cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ethological Study of Early Language

Sign language studies of cross-fostered chimpanzees measure the effect of special rearing conditions on the development of very young chimpanzees. Cross-fostered chimpanzees, like human children, develop gradually in a process that takes many years. Here we discuss details of the procedure, the overlap between human and chimpanzee infants in the contents of the first 50-item vocabularies, and the ways in which the signs of the chimpanzees exhibit the fuzziness of natural language categories. We also compare the cross-fostering approach with more traditional modular approaches to the study of language-like behavior in nonhuman animals.
Effects of phase transions and possible compositional changes on the seismological structure near 650 km depth

If the lower mantle is enriched in Fe ± Si relative to the upper mantle, the compositional boundary is expected to be an interface with a density jump of ∼5 (±2)% and with depth varying laterally by >100–300 km, but with changes in seismic velocities that are nearly unobservable: ∼0 to −1.0 (± 2.5)% discontinuities in compressional (VP) and shear (VS) wave velocities. In contrast, the polymorphic transformation of transition-zone minerals to the perovskite-bearing assemblage of the lower mantle is estimated to produce a jump of ∼5–10 percent in density, VP and VS near 650 km depth, and the depth of the seismological discontinuity due to the phase transition is relatively independent (<50–150 km variation) of temperature or horizontal position. If present, a compositional boundary is not in general expected to occur at the identical depth (∼650 km) as the phase transition to the perovskitebearing assemblage, although the depths of the two may be linked.
Update on Soil CO2 Flux Monitoring at the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project, USA☆

Abstract The Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP) is a large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Decatur, Illinois, USA demonstrating storage of one million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in a deep saline reservoir. The IBDP Monitoring, Verification, and Accounting (MVA) program at the 0.65 km 2 study site includes a soil CO 2 flux monitoring network, measured weekly during the growing season since 2009 and a high-frequency flux and atmospheric CO 2 monitoring station. Over 11,000 flux measurements have been collected from the point network and over 50,000 flux measurements have been collected at a higher frequency from a LI-COR Biosciences® LI-8150 multiplexer. No anomalies related to CO 2 injection were identified. We also examined site-specific biophysical relationships among soil CO 2 flux, soil temperature, and soil moisture, and assessed the flux data to better characterize flux variability. This extensive dataset provides an opportunity to characterize site-wide flux variations in detail, and provides insights into ways t at measured fluxes could be evaluated to identify atypical variations.
Evolutionary diffusion: internal and external methods used to acquire encompassing, complementary, and incremental technological changes in the lithotripsy industry

This study links theories concerning methods that firms use to acquire technology with theories concerning types of technological change. We place particular emphasis on interorganizational relationships. We predict that firms will often acquire know-how needed for encompassing technological change through equity-based arrangements with other organizations, complementary technological changes through nonequity interorganizational arrangements, and incremental changes through internal R&D. Our theory draws on perspectives that emphasize the need to develop new competencies within a business organization and to protect the value of existing competencies. Our empirical analysis examines methods of technology acquisition that firms have used in the commercialization of medical lithotripters, which are devices that fragment stones in the kidney and gall bladder. The analysis contributes to a better understanding of how technology acquisition methods vary with the manner in which technological change relates to a firm’s existing capabilities. The study also helps develop our understanding of the evolutionary processes by which capabilities diffuse through an industry.© 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Contamination Effects Model For The Stratospheric Aerosol And Gas Experiment II Spaceflight Instrument

An optical model for contamination effects has been developed for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II/Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (SAGE II/ERBS) instrument. This model describes throughput efficiency and response characteristics as a function of molecular contamination thick-ness for indexes of refraction representative of Shuttle/ERBS/SAGE II contam-inants at seven spectral wavelengths between 0.385 and 1.02 Am. Con-tamination effects are treated as thin-film coatings on selected optical elements that cause changes in those elements' reflection/transmission/absorption characteristics. SAGE/Applications Explorer Mission (AEM) in-orbit perfor-mance data were used to estimate the optical constants for the contaminants. SAGE and SAGE II are radiometers that spatially scan the sun through the earth's atmosphere with a narrow field of view in spectral intervals from visible to the near-infrared.
Binocular depth mixture.

Abstract Two vertical luminous lines in the same direction, one in front and the other an equal disparity behind a fixation point, are perceived as two lines side by side at the same depth. Their perceived depth is a continuous function of the relative luminance of the two stimulus lines. As one stimulus line is made dimmer, depth approaches the position of the other line. The effect is found with disparities as large as ±2° arc. This result indicates that pathways carrying stereo depth information are at least this broadly tuned.
Ligand binding and protein dynamics in lactate dehydrogenase.

