cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intercepting migraine: results of early therapy with nonspecific and migraine-specific agents.

Migraine is a pervasive neurologic disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of disabling headache. Despite significant morbidity with impact that may be physical, emotional, social, and economic, treatment of these attacks is often delayed. Patients frequently delay therapy until the more severe or “textbook” symptoms arise, often mistaking the earliest stages as representative of “tension” or “sinus” headaches. Clinicians may recommend deferral of treatment until the more severe levels of pain are seen, perhaps in a misguided attempt to conserve pharmaceutical resources. Patients and clinicians seem more comfortable with perspectives of “being sure it’s a migraine” and “not wasting the medication on milder headaches.” Therefore, patients and clinicians must learn the latest lessons in migraine: 1) mild migraine usually progresses to more severe levels if left untreated, 2) early treatment is more effective than delayed treatment, 3) early treatment may result in lower rates of adverse events and headache recurrence, and 4) early treatment is cost effective. As clinicians advocate the early treatment of migraine in its mild phase, evidence to support this recommendation has finally become available. I educate my migraineurs to consider each typical headache to be a version of migraine. Most patients with migraine will experience “little” headaches that they often mislabel as tension, sinus, regular, stress, or normal headaches. Instead of these terms, I have them consider their attacks as “small migraines” and “big migraines,” with the smaller headaches often evolving into the bigger episodes. Given such a foundation, I advise them to treat at the beginning of the headache, perhaps earlier than they would have previously identified it as a migraine. They must capture the attack while it “whispers migraine” instead of delaying until the attack “shouts migraine.” Early treatment of migraine is successful for most patients. However, there are situations in which treatment of the mild phase is not advisable or possible. In patients with frequent or daily migraine, treatment must be reserved for the most disabling attacks. We must advise treatment as soon as the migraine becomes moderate to severe. Certain patients, or certain headaches in some patients, may not progress through a mild phase, perhaps because of rapid escalation or because migraine is already severe upon awakening. Here we encourage migraineurs to treat as soon as possible, often with parenteral formulations of medication. The reaction of the patient (speed of dosing) and the action of the medication (speed of onset of the drug) will ultimately play roles in the successful interception of each attack.
Differential electroencephalographic response to conditioned auditory stimuli in arousal from sleep.

Abstract Six cats with implanted electrodes, classically conditioned to paired sound and shock, demonstrated differential EEG desynchronization on a background of EEG synchrony associated with behavioral sleep. This phenomenon was used to demonstrate auditory discrimination in sleep of (1) sounds of differing quality, (2) tones of differing frequency, (3) mixtures of frequencies presented in reciprocal relationship (4) number of stimuli and (5) subtraction of external stimulation in contrast to addition. The neutral stimuli were seen to enhance EEG synchrony in simple discriminations. The conditioned EEG desynchronization response was seen to occur on many occasions in the absence of any motor manifestation of arousal. Removal of most, but not all cortex implicated in auditory function (AI, AII, and Ep) failed to alter simple discriminations, but impaired the complex ones.
The Sixth Annual International Conference on Urban Health, October 31–November 2, 2007

The online version of the original article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11524-007-9239-6.
A primate restraint and handling system for auditory research

A set of devices is described that enables daily handling and restraint of large primates. The animals live in cages and wear a special collar that fits into a modified primate restraining chair. A chain and pole arrangement simplifies the daily chairing procedure. A method of head restraint and earphone mounting is also described.
Solving variational inequalities in Banach spaces

In this paper, we study the existence of solutions of variational inequalities and complementarity problems in a reflexive, strictly convex and smooth Banach space by using the generalized projection operator πK:B*→K, where B is a reflexive, strictly convex and smooth Banach space with the dual space B* and K is a nonempty, closed and convex subset of B.
Mid‐Wisconsin seasonal temperatures reconstructed from fossil beetle assemblages in eastern North America: comparisons with other proxy records from the Northern Hemisphere

Mutual climatic range (MCR) analysis was applied to 15 North American beetle assemblages spanning the interval from > 52 000 to 17 200 yr BP, bracketing a Mid-Wisconsin interstadial interval. The analyses yielded estimates of mean July (TMAX) and mean January (TMIN) temperatures. The oldest assemblage (> 52 ka) yielded TMAX values 7.5–8°C lower than present and TMIN values 15–18°C lower than present. A Mid-Wisconsin interstadial warming dating from 43.5–39 ka was rapid and intense. At the peak of the warming event, about 42 ka, TMAX values were only 1–2°C lower than modern. This level of amelioration apparently lasted only about 2000–3000 yr. By 23.7 ka, TMAX values declined to 11.5–10°C lower than modern, but another, small-scale amelioration is indicated by assemblages dating from 20.5 to 19.7 ka. The interstadial event recorded from the site at Titusville, Pennsylvania closely matches the timing and intensity of the climate change estimated from British beetle faunas in the Upton Warren interstadial. Another warm interval (ca. 31–32.5 ka) has been documented from fossil beetle assemblages in Europe and North America. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A compressible high-order unstructured spectral difference code for stratified convection in rotating spherical shells

