cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Insect Species in Agricultural Habitats in the Tropics

From the summaries in the previous chapters conceming the well-established patterns of species richness of insects in lowland and mid-elevation tropical forests, it is clear that various kinds of crop lands adjacent to mixed tree species forests in the tropics will be invaded to varying degrees by insect taxa in space and time. It is evident that mixed species tropical forests of the New World represent complex and dynamic assemblages of organisms and that a major evolutionary and ecological interface is the sets of coevolved interactions between insects and their host plants. These interactions impose an unstable equilibrium in the distribution and abundance of species in tropical forest ecosystems. For some insect species, there may well be the case in which breeding populations in natural ecosystems are kept well below the carrying capacity of the habitat by camivorous predators and parasitoids. Janzen(72) has amply shown that such organisms tend to be most diverse in the very same habitats where both herbivorous insects and plants are also diverse, namely, lowland and mid-elevation tropical rain forests where the harvestable productivity from plants is presumed, but not demonstrated, to be high. Yet for other species such controls may not be as effective and insect populations under such conditions may approach an equilibrium states with available resources. It is not hard to imagine that insect species in productive tropical ecosystems exhibit both forms of population structure in space and time.
science data visualization tools for the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer ground data system

The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument seeks to analyze the chemical composition of the atmosphere based on the emission, absorption, and transmission of infrared radiation. Meeting the scientific objectives requires demanding analysis of the data being collected and processed. Visualization tools will assist in the understanding of the data and of the effects of the various types of processing being performed. The TES visualization tools are designed to verify correct functioning; of the instrument, provide early detection of potential problems, and report on the quality and validity of the science data for drawing scientific conclusions. Visualization displays include the Level III tools for displaying the end result of all the processing, merged and georeferenced for display relative to maps or global images, and displays for characterizing the behavior of the science processing algorithms and exploring the effects of implementation decisions. Displays of interest include plots of spectra and profiles, animations showing variations in the data along spatial or temporal axes, and results of various operations on the data. Together, these tools provide a visualization suite for more rapidly analyzing the science results of the TES instrument and detecting and identifying problems in the instrument or processing system.
Female-Headed Households and Urban Poverty in Pakistan

There is growing evidence not only of a substantial increase in woman-headed households all over the world but also of the severely disadvantaged economic condition of these households. These women are amongst the poorest of the poor — belonging to what may be termed a ‘Fifth World’. In the urban areas, they are concentrated in the informal sector which serves as a catchment area and source of identification of such household heads as well as other poor women desperate for some income to eke out a living in urban areas. The main characteristics of woman-headed households are reported to be extreme poverty, large-sized families, the need for all family mem-bers to work, and low levels of education and skills.
Exploring the Design Space of Higher-Order Casts

This paper explores the surprisingly rich design space for the simply typed lambda calculus with casts and a dynamic type. Such a calculus is the target intermediate language of the gradually typed lambda calculus but it is also interesting in its own right. In light of diverse requirements for casts, we develop a modular semantic framework, based on Henglein's Coercion Calculus, that instantiates a number of space-efficient, blame-tracking calculi, varying in what errors they detect and how they assign blame. Several of the resulting calculi extend work from the literature with either blame tracking or space efficiency, and in doing so reveal previously unknown connections. Furthermore, we introduce a new strategy for assigning blame under which casts that respect traditional subtyping are statically guaranteed to never fail. One particularly appealing outcome of this work is a novel cast calculus that is well-suited to gradual typing.
Oxytocin reduces caloric intake in men.

Objective Preclinical studies indicate that oxytocin is anorexigenic and has beneficial metabolic effects. Oxytocin effects on nutrition and metabolism in humans are not well defined. It was hypothesized that oxytocin would reduce caloric intake and appetite and alter levels of appetite-regulating hormones. Metabolic effects of oxytocin were also explored. Methods A randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study of single-dose intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) in 25 fasting healthy men was performed. After oxytocin/placebo, subjects selected breakfast from a menu and were given double portions. Caloric content of food consumed was measured. Visual analog scales were used to assess appetite, and blood was drawn for appetite-regulating hormones, insulin, and glucose before and after oxytocin/placebo. Indirect calorimetry assessed resting energy expenditure (REE) and substrate utilization. Results Oxytocin reduced caloric intake with a preferential effect on fat intake and increased levels of the anorexigenic hormone cholecystokinin without affecting appetite or other appetite-regulating hormones. There was no effect of oxytocin on REE. Oxytocin resulted in a shift from carbohydrate to fat utilization and improved insulin sensitivity. Conclusions Intranasal oxytocin reduces caloric intake and has beneficial metabolic effects in men without concerning side effects. The efficacy and safety of sustained oxytocin administration in the treatment of obesity warrants investigation.
Segmentation of Medical Image Objects Using Deformable Shape Loci