Recent experimental studies suggest that lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) binds its substrate via the formation of a LDH/NADH·substrate encounter complex through a select-fit mechanism, whereby only a minority population of LDH/NADH is binding-competent. In this study, we perform molecular dynamics calculations to explore the variations in structure accessible to the binary complex with a focus on identifying structures that seem likely to be binding-competent and which are in accord with the known experimental characterization of forming binding-competent species. We find that LDH/NADH samples quite a range of protein conformations within our 2.148 ns calculations, some of which yield quite facile access of solvent to the active site. The results suggest that the mobile loop of LDH is perhaps just partially open in these conformations and that multiple open conformations, yielding multiple binding pathways, are likely. These open conformations do not require large-scale unfolding/melting of the binary complex. Rather, open versus closed conformations are due to subtle protein and water rearrangements. Nevertheless, the large heat capacity change observed between binding-competent and binding-incompetent can be explained by changes in solvation and an internal rearrangement of hydrogen bonds. We speculate that such a strategy for binding may be necessary to get a ligand efficiently to a binding pocket that is located fairly deep within the protein's interior.
Euler’s definition of the derivative

Euler’s method of defining the derivative of a function is not a failed effort to describe a limit. Rather, it calls for rewriting the difference quotient in a way that remains meaningful when the denominator is zero. I was once sitting next to a Lebanese friend at a concert of chamber music in which the ensemble included a lute. “That’s an oud she has,” he said, indicating the lutist, “but she doesn’t know how to play it!” He was joking. He knew perfectly well that the lute is closely related to a Middle Eastern instrument called the oud, and he knew perfectly well that in Europe it is used to play a very different type of music. I am reminded of his joke when I read descriptions by present-day mathematicians of Euler’s conception of the derivative. “He’s talking about a limit,” they say, “but he doesn’t know how to do it!” Euler’s undisputed greatness entitles him to a fair hearing when modern writers tell us that he had a weak grasp of the fundamental notions of the calculus and that it was only after Cauchy, Weierstrass, and others formulated the limit concept in terms of epsilon and delta that calculus became well founded. He set “geometric rigor” as his goal, and we should not readily believe that he faked his way through calculus with a poor grasp of its basic concepts and a casual attitude toward mathematical reasoning. Received by the editors January 26, 2007. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 01A50; Secondary 01-01, 03-03.
Discriminating alcoholic and nonalcoholic patients with conventional and factored MMPI scales: A comparison

The factor scales were significantly more accurate than the conventional clinical scales in discriminating alcoholic from nonalcoholic patients. Whereas no single clinical scale emerged as highly important to the discrimination, Factor III emerged as very important to it. The possibility that Factor III represents an "alcoholic" factor was raised. From this study, it appears that the factor scales represent a more refined scoring version of the MMPI item pool.
Abstract 5320: Novel computational methods reveal subtle clonal mosaicism

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Recent genome-wide surveys have revealed age-related genetic mosaicism and established a link between clonal mosaicism and risk of hematological and solid-tumor cancers (Laurie et al, 2012, Nat Genet, 44:642; Jacobs et al, 2012, Nat Genet, 44:651; Forsberg et al, 2012, AJHG, 90:217). Existing methods to identify chromosomal aberrations leading to mosaic allelic imbalance (AI) rely on the detection of increased variance of the estimated within-sample allele frequencies at heterozygous loci, ignoring the dependence among allele frequencies in regions of an AI-inducing event, such as a deletion or copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity (LOH), expected from the loss or gain of a chunk of an inherited chromosome. As a result, they break down when the proportion of DNA from an aberrant source is below 10-15%. Here we present a suite of new methods (hapLOH, J-LOH, hapLOHseq) that harness the important information contained in the germline haplotypes to help distinguish signal from noise, accommodate multiple samples of different tumor purities (to deconvolute aberration type and tumor purity) and infer co-occurrence of aberrations in heterogeneous mixtures. For example, our initial method, hapLOH (Vattathil & Scheet, 2013, Gen Res 23:152), can identify 10 Mb regions with just 4% of the signal coming from the tumor genome in data simulated from a series of experiments from a 317K SNP microarray. Application of hapLOH to data analyzed by Laurie et al (2012) indicates that we have substantially greater sensitivity to detect clonal mosaicism, particularly events harbored in a small proportion of cells (< 5-10%). We identify more than twice as many mosaic events, demonstrating the potential role for our methods to aid in profiling cancer risk. Our suite of tools is designed for both microarray and next-generation sequencing data and is available at scheet.org. Citation Format: Paul Scheet, Rui Xia, F. Anthony San Lucas, Christina Hahn, Jerry Fowler, Selina Vattathil. Novel computational methods reveal subtle clonal mosaicism. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5320. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5320
Chemosensory responses of microorganisms: Asymmetric diffusion as the limit of a biased random walk

