid receptor, FGF19 is involved in the regulation of bile acid biosynthesis and gallbladder filling. FGF19 originates from intestine and signals to liver via the portal circulation with a pronounced diurnal pattern. FGF19 is the only FGF to not have a closely related mouse homologue. The mouse homologue of F...
Outcomes of Case Management for African-American Men in Batterer Counseling

Case management for additional referrals has been recommended especially for African-American men in batterer counseling programs. Additional services addressing “at risk” needs may help to improve batterer program outcomes. To test this expectation, a quasi-experimental evaluation of a case management project was conducted for both “intention-to-treat” and “received-treatment.” The case management included brief assessment at batterer program intake, referral to relevant services, and follow-up calls from batterer program staff. Re-assault and re-arrests during a 12-month follow-up, along with program dropout from the 16 required sessions of the batterer program, were compared for 202 African-American program participants under case management and a sample of 482 African-American participants previously in the batterer program. In both bivariate and confirmatory multivariate analyses, neither the case management nor actual service contact significantly improved outcomes. However, the small portion of men contacting drug and alcohol treatment did tend toward better program outcomes. Poor implementation of the case management procedures may have contributed to the overall weak effects.
Ancient DNA from ice age insects: proceed with caution

Abstract The paucity of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies in insects can be traced to the dismissal of the 1990s reports of DNA isolation from amber-entombed insects. In retrospect, amber was an obvious place to start, but it has since been demonstrated that DNA preservation is not necessarily correlated with physical preservation. The discipline of aDNA is rapidly progressing as issues regarding contamination with modern sequences and detection of DNA damage are addressed. Two major concerns in ancient DNA studies are the co-purification of DNA polymerase inhibitors and the presence of DNA lesions. Preliminary data demonstrate DNA extraction is possible from beetle remains isolated from packrat middens. Although specimens from permafrost sediments and ancient rodent middens are potential sources of aDNA, collection and curation procedures require modification to minimize contamination and optimize DNA yield. Since aDNA isolation in insects requires the complete destruction of fossil material, another consideration is the taxonomic groups that are adequately represented to justify the sacrifice of geological specimens. Although most recommended aDNA authentication procedures are easily followed, some are impossible for insect samples due to their small size, making the establishment of authentication procedures of aDNA from small samples a final consideration.
Driver Gear-Shifting Behaviors and Errors

Survey data have revealed that forgetting the current gear is a frequent driver error (Reason et al., 1990), yet very little research has been done on how drivers move gearshift levers and what causes them to make gearshift errors. In two experiments, 65 adults of all ages drove two vehicles on a closed course. Participants each performed multiple trials in which they drove or reversed to a location, shifted to Park, and exited and re-entered the vehicle. For approximately 1000 shifts into Park, the movements and forces that drivers applied to the gearshift lever were measured. Data revealed that drivers shifted to Park in a ballistic manner, and continued to apply force to the gearshift lever after reaching the Park detent. This force far exceeded that which was required to move the lever into Park. On select trials, participants were induced to hurry, and distractions such as cell phones, radio, and conversation, were introduced during the driving task. A total of 35 gearshift errors (e.g., failure to s...
Exploring the role of phase modulation on photoluminescence yield

We report an investigation to elucidate the mechanisms of control in phase-sensitive experiments in two molecular systems. A first inspection of optimization procedures yields the same experimental result: increase in the emission efficiency upon excitation by a phase modulated pulse in a two-photon transition. More detailed studies, which include power dependence, spectral response, one and two color pump–probe and pump–pump experiments show that while for one chromophore phase modulation leads to spectral matching between the two-photon cross section and the second order power spectrum for the other it provides a tool to manipulate the wavepacket dynamics in the excited state.
Effect of triple antibiotic paste with or without ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid on surface loss and surface roughness of radicular dentine

