cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Field experiments on the sense organs and directional cues involved in offshore-oriented swimming by Aplysia brasiliana Rang (Mollusca:Gastropoda)

Abstract Groups of Aplysia brasiliana Rang were released during the day in shallow water at various locations to study their offshore-oriented swimming response. The effect of ambient current was subtracted from each animal's path vector to obtain a thrust vector, and distributions of the mean path vectors and mean thrust vectors of each animal were analyzed. Intact Aplysia swam offshore in relatively straight paths at three release sites having markedly different shoreline directions. Eyeless animals started out in the offshore direction, but their paths soon became contorted. In contrast rhinophoreless animals were randomly oriented, but followed relatively straight paths. Sham-operated animals and animals lacking oral tentacles both behaved like normal animals. Correlational analyses suggest that wave direction is the primary orientational guidepost used when larger waves are present, but that some other cue(s) is involved when waves are small or absent. Collectively these data suggest that when larger waves are present, offshore-oriented swimming results from rhinophore-mediated detection of wave surge and that some other cue, possibly visual, is involved in maintenance of the original direction once an Aplysia is in the water column.
Acid protease activity in Plasmodium falciparum and P. knowlesi and ghosts of their respective host red cells.

ERYTHROCYTIC stages of the malarial parasite apparently obtain the bulk of their amino acids from digestion of host cell haemoglobin1–5. In addition, intracellular degradation of unnecessary organelles occurs within the parasite following invasion of the host cell. Thus, it is rather surprising that there have been relatively few studies on the proteolytic enzymes of Plasmodium, since these would presumably be involved in both processes. Cell-free extracts of P. gallinaceum degraded denatured globin at pH 6.5, while haemoglobin was digested very slowly6. Data of Cook et al.7 indicate the existence of two proteinases, with pH optima of 4 and 8 (P. berghei) and 5 and 8 (P. knowlesi). In each case, the alkaline protease was the more active.
Layout-Aware Scan Chain Synthesis for Improved Path Delay Fault Coverage

Path delay fault testing has become increasingly important due to higher clock rates and higher process variability caused by shrinking geometries. Achieving high-coverage path delay fault testing requires the application of scan justified test vector pairs, coupled with careful ordering of the scan flip-flops and/or insertion of dummy flip-flops in the scan chain. Previous works on scan synthesis for path delay fault testing using scan shifting have focused exclusively on maximizing fault coverage and/or minimizing the number of dummy flip-flops, but have disregarded the scan wirelength overhead. In this paper we propose a layout-aware coverage-driven scan chain ordering methodology and give exact and heuristic algorithms for computing the achievable tradeoffs between path delay fault coverage and both dummy flip-flop and wirelength costs. Experimental results show that our scan chain ordering methodology yields significant improvements in path delay coverage with a very small increase in wirelength overhead compared to previous layout-driven approaches, and similar coverage with up to 25 times improvement in wirelength compared to previous layout-oblivious coverage-driven approaches.
Three-dimensional singular antiplane shear stress fields at the fronts of interfacial crack/anticrack/contact type discontinuities in tricrystal anisotropic plates

Abstract A recently developed eigenfunction expansion technique, based in part on separation of the thickness-variable and partly utilizing a modified Frobenius type series expansion in conjunction with the Eshelby–Stroh formalism, is employed to derive three-dimensional singular stress fields in the vicinity of crack/anticrack/junction front of an infinite tricrystal plate, made of monoclinic/hexagonal/orthorhombic/cubic phases, of finite thickness and subjected to far-field antiplane shear loading. Such tricrystals are used in solar cells and superconductivity application among others. Crack/anticrack-face boundary and/or interface contact conditions and those that are prescribed on the top and bottom (free or fixed) surfaces of the tri-crystal plate are exactly satisfied. Five different through-thickness boundary conditions are considered: (i) slit crack, (ii) anticrack or perfectly bonded rigid inclusion, (iii) tri-crystal junction, and (iv and v) rigid inclusion located alongside a crack. Numerical results pertaining to the variation of the mode III order of stress singularity with various wedge aperture angles of the material 1 (e.g., scatterer in a solar cell), are also presented. Finally, results, pertaining to the through-thickness variations of mode III stress intensity factors or stress singularity coefficients for symmetric exponentially growing distributed load and their skew-symmetric counterparts that also satisfy the boundary conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the tricrystal plate under investigation, also form an important part of the present investigation.
Developmental patterning of glutamatergic synapses onto retinal ganglion cells

Background Neurons receive excitatory synaptic inputs that are distributed across their dendritic arbors at densities and with spatial patterns that influence their output. How specific synaptic distributions are attained during development is not well understood. The distribution of glutamatergic inputs across the dendritic arbors of mammalian retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) has long been correlated to the spatial receptive field profiles of these neurons. Thus, determining how glutamatergic inputs are patterned onto RGC dendritic arbors during development could provide insight into the cellular mechanisms that shape their functional receptive fields.
Androgen Deficiency in Women