Abstract A macroscopic asymmetric diffusion equation to model the responses of microbial populations to chemical attractants and repellents is derived from a biased random walk model for the motion of individual cells. The equation is different from the well-known Keller-Segel equation which contains a Fickian diffusion term. The implications of this difference for selected problems of biological interest are considered. In particular the aggregation of a population of microorganisms in a region of high concentration of attractant is discussed. Some similarities and limitations of both models are noted.
Parallel search using transformation-ordering Lterative-Deepening-A*

Iterative-Deepening-A (IDA*) is an optimal search technique which is useful for large search spaces, because it requires no intermediate state storage. We show how Transformation-Ordering Iterative-Deepening-A* (TOIDA*) improves the performance of IDA* by dynamically modifying the node expansion order based on results from previous cost limits. We then describe a window parallel implementation of TOIDA* on a Hypercube, and present empirical evidence that the parallel implementation dramatically reduces time spent in search. Finally, we analyze the best and worst case results of sequential and parallel TOIDA*, and compare the results with those of standard IDA* search. Empirical and analytical results show that TOIDA* can provide significant improvements in search speed over IDA* with no penalty in storage requirements, and parallel TOIDA* offers substantial cost reduction over sequential TOIDA*, though at the cost of optimality. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Unsteady overland sedimentation

Abstract Sediment flux to fluid flow in a rill is represented with physically based models for simultaneous sediment entrainment (detachment), deposition (settlement) and lateral inflow, and is shown to be an improvement over existing concepts for describing low sediment concentrations. Unsteady flow and sedimentation in overland rills are then described by continuity equations and approximations for flow, entrainment and transport capacity. The equations are reduced, for an assumed rill pattern on an overland plot, to one-dimensional equations of motion which do not utilize sheet flow approximations. The method of characteristics' solution to these equations for uniform rainfall excess yields both the hydrograph (rising limb and uniform crest) and a three-part sediment concentration graph, with a predicted time lag between peaks of these graphs. The resulting model allows substitution of reasonable parameter values as opposed to the requirements of conventional sheet flow approximations. Sediment concentration is given by steady-uniform transport capacity equations only when the flow is steady-uniform (no lateral inflow) over infinite channel length (or recirculating flume) or when the steady-uniform transport capacity concentration in the rill is equal to the lateral inflow concentration. It then appears that rill topographies develop to the point where the latter condition is satisfied. Boundary conditions on the first derivative of sediment concentration with time suggest constraints on the form of the equations for fluid flow, entrainment, and transport capacity which agree well with empirical evidence. General observations on the solution are made which outline the expected nature of overland sedimentation.
Vaccination of American bison against Pasteurella multocida serotype 2 infection (Hemorrhagic septicemia).

Following an epizootic of septicemic pasteurellosis in a herd of American bison in 1965, calves have been vaccinated each fall. There have been no further signs of the disease. Results of bacteriological and serological studies on this herd are reported. Pasteurella multocida and Pasteurella haemolytica were not isolated from nasal cavities. Antibodies against P. multocida serotypes 1 (pronghorn strain), 2 (vaccine strain), and 4 (black bear strain) were detected in serum samples from some bison. No antibodies were detected against serotype 3, a bovine strain originally isolated from the lung of a calf. All serum samples contained antibodies against parainfluenza-3 virus.
Following the Drinking Gourd: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Curriculum Development Through the Arts

AbstractThis article describes the experiences of three teachers who engaged in culturally relevant pedagogy and an arts curriculum designed to enhance student understanding of critical events in history. Their students attended a professional dance production based on the history of the Underground Railroad and then were exposed to a curriculum guide developed with the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy in mind. Teachers reported that their students’ comprehension of important themes improved, and that the arts experience was deeply beneficial.
Higher-order dimensions in concept identification'

In a complex concept identification task, solvers and nonsolvers tended to diverge in overall but not in trial-by-trial changes of hypothesis. Neither error frequency nor specific content of feedback was a major factor in concept attainment. The results suggest that Ss sample from subsets of hypotheses structured by higher-order dimensions.
Les interventions endovasculaires diminuent le nombre de pontages des membres inférieurs sans augmenter le taux d'amputations majeures

