cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An improved method for culturing Streptomyces sahachiroi: Biosynthetic origin of the enol fragment of azinomycin B

Azinomycin B is an environmental DNA crosslinking agent produced by the soil microorganism Streptomyces sahachiroi. While the agent displays potent cytotoxic activities against leukemic cell lines and animal mouse models, the lack of a consistent supply of the natural product has hampered detailed biological investigations on the compound, including its mode of action and biosynthesis. We report here a significant methodological improvement in the culturing of the bacterium, which allows reliable and steady production of the natural product in good yields. The key experimental step involves the culturing of the strain on dehydrated plates, followed by the generation of a two-stage starter culture and subsequent fermentation of the strain under nutrient-starved conditions. We illustrate use of this culture system by investigating the formation of the enol fragment of the molecule in isotopic labeling experiments with threonine and several advanced precursors (β-ketoamino acid 3, β-hydroxyamino aldehyde 4, and β-ketoaminoaldehyde 5). The results unequivocally show that threonine is the most advanced precursor accepted by the NRPS (non-ribosomal peptidyl synthetase) machinery for final processing and construction of the enol moiety of the natural product.
Indications for pelvic sonography-Do patients and doctors agree?

Purpose. Often, it seems that the patient history provided by the referring clinician on the sonography requisition form differs from that given by the patient during the sonographic examination. Because such a discrepancy in the history may delay the scan and disrupt the daily work flow while the referring clinician is contacted for clarification, we sought to document the incidence and cause of such discrepancies at our institution. Methods. During a 3-month period, all outpatients who were referred for a pelvic sonographic examination were asked to indicate their understanding of why the examination had been requested. The health care providers' reasons for requesting sonography were recorded using a computer order entry system. Each pair of responses (health care provider and patient) were classified as either concordant or discordant. Patient and physician characteristics were fit into a logistic regression model with concordance of history as the outcome variable. Results. One hundred fifty-six (90%) of the 173 patients enrolled in our study indicated that their health care provider had discussed with them the reason for ordering the sonographic examination. The histories provided by the patient and health care provider were concordant in 134 (77%) of 173 cases. The histories provided by the patient and health care provider were more likely to be concordant if the patient's insurance was a managed care plan or if the patient had a college or graduate level education, had been cared for by the same health care provider for more than 2 years, or had been seen by a female health care provider. Concordance of history was not associated with a higher incidence of abnormal sonographic findings. Conclusions. It appears that health care providers, despite increased demands on their time, adequately discuss with their patients the reasons for ordering a pelvic sonographic examination. However, our study suggests that health care providers may need to spend additional time with patients whose education is limited and that male physicians may need to pay particular attention to their communication with female patients.
Locality fixation, mobility and social organization within an unconfined population of red jungle fowl

Summary o 1. A study was made, using banded individuals, of the social organization and mobility in an unconfined population of Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus) on the 100 acre grounds of the San Diego Zoo, California. The peak of breeding comes in April and May with very little breeding in December and January. 2. The different flocks of jungle fowl showed extreme locality fixation with small home ranges and territories centring about the flock roosting sites. The birds were generally within canyons and below the mesas. There is a peck order within these unconfined flocks, with dominant cocks associating with one to several hens, while subordinate cocks are frequently kept away from the hens. 3. Three birds transplanted over 1000–1400 ft showed no sign of any homing ability. 4. Young of the year generally stay at or near the home roost. Some of them move a short distance to peripheral and adjacent roosts and may help form new roosts along with adult males evicted from their home roosts by more dominant cocks. 5. There was a rapid turnover in this apparently protected population, and only about one bird in six that was old enough to be independent of its parents survived each year. After 3 years most of the roosting flocks were composed almost entirely of different birds, but there was little change in roosting sites.
Genomic and expression analyses of alternatively spliced transcripts of the MLL septin-like fusion gene (MSF) that map to a 17q25 region of loss in breast and ovarian tumors.

We previously defined a common region of 17q25 loss in breast and ovarian tumors, suggesting localization of at least one putative tumor suppressor gene. Genomic clones from the interval were used to isolate candidate transcripts. One novel transcript had strong homology to a septin family of GTPase genes involved in cytokinesis. This gene was recently identified as a myeloid/lymphoid leukemia (MLL) fusion protein partner in acute myeloid leukemia and was named MSF (MLL septin-like fusion). As this gene may play roles in both leukemogenesis and tumorigenesis, it is essential to understand its structure and normal expression. We cloned two human alternative transcripts and identified a third database variant of MSF. RNA expression studies with a probe common to the three novel sequences showed differential expression of 4.0- and 3.0-kb transcripts in all adult and fetal tissues tested. A probe spanning sequence unique to one MSF variant detected specific expression of the 4.0-kb transcript in all tissues. Another probe unique to a different MSF variant detected a 4.0-kb transcript only in skeletal muscle. Proteins of 422 and 586 amino acids were predicted from the novel alternate transcripts and included both a xylose isomerase 1 domain and a GTPase domain. Nine common exons, three alternatively spliced exons, and six polymorphisms were identified.
Strategies of residential peak shaving with integration of demand response and V2H