This study aimed to compare the effect of two concentrations of triple antibiotic paste (TAP) with or without ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) on surface loss and surface roughness of radicular dentine. Human radicular dentine specimens were randomized into six experimental groups (n = 16 per group). The first and second groups were treated with 1,000 mg/mL or 1 mg/mL of TAP for 4 weeks. The third and fourth groups were treated with 1,000 mg/mL or 1 mg/mL of TAP for 4 weeks followed by 17 % EDTA for 5 min. The fifth group was treated with 17 % EDTA for 5 min and the sixth group received no treatment (control). Dentine surface loss and surface roughness were quantified after various treatments using optical and contact profilometry, respectively. One-way ANOVA followed by Fisher's protected least significant differences was used for statistical analyses. All treatment groups showed significantly higher surface loss compared to the untreated dentine. Dentine treated with 1,000 mg/mL had significant increase in surface loss and surface roughness compared to dentine treated with 1 mg/mL of TAP. The use of EDTA after both concentrations of TAP did not have significant additive effect on surface loss and surface roughness of dentine. The clinically used concentration of TAP (1,000 mg/mL) caused significantly higher surface loss and surface roughness of radicular dentine compared to the use of 1 mg/mL of TAP. Furthermore, the substantial amount of dentine surface loss and surface roughness detected in the current study may be attributed to TAP rather than EDTA.
Mystery Case: A young boy with myoclonic jerks

A 16-year-old right-handed boy presented for consultation for recent development of seizures. He is the product of a normal pregnancy and delivery without a history of developmental delay, head trauma, or family history of epilepsy. A year and a half prior to our consultation, the patient noted that his hand would suddenly jerk across the page while writing in his morning classes. Stress would exacerbate the jerks. Six months later, after staying up late the previous night, the patient awoke early and began to play on the computer when both of his hands suddenly jerked multiple times. He then fell over and began seizing. His mother witnessed tonic contraction of his body followed by clonic activity. He was brought by ambulance to the nearest hospital where a CT head was reported normal.
Genetic Basis of Disease Specificity of Nondefective Friend Murine

I met Charlotte Friend just once. Sometimes it's intimidating to finally meet a scientist one has respected greatly from afar. Perhaps it's the fear that such a person will have no interest in you, or, worse, that he or she will turn out not to be as impressive as the work one has so long admired. Neither was the case with Dr. Friend. In the course of our meeting it was a pleasure to see so clearly and so quickly that Dr. Friend's revolutionary discoveries were no accident but the work of a brilliant and imaginative mind. On the personal level I had no doubt that we would become close colleagues and friends. Here I was wrong. Not long after our meeting I read of Dr. Friend's death in the New York Times. I still regret the loss of the friendship I had anticipated and also the missed opportunity to tell Charlotte Friend how much her courageous and independent life has meant to me.
A comparison of detection-limit computations for four commercial gamma-ray analysis programs

Abstract Four common commercial programs to analyse gamma-ray spectra have been evaluated for their computation of the lower-limit-of-detection (LLD) of peak activities. Simulated spectra were produced and randomized using LOTUS 123TM to test the peak-search, area integration and LLD computations. Results indicated continuing problems in comparing LLDs from different analysis packages and between LLDs and true peak sensitivities.
Signal processing in microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography was explored to image biological tissues. Short microwave pulses irradiated tissues to generate acoustic waves by thermoelastic expansion. The microwave-induced thermoacoustic waves were detected with a focused ultrasonic transducer to obtain two-dimensional tomographic images of biological tissues. The dependence of the axial and the lateral resolutions on the spectra of the signals was studied. A self-adaptive filter was applied to the temporal piezoelectric signals from the transducer to increase the weight of the high-frequency components, which improved the lateral resolution, and to broaden the spectrum of the signal, which enhanced the axial resolution.
Comparison of the Adhesion and Cohesion of Triblock and Random Copolymers of Styrene and Butadiene

Abstract A substantially greater detachment energy is required to strip a polyethylene tereph-thalate (Mylar) film from a styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) triblock copolymer compared to that for peeling from a random styrene-butadiene (SBR) copolymer. This is true even though the intrinsic interaction between the Mylar and each elastomer is expected to be similar because of their virtually identical chemical composition. It is proposed that this difference in peel strength (between the SBS and SBR) is a consequence of the much higher dissipative capacity of the former elastomer. Another manifestation of this is the higher cohesive tear strength of the SBS compared to the SBR. Extents of energy dissipation within each elastomer during detachment of the Mylar adherend are consistent with the hypothesis that the average maximum stress experience before detachment is some similar fraction of each elastomer's tensile strength.
The Interactive Strategies approach to reading intervention