Physiological and pathological processes as well as iatrogenic interventions may result in androgen deficiency compared with levels in young healthy women. Whether relative androgen deficiency results in a clinical syndrome similar to that reported in men, including osteopenia, increased fat mass, decreased libido, and diminished quality of life, has not been definitively established. However, preliminary data in postmenopausal women suggest that physiological androgen replacement therapy, which involves substantially lower doses than those used in men, may result in increased bone mineral density, increased libido, and improved quality of life. The safety of androgen preparations that result in supraphysiological levels has not been established in women and would be expected to result in hirsutism, acne, and virilization with chronic use. Androgen preparations that avoid liver metabolism and result in physiological serum androgen levels in women with androgen deficiency are not currently available, but are in development. Therefore, although widespread screening and hormone replacement for androgen deficiency cannot be recommended yet, increasing interest in this topic makes consideration of the available data important.
A semi-micro procedure for mineral analysis

Abstract A semi-micro procedure for mineral analysis based on ion-exchange and complex-ion formation is described. Moisture (H 2 O − , SiO 2 , TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , total iron, CaO, MgO and either MnO or P 2 O 5 are determined in a 100-mg sample. If MnO is present at low concentration, both MnO and P 2 O 5 may be determined. K 2 O and Na 2 O may be determined in a 25-mg sample. Procedures for the determination of FeO and H 2 O + in 100 mg samples have not been tested. It is estimated that 6 samples or more may be analyzed in 7 days.
No Association of Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy With Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness

Background Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in older women. Information on the relation of menopause and hormone replacement therapy with carotid atherosclerosis is limited. Methods and Results We examined cross-sectionally the association of menopausal status, years since last menstruation, and hormone replacement therapy status with carotid artery intima-media thickness as determined by B-mode ultrasound. Female participants (n=5436) in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study without a history of symptomatic cardiovascular disease were included in the analyses. Menopause status in 45- to 54-year-old women who had never used hormone replacement therapy was not strongly associated with carotid intima-media thickness (mean=0.65 mm and 0.67 mm in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, respectively, adjusted for age, race, cigarette years of smoking, body mass index, sport index, systolic blood pressure, use of blood pressure medications, drinking status, diabetes, and education leve...
Spectral Properties of Fluorophores Combining the Boronic Acid Group with Electron Donor or Withdrawing Groups. Implication in the Development of Fluorescence Probes for Saccharides

We evaluated the spectral properties of four stilbene derivatives containing the boronic acid group [−B(OH)2]:stilbene-4-boronic acid (STBA), 4‘-cyanostilbene-4-boronic acid (CSTBA), 4‘-methoxystilbene-4-boronic acid (MSTBA), and 4‘-(dimethylamino)stilbene-4-boronic acid (DSTBA). The emission spectrum of DSTBA displays a large solvent-polarity dependence showing the formation of a photoinduced charge transfer state (CT). This state is weakly present in MSTBA and not present for CSTBA and STBA for the neutral form of the boronic acid group. These results show the donor withdrawing property of the neutral form of the boronic acid group. At higher pH, the boronic acid group is present in the anionic form [−B(OH)3-], resulting in a change of the configuration around the boron atom from the triangular planar (sp2 hybridization) to the tetrahedral conformation (sp3 hybridization). This change induced a blue shift of about 50 nm and an increase of intensity in the emission spectrum of DSTBA because of the loss o...
Magnitude and ecological implications of thermal inertia in skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus)

Heat exchange experiments with sedated and free-swimming skipjack tuna,Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus), yielded the following results: For fish between 0.4 and 3.5 kg in weight (W), Comparison of our results with those of other researchers indicated that skipjack tuna exchange core heat with the environment only about 60% as rapidly as do typical teleosts and even somewhat more slowly than do air-breathing aquatic reptiles. Results 1) and 5) were taken to imply no short-term physiological thermoregulation in skipjack tuna; problematic evidence for physiological thermoregulation in other tunas and in aquatic reptiles is discussed. Calculations based on thermal inertia, excess temperature, and rate of warming indicated that minimum and maximum rates of metabolism in the red muscle of skipjack tuna are about 4 and 25 cal g−1 hr−1, respectively. Similar considerations suggested that large thermal inertia and high rates of metabolism may pose an ecological problem for skipjack tuna as they grow in body mass; excess core temperature may become so large that the muscle of the fish overheats, especially during periods of greatest activity in warm waters; speculative upper temperature limits are offered for skipjack tuna as a function of body size and activity level. Two potential benefits of large thermal inertia are discussed and illustrated with simulation models; these are 1) substantial independence from rapid fluctuations of environmental temperatures as the fish move between the upper mixed layer and the thermocline, and 2) inertial ‘memory’ of thermal history to permit or enhance perception of weak temperature gradients.
IDO: more than an enzyme.

