cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HPV16-E7 Expression Causes Fluorodeoxyuridine-mediated Radiosensitization in SW620 Human Colon Cancer Cells

We have reported that HT29 colon cancer cells, which are radiosensitized by fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd), exhibit a greater increase in cyclin E-dependent kinase activity and progress further into S phase in the presence of FdUrd than do SW620 colon cancer cells, which are only minimally sensitized by this drug (Cancer Res 56: 3203, 1996). Although these findings suggested that the ability to progress into S phase in the presence of FdUrd permits cells to be radiosensitized, we wished to test this hypothesis by attempting to drive SW620 human colon cells into S phase by transducing them with the HPV16-E7 gene. Two-parameter flow cytometry showed that E7-transduced cells progressed through S phase after radiation and FdUrd treatment more rapidly than SW620 parental cells. We found that E7-transduced SW620 cells were significantly radiosensitized by FdUrd (100 nmol/L, 14 hours) with an enhancement ratio for 2 clones of 1.47 +/- 0.03 and 1.51 +/- 0.14, compared with 1.24 +/- 0.04 in SW620 parental cells. These data strongly support the hypothesis that dysregulation of S-phase progression is an important factor in FdUrd-mediated radiosensitization.
Radiation activation of respiration inBacillus cereus T spores

The effects of gamma-irradiation on glucose oxidase activity were studied inBacillus cereus T spores. Radiation was found to activate oxidase in native spores. This activation was greatly enhanced when irradiated spores were subsequently heat-activated. Although activation by heat alone was 1.6 times that by radiation alone, the combined treatment with both radiation and heating resulted in a 12-fold enhancement of oxidase activity over that obtainable by optimum heat activation. Activation by combined treatment of gamma-rays and heat depended on the presence of exchangeable calcium during heating but not during irradiation.
The modulus and yield stress of glassy poly(methyl methacrylate) at strain rates up to 103 inch/inch/second

Specimens of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were compressed at nominally constant strain rates ranging from 10−5 to 103 in./in./sec. at 0, 22, 50, and 115°C. A plot of stress at a small fixed strain (2%) and constant temperature versus logarithm of strain rate is sigmoidal in shape and, furthermore, time-temperature superposition could be used to construct a master curve of stress versus temperature-compensated strain rate. It is suggested that the sigmoidal curve is a manifestation of the β transition in PMMA, and this is supported by the measured value of activation energy and the strain rate value at the point of inflection on the curve. By contrast, yield stress varies linearly with log . Time-temperature superposition could not be applied. Rationalizing on the basis of the high stress form of the Eyring equation, yielding is by a yet unspecified molecular mechanism in which activation volume has the order of magnitude of a monomer unit but increases with increasing temperature.
Deriving constraints among argument sizes in logic programs (extended abstract)

In a logic program the feasible argument sizes of derivable facts involving an n-ary predicate are viewed as a set of points in the positive orthant of Rn. We investigate a method of deriving constraints on the feasible set in the form of a polyhedral convex set in the positive orthant, which we call a polycone. Faces of this polycone represent inequalities proven to hold among the argument sizes. These inequalities are often useful for selecting an evaluation method that is guaranteed to terminate for a given logic procedure. The methods may be applicable to other languages in which the sizes of data structures can be determined syntactically.We introduce a generalized Tucker representation for systems of linear equations and show how needed operations on polycones are performed in this representation. We prove that every polycone has a unique normal form in this representation, and give an algorithm to produce it. This in turn gives a decision procedure for the question of whether two set of linear equations define the same polycone.When a predicate has several rules, the union of the individual rule's polycones gives the set of feasible argument size vectors for the predicate. Because this set is not necessarily convex, we instead operate with the smallest enclosing polycone, which is the closure of the convex hull of the union. Retaining convexity is one of the key features of our technique.Recursion is handled by finding a polycone that is a fixpoint of a transformation that is derived from both the recursive and nonrecursive rules. Some methods for finding a fixpoint are presented, but there are many unresolved problems in this area.
Infants, Ancestors, and the Afterlife: Fieldwork's Family Values in Rural West Africa