Robust segmentation of normal anatomical objects in medical images requires (1) methods for creating object models that adequately capture object shape and expected shape variation across a population, and (2) methods for combining such shape models with unclassified image data to extract modeled objects. Described in this paper is such an approach to model-based image segmentation, called deformable shape loci (DSL), that has been successfully applied to 2D MR slices of the brain ventricle and CT slices of abdominal organs. The method combines a model and image data by warping the model to optimize an objective function measuring both the conformation of the warped model to the image data and the preservation of local neighbor relationships in the model. Methods for forming the model and for optimizing the objective function are described.
The thermal environment of Cascadia Basin

[1] Located adjacent to the NE Pacific convergent boundary, Cascadia Basin has a global impact well beyond its small geographic size. Composed of young oceanic crust formed at the Juan de Fuca Ridge, igneous rocks underlying the basin are partially insulated from cooling of their initial heat of formation by a thick layer of pelagic and turbidite sediments derived from the adjacent North American margin. The igneous seafloor is eventually consumed at the Cascadia subduction zone, where interactions between the approaching oceanic crust and the North American continental margin are partially controlled by the thermal environment. Within Cascadia Basin, basement topographic relief varies dramatically, and sediments have a wide range of thickness and physical properties. This variation produces regional differences in heat flow and basement temperatures for seafloor even of similar age. Previous studies proposed a north-south thermal gradient within Cascadia Basin, with high geothermal flux and crustal temperatures measured in the heavily sedimented northern portion near Vancouver Island and lower than average heat flux and basement temperatures predicted for the central and southern portions of the basin. If confirmed, this prediction has implications for processes associated with the Cascadia subduction zone, including the location of the “locked zone” of the megathrust fault. Although existing archival geophysical data in the central and southern basin are sparse, nonuniformly distributed, and derived from a wide range of historical sources, a substantial N-S geothermal gradient appears to be confirmed by our present compilation of combined water column and heat flow measurements.
Coronal Stellar Emission in Galaxies

The X-ray luminosity of galaxies is not dominated by their stellar coronal emission. However, stars are there and their presence must account for a fraction of the X-ray emission. Stellar coronal emission in the Galaxy may explain the Galactic Ridge. In nearby spirals, a fraction of the unresolved emission must be ascribed to stars. Even in more distant X-ray faint elliptical galaxies, there may ber evidence for stellar emission.
Multiple-Electron Excitation, Ionization, and Transfer in High-Velocity Atomic and Molecular Collisions

Publisher Summary The chapter focuses on the multielectron transitions in high-velocity atomic transitions—that is, multiple ionization, electron transfer, excitation, and combinations. The many-body and many-electron problem is common in various areas of physics as well as in chemistry and biology. Basic understanding of phenomena ranging from the nature of matter to the properties of useful materials in the human environment is limited by the boundaries of knowledge of the many-body problem. Multiple-electron transitions are intrinsically many-body (many-electron) phenomena in contrast to single-electron transitions which may or may not depend significantly on multielectron effects. At high collision velocities the description of both single and multiple transitions is relatively simple (both conceptually and mathematically). The chapter emphasis on multielectron effects in single atoms and molecules, and gives attention to an example of a transition to a classical limit of quantum mechanics in a few-electron system that is observable. Different processes are analyzed in a unified way—for example, some connection is made among collisions of atoms and molecules with photons, electrons, positrons, protons, antiprotons, fully stripped ions, partially stripped ions, and neutral atoms.
Bacterial populations on the surfaces of organic and conventionally grown almond drupes.

Aims To compare the bacterial populations on organically and conventionally grown almond drupes before and after hull split. Methods and Results We constructed 16S rRNA gene libraries, containing approx. 3000 sequences each, from the bacteria from organically and conventionally grown drupes before and after hull split. We observed that before hull split both conventionally and organically grown drupes were colonized by relatively few types of bacteria that were mostly common phyllosphere-associated Proteobacteria. However, the organically grown drupes contained significantly more Alphaproteobacteria and the conventionally grown drupes contained significantly more Gammaproteobacteria. The conventionally grown drupes also contained significantly more sequences associated with the phylum Actinobacteria. After hull split, we observed a significant increase in bacterial diversity, with many newly appearing sequences that were not normally associated with the phyllosphere. Conclusions Organic and conventional growing methodologies influence the types of bacteria on almond drupes and hull split results in a burst of microbial diversification. Significance and Impact of the Study Production of organic produce is increasing due to consumer preferences, but it was unknown how this methodology affects the bacterial populations on almond drupes. This is the first study to compare the bacterial populations of organically and conventionally grown almond drupes.
Direct evidence that the gene product of the human chromosome 21 locus, IFRC, is the interferon-α receptor