In addition to its recognized function as an enzyme that catalyzes tryptophan, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) acts as an intracellular signal transducer, in response to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), to induce a stably regulatory phenotype in plasmacytoid dendritic cells.
Disulfiram Treatment for Alcoholism in Severe Mental Illness

Controlled research has shown that supervised disulfiram is an effective treatment for alcoholism. Despite this, little is known about the effects of disulfiram in persons with alcoholism and severe mental illness. We conducted comprehensive chart reviews on 33 patients with alcoholism and severe mental illness (70% schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) who had been prescribed disulfiram. Twenty-one percent reported side effects from disulfiram, whereas significant psychiatric complications were not reported. Although 76% of patients reported drinking while on disulfiram, only 28% experienced negative reactions to alcohol. Sixty-four percent of the patients saw a remission of alcoholism for at least one year during a three-year follow-up, and 30% experienced a two-year remission. Disulfiram treatment was associated with decreases in days hospitalized but not with changes in work status. The results suggest disulfiram may be a useful adjunctive treatment for alcoholism in patients with severe mental illness and that controlled research is needed to evaluate its effects in this population.
Recent Advances in Optical Tomographic Imaging

With improved instrumentation and image reconstruction codes, the range of applications for optical tomographic imaging is fast increasing. Besides details on the first all-digital optical tomographic imaging system and transport theory-based frequency domain reconstruction codes, we highlight applications in imaging of arthritic joints and optical small animal tomography.
Cross Country Inflation Evidence on the Moneyness of Time Deposits

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a cross-country inflation evidence of the moneyness of time deposits. A large increase in the money supply of a fully, or nearly fully, employed economy will cause inflation. This suggests a way of testing whether a near-money asset, say time deposits, should be included in empirical definitions of the money supply. The chapter presents two economies that have been similar over a period of years except that one has undergone a substantially larger increase in time deposits than the other. If time deposits belong in the money supply, then the one economy should experience greater inflation than the other. The analysis presented in this chapter implements a more operational version of this idea, using long-run, cross-country data. A technique described in the chapter has been suggested for estimating the weights of assets included in the definition of money; and the technique has been applied to cross-country inflation data. Given the crudeness of the method, the collinearity problem, and the shortcomings of the data, the results represent a small bit of evidence. Nonetheless, the evidence indicates that savings and time deposits are better left out of the definition of money than included equally with currency and demand deposits.
Parastomal hernia: Short-Term outcome after laparoscopic and conventional repairs

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes after laparoscopic and conventional parastomal hernia repairs. A retrospective review of parastomal hernia repairs was performed. Conventional repairs included primary suture repair, stoma relocation, and mesh repair. Laparoscopic repairs included the Sugarbaker and keyhole techniques. Forty-nine patients underwent repair of symptomatic parastomal hernias: 19 ileostomies, 13 colostomies, and 17 urostomies. Thirty patients underwent 39 conventional repairs. Nineteen patients underwent laparoscopic surgical repairs. Operative times were longer for laparoscopic repair (208 +/- 58 vs 162 +/- 114 minutes, P = .06). The mean length of stay was 6 days for both groups (P = .74). The mean follow-up was shorter in the laparoscopic group (20 vs 65 months, P < or = .001). There were no significant differences in the incidence of surgical site infections (11% laparoscopic vs 5% conventional, P = .60) or complication rates (63% laparoscopic vs 36% conventional, P = .67). Laparoscopic parastomal hernia repair is a feasible operation with similar short-term outcomes to conventional repairs.
Permission to seek freely? The effect of happy and sad moods on generating old and new ideas.

Three experiments investigated why and when sad moods might inhibit generative thought relative to happier moods. Specifically, sad moods might inhibit generative thought compared to happier moods, because they result in individuals' (a) being less likely to use accessible, old ideas; (b) being less likely to use novel ideas; or (c) having less material available in memory. These three possibilities were investigated by having participants in happy or sad moods completed a task that familiarized them with a set of solutions to an upcoming generative task. In contrast to the hypothesis that participants in sad moods were less likely to use accessible ideas than those in happy moods, mood did not influence the use of old solutions on the generative task. Instead, mood affected how many new responses participants generated, with those in sad moods generating fewer new responses than did those in happy moods. This effect of mood was eliminated when participants were told that all responses were acceptable. Be...
Evaluation of NDVI to assess avian abundance and richness along the upper San Pedro River