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) have the potential to be used as storage devices to mitigate some of the grid level impacts, especially at the residential level. Since primary usage of electric vehicle battery is for transportation, it is important to optimize the life of the battery and energy discharge to the grid (V2G). The smart grid initiative requires active consumer participation through demand side management. Proper V2G application combined with demand response (DR) could improve some of the system level concerns such as peak shaving and flexible loading. This work proposes a vehicle-to-house (V2H) charge management based on demand side management scheme to minimize the peak loading at each individual house using a model based control design. GridLab-D is used to evaluate the model which shows such a scheme has the potential to reduce the peak.
Dendroclimatology: extracting climate from trees

The scientific discipline called dendrochronology is the study of tree rings and of environmental conditions and events of the past that tree growth can reflect. The beginning of scientific study of tree rings is generally ascribed to an astronomer named Andrew Ellicott Douglass, who in the early 1900s noticed not only variation in tree-ring width but also that this variability was similar between multiple trees. Dendrochronology subsequently expanded worldwide, and now over 3000 of the 12,000+ publications on dendrochronology can be classified as dendroclimatology. As a subfield of tree-ring analysis, dendroclimatology estimates climate back in time beyond the start of recorded meteorological measurements. Dendroclimatology starts with site and tree selection and continues with dating, measuring, data quality control, and chronology construction. Tree rings are associated with climate using statistical models that are then evaluated for their full length to reconstruct climate of the past. Most commonly, either precipitation or temperature is reconstructed, and reconstructions are then analyzed for frequency of extreme years, changes in mean conditions, ranges of long-term variability, and changes in interannual variability. For example, from reconstructions of Northern Hemisphere temperature based on tree rings and other natural archives of climate collected from multiple sites, it appears that current temperature (since ad 1850) exceeds the range of variability reconstructed for ad 1000-1850. Uncertainties in dendroclimatology exist, including a relatively recent issue called divergence, but dendroclimatology has played, and continues to play, a substantial role in interdisciplinary research on climate change. (C) 2010 John Wiley a Sons, Ltd. WIREs Clim Change 2010 1 343-352
Ro15-4513 enhances and attenuates motor stimulant effects of ethanol in rats

The actions of the imidazobenzodiazepine, Ro15-4513 (2.5 mg/kg IP), ethanol (0.50 g/kg, 0.75 g/kg, 1.25 g/kg), and Ro15-4513 in combination with ethanol were assessed using low activity male Charles River (CD) rats. Horizontal (ambulatory) and nonhorizontal (rearing, grooming, etc.) activity were measured in the open field with a Digiscan activity system. When Ro15-4513 was given alone, animals responded in a manner similar to that of the control animals. Ethanol alone, however, resulted in a significant enhancement of activity, with the effect being most pronounced at 0.50 g/kg for horizontal activity and 1.25 g/kg for nonhorizontal activity. A potentiation of the ethanol-induced stimulant effect was observed following pretreatment with Ro15-4513 on the horizontal activity measure for the 1.25 g/kg ethanol group. An attenuation of activity was observed for this group on the nonhorizontal activity measure. Ro15-4513, however, did not affect the stimulation produced by the other doses of ethanol on the nonhorizontal measure. The results suggest that possibility of distinct neurochemical mechanisms in the mediation of horizontal and nonhorizontal activity and that, perhaps, GABA-benzodiazepine mechanisms may play different roles in mediating their ETOH-induced stimulant effect.
Post-and-core assemblies made with an accelerated pattern elimination technique.

PURPOSE: Accelerated pattern elimination has the potential for increasing productivity. This study evaluated the accelerated pattern elimination technique using three commonly used phosphate-bonded investments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Part one of this study determined the mean time interval from start of mixing to the maximum exothermic setting reaction temperature for each investment. A chromel/alumel thermocouple was placed at the heat center of a methylcellulose lined casting ring, using wet or dry ring liner. Investments were vacuum mixed at the recommended ratio for the accelerated technique. Colloidal silica solution and ddH2O were combined at a 50:50 ratio to meet the manufacturer's recommended liquid volume. Part two determined the dimensional reproduction of a standardized pattern and its casting using both casting techniques. Mixing ratios were the same as in part one for the accelerated technique and 75% colloidal silica to 25% double-distilled water (ddH2O) for the conventional technique. The accelerated technique used the mean setting time established in part one followed by a 15-minute furnace holding time at 725 degrees C (1350 degrees F). The conventional technique used a 1-hour bench setting time, followed by placing the mold into a cold furnace. A controlled rate of climb to a maximum temperature of 725 degrees C (1350 degrees F) was used with a 1-hour soak time. Each pattern and its casting were measured at four sites: (1) Length of the post-and-core assembly, (2) maximum core diameter, (3) post diameter at the core base, and (4) post diameter at its apex. RESULTS: A significant difference was found between the time interval to maximum exothermic setting reaction temperature for all the investments (P < .01). The accelerated technique produced castings with a relative dimensional increase of 0.11% to 4.80%. The conventional technique ranged from a 0.04% decrease in size to an increase of 3.65%. Castings made with the accelerated technique were significantly different than those made with the conventional technique (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the time interval to maximum exothermic setting reaction temperature indicate that each phosphate investment should have a recommended setting time before introduction into the furnace. The carbon-containing investment showed the least relative change of the three investments evaluated for both casting techniques.
Preservation of fertility following doxorubicin administration in the rat.