In the present paper, we describe the Interactive Strategies approach to early reading intervention. Interactive Strategies is a first grade remedial intervention program we developed to aid in distinguishing between impaired readers whose reading difficulties are caused primarily by experiential and instructional deficits and impaired readers whose reading difficulties are caused primarily by basic deficits in reading-related cognitive abilities. We first provide a brief description of the study in which we initially implemented this program and summarize its salient findings. We then describe the theoretical model from which the instructional components of the Interactive Strategies program were derived and thereafter rationalize and describe these components. Finally, we present data supporting the relative effectiveness of the program and discuss the implications of our findings for remediating and preventing long-term reading difficulties in beginning readers.
Phenotypic Characterization, Osteoblastic Differentiation, and Bone Regeneration Capacity of Human Embryonic Stem Cell–Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

To enhance the understanding of differentiation patterns and bone formation capacity of hESCs, we determined (1) the temporal pattern of osteoblastic differentiation of human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hESC-MSCs), (2) the influence of a three-dimensional matrix on the osteogenic differentiation of hESC-MSCs in long-term culture, and (3) the bone-forming capacity of osteoblast-like cells derived from hESC-MSCs in calvarial defects. Incubation of hESC-MSCs in osteogenic medium induced osteoblastic differentiation of hESC-MSCs into mature osteoblasts in a similar chronological pattern to human bone marrow stromal cells and primary osteoblasts. Osteogenic differentiation was enhanced by culturing the cells on three-dimensional collagen scaffolds. Fluorescent-activated cell sorting of alkaline phosphatase expressing cells was used to obtain an enriched osteogenic cell population for in vivo transplantation. The identification of green fluorescence protein and expression of human-specific nuclear antigen in osteocytes in newly formed bone verified the role of transplanted human cells in the bone regeneration process. The current cell culture model and osteogenic cell enrichment method could provide large numbers of osteoprogenitor cells for analysis of differentiation patterns and cell transplantation to regenerate skeletal defects.
A sequence of lab exercises for an introductory compiler construction course

A sequence of laboratory exercises for an introductory compiler construction course is described. The labs are based on four increasingly complex versions of an imperative language designed so that each version builds on the previous. The third version supports integer and character data types and arrays of integers and characters. The fourth version adds procedures, but has only integer data. The procedures do not nest, but direct recursion is supported.
Targeted ablation of pituitary pre-proopiomelanocortin cells by herpes simplex virus-1 thymidine kinase differentially regulates mRNAs encoding the adrenocorticotropin receptor and aldosterone synthase in the mouse adrenal gland

We have produced and characterized lines of transgenic mice expressing a fusion gene composed of the pituitary expression-specific promoter region of the POMC gene, driving the herpes simplex viral-1 thymidine kinase. Adult mice were treated with the antiherpes agent ganciclovir at 70 mg/kg body weight (ip, twice daily for 10-12 days). Approximately 98% of the pituitary intermediate lobe melanotropes and anterior lobe corticotropes were ablated as determined by immunocytochemistry and RIA specific for the POMC-derived peptides, ACTH, beta-endorphin, and alpha-MSH. The number of lactotropes, somatotropes, thyrotropes, and gonadotropes was not altered compared with controls, indicating that in the adult pituitary, POMC products are not required to maintain the distribution of cell types. As expected, plasma corticosterone levels were substantially decreased after POMC cell ablation. In situ hybridization studies showed that the mouse ACTH receptor was expressed uniformly throughout the adrenal cortex, and RNase protection assays revealed that the ACTH receptor mRNA decreased after pituitary POMC cell ablation. Additionally, RNase protection assays showed that pituitary POMC cell ablation resulted in the decrease of adrenal p450c11 beta transcripts while p450c11AS (aldosterone synthase) mRNA levels remained constant. These data demonstrate differential regulation of steroid pathway-specific enzymes by POMC products. Our results also suggest that the thymidine kinase cell obliteration technique may not be dependent on cell division as a prerequisite for cytotoxicity, thus supporting the idea that targeted molecular ablation using cell- and tissue-specific promoter sequences to drive viral thymidine kinase expression can be refined further to study other nonmitotic cells.
Fenoldopam: A New Dopamine Agonist for the Treatment of Hypertensive Urgencies and Emergencies