Abstract Remote-sensing models have become increasingly popular for identifying, characterizing, monitoring, and predicting avian habitat but have largely focused on single bird species. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been shown to positively correlate with avian abundance and richness and has been successfully applied to southwestern riparian systems which are uniquely composed of narrow bands of vegetation in an otherwise dry landscape. Desert riparian ecosystems are important breeding and stopover sites for many bird species but have been degraded due to altered hydrology and land management practices. Here we investigated the use of NDVI, coupled with vegetation, to model the avian community structure along the San Pedro River, Arizona. We also investigated how vegetation and physical features measured locally compared to those data that can be gathered through remote-sensing. We found that NDVI has statistically significant relationships with both avian abundance and species richness, although is better applied at the individual species level. However, the amount of variation explained by even our best models was quite low, suggesting that NDVI habitat models may not presently be an accurate tool for extensive modeling of avian communities. We suggest additional studies in other watersheds to increase our understanding of these bird/NDVI relationships.
Encainide disposition in patients with chronic cirrhosis

The antiarrhythmic agent encainide undergoes extensive first-pass hepatic metabolism after oral dosing. The active metabolites O-desmethylencainide and 3-methoxy-O-desmethylencainide are formed in subjects who are extensive metabolizers (EMs), a phenotypic trait that cosegregates with that of debrisoquin. Because of the possibility that drug metabolism is altered by liver dysfunction, the disposition of encainide and its metabolites was studied in six such EMs with cirrhosis and compared with that in eight normal subjects of the same phenotype. Patients with cirrhosis had lower systemic and oral clearances of encainide, resulting in a threefold increase in oral bioavailability. The plasma concentration of encainide was significantly higher among the patients with cirrhosis, whereas the plasma levels of the respective metabolites were comparable with those in normal subjects, resulting in no change in the patient's ECG intervals. Encainide is, therefore, an example of a drug in which cirrhosis causes a three- to fourfold increase in parent drug concentrations. However, because no change occurs in the levels of the pharmacologically active metabolites, dosage adjustment is probably not required in patients with cirrhosis. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1986) 40, 148–154; doi:10.1038/clpt.1986.155
Tomography Of Hydrogen With Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), And The Potential For Imaging Other Body Constituents

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging has already attracted a great deal of attention because it is non-hazardous and because the intrinsic NMR contrast appears to be considerably higher than x-ray contrast. On the other hand, the in-vivo NMR characteristics of normal tissues are not well understood, and no reliable data exist on the potential for differentiating normal from abnormal tissues, or benign from malignant lesions.© (1979) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Influences of Photosynthetically Active Radiation on Cladode Orientation, Stem Tilting, and Height of Cacti

Stem orientation and morphology were investigated for 14 species of cacti in Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and the United States. The interception of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was specifically considered for cladodes (flattened stems) of platyopuntias, for tilted cylindrical stems, and in the presence of surrounding vegetation. Terminal cladodes of Opuntia chlorotica had a statistically significant tendency to face north- south at specific sites in the Mojave desert and east-west in the Sonoran desert. There was also a tendency for cladodes of three varieties of 0. echios in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, to face east- west, while three times more cladodes of 0. stricta var. dillenii faced within 15? of east-west than within 150 of north-south in Florida. In all cases, the orientation increased PAR absorption at times of the year favorable for growth. The longitudinal axes of ceroid cacti with multiple stems were vertical in both the northern (Car- negiea gigantea, Lemaireocereus thurberi, and Lophocereus schottii) and southern (Trichocereus chilensis) hemispheres. However, the longitudinal axes of barrel-shaped cacti with single cylindrical stems tended to tilt southward in the northern hemisphere (Ferocactus acanthodes, F. covillei, F. viridescens, and F. wislizenii) and northward in the southern hemisphere (Copiapoa cinerea var. columna-alba, C. lembckei, and Eriosyce ceratistes). Although equatorial tilting can increase the temperature of the apical region for certain cacti in the wintertime, for other species it has relatively little influence on minimum or maximum stem temperatures. Also, it tends to reduce the total amount of PAR intercepted by the sides of the stem. Hence, equatorial tilting may not be of adaptive advantage for all cacti. The maximum stem height of 0. echios varied 2-fold in a series of communities extending over 16 km on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, and the maximum height of T. chilensis varied 4-fold over 12 km in central Chile. Changes in stem height were positively correlated with changes in the height of the surrounding vegetation (r > .98) and negatively correlated with PAR in the vertical planes of the stems at 2 m (r 'S -.96). The diurnal change in tissue acidity of these Crassulacean-acid- metabolism (CAM) plants was 90% light-saturated for a total daily PAR of about 20 mol of quanta- m- d-l, which is approximately the average PAR that unshaded vertical stems would receive on clear days. Hence, the increase in height of these cacti accompanying increases in height of the surrounding vegetation helps to insure that they receive adequate PAR. In fact, for these and other cacti, PAR is often limiting for CO2 uptake, even in the high-radiation environment of deserts.
Parametric evolution for a deformed cavity