Abstract Several hundred thousand men receive chemotherapy each year; many are sterilized by this treatment. Testicular circulatory isolation (TCI), a regional drug exclusion approach to circumvent chemotherapy-related infertility, lessens doxorubicin-induced testicular injury in the rat. We evaluated the effect of TCI on doxorubicin-induced infertility in this study. Thirty-two eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Eight rats received TCI for 45 min. Eight received doxorubicin (i.v. bolus) plus sham surgery. Eight received i.v. doxorubicin given immediately after institution of TCI. Eight controls received sham surgery alone. Mating studies began 2 months later. Six of the 8 males receiving TCI alone were fertile. In the doxorubicin-treated, sham-operated group, 0 of 7 animals were fertile. In the doxorubicin-treated group which also received TCI, 2 of 7 males were fertile. In the sham-operated group, all 8 rats were fertile. This is the first evidence that a regional drug exclusion technique can improve fertility in this model.
Somatostatin analogs affect proliferation of human thyroid carcinoma cell lines in vitro

Antiproliferative effects of somatostatin (SRIH) analogs were investigated in human thyroid carcinoma cell lines. Membrane preparations from six human thyroid cell lines, including follicular (RO 87-M-1 and RO 82-W-1), papillary (NPA87), and anaplastic (RO 90-D-1) carcinomas, a follicular adenoma, as well as benign and malignant human thyroid tissues, contained high affinity SRIH-binding sites. Ligand-binding studies ([125I]Tyr11-SRIH) demonstrated mean dissociation constants ranging from 114-224 pmol/L, and 20-154 fmol/mg membrane protein mean receptor sites, in cell lines. Four cell lines were grown for 3 days in monolayers with SRIH analogs (octreotide or MK0678) at concentrations from 0.05-100 nmol/L in serum-free medium to assess changes in cell numbers. At the highest dose, MK0678 produced dose-dependent inhibition of growth in RO 87-M-1 and NPA87, each to about 70% of that in control cells. Octreotide produced dose-dependent stimulation of growth in RO 87-M-1 cells, but caused growth inhibition in NPA87 cells, with loss of effect at the highest dose. RO 82-W-1 did not respond to MK0678, yet caused biphasic inhibition with octreotide (75% and 45% of control cell numbers at 0.05 and 100 nmol/L doses, respectively). Anaplastic cells, RO 90-D-1, did not respond to either analog despite similar ligand binding. Addition of epidermal growth factor (100 micrograms/L) or TSH (200 mU/L) increased the sensitivity of RO 87-M-1 cells to growth inhibition by the lowest dose of MK0678, producing biphasic dose-response curves. In conclusion, the present data demonstrate specific SRIH binding to membranes of thyroid carcinoma cells and tissues as well as discordant growth effects of different SRIH analogs on the same cell lines. This may be a result of differential stimulation and regulation of distinct SRIH receptor subtypes.
Thermal and tensile properties of aligned carbon nanofiber reinforced polypropylene

In the present study, vapor-grown carbon nanofibers with 0.5 wt.% loading were dry-mixed with polypropylene powder by mechanical means, and extruded into filaments by using a single screw extruder. TGA results showed that decomposition temperature has increased 18.9 °C by filling CNFs in polypropylene. Tensile results demonstrated that tensile modulus and tensile strength have increased by 154% and 69.5%, respectively. A SEM picture indicated that an increase in mechanical properties is due to the well dispersion and alignment of CNFs in the filaments.
Effect of pentoxifylline on radiation-induced lung and skin toxicity in rats☆