Abstract The gene, IFRC , on human chromosome 21 has been considered, on the basis of indirect functional and antibody blocking evidence, to code for an interferon receptor. To obtain direct evidence for this conclusion, the specific binding of 125 I-HuIFN-αA to matched sets of fibroblasts diploid and aneuploid for chromosome 21 has been determined. Although the dissociation constant for IFN-α is the same for both trisomic and diploid cells, trisomic cells bind more IFN-α and monosomic cells less than do diploid cells. When the data for all determinations are combined, the monosomy 21:diploid:trisomy 21 binding ratios are 0.5:0.8:1.5, in good agreement with the values of 0.5:1.0:1.5 expected on the basis of strict gene dosage considerations for a product coded for by chromosome 21. We conclude, therefore, that the chromosome 21 gene product determined by IFRC and recognized by antibodies which block interferon action is truly a specific cell surface receptor for human interferon-α.
Sources of improved recall during the school years

Subjects in college and in Grades 8 and 4 recalled word lists that had been presented once at either a 1.2-sec rate or a 3.6-sec rate. If developmental differences in recall were largely the result of increased use of effective rehearsal strategies, then age differences in recall should have been greater with the longer than with the shorter presentation rate because the longer rate offered more opportunity for strategic study activities. Such an interaction was found, but only between Grade 8 and college, suggesting that changes in rehearsal strategies are not a major source of improved free recall during the elementary school years.
Localized defects of blastoderm formation in maternal effect mutants of Drosophila.

Abstract In the three maternal effect lethal mutant strains of D. melanogaster described in this report, the homozygous mutant females produce defective eggs that cannot support normal embryonic development. The embryos from these eggs begin to develop for the first 2 hr after fertilization in an apparently normal way, forming a blastula containing a cluster of pole cells at the posterior end and a layer of syncytial blastoderm nuclei. During the subsequent transition from a syncytial to a cellular blastoderm, cell formation in the blastoderm is either partially or totally blocked. In mutant mat(3)1 no blastoderm cells are formed, indicating that there are separate genetic controls for pole cells and blastoderm cells. The other two mutants form an incomplete cellular blastoderm in which certain regions of the blastoderm remain noncellular. The noncellular region in mutant mat(3)3 is on the posterior-dorsal surface, covering about 30% of the total blastoderm. In mutant mat(3)6 blastoderm cells are formed only at the anterior and posterior ends, separated by a noncellular region that covers about 70% of the total blastoderm. The selective effects on blastoderm cell formation in the three mutants emphasize the importance of components present in the egg before fertilization for the transition from a syncytial to a cellular blastoderm. The genes defective in the three mutants are essential only for oogenesis and not for any other period of development, as indicated by a strict dependence of the lethal phenotypes on the maternal genotypes. Heterozygous embryos from the eggs of homozygous mutant females die, whereas homozygous mutant embryos from the eggs of heterozygous females develop into viable adults. One of the mutants, mat(3)3 , has a temperature-sensitive phenotype. Homozygous mat(3)3 females maintained at a restrictive temperature of 29°C show the lethal maternal effect. However, at a permissive temperature of 20°C the females produce viable adult progeny. The temperature-sensitive period in mat(3)3 females occurs during the last 12 hr of oogenesis, consistent with the maternal effect phenotype of the mutant.
Nice Hamel bases under the Covering Property Axiom

We prove that axiom CPAgameprism, which follows from the Covering Property Axiom CPA and holds in the iterated perfect set model, implies that there exists a Hamel basis which is a union of less than continuum many pairwise disjoint perfect sets. We will also give two consequences of this last fact.
Curriculum for the 2nd career physician in emergency medicine

Recommendations for a three week refresher course for physicians seeking a new career in emergency medicine are made. The skills to be mastered during the course, each of which should be checked by an instructor, are listed. The recommendations made are based on: (1) a survey of the incidence of 50 disease categories in four different kinds of hospitals; and (2) a survey of 90 physicians who worked in an emergency department either full or part-time. An additional 13 residents in medicine were also surveyed. The survey of the physicians was done in an attempt to determine their level of confidence in managing 50 disease categories.
A Design Procedure for Multivariable Control Systems

Abstract : A design procedure is presented which focuses upon a dynamic compensator of pre-specified structural form. The order and feedback matrices of the compensator are first chosen to achieve stability through pole assignment via plant output feedback. The compensator feedforward matrices are then selected to satisfy various steady-state and static or dynamic decoupling constraints. (Author)
Constipation and diarrhea : the neglected symptoms

Objective: To review the symptom experience of constipation and diarrhea related to cancer and its treatment. Data sources: Published articles and book chapters relating to constipation and diarrhea in patients with cancer. Conclusions: Constipation and diarrhea often represent a major concern and source of discomfort for the cancer patient. Research is needed to establish prevention and treatment protocols for patients at risk for constipation or diarrhea. Implications for nursing practice: Oncology nurses are in an excellent position to recognize individuals who are at high risk for constipation and diarrhea. Preventive strategies and treatment protocols are of utmost importance.
Delay of gonadotropin stimulation in patients receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) therapy permits increased clinic efficiency and may enhance in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy rates.