We consider a classically chaotic system that is described by a Hamiltonian H(Q,P;x), where (Q,P) describes a particle moving inside a cavity, and x controls a deformation of the boundary. The quantum eigenstates of the system are /n(x)>. We describe how the parametric kernel P(n/m)=/ /(2), also known as the local density of states, evolves as a function of deltax=x-x(0). We illuminate the nonunitary nature of this parametric evolution, the emergence of nonperturbative features, the final nonuniversal saturation, and the limitations of random-wave considerations. The parametric evolution is demonstrated numerically for two distinct representative deformation processes.
Applying an adaptive subtraction technique to suppress the acquisition footprint pattern as seen on geometric attributes: A Red Fork Formation case study.

The Middle Pennsylvanian Red Fork Formation is one of the most significant and widespread producing zones in northern Oklahoma. The Red Fork Formation consists of incised valley fill, which formed during changes of sea level. One of the biggest challenges of our legacy 3D dataset acquired in the mid 1990s over the Red Fork Formation is acquisition footprint, which contaminates the data and may mislead the interpretation. In order to delineate the subtle features and to distinguish channel edges from linear artifacts, it is important to remove the acquisition footprint from the data. We improved upon the data quality by reprocessing the original field data with the express goal of reducing the acquisition footprint on the final image. After reprocessing the data, we applied an adaptive subtraction footprint suppression workflow to the processed data and evaluated the effectiveness of this workflow by computing geometric attributes before and after acquisition footprint suppression.
Electromotive force studies in aqueous solutions at elevated temperatures — XVII The thermodynamic properties of aqueous HClMgCl2CaCl2 mixtures☆

Abstract E.M.F. measurements of the cell Pt-H 2 ( p = 1)|HCl( m 2 ), MgCl 2 ( m 3 ), CaCl 2 ( m 4 |AgCl, Ag have been combined with isopiestic measurements of the system MgCl 2 CaCl 2 to calculate the activity coefficients of each of the electrolytes in aqueous HClMgCl 2 CaCl 2 mixtures.
Analyzing Grouped, Censored, and Truncated Data Using the Odd Weibull Family

In recent advances of Weibull generalization, the odd Weibull family has been shown to be useful not only for lifetime data modeling, but also discriminating between Weibull and inverse Weibull distributions. This three-parameter distribution accommodates seven different hazard shapes and a wide variety of shapes of the density function including bimodality. In addition, the odd Weibull parameters can be estimated in two different ways since the inverse transformation of the family does not change its density function. In this article, we adapted this two-way estimation method for analyzing grouped, censored, and truncated data that frequently encountered in survival analysis.
A High Throughput Fluorogenic Substrate for Stromelysin (MMP‐3)

Stromelysin, a member of the matrix metalloproteinase family of enzymes, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of tumor metastasis and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. To screen prospective inhibitors of this protease, we developed a fluorogenic substrate with excitation and emission spectra compatible with commercially available 96-well plate readers. The substrate is based on the addition of 6-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino] hexanoic acid (NBD) (EX467/EM534) and 7-dimethylaminocoumarin-4-acetate (DMC) (EX368/EM459) to the previously reported peptide substrate for stromelysin, Arg-Pro-Lys-Pro-Leu-Ala-Nva-Trp-NH2. The new substrate, NBD-Arg-Pro-Lys-Pro-Leu-Ala-Nva-Trp-Lys-(DMC)-NH2 is 95% quenched and the fluorescent product, Nva-Trp-Lys(DMC)-NH2 is easily detected (EX350/EM465). In competition assays the new fluorogenic substrate has a relative kcat/Km that is one half that of the parent peptide. The fluorophores NBD and DMC were chosen based on the high fluorescence yield of DMC and the overlap of the emission spectrum of DMC and excitation spectrum of NBD which results in an efficient energy transfer system in the intact substrate. These characteristics make this an excellent substrate for routine determination of in vitro activities of stromelysin inhibitors.
Does progression through the stages of physical addiction indicate increasing overall addiction to tobacco

Rationale With physical addiction to tobacco, abstinence triggers a desire to smoke. As physical addiction advances, the desire to smoke changes in quality and intensity from wanting, to craving, to needing. A prior study in adolescents suggested that this progression signifies increasing addiction.
A Secure Base: Responsive Support of Goal Strivings and Exploration in Adult Intimate Relationships.