Abstract Purpose: There is currently substantial clinical interest in pentoxifylline as an inhibitor of radiation-related normal tissue injury. To further assess this drug's potential toxicity-sparing effects, pentoxifylline was studied in rats using a radiation-induced lung injury model. Methods and Materials: Adult male rats were exposed to either sham irradiation or a single fraction of 21 Gy delivered to the left hemithorax. Four study groups were defined: those that received neither radiation nor pentoxifylline, those that received pentoxifylline (500 mg/L in drinking water) but no irradiation, those that underwent irradiation without pentoxifylline, and those that received both pentoxifylline and radiation. Lung injury was measured by changes in relative left: right lung perfusion ratios derived from quantitative gamma camera imaging of 99m Technetium-macroaggregated albumin uptake in the pulmonary circulation. Serial scans were done over a 40-week period following radiation. Skin toxicity was also assessed. After 40 weeks, the animals were killed, and lung tissue was assayed for angiotensin converting enzyme activity as a marker for endothelial cell damage. Results: Both groups of radiated (with or without pnetoxifylline) rats showed equivalent acute sharp decreases in left: right lung perfusion ratios compared to the nonirradiated groups, reaching a mean nadir value of 0.29 at week 4. Irradiated lung perfusion in subsequent weeks in the radiation-only group showed minimal recovery, with a plateau mean ratio of 0.37 (0.36-0.39). However, there was apparent later recovery of lung perfusion in the radiation with pentoxifylline group from weeks 14 through 40, to a mean ratio of 0.47 (0.43-0.52) ( p Conclusions: This study suggests that pentoxifylline does not have any measurable effect on acute lung injury following hemithoraic irradiation in rats, but does result in sparing of later lung toxicity.
Factors Contributing to Psychoaffective Differences Among Men with Sexual Dysfunction in Response to a Partnered Sexual Experience

Even though men with sexual dysfunction, as a whole, experience less positive and more negative emotion to sexual situations than do men without sexual dysfunction, men with sexual dysfunction themselves show considerable differences in their emotional responses. The authors explored a set of a priori factors that might contribute to the emotional response of men with sexual dysfunction in the context of a partnered sexual experience. The authors constructed 5 global affective response factors-2 positive and 3 negative-through principle components analysis and related them to 5 independent predictor variables in a sample of 66 men with sexual dysfunction visiting a urology clinic. Predictor variables included the following: dysfunction severity, cardiovascular/metabolic health, age, self-reported importance of sex, and perceived importance of sex to the partner. The affective factor, apprehension, was the most sensitive of the 5 derived emotional response factors, with most predictor variables significantly affecting this factor. However, of the predictor variables, the self-rated importance of sex to the patient and the perceived importance of sex to the partner were most strongly related to the affective factors. These findings suggest that, no matter the etiology, the therapeutic strategy should include attention to men's emotional experiences associated with sexual activity by addressing individual and partner expectations, self-efficacy, and communication in the sexual relationship.
Resilient Quantum Computation

Practical realization of quantum computers will require overcoming decoherence and operational errors, which lead to problems that are more severe than in classical computation. It is shown that arbitrarily accurate quantum computation is possible provided that the error per operation is below a threshold value.
Picometer Scale Differences of Lattice Spacing In TEM Images

There are many applications in modern science in which a very precise knowledge of atom spacings i.e. lattice parameters is crucial. These include multi layer hetero structures in device manufacturing and core-rim nano particles, for example. In general it is interesting to know the change in spacings – or the strain in the proximity of a lattice defect or a coherent interface between two different substances. From the knowledge of the spacings e.g. relaxation processes can be studied. Mathematical transforms intermediate between direct and reciprocal space make possible digital darkfield strategies for mapping strain relaxation around interfaces and dislocations [1-5]. Here we examine applications to the measurement of lattice parameter differences between adjacent phases.
Biological underpinnings of health alterations in women with PTSD: a sex disparity.

Women develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at twice the rate of men, even though fewer women than men experience traumatic events over their lifetimes. Current studies of individuals with P...
Identification of Culex Males under Low Magnification

The male hypopygia of most mosquito genera afford excellent means of specific identification, with the result that in this country little attention has been given to other methods of male mosquito identification. To study the hypopygium it usually is necessary to remove the tip of the abdomen, clear it with caustic potash and mount on a slide for study with the compound microscope. When large numbers of specimens are received daily for determination the time required for preparation of the hypopygium becomes excessive, therefore the writer was faced with the alternatives of finding more expedient means of determining the Culex males, or not studying them at all.
Using Dimethyldicarbonate to Minimize Sulfur Dioxide for Prevention of Fermentation from Excessive Yeast Contamination in Juice and Semi-Sweet Wine

Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) at 0, 10, 25, and 50 mg/L and/or dimethyldicarbonate (DMDC) at 0, 50, 100, and 200 mg/L at different pH levels (3.0, 3.2, 3.4, and 3.6) in juice and semi-sweet wine were evaluated by monitoring yeast growth and visible fermentation at 20 °C after excessive yeast contamination (500 to 700 colony forming units/mL), using Saccharomyces bayanus. The treatments with the least preservatives that prevented yeast growth and visible fermentation at all pH levels In juice were 50 mg/L SO 2 + 100 mg/L DMDC and in wine were 10 mg/L SO 2 + 50 mg/L DMDC. DMDC and minimal SO 2 levels prevented fermentation in juice and semi-sweet wine with excessive yeast contamination.
Dextrorphan and dextromethorphan attenuate glutamate neurotoxicity.