Fenoldopam is a selective dopamine agonist that is being considered for the parenteral treatment of systemic hypertension. In both an oral and parenteral form, the drug causes peripheral vasodilation by stimulating dopamine-1 adrenergic receptors. Its pharmaco-dynamics are reviewed in this article, along with the clinical experiences in patients with hypertensive urgencies and emergencies. Intravenous fenoldopam may provide advantages over sodium nitroprusside because it can induce both a diuresis and natriuresis, is not light sensitive, and is not associated with cyanide toxicity. There is no evidence for rebound hypertension after discontinuation of fenoldopam influsion.
Right coronary artery stenosis: An independent predictor of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery

AbstractObjectives. This study attempted to determine the importance of severe proximal right coronary artery disease as a predictor of atrial fibrillation in patients after coronary artery bypass ...
Body Weight, Cerebral Atherosclerosis and Cerebral Vascular Disease: An Autopsy Study

The severity of atherosclerotic involvement of intracranial cerebral arteries was assessed at autopsy in 3,315 adult subjects. Ponderal index values were calculated for each sex and ten-year age group. In most age groups, subjects with cerebral vascular disease, or one or more of several conditions known to be associated with increased cerebral atherosclerosis, had higher relative body weight than did subjects without those conditions. Subjects in the lower quartile of ponderal index distribution ("overweight" group) had more severe cerebral atherosclerosis than did subjects in the upper quartile ("underweight" group). However, when subjects with disease conditions known to be associated with increased cerebral atherosclerosis were excluded from the analysis, no relationship between relative body weight and severity of cerebral atherosclerosis could be demonstrated. Clinical and/or pathological evidence of cerebral vascular disease was apparently present more often in "overweight" than in "underweight" subjects, at least in certain age groups.
Re-thinking the Sea in Vietnamese History: Littoral Society in the Integration of Thuâ[dot under]n-Qua[hook above]ng, Seventeenth–Eighteenth Centuries

This article challenges conventional notions of geography in Vietnamese historiography that overlook the role of the sea as an integrative social space capable of uniting ostensibly segregated regions economically, socially and politically. Viewing history from the sea-shore instead of the rice field, it highlights the littoral inhabitants who connected interior agricultural and forest foragers to coasting and ocean carrier trade, and underscores the importance of the littoral as the 'great river' that encouraged Vietnamese political expansion and state formation along a southern trajectory.
A Molecular Model for the Helicity of Polytetrafluoro Ethylene (Tefloin

Ab initio molecular orbital theory has been used to model the structure of perfluoro-n-alkane chains. Ex tended basis set calculations on C2F6, C3F8, and n-C4F 10 show that C2F6 and C3F8 have stagg...
Photofragment spectroscopy and predissociation dynamics of weakly bound molecules

Photofragment spectroscopy is combined with imaging techniques and time-resolved measurements of photoions and photoelectrons to explore the predissociation dynamics of weakly bound molecules. Recent experimental advances include measurements of pair-correlated distributions, in which energy disposal in one cofragment is correlated with a state-selected level of the other fragment, and femtosecond pump-probe experiments, in some cases with coincidence detection. An application in which coincident measurements are carried out in the molecular frame is also described. To illustrate these state-selective and time-resolved techniques, we review two recent applications: (a) the photoinitiated dissociation of the covalently bound NO dimer on the ground and excited electronic states and the role of state couplings and (b) the state-selected vibrational predissociation of hydrogen-bonded acetylene dimers with HCl (acid) and ammonia (base) and the importance of angular momentum constraints. We highlight the crucial role of theoretical models in interpreting results.
Practical applications of intravesical chemotherapy and immunotherapy in high-risk patients with superficial bladder cancer

The following steps are practical in the treatment of intermediate-to-high risk patients with superficial bladder cancer: Resect all visible tumor at the time of first TUR of bladder tumor. Strongly consider re-resection, especially for high-risk, large, multifocal, stage T1 tumors. Apply one dose of cytotoxic chemotherapy perioperatively within 6 hours of TUR (ideally immediately). Once histopathology is available, consider intravesical induction chemotherapy for intermediate-risk patients and BCG for intermediate- or high-risk patients and those having failed prior chemotherapy. At least 1 year of maintenance therapy should be planned for all intermediate-to-high risk BCG-treated patients. Chemotherapy maintenance may be useful if perioperative chemotherapy was omitted. For patients failing standard therapy, a thorough discussion of the risks (including progression and metastasis) and expected benefits should take place before the initiation of salvage therapy. The radical cystectomy option should be openly entertained. Consider BCG plus interferon or gemcitabine-based salvage programs if appropriate. Explore clinical trial options. Contact urologic cancer experts for guidance and advice.
Keeping the intelligent environment resident in the loop