Abstract Objective: To promote an even temporal distribution of patients starting IVF cycles at our center, patients undergoing GnRH agonist (GnRH-a) suppression frequently delay the start of gonadotropin stimulation. Our objective was to analyze the effect that the delay of initiation of gonadotropin stimulation has on outcome parameters in this population. Design: Retrospective analysis. Setting: A tertiary referral reproductive medicine unit. Patient(s): Patients undergoing IVF cycles on long GnRH-a protocols. Intervention(s): Patients were treated with either a "standard-dose" or "low-dose" leuprolide acetate protocol initiated in the mid-luteal phase. Main Outcome Measure(s): Delay time, clinical pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, cancellation rate. Result(s): Analysis of the overall group revealed associations between stimulation delay and decreases in stimulation duration and the number of gonadotropin ampules administered. Weighted linear regression analyzes revealed statistically positive relationships between delay time and both clinical pregnancy rates and ongoing pregnancy rates, despite a positive relationship between delay time and cancellation rates. Analysis of the standard-dose and low-dose subgroups revealed that the enhancement of pregnancy rates was attributable primarily to patients in the standard-dose protocol. Conclusion(s): Delay of gonadotropin stimulation while patients are receiving GnRH-a therapy allows for increased clinic efficiency. There appears to be an enhancement of clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates for the standard-dose leuprolide acetate protocol that is associated with stimulation delay.
n -vector model in the limit n→0 and the statistics of linear polymer systems: A Ginzburg-Landau theory

The statistics of linear polymer systems is investigated using the correspondence between self-avoiding random walks and the partition function for the n-vector magnetic model in the limit n\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0. The magnetic problem is treated in the Ginzburg-Landau version. In this way we are able to perform the calculations for systems of finite size and thereby execute the n\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0 limit in the proper way. A further advantage of our calculational approach is that it allows us to investigate the effects of restricted geometries. We demonstrate how to extract results for the one polymer system and explore its thermodynamic behavior in the mean-field and spin-wave approximation above and below the phase transition. Correspondence between Flory's classical approach to understanding polymers and the magnetic analogy is derived and a calculational procedure for improvement and new insights are developed.
Hard X-ray and low-energy gamma-ray spectrometers

Basic principles of operation and characteristics of scintillation and semi-conductor detectors used for solar hard X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers are presented. Scintillation materials such as NaI offer high stopping power for incident gamma rays, modest energy resolution, and relatively simple operation. They are, to date, the most often used detector in solar gamma-ray spectroscopy. The scintillator BGO has higher stopping power than NaI, but poorer energy resolution. The primary advantage of semi-conductor materials such as Ge is their high-energy resolution. Monte-Carlo simulations of the response of NaI and Ge detectors to model solar flare inputs show the benefit of high resolution for studying spectral lines. No semi-conductor material besides Ge is currently available with adequate combined size and purity to make general-use hard X-ray and gamma-ray detectors for solar studies.
Palaeoclimate: Long-distance relationship

Oxygen isotope variations in Chinese cave deposits have been interpreted as proxies for the East Asian summer monsoon. Numerical simulations suggest the deposits may instead record remote climate changes over India and the Indian Ocean.
Visible infrared spin-scan radiometer atmospheric sounder radiometric calibration: an inflight evaluation from intercomparisons with HIRS and radiosonde measurements

The ability to conduct soundings from a geostationary platform has been demonstrated with the Visible IR spin-scan radiometer Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) aboard GOES-4. While a negative offset reaching 2.0-3.0 C for the upper atmospheric CO2 bands of VAS was observed in comparisons with High Resolution IR Radiation Sounder (HIRS) measurements and analyses of radiosonde data, VAS radiances are consistent with that material. After removing the offset, the temperature profiles derived from VAS radiances agree very well with those observed by radiosondes. Time variations in the atmospheric state are discernible from VAS soundings at three-hour intervals, and were confirmed by radiosonde observations.
Development and initial validation of a measure of perceived stigma in irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a poorly understood digestive disorder prone to stigmatization. We developed a measure of condition-specific perceived stigma to better understand the role of stigma in this common disorder. Questionnaire items were established through structured patient interviews. A 10-item measure assessing relevant stigma variables across social domains was then administered to 148 patients with IBS. Test–retest reliability was assessed by having a subset of 26 patients re-complete the measure after 2 weeks. Twenty-eight out of 49 (57%) interview subjects with some degree of perceived stigma related to their IBS. A 10-item measure was developed with the following areas of perceived stigmatization: limited disclosure of IBS; belief that public knowledge about IBS was low; feeling that IBS was not taken seriously; people implying that IBS symptoms are self-inflicted; role limitations because of IBS; and others having the belief that IBS is ‘all in their head’. Respondents rated the 10 i...
Identification of a Highly Conserved Domain in the Androgen Receptor That Suppresses the DNA-binding Domain-DNA Interactions *

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-regulated and sequence-specific transcription factor that activates or represses expression of target genes. Here, we show that the N terminus of AR contains an inhibitory domain located in an 81-amino acid segment lying upstream of the DNA-binding domain (DBD). The inhibitory domain interacted directly with DBD and repressed DBD binding to the androgen response element. Mutations of the conserved amino acid residues (K520E and R538E) within the inhibitory domain decreased its inhibiting ability in vitro and increased AR trans-activation in vivo. These data demonstrate the existence of a novel inhibitory domain in the N-terminal part of AR, which might play important roles in the regulation of AR trans-activation.
Effects of aluminum salts on cultured neuroblastoma cells.