When Nathaniel, a six-year-old Euro-American boy, was assigned the identity ofDenju, a revered village ancestor in a rural Beng village in Cote d'lvoire, what did it mean - for the child, for his parents, for his village friends, for the conduct of his mother's anthropological research? Likewise, when Nathaniel's father, Philip Graham, learned in the village the news of his own father's passing, what did it mean to Graham - and for the writing of his novel-in-progress - to discover that his village neighbors were certain that the soul of his deceased father had entered the Beng afterlife and become friends with Denju, the ancestor for whom his son had been named? How did such family sagas combine in unexpected ways to shape Alma Gottlieb's field research project on the cultural construction of infancy? Making use of the three distinct voices of mother I anthropologist, father/writer, and son/student, this article explores how a range of cultural, literary, political, and psychological issues intersected in unexpected ways during fieldwork, recasting the experiences of one North American family of three people living in a rural village in West Africa.
Flavonoids are potential inhibitors of glucose uptake in U937 cells

Flavonoids are a group of polyphenolic compounds ubiquitously found in plants including fruits, and vegetables. Broad ranges of the biological activities of flavonoids have been reported using in vitro studies. I report that several natural flavonoids blocked glucose uptake in myelocytic U937 cells. Although there were some variations in the blocking activity of individual flavonoids, approximately half of the glucose uptake was blocked by flavonoids at the concentrations of 8-50 microM. The decreasing order of the blocking activity was fisetin >/= myricetin >/= quercetin >/= apigenin > genistein > cyanidin > daidzein >/= hesperetin > naringenin > catechin. Fisetin showed approximately 50% inhibition of glucose uptake at a concentration of 8 microM. Similar patterns of the inhibition were observed in lymphocytic Jurkat cells. Fisetin and quercetin inhibited glucose transport in a competitive manner. K(i) values for fisetin and quercetin were proximately 9 and 12 microM, respectively. This study showed that some types of natural flavonoids block glucose uptake in U937 cells and that natural flavonoids could be used as alternative blockers of glucose uptake in vitro.
NADP specific dehydrogenases and heaptic lipogenesis in the hibernator

Abstract 1. 1. Glucose and acetate metabolism and the activity of several NAdP specific dehydrogenases were studied in hepatic tissue from the ground squirrel, Citellus tridecemlineatus . Tissues were obtained from hibernating and arousing squirrels in January and from normathermic squirrels in June and Sepatember. 2. 2. Glucose and acetate oxidation to CO 2 and incorporation into lipids and activities of NADP malic dehydrogenase, citrate cleavage enzyme and hexose monophosphate shunt dehydrogenases were lowest during hibernation, not changed during arousal, and attained macimum levels in June.
‘The H in HIV Stands for Human, Not Haitian’: Cultural Imperialism in US Blood Donor Policy

Ethical reflection on the justice/injustice of past public health policy can inform current and future policy creation and assessment. For eight years in the 1980s, Haitians were prohibited from donating blood in the USA due to their national origin, a supposed risk factor for AIDS. This case study underlines the racial stereotypes and cultural ignorance at play in risk assignment—which simultaneously marked Haitians as risky ‘others’ and excluded them as significant participants in policy-making. This article also discerns Haitian understandings of justice related to this donor policy and explores how dimensions of this past policy relate to current blood donor policy.
Selecting Construction Measures for Mitigating Early-Age Delamination in CRC Pavements Made with Gravel Aggregates

Gravel aggregates have been used extensively in the Houston District for continuously reinforced concrete (CRC) pavements construction for many years. However, some of these pavements have been subject to early-age delamination and eventual spalling damage. A series of studies since the early 1990's have been conducted to gain a better understanding of mechanisms, material properties, and construction practices related to delamination and spalling. This paper describes a systematic and methodical approach for selecting construction measures to counter the negative effects of using gravel aggregates in concrete paving as it pertains to minimizing early-age delamination distress. The approach was developed based on laboratory measures and practices, numerical approaches for assessing delamination potential, and test sections established in the Houston District, Texas. The testing programs in the laboratory and the field, as well as the analytical results, are presented in this paper. The analysis of the results leads to a step-by-step approach for evaluating and selecting construction measures.
Speaking Clearly for the Hard of Hearing IV: Further Studies of the Role of Speaking Rate