Abstract The dextrorotatory morphinan opioid, dextrorphan, which has recently been reported to block the excitation of cortical neurons by N-methyl- d -aspartate, was found at 10-100 μM concentrations to attenuate both morphological and chemical evidence of glutamate neurotoxicity in murine neocortical cell cultures; a similar effect was found with its methyl ester derivative, dextromethorphan. Given other data suggesting that glutamate neurotoxicity may participate in the pathogenesis of the central neuronal loss associated with certain human neurological diseases, the present observations raise the possibility that these clinically tested opioids, or related compounds, may eventually prove to have some clinical therapeutic utility.
Rapid ESI–MS method for examining the thermal decomposition of pharmaceuticals

A Finnigan MAT TSQ 700 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a Harvard 22 syringe pump has been used to investigate the thermal decomposition of three common pharmaceuticals, acetaminophen, indomethacin, and mefenamic acid. In addition, comparative measurements on these same drugs were carried out by HPLC after thermally degrading them at elevated temperatures in order to evaluate the usefulness of the ESI-MS as a rapid means of determining the relative stability and identifying thermal decomposition products. Similar results were obtained between the two techniques (i.e., the relative rates of decomposition were mefenamic acid > indomethacin > acetaminophen), with the advantage that the ESI-MS approach was much quicker to perform.
Iterative MMSE-SIC receiver with low-complexity soft symbol and residual interference estimations

In this paper, we develop low-complexity methods to compute the soft symbol and variance estimations for QAM constellations with applications to iterative MMSE-SIC receivers. In particular, we propose a bit flipping based estimation scheme. For an N-QAM constellation with Gray mapping, we derive efficient approaches for both soft symbol and variance estimations with the complexities of O(log N) and O(log2 N), respectively. We also present an improved approximation approach which completely removes the multiplications at a cost of a slight performance degradation. We later extend the proposed methods to the non-squared QAM.
Arcuate plantar plaques as the initial sign of chronic cutaneous lupus in a child

A 9-year-old girl was initially seen with bilateral mildly pruritic plantar skin lesions. Skin biopsy demonstrated a superficial and deep perivascular lymphoid infiltrate with mucin but was not specific. Laboratory evaluation revealed a mildly elevated antinuclear antibody and mild leukopenia. Over the following year, an annular skin lesion developed in the preauricular area, her antinuclear antibody titer rose, and she was found to have positive anti-SS-B antibodies. She responded to oral hydrochloroquine with resolution of her skin lesions. This report highlights the unusual presentation of a case of chronic cutaneous lupus with a plantar skin eruption.
Stroke biomarkers: progress and challenges for diagnosis, prognosis, differentiation, and treatment.

Background: Stroke is a devastating condition encompassing a wide range of pathophysiological entities that include thrombosis, hemorrhage, and embolism. Current diagnosis of stroke relies on physician clinical examination and is further supplemented with various neuroimaging techniques. A single set or multiple sets of blood biomarkers that could be used in an acute setting to diagnosis stroke, differentiate between stroke types, or even predict an initial/reoccurring stroke would be extremely valuable. Content: We discuss the current classification, diagnosis, and treatment of stroke, focusing on use of novel biomarkers (either solitary markers or multiple markers within a panel) that have been studied in a variety of clinical settings. Summary: The current diagnosis of stroke remains hampered and delayed due to lack of a suitable mechanism for rapid (ideally point-of-care), accurate, and analytically sensitive biomarker-based testing. There is a clear need for further development and translational research in this area. Potential biomarkers identified need to be transitioned quickly into clinical validation testing for further evaluation in an acute stroke setting; to do so would impact and improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
The Between Story: Physical and Psychic Trauma in the Poetry of Sonia Sanchez and Lucille Clifton

Rhetorical choices used by Black women poets makes their work a militant force in the theoretical war against racist and sexist oppression. Research on trauma and testimony supports a breakdown of the person’s or character’s sudden brush with death –a moment that will never be fully realized, however it is at the center of explicating the rhetorical signs of trauma. Through a reading of Sonia Sanchez’s poems “Wounded in the House of a Friend” (Sanchez, 1995: 5), “Poem for Some Women” (Sanchez, 1995: 72), “Eyewitness: Case No. 3456” (Sanchez, 1995: 70), and “Poem at Thirty” (Sanchez, 1985: 4), with Lucille Clifton’s “My Friends” (Clifton, 1987: 147), “Shapeshifter Poems” (Clifton, 2000: 52), and “Song at Midnight” (Clifton, 1993: 24), my analysis will trace how traumatic wounding constitutes a psychic wound. It then applies the racialized and gendered reading of the subjects in the poem (insidious trauma), and how time and space relates to the subjects, space, and silences (traumatic realism). With the use trauma theory, I will illustrate how Sanchez and Clifton’s aesthetic forms adapted the militancy of the Black Arts Movement to address the silenced voices. In particular, the silenced voices of subjects continually subsumed beneath the phallocentric undertones challenged by Black feminist discourse, art, and poetry will be addressed.
Immunohistochemical Detection of p53 Tumor Suppressor Gene Protein in Canine Epithelial Colorectal Tumors

Eighty canine epithelial colorectal tumors obtained by excisional biopsy were evaluated immunohistochemically for p53 tumor suppressor gene protein. Dogs in the study averaged 6.9 years of age (ran...
Enhanced Glycosylation of a 50 kD Protein during Development of Thermotolerance in CHO Cells