We present a novel and powerful Compressible High-ORder Unstructured Spectral-difference (CHORUS) code for simulating thermal convection and related fluid dynamics in the interiors of stars and planets. The computational geometries are treated as rotating spherical shells filled with stratified gas. The hydrodynamic equations are discretized by a robust and efficient high-order Spectral Difference Method (SDM) on unstructured meshes. The computational stencil of the spectral difference method is compact and advantageous for parallel processing. CHORUS demonstrates excellent parallel performance for all test cases reported in this paper, scaling up to 12?000 cores on the Yellowstone High-Performance Computing cluster at NCAR. The code is verified by defining two benchmark cases for global convection in Jupiter and the Sun. CHORUS results are compared with results from the ASH code and good agreement is found. The CHORUS code creates new opportunities for simulating such varied phenomena as multi-scale solar convection, core convection, and convection in rapidly-rotating, oblate stars.
A survey of intraspecific predation within the class Mammalia

The occurrence of cannibalism in mammals was studied during a general review of cannibalism (Polis, 1981). In total, there were 146 references documenting intraspecific predation in 75 species of mammals distributed between seven orders. Of these references, 138 refer to cannibalism whereas eight studies refer to intraspecific killing unaccompanied by cannibalism. Of the papers that specified the identity of both the predator and the prey, approximately 80% referred to infanticide (including cannibalism). It appears that infanticide often functions as part of a reproductive strategy. Juveniles and adults are occasional intraspecific prey for some species of Insectivora, Chiroptera, Primates, Lagomorpha, Rodentia, Carnivora, and Artio-dactyla. Cannibalism was best documented for the carnivores, rodents and primates. In general, cannibalism often occurs during normal predatory activities and is a function of low food availability, environmental stress, and a high density of conspecifics.
Regulation of Hexokinase II Gene Expression by Glucose Flux in Skeletal Muscle

The in vivo studies of transcriptional regulation by glucose, in general, have yielded ambiguous interpretations due to the closed loop relationship between insulin and glucose. Insulin cannot be held as a constant since elevated glucose levels will elicit a corresponding rise in insulin and current animal models of insulinopenia are associated with a plethora of counter-regulatory hormone responses. One potential solution to increase intracellular glucose flux without a further increase in insulin was achieved by transgenic overexpression of the insulin-sensitive glucose transporter, GLUT4, in specific skeletal muscles (previously described in Tsao, T.-S., Burcelin, R., Katz, E. B., Huang, L., and Charron, M. J. (1996) Diabetes 45, 28–36). Using these MLC-GLUT4 transgenic mice as a model, we investigated the effects of increased glucose flux on hexokinase II (HK II) gene expression in skeletal muscle. Under conditions where blood glucose levels were normal and insulin levels decreased by 36%, HK II mRNA level was reduced in non-GLUT4-overexpressing tissues (i.e. heart and adipose tissue) of 2–4-month-old male MLC-GLUT4 transgenic mice. This reduction in HK II mRNA was prevented in skeletal muscle, where overexpression of GLUT4 caused a 2.5-fold increase in basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. The levels of HK II mRNA in heart, muscle, and adipose tissue are paralleled by HK II enzymatic activity. In conclusion: 1) due to relative mild insulinopenia, HK II expression is decreased in non-GLUT4-overexpressing tissues of MLC-GLUT4 mice compared to age/sex-matched controls, and 2) GLUT4-mediated increase in cellular glucose flux can prevent the decrease in HK II expression (in GLUT4-overexpressing tissues) as a result of relative mild insulinopenia. Indeed, during the process of aging, the return of circulating insulin levels of MLC-GLUT4 mice to normal levels is associated with the normalization of HK II expression in all tissues of MLC-GLUT4 and age/sex-matched control mice. We propose that: 1) glucose flux has an amplifying effect on the ability of insulin to stimulate skeletal muscle HK II gene expression and 2) insulin-dependent glucose flux may be a potential mechanism by which HK II gene expression is regulated by sensitivity to insulin.
Relativistic formulation of correlation theory of electromagnetic fields

The second-order correlation tensors for electromagnetic fields, described relativistically, are introduced. These correlation tensors characterize the correlations which exist between the electromagnetic field vectors at any two world points. With the help of these tensors, generalized energy-momentum tensors are introduced. It is shown that these correlation tensors satisfy certain differential equations and the generalized energy-momentum tensors satisfy certain conservation laws. For stationary and ergodic electromagnetic fields, the results obtained represent the relativistically covariant form of the known correlation theory. Some new invariants for stochastic electromagnetic field are also introduced.
Synthesis of 2,6-disubstituted piperazines by a diastereoselective palladium-catalyzed hydroamination reaction.