La progression des lesions arterielles peripheriques peut aboutir a des amputations majeures. Nous avons cherche a savoir si l'augmentation des angioplasties endovasculaires et du stenting chez les patients en ischemie critique influence le nombre d'amputations majeures. Nous avons retrospectivement revu les effets de la realisation plus frequente d'interventions endovasculaires pendant les annees 2003-2006 au Veterans Affairs Medical Center de Long Beach, Californie. Pendant cet intervalle l'angioplastie est devenue le traitement de choix des lesions vasculaires sous-inguinales. Les pontages etaient reserves aux patients en ischemie critique avec des lesions etendues qui ne pouvaient etre traitees par angioplastie. Les patients avaient en moyenne 68 ± 1 ans, et 96% etaient des hommes. Ils etaient des fumeurs actifs dans 45% des cas, et 43% etaient diabetiques. Il n'y a eu aucun deces a 30 jours dans les deux groupes au cours des 4 annees. Le nombre d'amputations de jambe, de cuisse, et trans-metatarsiennes pendant les exercices budgetaires 2003, 2004, 2005, et 2006 etaient respectivement de 42, 50, 62, et 41. Parallelement, il y a eu une reduction des pontages femoro-poplites ou jambiers avec 37, 43, 28, et 14 procedures en 2003, 2004, 2005, et 2006. Les nombres d'angioplasties avec stenting etaient de 12, 12, 24, et 59 au cours des memes periodes. Les patients ayant un pontage femoro-distal avaient plus de chances d'etre amputes que ceux ayant une angioplastie (rapport de risque = 4,2, intervalle de confiance a 95% 1,6-11,5) apres au moins 1 an de suivi, probablement parce que ces patients avaient une maladie plus grave. L'augmentation de frequence de l'angioplastie pour traiter les lesions sous-inguinales n'a pas augmente le nombre d'amputations majeures des membres inferieurs dans notre population stable de patients.
Air transportation - Energy cost-effective or not

Current technology aircraft have energy intensities comparable to ground transport modes. Operational changes can further improve their relative energy performance. Wide-body aircraft have already significantly improved fleet energy intensity and will continue to do so as they become more predominant. This is reflected in the 1972 fleet-wide energy intensity data which show both the domestic and international carriers at the lowest jet aircraft intensity levels ever attained. Technological improvements decreased the energy requirements of wide-body aircraft while also significantly reducing aircraft noise and pollution emission levels. Load factor is the most significant parameter affecting existing aircraft energy intensity and therefore should be raised. Fuel scarcity is now forcing such a change.
Fabrication of a prosthesis for guiding and fixing radioactive sources in treatment of cancer of the floor of the mouth

Abstract The rapid implantation in a desired geometric arrangement and removal of the radioactive sources used for treating cancer of the floor of the mouth are made possible by making a prosthesis that is anchored to the remaining lower teeth.
Mobility in a strongly coupled dusty plasma

A dusty plasma is a four-component mixture of micron-size particles of solid matter, ions, electrons, and neutral gas. The solid particles, or “dust,” are typically polymer microspheres of a precise size. They become highly charged by collecting more electrons than ions, so that they interact among themselves with large Coulomb potentials. They can act as a “strongly coupled plasma,” meaning that their Coulomb interparticle potentials greatly exceed their thermal kinetic energies. For this reason, the collection of dust particles can act cooperatively like molecules in a liquid.
Heartland community: Economic restructuring and the management of small town identity in the central U.S.

The representation of small‐town United States as a heartland of traditional values is a perennial image in national political rhetoric, bearing a dynamic relation to locally generated ways of portraying rural life. This paper examines transformations in the ways small‐town solidarity and local identity were promoted and represented by chambers of commerce in North Dakota communities undergoing rapid industrial expansion. Prior to boom development, “boosters” represented small‐town communities in locally significant terms, but as economic restructuring reconfigured the character of community life, identity politics were relocated within an insider/outsider conflict that reshaped the significance of localness and rurality. Portrayals of community reinvented for a new audience invoked elements of the nationally familar heartland myth, but lost much of their integrative function. This account of the processes of social change and changes in social representations reveals linkages between local and national l...
Cryptococcal infection presenting as cellulitis in a renal transplant recipient

Opportunistic infections of skin and soft tissue represent a rare but serious complication following solid organ transplantation. We report a case of severe soft tissue infection caused by Cryptococcus neoformans in a renal transplant recipient. Physicians need to consider the possibility of opportunistic pathogens when managing infections in immunocompromised hosts, especially when symptoms persist despite seemingly appropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy. Tissue sampling for histological and microbiological evaluation is usually necessary to establish a diagnosis.
Application of the Gibbs-Bogoliubov-Feynman inequality in mean field calculations for Markov random fields

Recently, there has been growing interest in the use of mean field theory (MFT) in Markov random field (MRF) model-based estimation problems. In many image processing and computer vision applications, the MFT approach can provide comparable performance to that of the simulated annealing, but requires much less computational effort and has easy hardware implementation. The Gibbs-Bogoliubov-Feynman inequality from statistical mechanics provides a general, systematic, and optimal approach for deriving mean field approximations. In this paper, this approach is applied to two important classes of MRF's, the compound Gauss-Markov model and the vector Ising model. The results obtained are compared and related to other methods of deriving mean field equations. Experimental results are also provided to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Morphological Investigation of Solute Particles Trapped from an Air-Acetylene Flame