A theoretical framework is proposed for examining the interpersonal processes involved in the support of a relationship partner's goal strivings, personal growth, and exploratory behavior, and for examining consequences of receiving either responsive or unresponsive support in this domain. These processes were examined using both observational and experimental methods. In Phase 1, couples were videotaped as they discussed personal goals for the future. In Phase 2, support behavior was experimentally manipulated to examine immediate effects on the recipient. Results indicated that responsive (nonintrusive) support of a relationship partner's goal strivings and explorations have important implications for the recipient's happiness, self-esteem, and perceived likelihood of achieving specific goals. The importance of research examining this type of support is discussed.
Coupling of liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry by desorption electrospray ionization (DESI)

A liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method using desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) as a versatile interface has been established, which allows a wide range of elution flow rates, online derivatizationvia reactive DESI and further combination with electrochemistry.
Polymeric solid electrolytes: Dynamic bond percolation and free volume models for diffusion

Abstract Polymeric solid electrolytes offer a difficult problem from the viewpoint of understanding the charge transport mechanism. While quasithermodynamic theories (configurational entropy, free volume) are useful for rationalizing the behavior of these materials, they do not really amount to a microscopic picture. We have developed a dynamic bond percolation (DBP) model to describe ionic conductivity in these materials. The DBP model is based on a master equation describing ion hops among sites. The percolation aspects are included by making the bonds between sites randomly open or closed. The dynamical aspect is due to the configurational motions of the polymer, and results in the variation of the bond assignments as open or closed. The relationship of DBP to free volume theory is sketched; this involves a specific consideration of kinetic effects on free-volume motion.
The role of transcriptional regulation in steroid hormone biosynthesis

Abstract The regulated expression of the genes encoding the various steroidogenic enzymes is a crucial component in the control of steroid hormone biosynthesis. Tissue-specific transcription of each of the steroidogenic enzyme genes determines the array of enzymes present within a steroidogenic tissue, and therefore the types of steroid hormones the tissue produces. Transcriptional regulation also determines developmental changes in the steroid hormones synthesized by steroidogenic tissue and for the quantitative regulation of steroid hormones necessary for reproduction and for maintaining physiological homeostasis. The molecular mechanisms governing transcriptional regulation of steroidogenic enzyme genes is now being studied. The results so far indicate that, like most other genes, transcription of steroidogenic enzyme genes is regulated by cis-elements in the 5′ flanking DNA of the genes that bind trans-acting proteins found in the nucleus. Several types of cis-elements have been identified: elements responsible for basal transcription, for induction by cAMP, and for both basal and cAMP induction. Some of the basal cis-elements identified may have a role in tissue-specific transcription of certain steroidogenic enzyme genes in steroidogenic tissues. We have also identified regions in both the human P450scc and human P450c17 promoters that repress transcription when activated by the Ca2+/protein kinase C intracellular second messenger system used by angiotensin II. This review summarizes our current understanding of transcriptional regulation of the steroidogenic enzyme genes.
Patterns of Land Surface Errors and Biases in the Global Forecast System

AbstractOne year’s worth of Global Forecast System (GFS) predictions of surface meteorological variables (wind speed, air temperature, dewpoint temperature, sea level pressure) are validated for land-based stations over the entire planet for forecasts extending from 0 h into the future (an analysis) to 7 days. Approximately 12 000 surface stations worldwide were included in this analysis. Root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) increased as the forecast period increased from 0 to 36 h, but the initial RMSEs were almost as large as the 36-h forecast RMSEs for all variables. Typical RMSEs were 3°C for air temperature, 2–3 mb for sea level pressure, 3.5°C for dewpoint temperature, and 2.5 m s−1 for wind speed.An analysis of the biases at each station shows that the biggest errors are associated with mountain ranges and other areas of steep topography, with land–sea contrasts also playing a role. When the error is decomposed into the bias, variance, and correlation terms, the large initial RMSEs for the 0-h forecasts...
CSF antiretroviral drug penetrance and the treatment of HIV-associated psychomotor slowing

The authors evaluated whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with multiple CSF-penetrating drugs results in greater improvement in HIV-associated psychomotor slowing than HAART with a single CSF-penetrating drug. Both groups had improvement in CD4 count, plasma viral load, as well as two tests of psychomotor speed. Comparing the two groups, there were no differences in the mean change for CD4 count, viral load, or any of the neuropsychological tests. Multiple and single CSF-penetrating HAART may be equivalent for treating HIV-associated psychomotor slowing.
A novel protective effect of erythropoietin in the infarcted heart

Erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to protect neurons from ischemic stroke, but can also increase thrombotic events and mortality rates in patients with ischemic heart disease. We reasoned that benefits of EPO might be offset by increases in hematocrit and evaluated the direct effects of EPO in the ischemic heart. We show that preconditioning with EPO protects H9c2 myoblasts in vitro and cardiomyocytes in vivo against ischemic injury. EPO treatment leads to significantly improved cardiac function following myocardial infarction. This protection is associated with mitigation of myocyte apoptosis, translating into more viable myocardium and less ventricular dysfunction. EPO-mediated myocyte survival appears to involve Akt activation. Importantly, cardioprotective effects of EPO were seen without an increase in hematocrit (eliminating oxygen delivery as an etiologic factor in myocyte survival and function), demonstrating that EPO can directly protect the ischemic and infarcted heart.
Mini- beta insertion and luminosity for the RHIC lattice

The requirement and implication of the mini- beta insertion where a pair of common quadrupoles are inserted between the interaction point and the first beam crossing dipole, in the RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) lattice are studied. For heavy ion operation, it is found that beta *=1 m can be achieved with a +or-5 m free space for the experimental setup used and beta =500 m. The beam size limitation is located at the second beam crossing dipole, BC2, where an 8 cm coil i.d. is considered. When the machine is operating in the proton-heavy-ion collision mode, these common quadrupoles should be removed physically in order to let both beams cross the center line at 3.4 mrad. This mini- beta insertion can increase the luminosity by a factor of 2 approximately 3. For the proton-proton collision mode, it is found that beta *=0.5 m is also operable with the mini- beta quadrupoles due to smaller emittance for the proton beam. >
ABC Transporters and the Alzheimer's Disease Enigma.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is considered the “disease of the 21st century”. With a 10-fold increase in global incidence over the past 100 years, AD is now reaching epidemic proportions and by all projections, AD patient numbers will continue to rise. Despite intense research efforts, AD remains a mystery and effective therapies are still unavailable. This represents an unmet need resulting in clinical, social, and economic problems. Over the last decade, a new AD research focus has emerged: ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. In this article, we provide an overview of the ABC transporters ABCA1, ABCA2, P-glycoprotein (ABCB1), Mrp1 (ABCC1) and BCRP (ABCG2), all of which are expressed in the brain and have been implicated in AD. We summarize recent findings on the role of these five transporters in AD, and discuss their potential to serve as therapeutic targets.
Calcium utilization during reproduction in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)

To support the ossification of fetal and neonatal bones, reproductive females must transfer calcium to their offspring. The extent to which calcium is mobilized from maternal bone is related inversely to the amount of calcium ingested. Insectivorous bats consume a low-calcium diet, and thus, a reproductive female may experience a conflict over allocating dietary calcium to self-maintenance or her developing offspring. We tested the ability of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) to use elevated concentrations of dietary calcium to determine if available dietary calcium limits the amount of calcium that mothers transfer to their offspring. During late pregnancy and early lactation captive bats were fed diets with calcium content 10 times greater than (highcalcium) or equivalent to (low-calcium) diets consumed by free-ranging individuals. We measured the calcium content of guano produced by mothers as an indicator of calcium absorption and the calcium content of their young as a measure of total calcium allocated to offspring development. Females on the high-calcium diet defecated 13 times more calcium than females on the low-calcium diet, and no difference in body concentrations of calcium existed between pups produced by females on low- and high-calcium diets. This suggests that limited calcium intake does not constrain calcium transfer to offspring in big brown bats. It is likely that the calcium demands of offspring production are met largely by mobilizing maternal skeletal calcium. DOI: 10.1644/09-MAMM-A-186.1.
A chromatographic study of pyrethrum flowers.

This work consists of an investigation of the adsorption of extracts of Chrysanthemum (Pyrethrum) Cinerariafolium on a chromatographic column. The study was undertaken to determine the possibility of the separation of a pyrethrum extract mixture on a chromatographic column into different colored bands, with the subsequent identification, estimation, and isolation of the component parts (especially pyrethrins and cinerins) of the extract.
Cogito: An Adaptive Business Process Framework

Current BPM approaches empower the process modeling by formalism, shorten the transactional latency by automation, and increase business insights by process improvement methodology. Few of them intend to address the issues of dynamic process optimization in terms of real time in-process decision support and dynamic process reconfiguration. The goal of this research is to explore and build the foundation of dynamic business process optimization with the ultimate goal of developing an intelligent system that constantly manages and supervises each process instance (in a controlled way), for example, by having influence in routing and task assignment decisions in order to maximize certain business objectives. There are three main areas in our framework coined as Cogito: process representation, process analysis and process optimization. We will present the main concepts and how they can be applied to real world scenarios.
Extracellular Cleavage of Cadherin-11 by ADAM Metalloproteases Is Essential for Xenopus Cranial Neural Crest Cell Migration