A highly diastereoselective intramolecular hydroamination is the key step in a modular synthesis of 2,6-disubstituted piperazines. The requisite hydroamination substrates were prepared in excellent yields by nucleophilic displacement of cyclic sulfamidates derived from amino acids. A variety of alkyl and aryl substituents at the 2-position were tolerated. The stereochemistry of the piperazines was determined to be trans by X-ray crystallography, which also showed the preferred conformation of the 2,6-disubstituted piperazine to be a twist-boat due to A1,3 strain.
Transcripts that associate with the RNA binding protein, DEAD-END (DND1), in embryonic stem (ES) cells

Background The RNA binding protein, DEAD END (DND1), is essential for maintaining viable germ cells in vertebrates. It is also a testicular germ cell tumor susceptibility factor in mice. DND1 has been shown to interact with the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of mRNAs such as P27 and LATS2. Binding of DND1 to the 3'-UTRs of these transcripts blocks the inhibitory function of microRNAs (miRNA) from these transcripts and in this way DND1 helps maintain P27 and LATS2 protein expression. We found that DND1 is also expressed in embryonic stem (ES) cells. Because ES cells share similar gene expression patterns as germ cells, we utilized ES cells to identify additional candidate mRNAs that associate with DND1.
Goals and Trends of Research in Geology and Geography

Summarizing in a few words the essence of the preceding analysis of goals and trends in research in Geology and Geography, we may say that the goal in Geology is a knowledge and understanding of the earth and of its history. In Geography it is a knowledge and understanding of the natural and human environments, to the end that they may best be utilized toward better living in the broadest sense. Trends in research in these sciences that seem not altogether desirable are those toward overorganization of research and overdirection from others than the ones who are to do the work; toward indiscriminate fact-gathering; toward lessening of critical analysis of, and discussion of, papers given at meetings and of the published results; and toward premature publication and excessive volume of publications resulting from the prevailing practice of soliciting papers for scientific meetings. Changes in methods of financing of research resulting from a great decrease in endowment incomes are noted, together with a strong tendency to look toward the Federal Government for the financing of university research, in spite of the obvious dangers to university freedom which such financing involves.
CCFI: Cryptographically Enforced Control Flow Integrity

Control flow integrity (CFI) restricts jumps and branches within a program to prevent attackers from executing arbitrary code in vulnerable programs. However, traditional CFI still offers attackers too much freedom to chose between valid jump targets, as seen in recent attacks. We present a new approach to CFI based on cryptographic message authentication codes (MACs). Our approach, called cryptographic CFI (CCFI), uses MACs to protect control flow elements such as return addresses, function pointers, and vtable pointers. Through dynamic checks, CCFI enables much finer-grained classification of sensitive pointers than previous approaches, thwarting all known attacks and resisting even attackers with arbitrary access to program memory. We implemented CCFI in Clang/LLVM, taking advantage of recently available cryptographic CPU instructions (AES-NI). We evaluate our system on several large software packages (including nginx, Apache and memcache) as well as all their dependencies. The cost of protection ranges from a 3--18% decrease in server request rate. We also expect this overhead to shrink as Intel improves the performance AES-NI.
HTLV-I Tax induces a novel interaction between p65/RelA and p53 that results in inhibition of p53 transcriptional activity.

Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation plays a critical role in oncogenesis by human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type I (HTLV-I), the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), and is indispensable for maintenance of the malignant phenotype. In T lymphocytes, Tax-mediated p53 inhibition is dependent on Tax activation of the NF-κB pathway and is linked to p53 phosphorylation. We now report that blocking NF-κB transcriptional activation in HTLV-I–transformed cells restores p53 activity. Further, using mouse embryo fibroblast (MEF) null cells and antisense oligonucleotides to inhibit expression of NF-κB family members, we demonstrate that the p65 subunit of NF-κB is uniquely involved in p53 inhibition. Coimmunoprecipitation assays demonstrate an interaction between p65 and p53 in HTLV-I–transformed cells. In transient transfection assays, we demonstrate that Tax induces the p53-p65 interaction. Phosphorylation of p53 at serines 15 and 392 is critical for complex formation. Importantly, Tax-mediated p53 inhibition correlates with p65 and p53 interaction. By using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays, we find that in HTLV-I–transformed cells p53 and p65 form a complex on the inactive, p53-responsive murine double minute 2 (MDM2) promoter. Consistent with reduced transcriptional activity, transcription factor IID (TFIID) binding is not observed. These studies identify a unique mechanism for p53 regulation by the p65/RelA subunit of NF-κB.
Field and numerical comparisons of the RIBS floating breakwater