The contribution of reduced speaking rate to the intelligibility of “clear” speech (Picheny, Durlach, & Braida, 1985) was evaluated by adjusting the durations of speech segments (a) via nonuniform ...
Global Trends in Space Access and Utilization

In the not-so-distant past, space access and air/space technology superiority were within the purview of the U.S. and former Soviet Union's respective space agencies, both vying for global leadership in space exploitation. In more recent years, with the emergence of the European Space Agency (ESA) member countries and Asian countries joining the family of space-faring nations, it is truer now more than ever that space access and utilization has become a truly global enterprise. In fact, according to the Space Report 2007, this enterprise is a $251-billion economy. It is possible to gauge the vitality of worldwide efforts from open sources in today's transparent, media-based society. In particular, print and web broadcasters regularly report and catalog global space activities for defense and civil purposes. For the purposes of this paper, a representative catalog of missions is used to illustrate the nature of the emerging "globalization." This paper highlights global trends in terms of not only the providers of space access, but also the end-users for the various recently accomplished missions. With well over 50 launches per year, in recent years, the launch-log reveals a surprising percentage of "cooperative or co-dependent missions" where different agencies, countries, and/or commercial entities are so engaged presumably to the benefit of all who participate. Statistics are cited and used to show that recently over d0% of the 50-plus missions involved multiple nations working collectively to deliver payloads to orbit. Observers, space policy professionals, and space agency leaders have eloquently proposed that it might require the combined resources and talents of multiple nations to advance human exploration goals beyond low earth orbit. This paper does not intend to offer new information with respect to whether international collaboration is necessary but to observe that, in continuing to monitor global trends, the results seem to support the thesis that a global interdependent effort with all its likely complexities is an increasingly viable and pragmatic option. The discussion includes a breakdown of space missions into those of civil (scientific), military, and strictly commercial nature. It concludes that all three are robust components of a globally diversified portfolio of activities relying, essentially, on a common space industrial base and space infrastructure. As in other industries, the distribution of space industry assets and knowledge across countries and continents enables a diverse suite of options and arrangements, particularly in the areas of civil and commercial space utilization. A survey of several ongoing bilateral and multilateral space collaboration examples are provided to augment the observations regarding multinational work in space.
Region-based SIFT approach to iris recognition

Traditional iris recognition systems transfer iris images to polar (or log-polar) coordinates and have performed very well on data that tends to have a centered gaze. The patterns of an iris are part of a 3-D structure that is captured as a two-dimensional (2-D) image and cooperative iris recognition systems are capable of correctly matching these 2-D representations of iris features. However, when the gaze of an eye changes with respect to the camera lens, many times the size, shape, and detail of iris patterns will change as well and cannot be matched to enrolled images using traditional methods. Additionally, the transformation of off-angle eyes to polar coordinates becomes much more challenging and noncooperative iris algorithms will require a different approach. The direct application of the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) method would not work well for iris recognition because it does not take advantage of the characteristics of iris patterns. We propose the region-based SIFT approach to iris recognition. This new method does not require polar transformation, affine transformation or highly accurate segmentation to perform iris recognition and is scale invariant. This method was tested on the iris challenge evaluation (ICE), WVU and IUPUI noncooperative databases and results show that the method is capable of cooperative and noncooperative iris recognition.
Carbocation rearrangements in aspernomine biosynthesis

Quantum chemical calculations (B3LYP/6-31G(d)) on carbocation rearrangements that are proposed to occur in the biosynthesis of aspernomine are described. Based on these calculations, a pathway involving a concerted but asynchronous [4+2] cycloaddition that avoids the formation of a secondary carbocation is proposed for small model systems.
Teaching Development and Diversity in Field-Based Methods Courses

Abstract This paper focuses on the issue of teaching development and diversity in an innovative elementary and special education teacher preparation program. Using the language arts and physical education components as examples, we describe problematic conceptions that preservice teachers hold about development and diversity and a set of learning experiences aimed at confronting these conceptions and helping undergraduates begin to learn to differentiate instruction. These learning experiences occur in elementary school settings during lessons taught by the university professors as a way to model effective practice and provide links to theory taught in the university.
General software for an on-line eye-movement recording system