Recent technological advancements have increased the likelihood that smart home technologies will become part of our everyday environments. However, many of these technologies are brittle and do not adapt to the user's wishes or changes in residents' habits and lifestyle. Here we introduce CASAS, an adaptive smart home that utilizes machine learning techniques to discover patterns in user behavior and to automatically mimic these patterns. Our goal is to keep the resident in control of the automation. Users can provide feedback on proposed automation activities, modify the automation policies, and introduce new requests. In addition, CASAS can discover changes in resident's behavior patterns automatically. In this paper we describe the CASAS technologies and evaluate its ability to adapt to the resident's activities and requests.
Effects of Curing Temperature on the Leachability of Lead Undergoing Solidification/Stabilization with Cement

Abstract Curing temperature was found to dramatically affect the amount of waste leached from a solidified waste/cement matrix between 2 and 40°C. Using lead nitrate as a model waste, samples cured for 7, 14, and 28 days at a cure temperature of 40°C leached very little lead (1–3 mg/liter), while at a cure temperature of 2°C samples leached approximately 25 times more lead (20–90 mg/liter). The results indicate that curing temperature is a very crucial variable to consider when solidifying waste with cement if maximum stabilization is to be achieved.
Modified protocol for Ames mutagenicity assay

A proposed protocol for the Ames Salmonella test is critized in the letter. Novel practices in the Bolser study included the use of loudspeakers to vibrate freshly poured soft agar and the use of assembly-line operation. Although the authors claimed their procedure reduced test variability by a factor of more than 20 as compared to standard Ames assay methods, the results did not seem to support that contention. A further difficulty is that the protocol leads to a different spectrum of sensitivities than that observed with the conventional assay, which would increase problems of comparison. (JMT)
Fuzzy marriage problem

The marriage problem poses the following question: if there is a finite set of girls, each of whom knows several boys, under what conditions can all girls marry the boys in such a way that each girl marries a boy she knows? In order to solve this problem, we need some graph theory. We also need some fuzzy graph theory concepts. Those concepts and the main results are given. We provide an algorithm to solve the fuzzy marriage problem.
Valuation of real estate assets using the adjusted present value method

Explains that three approaches to valuation under leverage are found in the financial economics literature: weighted average cost of capital (WACC); flow‐to‐equity (FTE) or residual equity income (REI); and adjusted present value (APV). Although both the WACC and the FTE methods have been extensively used in real estate investment analyses, it appears that the APV has received little attention in the real estate literature. This is surprising because the reasons that render the APV preferable to the other two methods exist in most real investment situations. Provides an introduction to the APV method and illustrates it with a numerical example. Discusses potential applications of this method in different real estate investment problems.
Multiobjective synthesis of electromagnetic devices using nondominated sorting genetic algorithms

Though the basic laws of electromagnetics have been well understood since the time of Maxwell and Hertz, the design of devices based on these laws remains a very complicated procedure. Given an objective function which somehow measures the overall quality of a problem solution, many studies have shown stochastic techniques to be very successful in locating optimal or near-optimal designs in electromagnetic problems. However, most problems in engineering are multifaceted and thus not well treated by such an unwavering charge at a single goal abstracted into an objective function. Instead, tradeoffs must be found which ensure that the device meets all of many possibly interfering design goals. The article proposes a method for finding the set of all optimal tradeoffs (as defined by the concept of Pareto optimality) between conflicting goals inherent in a given design problem. The method, applicable to a plethora of electromagnetic design problems, is demonstrated by application to the design of broadband multilayered microwave absorbers to minimize thickness and reflectance, and to thinned antenna arrays and arrays with digital phase shifters to minimize maximum sidelobe level and beamwidth.
The Social Conditioning of Syntactic Variation in French1