A new concept in floating breakwaters was successfully field-tested offshore Cape Canaveral, FL in May 1999. The Rapidly Installed Breakwater System (RIBS) has a hybrid design of rigid and membrane components, similar to a ‘Venetian blind’, to permit rapid and expedient deployment. The objective of the RIBS is to reduce Sea State 3 (SS3) wave conditions to Sea State 2 for safe vessel operations. This field study was probably one of the most heavily instrumented floating breakwaters ever deployed. Measured wave transmission coefficients and dynamic wave pressures are compared to two different numerical models. This is the first verification of the numerical model WAMIT with field data.
Ultrafast emission spectroscopy of exploding nanoaluminum in Teflon: Observations of aluminum fluoride

Abstract A multifunctional reactive material with Al nanoparticles and TeflonAF oxidizer is studied after laser flash-heating by time-resolved emission spectroscopy. At shorter times the emission is dominated by a broadband continuum peaked at 250 nm, originating from the Al core. At longer times, during an ablation process confined by thick optical windows, in addition to a broadband component, atomic Al emission bands and Al and AlF absorptions are observed. The AlF time dependence suggests that part of the AlF is created in the condensed-phase core and part in the dense plasma associated with confined ablation.
Comment: Experimental Studies of Electroshock Effects on Fish Require In-Water Measurements and Fish Threshold Observations to Achieve Electrofishing Context

Understanding the effects of electrofishing on fish often begins with experimental studies to evaluate various factors involved under controlled conditions. A recent example is a study of the effec...
Phantoms in the assay tube: heterophile antibody interferences in serum thyroglobulin assays.

Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement is a major means of detecting thyroid cancer recurrence. Unlike anti-Tg autoantibody interferences, heterophile antibody (HAB) immunoassay interferences are not well recognized by laboratorians or clinicians as a Tg assay problem. When HAB interferences occur, they usually result in false positive test results. With the current trend to treat some thyroid cancer patients with radioiodine on the basis of an elevated serum Tg result alone, this has the potential to result in unwarranted therapy. We evaluated the prevalence of HAB interference in a commonly used automated immunoassay in 1106 consecutive specimens with Tg values greater than 1 ng/ml. All Tg measurements were repeated after sample incubation in heterophile-blocking tubes (HBT). Results, which showed a more than 3 SD percentage difference from the original result, were considered to suffer from HAB interference. All possible interferences were confirmed by dilution testing. After HBT treatment, Tg levels dropped to less than 1 ng/ml in 32 specimens (P 56.91%) compared with the original result. There were also two samples that showed a significant increase of greater than 56.91% after HBT treatment. HAB interference is relatively prevalent (1.5-3%) in a commonly used automated Tg assay and can lead to clinically significant artifacts. It is currently unknown, but possible, that other immunometric Tg assays suffer from similar problems. Unless a Tg assay is confirmed to be free of HAB interference or uses additional blocking steps, as ours now does, HAB interference should be suspected if Tg results do not fit the clinical picture.
A general computational framework for modeling cellular structure and function

The "Virtual Cell" provides a general system for testing cell biological mechanisms and creates a framework for encapsulating the burgeoning knowledge base comprising the distribution and dynamics of intracellular biochemical processes. It approaches the problem by associating biochemical and electrophysiological data describing individual reactions with experimental microscopic image data describing their subcellular localizations. Individual processes are collected within a physical and computational infrastructure that accommodates any molecular mechanism expressible as rate equations or membrane fluxes. An illustration of the method is provided by a dynamic simulation of IP3-mediated Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum in a neuronal cell. The results can be directly compared to experimental observations and provide insight into the role of experimentally inaccessible components of the overall mechanism.
Isolated wheat microspore culture

The use of doubled haploid plants in a wheat breeding program requires an efficient haploid production system. While the techniques for producing doubled haploids from anther culture are well established, those for isolated microspores are complicated and inefficient. Four methods of isolating microspores from anthers (blending, stirring, macerating, and floating) were compared. Isolated microspores were washed and cultured in liquid medium. The effects of pre-isolation mannitol conditioning, cell density, culture dilution, and sucrose centrifugation on microspore viability were evaluated. Isolation by blending gave the highest initial microspore viability (75%). Mannitol conditioning and purification by sucrose centrifugation had a detrimental effect on initial viability. An initial microspore density of 2 × 105 microspores per ml was necessary for continued microspore viability. One hundred and nine haploid or spontancously doubled haploid plants were regenerated from microspores isolated without mannitol conditioning using the blending method. Based on this research, blender isolation with an initial density of 2 × 105 microspores per ml is recommended for isolated microspore culture.
Predicting Optimal Resolving Power for Ambient Pressure Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Although diffusion theory predicts that IMS resolving power increases with the square root of the voltage applied across the drift tube, in practice, there exists an optimum voltage above which resolving power decreases. This optimum voltage was determined to be both compound and initial ion pulse width dependent. A “conditional” resolving power equation is introduced that can be used to quickly approximate realistic resolving powers for specific instrumental operating parameters and compounds. Using four common environmental contaminants (trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, methyl tert-butyl ether, methyl isobutyl ketone), diffusion-limited (theoretical), Rd, conditional, Rc, and actual (or measured), Rm, IMS resolving powers were determined and compared for a small IMS instrument designed for subsurface measurements. Detection limits determined at the optimal resolving power for the environmental contaminants ranged from 18 parts per trillion volume-to-volume (pptv) to 80 parts per billion volume-to...
Cross-national product value perceptions