A uniform-droplet generator has been employed to produce individual desolvated KCl particles in a laminar air-acetylene flame. The resulting particles were collected on various surfaces and at different points in their vaporization history. Morphological studies were then conducted on the trapped particles in order to better characterize the structural changes which occur during desolvation and vaporization. Particles collected early in their vaporization exhibited strong crystalline structure characteristic of KCl, whereas particles gathered later in their volatilization history showed evidence of fusion and, in some cases, the formation of hollow spheres. In addition to the morphological studies, the various collection surfaces and the collection technique itself were assessed. Direct collection on scanning-electron microscopy specimen stubs was judged to be best.
Effect of Fenfluramine Challenge on Cocaine Craving in Addicted Male Users

The authors studied the effects of a challenging dose of the serotonin (5-HT)-releaser/reuptake inhibitor d,l-fenfluramine (FEN) on spontaneous cocaine craving in a group of cocaineaddicted users in order to evaluate the involvement of serotonergic pathways in the modulation of craving for cocaine. Nineteen cocaine-dependent male inpatients received 60 mg of FEN or placebo (double-blind). Data were compared with those obtained in a previous study of another serotonergic probe, the partial postsynaptic agonist meta-chlorophenyl-piperazine (m-CPP). FEN significantly reduced cocaine craving and increased cortisol and prolactin when compared with placebo. When the responses to the two drugs were compared, there were no differences in the cortisol and prolactin rises, but m-CPP was a more potent inhibitor of cocaine craving than FEN. These data suggest that 5-HT releasers/reuptake inhibitors and serotonergic agents with greater postsynaptic activity should be further examined.
Storage of 7 +/- 2 short-term memories in oscillatory subcycles

Psychophysical measurements indicate that human subjects can store approximately seven short-term memories. Physiological studies suggest that short-term memories are stored by patterns of neuronal activity. Here it is shown that activity patterns associated with multiple memories can be stored in a single neural network that exhibits nested oscillations similar to those recorded from the brain. Each memory is stored in a different high-frequency ("40 hertz") subcycle of a low-frequency oscillation. Memory patterns repeat on each low-frequency (5 to 12 hertz) oscillation, a repetition that relies on activity-dependent changes in membrane excitability rather than reverberatory circuits. This work suggests that brain oscillations are a timing mechanism for controlling the serial processing of short-term memories.
An implicit method for electromagnetic plasma simulation in two dimensions

Abstract A new method for modeling low-frequency plasma phenomena is presented. The method uses an implicit formulation of the Vlasov-Maxwell equations to relax restrictions on the time-step and mesh spacing so that larger values which correspond to the frequencies and wavelengths of interest can be used. As a result, the range of length and time scales accessible to plasma simulation is increased by orders of magnitude. The algorithm, as embodied in a new code VENUS for electromagnetic plasmas in two dimensions, is described, its stability and accuracy analyzed through linear and nonlinear analysis, and its properties, including suppression of the finite grid instability, illustrated through its application to the Weibel instability.
Enculturation and attitudes toward intimate partner violence and gender roles in an asian Indian population: implications for community-based prevention.

This study examined the relationships among enculturation, attitudes supporting intimate partner violence (IPV-supporting attitudes), and gender role attitudes among one of the largest Asian Indian population groups in the US. Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews with a random sample of Gujarati men and women aged 18–64 in Metropolitan Detroit. Using structural equation modeling, we modeled the effects of three components of enculturation (behavior, values, and community participation) on gender role attitudes and IPV-supporting attitudes among married respondents (N = 373). Analyses also accounted for the effects of respondent age, education, religious service attendance, perceived financial difficulty, and lengths of residence in the US. The second-order, overall construct of enculturation was the strongest predictor of IPV-supporting attitudes (standardized B = 0.61), but not gender role attitudes. Patriarchal gender role attitudes were positively associated with IPV-supporting attitudes (B = 0.49). In addition to the overall effect of the enculturation construct, two of the components of enculturation had specific effects. “Enculturation-values” had a specific positive indirect association with IPV-supporting attitudes, through its relationship with patriarchal gender role attitudes. However, “enculturation-community participation” was negatively associated with IPV-supporting attitudes, suggesting the importance of community-based prevention of IPV among this immigrant population group.
Effects of parboiling and decortication on the nutritional value of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.).

Abstract Raw and parboiled sorghum and pearl millet grains were decorticated to remove 17·5% of their weight. Decortication resulted in the loss of protein, insoluble dietary fiber, fat, ash, lysine and other amino acids. Parboiled grains were decorticated more effectively, as shown by higher losses of protein, fat and ash. Parboiled decorticated kernels contained slightly less lysine than raw kernels decorticated to the same extent. Weanling rats fed whole, normal or high-lysine (P721) sorghums grew slightly better than counterparts fed raw-decorticated or parboiled-decorticated diets. Pearl millet and P721, a high-lysine sorghum cultivar, contained more lysine, and consequently sustained better rat growth (PER), than normal sorghum. Rats fed pearl millet and P721 sorghum consumed, absorbed and retained more nitrogen (N) than counterparts fed normal sorghum. Decortication of raw and parboiled kernels significantly increased both apparent protein and dry-matter digestibilities. Only slight differences in chemical composition and nutritional value existed between parboiled and raw grains decorticated to the same extent.
A Model of Cytokine Shedding Induced by Low Doses of Gamma Radiation