During the development of thermotolerance, Chinese hamster ovary cells not only synthesized classical heat shock proteins, but also incorporated [3H]D-glucose or mannose into a glycoprotein with a Mr of approximately 50 kD. The glycosylation of the 50 kD protein correlated with the expression of thermotolerance under conditions when tolerance was induced either by acute or chronic heat conditioning. A phosphoprotein with the same molecular weight as the 50 kD glycoprotein was dephosphorylated immediately after heat conditioning. Both phosphate and glucose label in the ion front were enhanced immediately after heating, and may represent elevated levels of sugar phosphates. However, the composition of the ion front material remains to be determined. The data are consistent with a hypothesis that attributes increased heat resistance of thermotolerant cells to the glycosylation of specific heat-sensitive cellular sites.
Induced forests in cubic graphs

Bounds are obtained for the number of vertices in a largest induced forest in a cubic graph with large girth. In particular, as girth increases without bound, the ratio of the number of vertices in a largest induced forest to the number of vertices in the whole graph approaches 34.
SU-E-T-476: Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) Plan Validation Using MatriXX Measurements and Monte Carlo Calculation

Purpose: To establish confidence in VMAT plan delivery for recently launched VMAT with Varianˈs RapidArc technique at our clinic, a sophisticated plan validation has been performed by comparison of ion- chamber measurements, planning system calculations, and independent Monte Carlo calculations. Methods: Although MatriXX has been used as a reliable device for validations of intensity modulate radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment plans, it was challenging to use it for VMAT plan validations because of its angle-dependent dose response. A new version of MatriXX Evolution with a gantry angle sensor is able to correct the angle dependency and promises accurate measurements while the gantry rotates. To evaluate the performance of MatriXX for RapidArc plan validations, Monte Carlo calculations using XVMC was used as an independent method to our IMRT validation program. DICOM plans and CT images from Eclipse planning system were translated by an in-house code for XVMC input. Measured dose planes were compared with XVMC dose planes as well as Eclipse dose planes for 12 pelvis plans, 19 prostate plans, and 5 head and neck (H&N) plans. Construction of a scatterplot by taking differences of calculations from measurements displayed a positive correlation between them. Results: Eclipse calculations were off from measurements by 2.64%, 1.89%, and 1.84% in quadratic mean for pelvis, prostate, and H&N plans, respectively. XVMC calculations were off from the measurement by 2.18%, 1.73%, and 2.30% in quadric mean for pelvis, prostate, and HN plans, respectively. Passing percent of Gamma test for Eclipse calculations was over 97.0% and that for XVMC calculations was about 95.7% due to inherent statistical uncertainty of Monte Carlo calculation. Eclipse and XVMC calculations agreed to each other within 4 % Conclusions: The present study shows that Eclipse calculations and measurements using MatriXX evolution can be used for validation of VMAT plans using Rapid Arc delivery technique.
Assessing sexual harassment among latinas: Development of an instrument

This study draws from multiple data sources and analytic approaches to offer preliminary evidence on how to assess sexual harassment among Latinas working in the United States, particularly working-class Mexican American women with moderately low acculturation. First, focus group data were collected from 45 Latinas to identify culture-specific manifestations of sexually harassing behavior. These data informed the development of new items for the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ: L. F. Fitzgerald et al., 1988), making it more appropriate for administration to Latinas with limited education. A 2nd Latina sample (N = 476) then completed this and other scales in a paper-and-pencil survey. Complete-link hierarchical cluster analyses of the SEQ data, based on a random half-sample of these women, revealed an underlying 3-factor structure. Confirmatory factor analyses on the 2nd half-sample confirmed that this factor model fit the data well, and both the individual factors and the larger scale appear highly reliable. Implications of both new and discarded SEQ-Latina items, the 3-factor structure, and relationships among the factors were discussed.
Optical rotatory dispersion of rans-cyclane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid thionamide☆

Abstract Anomalous rotatory dispersion curves of thionamides derived from optically active trans -cyclane-1,2-dicarboxylic acids involving 3, 4, 5 and 6-membered rings were investigated. The thionamide derivatives showed pronounced Cotton effects associated with their n- n * absorption bands. The ( R : R )-acid derivatives of the 3,5 and 6-membered rings exhibited negative Cotton effects and on the basis of this empirical correlation, (−)- trans -cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylic has been assigned the (1 R :2 R )-configuration
Immuno-interferometric sensor for the detection of influenza A nucleoprotein