Abstract Can a psychographic variable, i.e., a value perception of a product, be successfully compared across national boundaries? Using students in four countries, the authors tested for similarity in a two-stage process. Value perception was tested by comparing samples using only the owners of the products first, and then using only the nonowners. Similarities were found that bridge national borders. These similarities are evident where the respondents sampled are owners of the base products or have a high degree of market knowledge regarding these products.
Biochemical aspects of cesium administration in tumor-bearing mice

Abstract The effect of pretreatment with CsCl on mice bearing sarcoma I implants was studied as a function of duration of treatment period, life span and tissue Cs + and K + levels. Treatment with CsCl for 14 consecutive days prior to sarcoma implantation resulted in initial reduction of the tumor-mediated mortality compared to controls and to a one week pretreatment period with identical doses of CsCl. A large accumulation of endogenous K + was noted in tumor mass compared to nonmalignant tissue of the same animals or to tumor-free controls receiving identical Cs-treatment. The entry of exogenously administered Cs + into malignant tissue was less than that accumulating in respective controls. The accumulation of Cs + in tumor mass was dose-dependent. The ratio of K + : C + was greater in tumor tissue than in nonmalignant tissue. The results that a critical balance between these alkali metals may be required for adequate Cs effect against the tumor studied.
Oxidation of Organic Sulfides by N-Halamine Compounds

N-halamine chemistry has been an important research topic in these laboratories for over two decades, offering many exciting opportunities both from practical and pedagogical points of view. One of these opportunities is in the use of polymer- and silica gel-bound N-halamines as selective oxidizing agents for organosulfur compounds. In this study, they have been employed to selectively oxidize organic sulfides including dimethyl sulfide and chloroethyl ethyl sulfide, the chemical mustard stimulant. The latter oxidation produced the less toxic sulfoxide derivative with about 70% conversion, with no sulfone produced, and only about 30% accompanying conversion to sulfoxide hydrolysis products. In this article, we report a combination of experimental and computational results.
The influence of store aesthetics on evaluation of private label brands

Points out that, although blind tests have generally revealed that consumers can detect little difference between store brand and national brand products, private brands still only have a small market share (14.9 percent). Using an environmental psychology model as the study framework, which postulates a stimulus‐response process, examines the effects of store atmosphere on consumer evaluations of private brand grocery products. Analyzes the results which show that store aesthetics do influence consumer perceptions of store brand quality. Discusses the managerial implications of the findings and the limitations of the study, and makes suggestions for future research.
Scalp distribution of human auditory evoked potentials. I. Evaluation of reference electrode sites.

Abstract In an attempt to settle the long-standing controversy about the relative activity of nose, sternovertebral (SV), and other commonly used AEP reference sites, we recorded AEPs from a coronal chain of electrodes from the vertex to the tragus, extending down the neck, and from the nose, ear, mastoid process, knee and ankle. All electrodes were referred to a sternovertebral reference balanced to minimize EKG. Voltage gradients and wave forms corresponding to other references were derived by computer. Stimuli were presented at fixed durations after the R wave of the EKG and averages with no stimulus were subtracted from averages with click stimuli to minimize synchronized EKG activity in non-cephalic derivations. Because the activity at a given electrode site cannot be determined in absolute terms, alternative reference sites must be compard by examining the relative location of each site in the total potential field. An indifferent electrode site defined in this manner is one at which the spatial and temporal voltage gradients are minimal over the duration of the activity of interest. AEP voltage gradients in this experiment were steepest in the temporal region, became extremely shallow at locations on the upper neck, and showed no detectable gradients below that point attributable to AEP activity. A gradient of this form was obtained in all subjects, in spite of significant intersubject differences in the magnitude of potentials in nose-SV derivations. Commonly used reference sites on the head such as the nose, ear and mastoid process, were shown to lie in regions of the AEP field characterized by significant voltage gradients over time and spatial location in most subjects. The balanced sternovertebral reference of Stephenson and Gibbs (1951) appears to be the best general choice for AEP recordings.
Effect of shot interval on ocean bottom seismograph and hydrophone data