Abstract Miller, J. H., Zheng, F., Jin, S., Opresko, L. K., Wiley, H. S. and Resat, H. A Model of Cytokine Shedding Induced by Low Doses of Gamma Radiation. Radiat. Res. 163, 337– 342 (2005). A model for sustained shedding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in response to low doses of gamma radiation was developed based on a time delay in the feedback from mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation to metalloprotease activity in an autocrine signaling process. We determined the kinetic parameters of our model using the data available for MAPK activation by γ irradiation in the 1–2-Gy dose range and then showed that predictions of the model were consistent with experimental results for the kinetics of EGF shedding into the growth medium after exposure of human mammary epithelial cells to 1–5 cGy of γ radiation in the presence of antibodies that block ligand binding to EGF receptors. The model allowed us to estimate the rate of radiation-induced cytokine release per cell from measurements of EGF conce...
Preferred Latitudes of the Intertropical Convergence Zone

The latitude preference of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is examined on the basis of observations, theory, and a modeling analysis. Observations show that convection is enhanced at latitudes of about 4 deg to 10 deg relative to the equator, even in regions where the sea surface temperature (SST) is maximum on the equator. Both linear shallow-water theory and a moist primitive equation model suggest a new explanation for the off-equatorial latitude preference of the ITCZ that requires neither the existence of zonally propagating disturbances nor an off-equatorial maximum in SST. The shallow-water theory indicates that a finite-width, zonally oriented, midtropospheric heat source (i.e., an ITCZ) produces the greatest local low-level convergence when placed a finite distance away from the equator. This result suggests that an ITCZ is most likely to be supported via low-level convergence of moist energy when located at these "preferred" latitudes away from the equator. For a plausible range of heating widths and damping parameters, the theoretically predicted latitude is approximately equal to the observed position (s) of the ITCZ (s). Analysis with an axially symmetric, moist, primitive equation model indicates that when the latent heating field is allowed to be determined internally, a positive feedback develops between the midtropospheric latent heating and the low-level convergence, with the effect of enhancing the organization of convection at latitudes of about 4 deg to 12 deg. Numerical experiments show that (1) two peaks in convective precipitation develop straddling the equator when the SST maximum is located on the equator; (2) steady ITCZ-like structures form only when the SST maximum is located away from the equator; and (3) peaks in convection can develop away from the maximum in SST, with a particular preference for latitudes of about 4 deg to 12 deg, even in the ('cold') hemisphere without the SST maximum. The relationship between this mechanism and earlier theories is discussed, as are implications for the coupled ocean-atmosphere system and the roles played by midlevel latent heating and SST gradients in forcing the low-level atmospheric circulation in the tropics.
Computer assisted data collection for stereology: rationale and description of point counting stereology (PCS) software.

The paper describes microcomputer software for point counting stereology. Stereology includes a collection of statistical methods that quantify the images of light and transmission electron microscopy. The methods use test grids placed over images to collect raw data, which includes counts of points, intersections, transections, and profiles. In turn, the counts are included in stereological equations that give estimates of compartmental volumes, surfaces, lengths, or numbers. These parameters describe the composition of a structure in three-dimensional space. The PCS (point counting stereology) System Software III serves as a data collection, storage, and management tool. Users set up point counting protocols without programming, enter data by pressing predefined function (MS-DOS) or alphabetic keys (UNIX), store data in files, select files for analysis, and calculate results as stereological densities. The latest version of the PCS software includes a new user interface and is designed as a research “front end” that can feed data either into the calculation tools of a stereology tutorial (Bolender, 1992, this issue) or into the analysis routines of quantitative morphology databases (Bolender and Bluhm, 1992). © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Survival characteristics of Salmonella enterica serovar Newport in the dairy farm environment.

Abstract Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica serovar Newport ( S . Newport) has established a reservoir in dairy cattle. Infected herds suffer significant mortality in both adult and young animals, posing a considerable economic loss to producers. Land application of manure from infected animals may further spread the pathogen into the agroecosystem, causing public health concerns. Previous work by our group demonstrated that the organism persisted in manure and manured soil for 6 to 10 mo under laboratory conditions. In the present study, we determined the survival characteristics of MDR S . Newport in a dairy lagoon, compost pile, and soil of a grass field under natural conditions using environmental sentinel chambers with an initial concentration of S . Newport around 7 log 10 per gram. In the static compost pile at 64°C, S . Newport was eliminated within 18h. In the dairy effluent lagoon, the pathogen survived for >137 d, whereas in the field soil, the organisms persisted for over 276 d. The survival of MDR S . Newport in both the lagoon and field soil followed a pattern of (1) an increase or plateau for a few days, (2) log-linear decline for 6 to 13 wk, and (3) a long tailing phase at low and variable concentration for 4 to 9 mo. Log reduction times (days required for 90% decrease in concentration) based on the log-linear decline phase were 7 d in the lagoon and 14 to 20 d in the soil. Conditions leading to faster inactivation during the initial phase do not necessarily translate into a quicker elimination of the pathogen. Regression models of the log-linear phase may be inaccurate for estimating complete pathogen elimination.
The Human SNF5/INI1 Protein Facilitates the Function of the Growth Arrest and DNA Damage-inducible Protein (GADD34) and Modulates GADD34-bound Protein Phosphatase-1 Activity