Experimental induction of neurofibrillary tangles was demonstrated several years ago in the central nervous system of rabbits injected with aluminum salts. In the current studies, neuroblastoma cells, capable of morphologic and biochemical differentiation in monolayer culture, have been exposed to medium containing aluminum phosphate; such treatment resulted in an abundant accumulation of 100 A neurofilaments after 6 days of continous exposure to the aluminum salt. While growth rates and incorporation of radioactive thymidine in treated cells remained similar to controls, total cellular protein, and incorporation of radioactive leucine were significantly increased. Paradoxically, when the protein content of aluminum-treated cultures was maximal, these cultures contained about 20 per cent less ribosomal RNA per cell than in control cultures. In addition, activity of an important neuronal protein, i.e. acetylcholinesterase, was depressed in treated cultures to a level below control values. Both temporal and morphologic similarities between treated neuroblastoma cultures and animals injected with aluminum salts suggest that the observed changes in macromolecular synthesis in cell culture are relevant to in vivo studies.
Observations on pulse-height defect for helium ions of energies <30 keV in silicon☆

Observations on pulse-height defect for He ions of energies <30 keV in Si surface-barrier detectors are compared with existing calculations of stopping power in Au and of nuclear collision effects in Si.
Iron, Cobalt and Iridium Compounds

11.1 General Remarks There is a rich and extensive chemistry of the group 8 element ruthenium (see Chapter 9) which has a large number of Ru2 n+ paddlewheel compounds, n = 4, 5, and 6. For the heaviest of the elements in this group (Os) there is also a substantial number of compounds having Os–Os bond orders of 2, 2.5 and 3 (see Chapter 10). However, no parallel in the chemistry of iron has been found yet. Likewise, the extensive chemistry that has been discovered for metal–metal bonded Rh2 4+
Decomposition in Al-Zn alloys: Part I. Isothermal decomposition in an Al-22 at. pct Zn-0.1 at. pct Mg alloy

A small-angle X-ray scattering (SAS) study has been made on solution treated and isothermally annealed specimens of an Al-22 at. pct Zn-0.1 at. pct Mg alloy. The changes in peak position and integrated area of the SAS spectra with time and temperature indicate that de composition is nearly complete immediately after quenching, in agreement with the earlier interpretation that Gerold and Merz placed on the results of Rundman and Hilliard in the binary Al-22 at. pct Zn alloy. Furthermore, structural changes occurring during annealing are consistent with a coarsening or maturation of the fluctuations in the solution. The domi nant wavelength varies ast 1/3 over a large time span and the temperature dependence of the coarsening process yields an activation energy of 94.2 kJ/mole. The effect of Mg is to re tard the formation of the equilibrium phases while having a small effect on the growth of the composition fluctuations during the coarsening process.
Requirements for pYXXM motifs in Cbl for binding to the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Crk, and activation of atypical protein kinase C and glucose transport during insulin action in 3T3/L1 adipocytes.

Cbl is phosphorylated by the insulin receptor and reportedly functions within the flotillin/CAP/Cbl/Crk/C3G/TC10 complex during insulin-stimulated glucose transport in 3T3/L1 adipocytes. Cbl, via pYXXM motifs at tyrosine-371 and tyrosine-731, also activates phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, which is required to activate atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) and glucose transport during thiazolidinedione action in 3T3/L1 and human adipocytes [Miura et al. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 14335−14341]. Presently, we have examined the importance of Cbl in activating PI 3-kinase and aPKC during insulin action in 3T3/L1 adipocytes by expressing Y371F and Y731F Cbl mutants, which nullify pYXXM binding of Cbl to SH2 domains of downstream effectors. Interestingly, these mutants inhibited insulin-induced increases in (a) binding of Cbl to both Crk and the p85 subunit of PI 3-kinase, (b) activation of Cbl-dependent PI 3-kinase, (c) activation and translocation of aPKC to the plasma membrane, (d) translocation of Glut4 to the p...
Psychology among the saints: the development of behavioral science at Brigham Young University.