Data collected by 18 ocean bottom receivers for a seismic line shot at both 50-m (∼24 s shot interval) and 125-m (∼58 s shot interval) shot spacing provide a direct field comparison of the effect of shot interval on marine wide-angle seismic data. Our results indicate that both shot spacings produce high-quality refraction data in shallow water (<1000 m) on hydrophone and vertical channel data. In deeper water, the data quality of the 50-m line is adequate for the vertical channel, but it is often poor at large offsets for the hydrophone channel in comparison to the 125-m shot spacing data. A theoretical model to explain these observations provides further information useful for designing an experiment using ocean-bottom receivers.
Does estrogen have any real effect on voiding dysfunction in women

For many years, estrogen has been used to treat lower urinary tract dysfunction in postmenopausal women. The data supporting this practice vary. Large multi-institutional studies have shown little role for systemic estrogens in the treatment of urinary incontinence. Vaginal estrogen preparations show superiority to systemic estrogens for the treatment of irritative voiding symptoms in meta-analysis, but there is significant study heterogeneity and the practice remains debatable. Data from randomized controlled trials support estrogen use in the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections. This article reviews the relevant literature addressing the role of estrogen therapy in urinary incontinence, irritative voiding symptoms, and recurrent urinary tract infections.
The effects of harvest-created gaps on plant species diversity, composition, and abundance in a Maine oak-pine forest.

Abstract In forests where large, stand-replacing disturbances are infrequent, small-scale disturbances associated with the mortality and replacement of individual trees are a primary source of heterogeneity in forest composition and structure. The disturbances considered in this study were canopy gaps created by a partial harvest in the winter of 1987–1988 in an oak–pine ( Quercus–Pinus ) forest that is part of a long-term ecosystem study at the Holt Research Forest in coastal Maine. This study examined the gap phase of the forest turnover cycle: the brief episodes of rapid change when processes determining the structure and composition of a forest community occur. The objective was to evaluate the effects of harvest-created gaps and soil moisture (as reflected by soil drainage classes) on woody and herbaceous species diversity, composition, and abundance relative to unharvested control areas. Because the vegetation was sampled in both 1993 and 1998, detection of short-term changes was possible. Harvest gaps had higher total plant species richness in the understory (vegetation Diversity measures calculated for sapling density showed a significant difference among drainage classes for species richness, but no significant difference between treatments for species richness, the Shannon–Wiener index, or the evenness index. Gap size was positively correlated with the total density of saplings, the density of several species, and species richness. There were significant differences between treatments for the density of all species tested in at least one of the four height classes. DCA of sapling data revealed some separation of harvest gaps and controls but there was considerable overlap. Axis 1 tended to separate early successional species in the harvest gaps from shade tolerant species in the controls. The understory plant community at the HRF appears to be resilient to the partial harvest that created a variety of gap sizes. Silvicultural objectives were met; the harvest gaps created sites for establishment of seedlings and sprouts of tree species, particularly early successional species.
Glucagon in Congestive Heart Failure

Nineteen patients with congestive heart failure were given a continuous infusion of glucagon 3 to 5 mg/hour. Those with acute processes improved, while only 1 of 12 with chronic CHF benefited. Urine output increased 495 ml/24 hours, BUN rose 4.9 mg percent, serum glucose increased 22.1 mg percent, and serum potassium decreased 0.35 mEq/liter. No induced arrhythmias were noted, even in the presence of digitalis toxicity. Evidence of increased “ischemia” (angina, depressed ST segments and inverted T waves) during the infusion were seen in four patients. In chronic congestive failure associated with coexisting manifest chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or pulmonary heart disease, the response to glucagon was uniformly unfavorable. Glucagon should be reserved for acute CHF and then only after other modes of therapy, especially digitalization, are unsuccessful.
Outcomes Following Proctectomy

Rectal resection is the most common treatment of rectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. The surgical techniques for removing and reconstructing the rectum have evolved significantly over the past 50 years. Technological advances including retractors, stapling devices, energy delivery systems, and minimally invasive approaches, as well as the nerve-sparing total mesorectal excision, have revolutionized the surgical treatment. Surgical exposure and precise technique affect the ability to preserve the pelvic autonomic nerves, directly influencing postoperative urinary and sexual function. The complex interplay between all these factors demands attention because of the associated short-term and long-term impact on patient quality of life.
Facile preparation of fluorovinylene aryl ether telechelic polymers with dual functionality for thermal chain extension and tandem crosslinking

New fluorovinylene aromatic ether polymers, possessing dual reactivity, have been successfully prepared via the step-growth polymerization of commercial bis(trifluorovinyl) aromatic ethers and bisphenols.
Thymic tissue manifesting as a posterior mediastinal mass in two children