Abstract The growth arrest andDNA damage-inducible protein (GADD34) mediates growth arrest and apoptosis in response to DNA damage, negative growth signals, and protein malfolding. GADD34 binds to protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) and can attenuate translational elongation of key transcriptional factors through dephosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor-2α. We reported previously that the human trithorax leukemia fusion protein (HRX) can bind to GADD34 and abrogate GADD34-mediated apoptosis in response to UV irradiation. We found that hSNF5/INI1, a component of the hSWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, also binds to GADD34 and can coexist with GADD34 and HRX fusion proteins as a trimolecular complexesin vivo. In the present report, we demonstrate that hSNF5/INI1 binds to GADD34 in part through the PP1 docking site within a domain homologous to herpes simplex virus-1 ICP34.5. We found that hSNF5/INI1 can bind PP1 independently and weakly stimulate its phosphatase activity in solution and in complex with GADD34. hSNF5/INI1 and PP1 do not compete for binding to GADD34 but rather form a stable heterotrimeric complex with GADD34. We also show that Epstein-Barr nuclear protein 2, which binds hSNF5/INI1, can disrupt hSNF5/INI1 binding to GADD34 and partially reverse the GADD34-mediated growth suppression function in Ha-ras expressing HIH-3T3 (3T3-ras) cells. These results implicate hSNF5/INI1 in the function of GADD34 and suggest that hSNF5/INI1 may regulate PP1 activity in vivo.
The effect of the onset of stimuli on reactivity in the rat

Forty rats, maintained on either ad lib food and water or on 22-h food deprivation, were tested in a photobeam cage under conditions of no specific external stimulation or where tone, light, or the odor of amyl acetate or food were presented. The results indicated that the onset of all stimuli resulted in an increase in activity counts for all groups, but the increment in activity varied for the different stimuli. The greatest increase in activity for the ad lib group was to the light stimulus; for the food-deprived group, it was to the food-odor stimulus.
A condensation model for calculating pressure gradients in condensate wells

Abstract A method is presented to calculate pressure traverses in a condensate well utilizing existing techniques for two-phase flow of fluids in pipes. Existing correlations have been developed for black oil flow where gas evolves from the oil as pressure and temperature are reduced. In the case of condensate flow, a liquid evolves as pressure and temperature are reduced, thereby making the existing correlations inapplicable. The Peng-Robinson equation of state is used to model the gas/condensate fluid and predict the gas/liquid ratio at any pressure and temperature as a traverse is calculated for the depth of the flowing well. The existing two-phase flow correlations for black oil flow are used in this work to predict gas/liquid properties such as liquid holdup, friction factors, and flow regimes. This model is then applied to several wells for which extensive data was taken, including PVT properties and pressure measurements.
Renal Mass Biopsy in the Era of Surgical Alternatives

Until recently, most solid renal masses identified on imaging were presumed to be renal cell carcinomas and were treated with surgical resection. New and improved treatment modalities and advances on imaging and histological diagnostic techniques have led to a change in this paradigm. Imaging-guided biopsy is now an established step in the management of many patients with newly diagnosed renal masses. In this article, we describe a decision-making protocol to help selecting patients who should or should not undergo biopsy.
Morphine antagonises prostaglandin E1- mediated inhibition of human platelet aggregation.

COLLIER and Roy1 have proposed that in morphine-sensitive neurones the receptor site may be adenyl cyclase, which is physiologically stimulated by prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and pharmacologically blocked by opiates. An hypothesis has been put forward that morphine exerts its analgesic effect by inhibiting the stimulation by PGE1 of cyclic AMP formation in appropriate neurones2, whereas acute side effects of opiates may be caused by stimulation of prostaglandin biosynthesis3.
Analysis and design of supercontinuum pulse generation in a single-mode optical fiber

We present an analysis and describe the design of supercontinuum (SC) pulse generation in a single-mode optical fiber. SC generation with a dispersion-decreasing fiber with a convex dispersion profile is contrasted with other approaches to obtaining conditions for generating a flat, broadened spectrum. We present general criteria for SC generation by introducing normalized parameters that allow the shape of the SC spectrum to be invariant for several SC-generating fibers and optical pump pulses. Based on these results, we designed a SC fiber and experimentally generated SC pulses that were in good agreement with theory.
Intravenous infusion of phage-displayed antibody library in human cancer patients: enrichment and cancer-specificity of tumor-homing phage-antibodies