A general on-line eye-movement recording system is described which consists basically of (a) some on-line instrument capable of displaying a visual scene, (b) a device to measure eye position and output position information in the form of electrical signals (c) an analogue-to-digital converter, and (d) a computer. General software for such a system is discussed with emphasis on subroutines which perform calibration and which continuously monitor eye position.
Post-transcriptional Regulation of Na+/Glucose Cotransporter (SGTL1) Gene Expression in LLC-PK1 Cells INCREASED MESSAGE STABILITY AFTER CYCLIC AMP ELEVATION OR DIFFERENTIATION INDUCER TREATMENT

We have further investigated the molecular basis of increased differentiation-regulated expression of SGTL1, a Na+/glucose cotransporter, in the renal epithelial cell line LLC-PK1. Treatment of confluent monolayers either with the differentiation inducer hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) or with cyclic AMP-elevating agents promoted increased levels of the SGLT1 mRNA, the immunodetectable 75-kDa cotransporter subunit, and the transport activity. Two molecular species of SGLT1 mRNA (2.2 and 3.9 kilobases (kb)) are transcribed from the same gene in LLC-PK1 cells and differ only in the length of the 3'-untranslated region. The larger transcript is less stable (t1/2 = 2 h) than the smaller one (t1/2 = 10 h) in control, confluent monolayers. The 3.9-kb species was stabilized from degradation after either cyclic AMP elevation (t1/2 = 14 h) or HMBA addition (t1/2 = 8 h), with negligible effects on the stability of the 2.2-kb species (t1/2 = 11 h). Inhibition of translation by cycloheximide resulted in a 10-fold increase in the t1/2 of the 3.9-kb transcript and a 2-fold increase in that of the 2.2-kb species in control monolayers. Our results demonstrate that post-transcriptional regulation of message stability plays a major role in differentiation-dependent SGTL1 expression promoted by either HMBA or cyclic AMP.
Mechanism of L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester-mediated killing of cytotoxic lymphocytes: dependence on a lysosomal thiol protease, dipeptidyl peptidase I, that is enriched in these cells

Exposure of murine or human lymphocytes to L-leucyl-L-leucine methyl ester (Leu-Leu-OMe) results in selective killing of cytotoxic lymphocytes, whereas helper T cells and B cells remain functionally intact. Cytolytic lymphocytes incubated in the presence of toxic concentrations of Leu-Leu-OMe were found to contain membranolytic metabolites of the structure (Leu-Leu)n-OMe, where n greater than or equal to 3. The sensitivity of cytotoxic lymphocytes to Leu-Leu-OMe was found to be dependent upon production of these metabolites by a lysosomal thiol protease, dipeptidyl peptidase I, which is present at far higher levels in cytotoxic lymphocytes than in cells without cytolytic potential or not of bone marrow origin. Thus, this granule enzyme is required for the unique effects of Leu-Leu-OMe and may provide a target for the development of other immunotherapeutic agents designed to delete cytotoxic lymphocyte responses.
Sliding windows and lattice algorithms for computing QR factors in the least squares theory of linear prediction

The authors pose a sequence of linear prediction problems that differ a little from those previously posed. The solutions to these problems introduce a family of sliding window techniques into the least-squares theory of linear prediction. By using these techniques it is possible to perform QR factorization of the Toeplitz data matrices that arise in linear prediction. The matrix Q is an orthogonal version of the data matrix, and the matrix R is a Cholesky factor of the experimental correlation matrix., The QR and Cholesky algorithms generate generalized reflection coefficients that may be used in the usual ways for analysis, synthesis, or classification. >
Mining airborne particulate size distribution data by positive matrix factorization