Influenza A virus, both seasonal and pandemic, has the potential to cause rampant devastating disease around the world. The most relied upon methods of viral detection require days, skilled workers, and laboratory settings to complete properly. Here, we report two methods for the detection of the nucleoprotein from inactivated influenza A (IFA-NP), a patented polymer–protein antibody orientation immuno-method, termed ALYNGSA, and a newly fabricated optical label-free Fabry–Perot interferometric immunosensor. The ALYGNSA assay for IFA-NP had a level of detection below 5 μg/mL of inactivated virus sample. The label-free detection through Fabry–Perot interferometry with the ALYGNSA orientation yielded an improved sensitivity to 1 μg/mL over the fluorescence sandwich assay alone. Characterization of the detection surface by fluorescence microscopy and non-contact AFM corroborated interferometry results. The resulting label-free detection method has the prospective for adaptation into a portable multi-chip sensor capable of real-time in situ detection of influenza A virus.
Updated results of a pilot study of low dose craniospinal irradiation plus chemotherapy for children under five with cerebellar primitive neuroectodermal tumors (medulloblastoma)

Purpose Children under 5 years old with medulloblastoma (MB) have a poor prognosis. They are more susceptible to the deleterious effects of craniospinal irradiation (CSART) and have a higher relapse rate when treated with low-dose CSART alone. We, thus, embarked on a prospective trial testing the usefulness of very low dose CSART and adjuvant chemotherapy. This is an update of a previous report on these patients. Methods and materials Between January 1988 and March 1990, 10 patients with medulloblastoma were treated using 18 Gy radiation therapy (RT) to the craniospinal axis, a posterior fossa (PF) boost to 50.4-55.8 Gy and chemotherapy consisting of vincristine (VCR) weekly during RT. This was followed by VCR, cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP), and lomustine (CCNU) for eight, 6-week cycles. Patients between 18 and 60 months of age without evidence of tumor dissemination were eligible for study. Follow-up was available until September 1994 with a median follow-up for living patients of 6.3 years from diagnosis. Results Actuarial survival at over 6 years is 70 +/- 20%. Three of the 10 patients relapsed and died. In one patient, the relapse developed in the spine and brain outside the posterior fossa, in the second, concurrently in the posterior fossa, brain and spine, and the third, only in the spine. One surviving child developed a brain stem infarct 4.8 years after diagnosis and has since almost fully recovered. A mean intelligence quotient (IQ) score of 103 in six patients surviving at least 1 year is unchanged from the baseline group score of 107. Five children tested at baseline and 2 years following treatment had IQ scores of 101 and 102, respectively. Six children tested at baseline and at 3 years had IQ scores of 106 and 96, respectively. Excluding the child tested shortly after his brain stem infarct, baseline and 3 year IQ scores were 103 and 97, respectively. Five of the seven long-term survivors grew at rates significantly below their expected velocities during the follow-up period, while the others grew normally. Three patients have received growth hormone, and none have required thyroid replacement. Conclusions These data suggest that medulloblastoma patients can be cured with chemotherapy and reduced doses of craniospinal irradiation. The low doses of CSART given by us in conjunction with cis-platin-based chemotherapy produce minimal neurocognitive damage. Growth velocities in very young children so treated are, however, dramatically reduced. Better means of improving the therapeutic ratio are still needed.
Reply to Shiner

Larry Shiner has risen to an impassioned defence against my criticisms of an iconic fi gure, claiming that I have ‘ misrepresent[ed] Kristeller’s central aim ’ and therefore missed ‘ the real shortcomings of Kristeller’s essay ’ and ‘ obscure[d] substantive issues behind simplistic dichotomies ’ . These, and a series of disagreements over countless small details, take up the fi rst part of his reply. He then proceeds to summarize his own book’s achievements in correcting Kristeller’s shortcomings. Shiner acknowledges diffi culties in Kristeller’s formulations, but accepts their purport and actually expands the reach of Kristeller’s thesis. Whatever else one might wish to say about these charges (which are quite impressive as a list but each disputable taken in turn), Shiner remains an unrepentant exponent of Kristeller’s views. I realize that dogmas die hard, and it is only to be expected that if one challenges the central tenets of a legacy one will meet with entrenched reactions. Given the word-limit I have been allotted for my counter-reply, I will confi ne myself to the more substantive issues as these concern Kristeller’s arguments, reserving for a possible future occasion any diffi culties I may have with Shiner’s own theses. My response will take the form of a series of questions followed by my own proposed answers.
On complexity of multistage stochastic programs

In this paper we derive estimates of the sample sizes required to solve a multistage stochastic programming problem with a given accuracy by the (conditional sampling) sample average approximation method. The presented analysis is self-contained and is based on a relatively elementary, one-dimensional, Cramer's Large Deviations Theorem.
Medicine betrayed: hemophilia patients and HIV in the US