Two boys, ages 2 and 3 months, underwent a thoracotomy for suspected mediastinal mass. Thymic tissue was found. Ectopic thymic tissue should be included in differential diagnosis of a posterior mediastinal mass in children.
(Non)equivalence in a federalism: Dual tax shares, flypaper effects and Leviathan*

Among the best-known theorems of fiscal federalism is the presumed allocative and dis- tributive equivalence between a lump-sum grant to a collectivity and a set of lump sum grants to the members of a collectivity. Interestingly, the simple elegance of the theorem is at odds with ob- served behavior. Grants to governments produce greater public spending than does tax reduction. Explanations of this "flypaper effect" range from misspecified econometric modeling to pre- sumed behavior based on fiscal illusion. In this paper we show that theoretical equivalence exists in a model that recognizes only one tax share, the citizen voter's local tax share. When the model is expanded to include voters' federal tax shares as well as local taxes, non-equivalence and the flypaper effect become the rule, not the exception.
RISK-RETURN ANALYSIS WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO LARGE LOSSES AND SATISFACTORY GAINS

This paper presents a general risk-return model that enhances the prescriptive and descriptive appeal of two-attribute risky choice models. Conceptually, this model is fully compatible with Von Neumann-Morgenstern expected-utility theory. This compatibility is largely retained with simple forms of risk and return measures that are easy to estimate from preference data. A dominance version of the model yields subsets of efficient alternatives associated with stochastic dominance relationships.
Mushroom chemical defense: Food aversion learning induced by hallucinogenic toxin, muscimol

Wild animals eat fungi, yet mushroom poisonings in nature are unknown. The opossumDidelphis virginiana readily consumed the toxic mushroomAmanita muscaria, became ill, and then developed an aversion to the fungus. Both the illness and the aversion were due, in part at least, to the toxin muscimol. This appears to be the first demonstration of a mushroom chemical defense against fungivores and the first reported role in nature for an hallucinogen.
A transdermal patch in Alzheimer disease

Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChE-Is), with proven efficacy and safety as a class, form the mainstay of therapy for Alzheimer disease (AD). All approved treatments for AD, including ChE-Is and memantine, are administered orally. However, treatment persistence in patients with AD is a challenge, and there is a significant medical need for effective, better-tolerated options that might enhance compliance and improve treatment outcome in this population. Transdermal drug delivery systems are already a valuable alternative to conventional oral therapies in a variety of treatment settings. Steady, continuous drug delivery into the bloodstream avoids first-pass hepatic metabolism, enabling therapeutic levels to be attained with lower doses. The potential benefits of transdermal approaches include sustained efficacy, reduced incidence of side effects, and improved compliance, aspects that would be expected to offer advantages in the management of AD. The …
Management of Brain Metastases

As systemic cancer therapies have improved, the natural history and importance of treating brain metastases continues to evolve. Historically, most patients with brain metastases have been managed with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) with surgical resection or radiosurgery added for patients with single or few metastases. Because the potential late toxicity of WBRT is increasingly recognized when systemic tumor is more effectively controlled, there has been increased interest in the use of focal therapies such as radiosurgery with deferred WBRT even for patients with larger numbers of metastases. Although WBRT in combination with radiosurgery or surgical resection significantly reduces central nervous system recurrences at the treated site and elsewhere in the brain, it is not clear whether a patient’s quality of life is more affected by tumor recurrence or by treatment with WBRT. In our practice, most patients with fewer than 7 to 10 tumors are treated with radiosurgery alone, with WBRT initially deferred because of concerns about its late toxicity. The ongoing technical improvements in radiosurgery have made this transition away from WBRT clinically feasible. This approach also allows patients to begin systemic therapy sooner, rather than waiting 2 to 4 weeks to complete WBRT. For patients with large or very symptomatic tumors, surgical resection is performed, followed by postoperative radiosurgery to the resection cavity, again initially deferring WBRT for many patients. This focal-only approach in the postoperative setting is associated with a higher rate of subdural dissemination and needs further prospective study, as some would argue that tumor progression is the major determinant of loss of function. Ultimately, better survival will require better systemic therapy that both controls extracranial disease and penetrates the brain to reduce intracranial recurrences. Unfortunately, many clinical trials of novel agents exclude patients with brain metastases.
Comparisons of benthic invertebrates between riffles and pools