[1] Airborne particulate size distribution data acquired in Pittsburgh from July 2001 to June 2002 were analyzed as a bilinear receptor model solved by positive matrix factorization (PMF). The data were obtained from two scanning mobility particle spectrometers and an aerodynamic particle sampler with a temporal resolution of 15 min. Each sample contained 165 size bins from 0.003 to 2.5 μm. Particle growth periods in nucleation events were identified, and the data in these intervals were excluded from this study so that the size distribution profiles associated with the factors could be regarded as sufficiently constant to satisfy the assumptions of the receptor model. The values for each set of five consecutive size bins were averaged to produce 33 new size intervals. Analyses were made on monthly data sets to ensure that the changes in the size distributions from the source to the receptor site could be regarded as constant. The factors from PMF could be assigned to particle sources by examination of the number size distributions associated with the factors, the time frequency properties of the contribution of each source (Fourier analysis of source contribution values), and the correlations of the contribution values with simultaneous gas phase measurements (O3, NO, NO2, SO2, CO) and particle composition data (sulfate, nitrate, organic carbon/elemental carbon). Seasonal trends and weekday/weekend effects were investigated. Conditional probability function analyses were performed for each source to ascertain the likely directions in which the sources were located. Five factors were separated. Two factors, local traffic and nucleation, are clear sources, but each of the other factors appears to be a mixture of several sources that cannot be further separated.
State Retrenchment and the Exercise of Citizenship in Africa

What explains the varied ways that Africans practice citizenship on an everyday basis? And how does the extent of state building (or neoliberal unbuilding) in a particular context affect the way in...
Effects of 1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOM) and quipazine on heroin self-administration in rhesus monkeys

Rationale The serotonin (5-HT) system is involved in pain modulation, and 5-HT receptor agonists can enhance antinociceptive effects of mu opioid receptor agonists. Less is known about the actions of 5-HT receptor agonists on other effects of opioids.
The efficacy of a psychiatric halfway house: a study of hospital recidivism and global outcome measure.

Summary The authors investigated the post-halfway house outcome of a sample of 41 former residents of the halfway house of the Department of Psychiatry, Athens University. Two criteria were used: hospital recidivism and global ratings of outcome (which was assessed on the basis of three parameters: rehospitalization, employment and independent living). Mean duration from the time of departure was 32 months (range: 8–52 months). Within this period good outcome and non-recidivism were related with compliance to pharmacotherapy. Most recidivists also had a shorter stay in the halfway house and cases with successful outcome tended to be evaluated higher on the “Behaviour in Halfway House Scale” at the end of the residency.
Pavement Problems Caused by Collapsible Subgrades

Problem subgrade materials consisting of collapsible soils are common in arid environments, which have climatic conditions and depositional and weathering processes favorable to their formation. Included herein is a discussion of predictive techniques that use commonly available laboratory equipment and testing methods for obtaining reliable estimates of the volume change for these problem soils. A method for predicting relevant stresses and corresponding collapse strains for typical pavement subgrades is presented. Relatively simple methods of evaluating potential volume change, based on results of familiar laboratory tests, are used.
Hydration-dependent structural deformation of guanine in the electronic singlet excited state.

Theoretical study was performed to investigate how the degree of hydration affects the structures and properties of the canonical form (keto-N9H) of guanine in the ground and lowest singlet ππ* exc...
The attachment, modification and release of gold nanoparticles from a photolabile solid phase synthesis resin, a new methodology for nanoparticle surface modification

Abstract Gold nanoparticles were synthesis by a two-phase method (water/toluene) and attached to a solid phase synthesis (SPS) resins. The average diameter of the nanoparticles determined by TEM image analysis was 3.9 ± 0.3 nm. The SPS resin used was an o-nitrobenzyl based photolabile system. This was first loaded with Fmoc-Cys(Trt)–OH following standard PyBOP protocols. UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to monitor the reaction of the nanoparticle solution with the SPS resin. The bound nanoparticles were released from the SPS resin by exposure to UV light, (λ = 350 nm, intensity = 10 000 μW cm− 2) and shown to reform a stable solution. The nanoparticles were further modified into clusters on the surface of the SPS resin by the addition of pentanedithiol or assembled into nanoparticle dimers by the addition of a 1,3-propanediamine post photolytic release.
Formation of free radicals by gentamicin and iron and evidence for an iron/gentamicin complex