Abstract The contamination of blood products by HIV in the early 1980s resulted in thousands of deaths among people with hemophilia in the United States and elsewhere. In the US, industry, government, physicians, and advocacy groups were implicated in this tragedy. In response to pleas from members of the US hemophilia community, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Science convened a public hearing to identify the institutional determinants of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among US hemophilia patients. The resulting IOM Report (1995) established a narrative of the crisis and indicated necessary improvements to the management of the US blood supply. The Report, however, failed to address the hemophilia community's demands for accountability and retribution. In this paper we explore the moral and social dimensions of this tragedy through narrative analysis of the original testimonies of hemophilia sufferers, interviews with some patients and their families, and a re-examination of the text of the IOM Report itself. We examine the process by which this crisis was addressed — through the discourses of science and law — and how it was ultimately framed as a failure of management and oversight rather than a moral failure of the for-profit health-care system. Thus, while the Report and its aftermath demonstrate powerfully how testimonials of suffering can influence public policy, by not addressing what is at stake for the victims — failure to protect patients in an era of increasingly commodified health care — it led to an exculpatory solution that obfuscated the moral dimensions of suffering.
The Effects of Custom Tray Material on the Accuracy of Master Casts

Purpose The accuracy of master cast reproduction by a polyvinylsiloxane impression material using two visible-light-curing resin and an autopolymerizing polymethyl methacrylate resin custom tray materials was investigated. Materials and Methods Custom trays were fabricated from a master cast that had three index points marked on both the inner and outer vestibules. Impressions were made of the master cast using Extrude and then poured in Die Keen Green stone. The distances between the reproduced index points were measured to ±0.01 mm with a traveling microscope and the algebraic norms calculated for each tray material. Results No differences (p > .05) were found in the dimensions of the inner index points, while the separations of the outer index points indicated that there were differences in the accuracy of reproduction (p > .01) by the three tray materials. The index points reproduced on the casts, compared with the master cast, were closer together for the Triad Blue trays than for the TruTray and Ontray impression trays. Conclusions All three tray materials produced acceptable casts, but the greatest accuracy was achieved with TruTray, followed by Ontray. Triad Blue produced casts that were slightly smaller than the master. In practice, the small measured differences in cast dimensions may not have clinical significance.
A method for empirical determination of stellar atmospheric structure

A technique for obtaining information on the temperature structure of a stellar atmosphere from spectral line data where only flux observations are available is discussed. The direct inversion of the flux integral to obtain the line source function can be circumvented by making the physically plausible assumptions of (1) source function equality in a multiplet and (2) the dominance of line absorption over continuum absorption at line center. Consistency of the technique is demonstrated by treating a synthetic spectrum as input data and attempting to recover the temperature structure of the input atmosphere. Using high quality solar spectrum scans obtained from K.P.N.O. we demonstrate the accuracy of source function equality for several Fe i multiplets and use one of these multiplets to obtain an empirical outer atmosphere for the Sun. Our empirical atmosphere agrees well with current solar models.
Multiple environmental chemical exposures to lead, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls among childbearing-aged women (NHANES 1999–2004): Body burden and risk factors

Background Lead, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are neurotoxicants with intergenerational health consequences from maternal body burden and gestational exposures. Little is known about multiple chemical exposures among childbearing-aged women.
Reply to an analysis of human equilibrative nucleoside transporter-1, ribonucleoside reductase subunit M1, ribonucleoside reductase subunit M2, and excision repair cross-complementing gene-1 expression in patients with resected pancreas adenocarcinoma: implications for adjuvant treatment.

BACKGROUND Tumor overexpression of excision repair cross-complementing gene-1 (ERCC1) may be associated with decreased survival in patients with pancreas adenocarcinoma (PAC). Human equilibrative nucleoside transporter-1 (hENT1) and ribonucleoside reductase subunits M1 and M2 (RRM1 and RRM2) are integral to cellular transport and DNA synthesis and are implicated as poor prognostic factors in other malignancies. To the authors's knowledge, their role in PAC is not defined. METHODS A prospective database was used to randomly select 95 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for PAC between January 2000 and October 2008. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on tumor samples for hENT1, RRM1 and RRM2, and ERCC1. Main outcomes were recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS The median follow-up, RFS, and OS were 49 months, 10.6 months, and 15.5 months, respectively. The median tumor size was 3 cm. Approximately 26% of patients had positive microscopic margins, 61% had lymph node involvement, and 88% and 45% had perineural and lymphovascular invasion, respectively. High tumor expression of hENT1, RRM1, RRM2, and ERCC1 was present in 85%, 40%, 17%, and 16%, respectively, of patients. High hENT1 expression was associated with reduced RFS (9.5 months vs 44.5 months; P = .029), but not with OS. RRM1 expression was not associated with survival. High RRM2 expression was associated with reduced RFS (6.9 months vs 16.0 months; P < .0001) and decreased OS (9.1 months vs 18.4 months; P < .0001). High ERCC1 expression was associated with reduced RFS (6.1 months vs 15 months; P = .04) and decreased OS (8.9 months vs 18.1 months; P = .03). After accounting for known adverse tumor factors, high expression of RRM2 and ERCC1 persisted as negative prognostic factors for RFS and OS. A subset analysis of patients who received adjuvant therapy (n = 74) revealed the same negative effect of high RRM2 and ERCC1 expression on RFS and OS. CONCLUSIONS High tumor expression of RRM2 and ERCC1 are associated with reduced RFS and OS after resection of pancreas cancer. These biomarkers may help to personalize adjuvant therapy.