There was a strong interest in psychology at Brigham Young University at the turn of the century; the third president was a psychologist and a number of distinguished psychologists regularly visited the campus. An outstanding young scholar who was destined to become the only Mormon president of the American Psychological Association started a vigorous academic psychology program in those early years, but he left the university because of a controversy over his teachings. Psychology at Brigham Young University developed little from that time until the 1940s. The 1950s were a time of rapid growth and development, expansion of the faculty, and the establishment of doctoral programs.
Pyrite formation under conditions approximating those in anoxic sediments: II. Influence of precursor iron minerals and organic matter

In the paper (Wang and Morse, 1996) that preceded this study, we presented results of experiments performed using a silica gel crystal growth technique to produce pyrite under conditions approximating those commonly occurring in anoxic marine sediments. The primary focus of that study was on the chemical pathways that pyrite formation follows and how differing conditions influenced reaction kinetics and morphology of pyrite crystals. In this paper, we present results of further long-term (up to 1 y) studies of pyrite formation, using the silica gel experimental technique, in which we investigated the role that different precursor iron (hydr)oxide minerals and marine organic matter play in pyrite formation. The minerals studied were akaganeite (β-FeOOH), ferrihydrite (Fe5HO8 · 4H2O), goethite (α-FeOOH), hematite (α-Fe2O3), lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH), and magnetite (Fe3O4). Marine organic matter used in this study was freeze-dried plankton collected from near-surface water in the Gulf of Mexico. The influence of precursor iron (hydr)oxide mineralogy, although important for initial iron sulfidization rates, was relatively minor compared to other variables, such as solution pH and sulfide concentration, in controlling the rate of pyrite formation. Consequently, major variations in the observed rate of pyritization of different iron (hydr)oxide minerals in sediments (e.g., Canfield and Berner, 1987) may reflect large differences in surface areas of the minerals rather than their intrinsic reactivity and is a confirmation of the estimates of Canfield et al. (1992) that most iron oxides have similar reactivity. The presence of marine organic matter (freeze-dried plankton) caused an increase in the sulfidization rate of goethite and a major (about 20 ×) decrease in the rate of pyrite formation. This can be interpreted as indicating that organic matter-iron interactions are important in both iron (hydr)oxide dissolution, and pyrite nucleation and growth. A possible explanation for this behavior is that dissolved organic matter produced during the long experiments (up to 1 year) increased the rate of goethite dissolution while inhibiting pyrite nucleation and growth by complexing iron. The lessons learned in the study of other mineral reaction kinetics (e.g., calcite and aragonite), that rates determined in pure inorganic systems, may not always be reliably applied to natural systems where organic matter can significantly influence mineral dissolution and growth rates, are, alas, repeated here for pyrite.
Estimation of Anisotropic Optical Parameters of Tissue in a Slab Geometry

The scattering and absorption coefficients of many homogeneous biological tissues such as muscle, skin, white matter in the brain, and dentin are often anisotropically oriented with respect to their bounding interface. In consequence the curves of equal intensity of re-emitted light on the surface of the slab will no longer be circular. We here consider the problem of determining the parameters allowing one to estimate the angles defining anisotropy, directional bias of diffusive spreading, and scattering and absorbing coefficients from data obtained from time-gated measurements of light intensity transmitted through a slab of the tissue. Our model can be solved exactly and leads to accurate approximations in which measured values of the surface intensity are shown to be elliptical. The parameters of the ellipses suffice to estimate the anisotropy of the tissue interior. A summary of the parameter estimates with the observables from which they are found is given in a table. Our analysis is based on a diffusion model.
Single versus recurrent depression history: differentiating risk factors among current US smokers.

Abstract Introduction The strong relationship between persistent tobacco use and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has motivated clinical trials of specialized treatments targeting smokers with a history of MDD. Meta-analyses suggest positive responses to specialized treatments have been observed consistently among smokers with history of recurrent rather than a single episode of MDD. Approximately 15% of current US smokers have a history of recurrent MDD. Little is known about the risk factors that contribute to persistent smoking and differentiate these at-risk smokers, US. Methods The National Comorbidity Survey – Replication (NCS-R) included a survey of 1560 smokers participants aged 18 and older in the United States. Lifetime history of MDD was categorized according to chronicity: no history (No MDD), single episode (MDD-S) and recurrent depression (MDD-R). The relationship between the chronicity of MDD, smoking characteristics, cessation history, nicotine dependence, comorbidity with psychiatric disorders, and current functional impairments were examined. Results MDD-R smokers reported fewer lifetime cessation efforts, smoked more cigarettes, had higher levels of nicotine dependence, had higher rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders and greater functional impairment than smokers with No MDD. MDD-S smokers were not consistently distinguished from No MDD smokers on cessation attempts, level of daily smoking, nicotine dependence or functional impairment indices. Conclusions The study highlights the importance of chronicity when characterizing depression-related risk of persistent smoking behavior. Although, clinical trials suggest MDD-R smokers specifically benefit from specialized behavioral treatments, these services are not widely available and more efforts are needed to engage MDD-R smokers in efficacious treatments.
Na+/H+ exchanger-regulatory factor 1 mediates inhibition of phosphate transport by parathyroid hormone and second messengers by acting at multiple sites in opossum kidney cells.