Benthic species assemblages in upstream and downstream ends of riffles and in pools were investigated seasonally in the first five orders of an alluvial gravel stream with distinct pool and riffle channel form. Riffles comprised < 10% of stream area and were separated by pools with extensive bedrock substrate (ca. 15–85% of total surface area) which was scoured during periodic high flow. Virtually all taxa were more abundant in riffles than in pools, except chironomids which were more equally distributed. Inconsistent results were obtained for upstream-downstream comparisons within riffles. Intermittent headwater reaches (orders 1 & 2) which supported half as many taxa retained this pattern during periods of flow, although riffles at these sites were dry from mid-June to mid-November. Pools which contained more gravel, indicating less disturbance during high flow, had a richer assemblage of benthic species than other pools. Many invertebrates in pools may have been there as a result of drift from their preferred riffle habitats, but the presence of gravel in the pools indicates less intense flow disturbance during floods, provides protection from the mild scouring that does occur during floods, and provides refugia from predators.
Molecular biology of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus: a comparison of HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients

The molecular mechanisms involved in progression of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) are poorly elucidated, as well as the potential role of HIV infection. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) is one of the mechanisms responsible for inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. We hypothesized that HIV-induced immunosuppression may contribute to an alternate molecular pathway in SCCA progression, through persistence of human papillomavirus infection within the anal canal. This study was undertaken to compare the molecular biology of SCCA in HIV-positive (HIV+) and HIV-negative (HIV-) patients. We retrieved tumor specimens from 18 HIV- and 10 HIV+ patients diagnosed with SCCA in two institutions. DNA from tumor and normal tissues was extracted and then amplified by polymerase chain reaction. LOH was investigated at 14 loci: three at 18q (DCC), two at 13q (Rb), three at 17p (p53), three at 11q, one at 2p, and two at 5q (APC). LOH was defined by a tumor DNA-to-normal tissue DNA ratio of >2. HIV+ patients were younger (36 ± 7 years versus 53 ± 13 years, P = 0.001) and showed a trend toward tumors of larger size (3.7 ± 1.6 cm versus 2.6 ± 1.5 cm, P = 0.09). The median CD4+ count in HIV+ patients at the time of diagnosis was 74 × 106/L (range, 5–900). The overall frequency of LOH was 17.3% (41 LOH of 236 informative loci). Tumors in HIV- patients were more likely to present LOH than were tumors in HIV+ patients (24.1% versus 6.6%, P = 0.0004). Differences between the two groups with regard to allelic losses were also observed at specific loci, such as 18q (41% [HIV-] versus 0% [HIV+], P = 0.05), 17p (43% versus 10%, P = 0.09), and 5q (33% versus 0%, P = 0.12). Consistent LOH on chromosomes 17p, 18q, 5q, and 11q were observed in HIV- patients with SCCA. By contrast, allelic losses at 17p, 5q, and 18q seem to be rare in tumors of HIV+ individuals. These data suggest that immunosuppression may promote SCCA progression through an alternate pathway and that persistence of HPV infection within the anal canal may play a central role in this process.
Cocaine abusers show a blunted response to alcohol intoxication in limbic brain regions.

Abstract Cocaine and alcohol are frequently used simultaneously and this combination is associated with enhanced toxicity. We recently showed that active cocaine abusers have a markedly enhanced sensitivity to benzodiazepines. Because both benzodiazepines and alcohol facilitate GABAergic neurotransmission we questioned whether cocaine abusers would also have an enhanced sensitivity to alcohol that could contribute to the toxicity. In this study we compared the effects of alcohol (0.75 g/kg) on regional brain glucose metabolism between cocaine abusers (n = 9) and controls (n = 10) using PET and FDG. Alcohol significantly decreased whole brain metabolism and this effect was greater in controls (26 ± 6%) than in abusers (17 ± 10%) even though they had equivalent levels of alcohol in plasma. Analysis of the regional measures showed that cocaine abusers had a blunted response to alcohol in limbic regions, cingulate gyrus, medial frontal and orbitofrontal cortices. Conclusions : The blunted response to alcohol in cocaine abusers contrasts with their enhanced sensitivity to benzodiazepines suggesting that targets other than GABA-benzodiazepine receptors are involved in the blunted sensitivity to alcohol and that the toxicity from combined cocaine-alcohol use is not due to an enhanced sensitivity to alcohol in cocaine abusers. The blunted response to alcohol in limbic regions and in cortical regions connected to limbic areas could result from a decreased sensitivity of reward circuits in cocaine abusers.
Evaluation of the Appropriate Sample Position in a PAS/FT-IR Experiment

The experimental selection of the distance between the sample and the window in a photoacoustic FT-IR experiment is shown to be an important parameter when one is optimizing the interferogram intensity. We have experimentally demonstrated the advantages of selecting a small distance rather than the full boundary layer thickness required to ensure complete conversion of thermal to pressure signal at the sample surface. The minimum volume of the sample chamber is a controlling factor in the optimization of the experiment. In this report we demonstrate the value of minimizing sample chamber volume through controlling sample thickness while pointing out the need for care when doing so.