This is an attempt to correlate nonlinguistic and linguistic events in order to make explicit some of the “rules” by which members of a given society can intuitively categorize speakers and speech situations within that society. Syntactic variation in French, as analyzed within the framework of transformational grammar, is shown here to be conditioned by both sociological and contextual factors. This pilot study is based on twenty-four samples of spoken French obtained in two different contexts from subjects of two different social classes. The speech samples are analyzed in terms of complexity of sentence structure as measured by the occurrence of certain transformational operations. A clear correlation obtains between sociological variation (socioeconomic Class I/Class II), contextual variation (formal/informal situation) and syntactic variation (particularly in terms of nominalization).
Environmental effects on the compressive properties - Thermosetting vs. thermoplastic composites

The influence of moisture and temperature on the compressive properties of graphite/epoxy and APC-2 materials systems was investigated to assess the viability of using APC-2 instead of graphite/epoxy. Data obtained indicate that the moisture absorption rate of T-300/epoxy is higher than that of APC-2. Thick plate with smaller surface area absorbs less moisture than thin plate with larger surface area. The compressive strength and modulus of APC-2 are higher than those of T-300/epoxy composite, and APC-2 sustains higher compressive strength in the presence of moisture. The compressive strength and modulus decrease with the increase of temperature in the range of 23-100 C. The compression failure was in the form of delamination, interlaminar shear, and end brooming.
Where Would You Rather Live If You Were Insured? Assessing Community Uninsurance Spillover Effects on the Insured

This study sought to understand the cost, quality of, and access to health care for the insured population in the context of spillover effects resulting from community-level uninsurance. We examined the health care access, quality, and cost experienced by insured Latina mothers in two communities, Minneapolis, Minnesota and McAllen, Texas. These communities differ substantially by the size of the local population without health insurance coverage. Four focus groups were conducted with insured Latina mothers who were caring for at least one child in their household. Eleven and thirteen mothers participated in each community, respectively. The experiences of the insured population in McAllen were substantially different from the experiences of the insured population in Minneapolis. The perceptions of health care quality and access by insured Latina mothers were substantially lower in McAllen while out-of-pocket costs were perceived to be higher in Minneapolis. Our study provides key insights about the US health care system and the role that the relative size of the local uninsured population may have in impacting the health care experiences of the insured. Health insurance coverage rates are expected to increase substantially across US communities within the next few years but local health care system challenges related to cost, quality, and access will remain for both the insured and the uninsured.
The determinants of nominal income, output and the price level: A synthesis of the Keynesian and neo-classical views

This paper deals with one of the oldest problems in macroeconomics: the business cycle (of the old tradition), the fluctuations of output and the price level (of the Keynesian tradition) and the real business cycle (of the recent literature). It examines how demand and supply functions evolve through time after an exogenous shock to demand. It borrows from Keynes the idea that in static equilibrium aggregate demand and aggregate supply functions are essential tools of macroeconomic dynamics. It borrows from Friedman the notion that money plays an essential role in the determination of the macroeconomic equilibrium. The paper derives some empirical implications with regard to the rational behavior of economic agents and shows that, after a change in aggregate demand, real output and the price level will follow a counterclockwise movement in the price-level, real-output plane. This implies that it is incorrect to hypothesize, as has been done by both Keynesians and monetarists alike, that the two variables would be positively correlated. In our model this would only be true if the accelerator principle were to play an important role in the dynamics of aggregate demand.
Optimizing process creation and execution on multi-core architectures

The execution of a single process multiple data (SPMD) application involves running multiple instances of a process with possibly varying arguments. With the widespread adoption of massively multicore processors, there has been a focus towards harnessing the abundant compute resources effectively in a power-efficient manner. Although much work has been done towards optimizing distributed process launch using hierarchical techniques, there has been a void in studying the performance of spawning processes within a single node. Reducing the latency to spawn a new process locally results in faster global job launch. Further, emerging dynamic and resilient execution models are designed on the premise of maintaining process pools for fault isolation and launching several processes in a relatively shorter period of time. Optimizing the latency and throughput for spawning processes would help improve the overall performance of runtime systems, allow adaptive process-replication reliability and motivate the design and implementation of process management interfaces in future manycore operating systems. In this paper, we study the several limiting factors for efficient spawning of processes on massively multicore architectures. We have developed a library to optimize launching multiple instances of the same executable. Our microbenchmarks show a 20-80% decrease in the process spawn time for multiple executables. We further discuss the effects of memory locality and propose NUMA-aware extensions to optimize launching processes with large memory-mapped segments including dynamic shared libraries. Finally, we describe vector operating system interfaces for spawning a batch of processes from a given executable on specific cores. Our results show a speedup of a factor of 40-50 over the traditional method of launching new processes using fork and exec system calls.
High‐temperature ignition of propane with MTBE as an additive: Shock tube experiments and modeling