The opossum kidney (OK) line displays PTH-mediated activation of adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase C and inhibition of phosphate (Pi) uptake via regulation of the type IIa sodium-phosphate cotransporter, consistent with effects in vivo. OKH cells, a subclone of the OK cell line, robustly activates PTH-mediated activation of adenylyl cyclase, but is defective in PTH-mediated inhibition of sodium-phosphate cotransport and signaling via phospholipase C. Compared with wild-type OK cells, OKH cells express low levels of the Na/H exchanger regulatory factor 1 (NHERF-1). Stable expression of NHERF-1 in OKH cells (OKH-N1) rescues the PTH-mediated inhibition of sodium-phosphate cotransport. NHERF-1 also restores the capacity of 8-bromo-cAMP and forskolin to inhibit Pi uptake, but the PTH dose-response for cAMP accumulation and inhibition of Pi uptake differ by 2 orders of magnitude. NHERF-1, in addition, modestly restores phorbol ester-mediated inhibition of Pi uptake, which is much weaker than that elicited by PTH. A poor correlation exists between the inhibition of Pi uptake mediated by PTH (60%) and the inhibition mediated by phorbol 12-myristate 13acetate (30%) and the ability of these molecules to activate the protein kinase C-responsive reporter gene. Furthermore, we show that NHERF-1 directly interacts with type IIa cotransporter in OK cells. Although, PTH-mediated inhibition of Pi uptake in OK cells is largely NHERF-1 dependent, the signaling pathway(s) by which this occurs is still unclear. These pathways may involve cooperativity between cAMP- and protein kinase C-dependent pathways or activation/inhibition of an unrecognized NHERF-1-dependent pathway(s). (Molecular Endocrinology 17: 2355–2364, 2003)
Sensations, Experiences and Brain Processes

In his defence of the identity theory, Professor Smart has attempted to show that reports of mental states (for example, sensation reports) are strictly topic-neutral. If this were the case then it would follow that there is nothing logically wrong with the claim that the mind is the brain (and nothing more) or that mental states are really nothing but brain states. Some phillosophers have argued that a fundamental objection to any form of materialism is that the latter makes an obvious logical blunder in identifying the mental with the physical. This is the view that dualism is enshrined in our language. If this is true then of course statements such as ‘the mind is actually nothing but the brain’ and ‘mental states are really nothing but physical processes’ would be quite unacceptable on strictly logical grounds. Smart's claim that talk about mental states is topic-neutral, however, appears to exempt materialism from such objections. The question is, does it? That is to say, are sensation reports and the like topic-neutral in the required sense? Are they analogous in principle to statements of the form ‘someone is in the room’? Smart's point is that expressions such as ‘someone phoned: it was the doctor’ are logically similar to those of the form ‘I am having a red after-image: it is a brain process.’ ‘Someone’ is not logically equivalent to ‘the doctor’ (and it even sounds strange to say ‘someone is the doctor’), but it may, of course, be true that the doctor is the someone who phoned. Does this analogy hold and is it correct to say that sensation reports and mentalistic expressions in general are topic-neutral, that they refer only to experienced ‘somethings’? Smart's claim runs as follows:When a person says, ‘I see a yellowish-orange after-image’, he is saying something like this: ‘There is something going on which is like what is going on when I have my eyes open, am awake, and there is an orange illuminated in good light in front of me, that is, when I really see an orange’. (And there is no reason why a person should not say the same thing when he is having a veridical sense-datum, so long as we construe the ‘like’ in the last sentence in such a sense that something can be like itself.) Notice that the italicised words, namely ‘there is something going on which is like what is going on when’, are all quasi logical or topic neutral words. This explains why the ancient Greek peasant's reports about his sensations can be neutral between dualistic metaphysics and my materialistic metaphysics. It explains how sensations can be brain processes and yet how a man who reports them need know nothing about brain processes. For he reports them only very abstractly as ‘something going on which is like what is going on when…’ Similarly, a person may say ‘someone is in the room’, thus reporting truly that the doctor is in the room, even though he has never heard of doctors.
Heterogeneity of the M1 muscarinic receptor subtype between peripheral lung and cerebral cortex demonstrated by the selective antagonist AF-DX 116

Recent studies have demonstrated that the majority of muscarinic receptors in rabbit peripheral lung homogenates bind pirenzepine with high affinity (putative M1 subtype). In experiments of AF-DX 116 inhibiting (TH)(-)quinuclidinyl benzilate or (TH)pirenzepine, the authors found similar inhibitory constants for AF-DX 116 binding in rat heart and rabbit peripheral lung that were 4-fold smaller (i.e. of higher affinity) than the inhibitory constant for rat cerebral cortex. This results demonstrates heterogeneity of the M1 muscarinic receptor subtype between peripheral lung and cerebral cortex. 20 references, 1 figure, 2 tables.
Subsurface Transport Potential of Perfluoroalkyl Acids at Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF)-Impacted Sites