Phage display is a powerful method for target discovery and selection of ligands for cancer treatment and diagnosis. Our goal was to select tumor-binding antibodies in cancer patients. Eligibility criteria included absence of preexisting anti-phage-antibodies and a Stage IV cancer status. All patients were intravenously administered 1 × 10(11) TUs/kg of an scFv library 1 to 4 h before surgical resection of their tumors. No significant adverse events related to the phage library infusion were observed. Phage were successfully recovered from all tumors. Individual clones from each patient were assessed for binding to the tumor from which clones were recovered. Multiple tumor-binding phage-antibodies were identified. Soluble scFv antibodies were produced from the phage clones showing higher tumor binding. The tumor-homing phage-antibodies and derived soluble scFvs were found to bind varying numbers (0-5) of 8 tested normal human tissues (breast, cervix, colon, kidney, liver, spleen, skin, and uterus). The clones that showed high tumor-specificity were found to bind corresponding tumors from other patients also. Clone enrichment was observed based on tumor binding and DNA sequence data. Clone sequences of multiple variable regions showed significant matches to certain cancer-related antibodies. One of the clones (07-2,355) that was found to share a 12-amino-acid-long motif with a reported IL-17A antibody was further studied for competitive binding for possible antigen target identification. We conclude that these outcomes support the safety and utility of phage display library panning in cancer patients for ligand selection and target discovery for cancer treatment and diagnosis.
Antimicrobial applications of nanotechnology: methods and literature

The need for novel antibiotics comes from the relatively high incidence of bacterial infection and the growing resistance of bacteria to conventional antibiotics. Consequently, new methods for reducing bacteria activity (and associated infections) are badly needed. Nanotechnology, the use of materials with dimensions on the atomic or molecular scale, has become increasingly utilized for medical applications and is of great interest as an approach to killing or reducing the activity of numerous microorganisms. While some natural antibacterial materials, such as zinc and silver, possess greater antibacterial properties as particle size is reduced into the nanometer regime (due to the increased surface to volume ratio of a given mass of particles), the physical structure of a nanoparticle itself and the way in which it interacts with and penetrates into bacteria appears to also provide unique bactericidal mechanisms. A variety of techniques to evaluate bacteria viability, each with unique advantages and disadvantages, has been established and must be understood in order to determine the effectiveness of nanoparticles (diameter ≤ 100 nm) as antimicrobial agents. In addition to addressing those techniques, a review of select literature and a summary of bacteriostatic and bactericidal mechanisms are covered in this manuscript.
Novel microstructures from severely deformed Al–Ti alloys created by chip formation in machining

We present some consequences of Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) of Al–Ti alloys by chip formation in machining that can enable opportunities for creating novel microstructures. Chips cut from Al-6wt%Ti are composed of a refined dispersion of the fragmented remains of a hitherto coarse Al3Ti embedded in a nanostructured matrix. This multi-phase nanostructured chip material demonstrates considerable resistance to coarsening owing to the thermally stable dispersion of ultra-fine Al3Ti dispersions and thus has promise in structural alloy applications. Furthermore, the Al–Ti machining chips are shown to possess excellent grain refining characteristics, leading to microstructurally refined and homogeneous Al alloy castings. This realization enables a low-cost route for enhancing the efficiency of the grain refiner master alloy systems by exploiting SPD during chip formation.
New mode of universal access and Global Memory net

In this digital era, we have witness the exciting convergence of content, technology, and global collaboration in the development of digital libraries. The mode of universal access for information seeking and knowledge acquisition differs greatly from the traditional ways. From the information resources point of views, the old model of “owning” a collection has given way to “sharing”, and the new emphases have shifted from possessing large “physical libraries” to “virtual libraries” digitally distributed all over the world. “Universal access” has taken on a very different meaning when one has the ability to share invaluable resources through the use of cutting edge technologies. The author has experienced much of these transformations through her own R&D activities—from the creation of interactive videodisc and multimedia CD on the First Emperor of China's terracotta warriors and horses in the 1980s and 1990s to leading a current international digital library project, Global Memory Net (GMNet), supported by the US National Science Foundation. In presenting her vision for linking world digital resources together for universal access, the will share with the audience the latest development of Global Memory Net.
High-speed insulated-gate bipolar transistors fabricated using silicon wafer bonding

A high-speed IGBT fabricated using silicon direct wafer bonding is demonstrated. By controlling the heavily-doped n/sup +/ buffer layer in the device, an on-state voltage drop of 1.4 V at current density of 100 A/cm/sup 2/ and a turn-off fall time less than 100 nanoseconds are achieved.