Cell adhesion molecules such as cadherins alternate their expression throughout cranial neural crest (CNC) development, yet our understanding of the role of these molecules during CNC migration remains incomplete. The “mesenchymal” cadherin-11 is expressed in the CNC during migration yet prevents migration when overexpressed in the embryo, suggesting that a defined level of cadherin-11–mediated cell adhesion is required for migration. Here we show that members of the meltrin subfamily of ADAM metalloproteases cleave the extracellular domain of cadherin-11 during CNC migration. We show that a fragment corresponding to the putative shed form of cadherin-11 retains biological activity by promoting CNC migration in vivo, in a non-cell–autonomous manner. Additionally, cleavage of cadherin-11 does not affect binding to β-catenin and downstream signaling events. We propose that ADAM cleavage of cadherin-11 promotes migration by modifying its ability to support cell–cell adhesion while maintaining the membrane-bound pool of β-catenin associated with the cadherin-11 cytoplasmic domain.
Ocular drug delivery nanowafer with enhanced therapeutic efficacy.

Presently, eye injuries are treated by topical eye drop therapy. Because of the ocular surface barriers, topical eye drops must be applied several times in a day, causing side effects such as glaucoma, cataract, and poor patient compliance. This article presents the development of a nanowafer drug delivery system in which the polymer and the drug work synergistically to elicit an enhanced therapeutic efficacy with negligible adverse immune responses. The nanowafer is a small transparent circular disc that contains arrays of drug-loaded nanoreservoirs. The slow drug release from the nanowafer increases the drug residence time on the ocular surface and its subsequent absorption into the surrounding ocular tissue. At the end of the stipulated period of drug release, the nanowafer will dissolve and fade away. The in vivo efficacy of the axitinib-loaded nanowafer was demonstrated in treating corneal neovascularization (CNV) in a murine ocular burn model. The laser scanning confocal imaging and RT-PCR study rev...
DiNAMIC: a method to identify recurrent DNA copy number aberrations in tumors

Motivation: DNA copy number gains and losses are commonly found in tumor tissue, and some of these aberrations play a role in tumor genesis and development. Although high resolution DNA copy number data can be obtained using array-based techniques, no single method is widely used to distinguish between recurrent and sporadic copy number aberrations. Results: Here we introduce Discovering Copy Number Aberrations Manifested In Cancer (DiNAMIC), a novel method for assessing the statistical significance of recurrent copy number aberrations. In contrast to competing procedures, the testing procedure underlying DiNAMIC is carefully motivated, and employs a novel cyclic permutation scheme. Extensive simulation studies show that DiNAMIC controls false positive discoveries in a variety of realistic scenarios. We use DiNAMIC to analyze two publicly available tumor datasets, and our results show that DiNAMIC detects multiple loci that have biological relevance. Availability: Source code implemented in R, as well as text files containing examples and sample datasets are available at http://www.bios.unc.edu/research/genomic_software/DiNAMIC. Contact: ude.cnu.liame@retlawv; ude.cnu.soib@thgirwf Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Why is prostitution criminalized? An alternative viewpoint on the construction of sex work

Prostitution/sex work remains criminalized in most areas of the United States. While it can be sufficiently argued that prostitution is a dangerous occupation, the assumptions that the criminal law are prefaced on are not necessarily substantiated with sufficient evidence. Alternative constructions of prostitution such as decriminalization or legalization are backed by more support and can be asserted to be more just or fair from a legal standpoint and a public health perspective. Throughout the course of this critical review the assumptions on which prostitution rests are examined, along with who is potentially advantaged by the current construction and the legal fictions of the current law. Finally, alternative constructions are addressed that could be advanced and argue for prostitution to no longer be criminalized.
Preshock phase singularity and the outcome of ventricular defibrillation.

Background Phase singularity (PS) is a topological defect that serves as a source of ventricular fibrillation (VF). Whether or not the quantity of preshock PS determines defibrillation outcome is unclear. Objective The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the number of PSs at the time of shock is an important factor that determines the shock outcome. Methods Isolated, perfused rabbit hearts (n = 7) were optically mapped with a potentiometric dye (di-4-ANNEPS). Shocks were delivered during short (10 seconds) and long (1 minute) VF, and the outcome was classified as successful type A (immediate termination), type B (postshock repetitive responses before termination), and unsuccessful. Results When shock strengths of 50% probability of successful defibrillation (DFT50) ± 50 V were given in short VF, the types A and B and unsuccessful shocks were associated with a preshock PS number of 0.3 ± 0.4, 1.4 ± 0.3, and 1.5 ± 0.4 ( P P P P 50 , the preshock PS number was still significantly different for short VF (0.6 ± 0.5, 1.6 ± 0.9, and 1.5 ± 0.8; P P Conclusions A low number or an absence of preshock PS was associated with type A successful defibrillation. There was no difference in preshock PS numbers between unsuccessful and type B successful defibrillation.