Participation of free radicals in the adverse renal and cochlear side effects of aminoglycoside antibiotics is controversial. We measured the production of free radicals by gentamicin in vitro through the oxidation of arachidonic acid. Gentamicin alone (0.05 to 10 mM) did not cause lipid peroxidation. However, it dramatically promoted radical formation in the presence of iron salts. Peroxidation was maximal at 1 mM gentamicin plus 0.1 mM Fe(II)/Fe(III) (0.05 mM FeSO4 and FeCl3 each). At these iron concentrations, peroxidation was not significant in the absence of gentamicin. Since chelators can enhance iron-catalyzed oxidations, this finding suggested that gentamicin-dependent radical formation was based upon iron chelation. This hypothesis was tested by measuring the influence of gentamicin on the oxidation of salicylate by Fe-EDTA complexes, a reaction that is inhibited by competing iron chelators. Gentamicin was a concentration-dependent inhibitor. In contrast, concentrations of gentamicin as high as 50 mM did not interfere with iron-independent salicylate oxidation. These results suggest that gentamicin acts as an iron chelator, and that the iron-gentamicin complex is a potent catalyst of free radical formation.
Distribution and Correlates of Insulin in Elderly Men The Honolulu Heart Program

Abstract The role of insulin in cardiovascular disease is uncertain, and studies in elderly or minority populations are infrequent. Fasting and 2-hour insulin concentrations and their cross-sectional associations with cardiovascular risk factors were examined in 3562 elderly (aged 71 to 93 years) Japanese American men from the Honolulu Heart Program who were reexamined between 1991 and 1993. Insulin distributions were skewed (mean and median: 16.8 and 12 μU/mL for fasting; 117.2 and 93 μU/mL for 2-hour); fasting but not 2-hour insulin levels declined significantly with age ( P <.0001 and P =.54, respectively). Factors most strongly correlated with insulin included measures of obesity, fat distribution, and levels of triglyceride, glucose ( r =.38 to r =.50 fasting, r =.21 to r= .27 2-hour), and HDL cholesterol ( r =−.41 and r =−.22, respectively). Other correlates included fibrinogen, hematocrit, heart rate, blood pressure, cigarettes per day (all positive), alcohol, physical activity, and forced vital capacity (negative). Associations were also evident across risk factor quintiles. Insulin levels were significantly elevated in men with hypertension and diabetes. In multiple linear regression analyses, log10 fasting insulin was positively and independently associated with body mass index, triglycerides, glucose, fibrinogen, hematocrit, heart rate, diabetes, and hypertension and negatively associated with HDL cholesterol, physical activity, and forced vital capacity. In general, results were similar for log10 2-hour insulin and when subjects who fasted <12 hours or had diabetes were excluded. Substitution of medication use and blood pressure for hypertension indicated independent associations of medication use but not blood pressure with insulin. These findings suggest that fasting and 2-hour insulin levels are associated with several key features of insulin resistance syndrome in elderly Japanese American men.
Partialling and Purging: Equivalencies between Log-Linear Analysis and the Purging Method of Rate Adjustment

This article explicitly demonstrates the relationship between the purging method of rate adjustment introduced by Clogg and his associates and the more general framework of log-linear analysis. After a review of the general multiplicative (or log-linear) model, two types of purging are discussed; these “purged” rates are shown to be related to the parameters of this model. A parallel discussion of “purged” odds follows, wherein either purging method is shown to produce summary odds whose ratios are identical to the corresponding odds ratios of an appropriate log-linear model. These various formal relationships are illustrated by means of a numerical example.
RNA synthesis in the retina of Xenopus during early dark adaptation

Abstract Retinas of Xenopus larvae, undergoing dark adaptation, were compared to those of controls, matched for age and size, left in the light. Incorporation of tritiated RNA precursors was determined with radioautography for the ganglion cell, inner and outer nuclear layers and the inner segments of the visual cells. Cytophotometric measurements of Azure B binding (two-wavelength) were used to estimate RNA concentrations in individual inner segments of visual cells of the red rod type. The peak of nuclear incorporation in animals receiving visual stimulation occurred 2 h after injection of precursor. Animals undergoing dark adaptation at this time showed markedly less incorporation in all retinal layers studied, with peak labeling delayed until 4 h after injection. By 5 h after injection, both groups showed similar values. Inner segment RNA levels of dark adapting animals dropped during the first hour, rising to control levels after 4 h. The data suggest that stimulation of retinal neurons induces a more rapid turnover of RNA than is found in the quiescent cell, but that both tend to maintain similar RNA levels under normal conditions.
N-cadherin induces partial differentiation of cholinergic presynaptic terminals in heterologous cultures of brainstem neurons and CHO cells