Ignition of propane has been studied in a shock tube and by computational modeling to determine the effect of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a fuel additive. MTBE and isobutene were added in amounts up to 25% of the fuel to propane-oxygen-argon mixtures in shock-tube experiments covering a range of temperatures between 1450 and 1800 K. Ignition delays were measured from chemiluminescence at 432 nm due to excited CH radicals. The temperature dependence of the ignition rates was analyzed to yield Arrhenius parameters of E{sub a}{approximately}40 kcal/mol and log (A){approximately} 9.0 sec{sup {minus}1} for the overall reaction. Reactions involving MTBE and its decomposition products were combined with an established propane mechanism in a numerical model to describe the kinetic interaction of this additive with a typical hydrocarbon fuel. The experiments and the kinetic model both show that MTBE and isobutene retard propane ignition with nearly equal efficiency. The kinetic model demonstrates that isobutene kinetics are responsible for inhibition by both MTBE and isobutene, and the specific elementary reactions which produce this behavior are identified.
The Effect of Aflatoxin B1 on the Utilization of Cholecalciferol by Chicks

Abstract The official A.O.A.C. (1975) vitamin D3 chick assay of bone ash was used in a study of the effect of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on calcification and the utilization of cholecalciferol. U.S.P. vitamin D3 reference oil (D3) was mixed into the assay diet to give 0, 50, and 100 ICU D3/kg of diet. At each level of D3, AFB1 (Calbiochem) was mixed into the diet to give concentrations of 0, .5, 1.0, 5.0, 10.0, and 20 ppm. Individual bone ash values were determined at 3 weeks of age. These bone ash values were evaluated by a multiple regression analysis for two independent variables. A highly significant regression equation demonstrated a significant interaction between AFB1 and D3 on bone calcification. The equation indicates that 1 ppm of AFB1 in the ration increases the D3 requirement of the chick by 8.84 ICU/kg of diet.
Absence of an Immune Response after Oral Administration of Attenuated Feline Panleukopenia Virus

Cats were orally vaccinated with attenuated feline panleukopenia virus to compare this route with parenteral immunization. Cats receiving vaccine virus by mouth did not produce a systemic or local antibody response to the virus. Intranasal and subcutaneous vaccination produced high levels of neutralizing antibodies and provided protection from challenge with virulent virus. The results suggest that virus does not initially infect the tissue of the oral pharynx or gastrointestinal tract as previously suspected.
Conformational Analysis of Longifolene

ABSTRACT We describe the stable conformation of the tricyclic sesquiterpenoid, longifolene, by experimental NMR data and molecular mechanics calculations of the coupling constants. The flexible seven-membered ring of longifolene adopts a twist-chair conformation. Analysis of the coupling constants, particularly of the methylene protons in the cycloheptane ring moiety, agrees with this low-energy conformation. Low-temperature NMR experiments and nuclear Overhauser effect measurements indicate that there is a single exchange-averaged NMR spectrum that has the highest population of the most stable conformer.
Autonomous algorithms for terrain coverage metrics, classification and evaluation

Terrain coverage algorithms are quite common in the computer science literature and for a good reason: they are able to deal with a diverse set of problems we face. From Web crawling to automated harvesting, from spell checking to area reconnaissance by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a good terrain coverage algorithm lies at the core of a successful approach to these and other problems. Despite the popularity of terrain coverage, none of the works in the field addresses the important issue of classification and evaluation of these algorithms. It is easy to think that all algorithms (since they are all called terrain coverage) deal with the same problem but this is a fallacy that this paper tries to correct. This paper presents a summary of many algorithms in the field, classifies them based on their goals, introduces metrics to evaluate them, and finally performs the evaluation.