Subsurface transport potential of a suite of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) was studied in batch sorption experiments with various soils and in the presence of co-contaminants relevant to aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF)-impacted sites. Specifically, PFAA sorption to multiple soils in the presence of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) and nonfluorinated AFFF surfactants was examined. This study is the first to report on sorption of perfluorobutanoate (PFBA) and perfluoropentanoate (PFPeA) (log Koc = 1.88 and 1.37, respectively) and found that sorption of these compounds does not follow the chain-length dependent trend observed for longer chain-length PFAAs. Sorption of PFBA was similar to that of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA, log Koc = 1.89). NAPL and nonfluorinated AFFF surfactants all had varying impacts on sorption of longer chain (>6 CF2 groups) PFAAs. The primary impact of NAPL was observed in low foc soil (soil A) where Freundlich n-values increased when NAPL was present. Impacts of nonfluorinated AFFF surfac...
120-GeV Proton Transport for Antiproton Production in the Fermilab Tevatron I Project

Short bunches of 120 GeV protons will be used for the production of 8 GeV antiprotons. Protons will be extracted vertically from the Main Ring using two high field Lambertson type magnets at location F17. The beam transport is made of three sections: horizontal dispersion cancellation, vertical dispersion cancellation and final focusing. The final focusing section is composed of two quadrupole doublets and allows for variation in s values at the target from 1.5 m to 20.0 m.
A revisit to the liar

Abstract The liar paradox problem is studied within the fuzzy context. By tracing the argument which really explains why the liar paradox is a paradox, we suggest a framework to analyze it. The result is compared with Zadeh's proposal, which is the only past work on the same subject.
A novel KIT-deficient mouse mast cell model for the examination of human KIT-mediated activation responses.

Activation of KIT, by its ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), results in the initiation of signal transduction pathways that influence mast cell survival and proliferation. Activating mutations in KIT have thus been linked to clonal MC proliferation associated with systemic mastocytosis. SCF also modulates MC function by inducing MC chemotaxis and by potentiating antigen (Ag)/IgE-mediated MC degranulation. Thus, mutations in KIT also have the potential to affect these processes in allergic and other mast cell-related diseases. Studies to determine how native and mutated KIT may modulate MC chemotaxis and activation have, however, been limited due to the lack of availability of a suitable functional MC line lacking native KIT which would allow transduction of KIT constructs. Here we describe a novel mouse MC line which allows the study of normal and mutated KIT constructs. These cells originated from a bone marrow-derived mouse MC culture out of which a rapidly dividing mast cell sub-population spontaneously arose. Over time, these cells lost KIT expression while continuing to express functional high affinity receptors for IgE (FceRI). As a consequence, these cells degranulated in response to Ag/IgE but did not migrate nor show any evidence of potentiation of Ag/IgE degranulation in response to SCF. Retroviral transduction of the cells with a human (hu)KIT construct resulted in surface expression of huKIT which responded to huSCF by potentiation of Ag/IgE-induced degranulation and chemotaxis. This cell line thus presents a novel system to delineate how MC function is modulated by native and mutated KIT and for the identification of novel inhibitors of these processes.
Production of antiserum to CRF associated with adrenal atrophy in a rabbit

Abstract Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) was recently isolated from ovine hypothalami by its ability to stimulate adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and β-endorphin release from dispersed rat pituitary cells. Intramuscular injection of synthetic ovine CRF conugated to bovine thyroglobulin with 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide and emulsified with Freund's complete adjuvant into a random bred New Zealand white rabbit resulted in antiserum production to CRF associated with adrenal atrophy. A decrease in the level of plasma coticosteroids was associated with an increase in mean total binding of 125 I-N-Tyr-CRF. Upon sacrifice, a decrease in pituitary content of ACTH and a decrease in adrenal weight and content of corticosteroids was observed in the rabbit producing antiserum to CRF. Adrenal atrophy was histologically verified with an observed decrease in the adrenal cortical zone not reflected in the zona glomerulosa. Individual cells were relatively larger either with more abundant pale cytoplasm or with distinctly vacuolated cytoplasm. The results presented here are consistent with a physiologically necessary role for this CRF or peptides with similar structures in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
Crossbridge release and α-helix-coil transition in myosin and rod minifilaments

The relationship between crossbridge release and α-helix-coil transition in myosin has been investigated by employing synthetic myosin and rod minifilaments prepared in 10 m m -citrate/Tris buffer at pH 7·0 and 8·0. Initial sedimentation velocity and turbidity measurements have established that the minifilament structures obtained at pH 7·0 and 8·0 are relatively similar in size and homogeneity, and can be used in comparative circular dichroism studies. Chemical crosslinkings and proteolytic digestions carried out at pH 7·0 and 8·0 verify that myosin and rod minifilaments undergo the same pH-induced changes as myosin filaments, i.e. a decrease in the rate of subfragment-2 crosslinking to the filament surface, and an increase in proteolytic susceptibility of the light meromyosin-heavy meromyosin hinge at alkaline pH. These results suggest charge-induced release of the S-2 element from the myosin and rod minifilament surface. Circular dichroism measurements reveal a reduced α-helical content of myosin (5%) and rod minifilaments (10%) at pH 8·0 compared to the respective pH 7·0 structures. These results establish a direct link between crossbridge release and α-helix-coil transition in myosin.