N-cadherin is a calcium-sensitive cell adhesion molecule commonly expressed at synaptic junctions and contributes to formation and maturation of synaptic contacts. This study used heterologous cell cultures of brainstem cholinergic neurons and transfected Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells to examine whether N-cadherin is sufficient to induce differentiation of cholinergic presynaptic terminals. Brainstem nuclei isolated from transgenic mice expressing EGFP under the control of choline acetyltransferase transcriptional regulatory elements (ChATBACEGFP) were cultured as tissue explants for five days and cocultured with transfected CHO cells for an additional two days. Immunostaining for synaptic vesicle proteins SV2 and synapsin I revealed a ~3-fold increase in the area of SV2 immunolabeling over N-cadherin expressing CHO cells, and this effect was enhanced by coexpression of p120-catenin. Synapsin I immunolabeling per axon length was also increased on N-cadherin expressing CHO cells but required coexpression of p120-catenin. To determine whether N-cadherin induces formation of neurotransmitter release sites, whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings of CHO cells expressing alpha-3 and beta-4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits in contact with cholinergic axons were used to monitor excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and miniature EPSPs (mEPSPs). EPSPs and mEPSPs were not detected in both, control and in N-cadherin expressing CHO cells in the absence or presence of tetrodotoxin. These results indicate that expression of N-cadherin in non-neuronal cells is sufficient to initiate differentiation of presynaptic cholinergic terminals by inducing accumulation of synaptic vesicles; however, development of readily detectable mature cholinergic release sites and/or clustering of postsynaptic nAChR may require expression of additional synaptogenic proteins.
Course of auditory impairment in Cogan's syndrome.

Abstract Purpose Cogan's syndrome (CS), characterized by interstitial keratitis, hearing loss, and vestibular impairment, rarely occurs in children. Hearing loss is commonly bilateral and permanent in 37%–67% of patients. To date, long-term evaluation of hearing impairment in children with CS has been reported in only 3 patients. We describe the 35-month course of hearing impairment in a teenaged boy with Cogan's syndrome. Materials and methods The medical record of a 15-year-old boy with Cogan's syndrome was reviewed. Data included relevant history and physical examination, diagnostic workup, and management. Results The patient was diagnosed with bilateral uveitis at age 12 and was placed on oral steroid and methotrexate. He developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss, intermittent tinnitus, and no vestibular dysfunction approximately 9 months after the ophthalmic disease onset. The initial audiogram revealed mild to moderate right-sided high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss and profound left-sided sensorineural hearing loss. Steroid dosage was increased, and the patient exhibited right-side hearing improvement within 2 months. Hearing thresholds reached within normal limits on the right side at 4 months and continued to improve up to 12 months on the left side. Conclusions In a teenager with Cogan's syndrome, the severity and course of hearing impairment showed interaural differences. Improvement of hearing thresholds was slower and incomplete on the left ear. Further studies examining the course of cochleovestibular impairment in a larger group of patients with Cogan's syndrome potentially improve management and counseling.
Sensitivity analysis for hysteretic dynamic systems: Theory and applications

Abstract Sensitivity analysis — calculation of the rate of change of response variables with respect to design variables — is a critical component in the process of re-analysis for improvement of trial designs or in seeking an optimum design. This paper presents necessary theorems and provides details for numerical computation of sensitivity matrices for spatially discretized structural systems subjected to dynamic excitation. General results are presented for nonlinear (hysteretic) structures, and explicit numerical examples illustrate the methodology applied to multi-story shear frames whose force-displacement relationship is bilinear hysteretic.
Is rowe committed to an expanded version of theism

I argue in this paper two theses. First, I argue that the internal consistency of the argument from evil demands that it take into account some form of EST. Thus, there is no ground for the atheist to chide the theist when the theist appeals to an expanded version of theism. Second, I show that it isprima facie probable that RST does in fact ential EST. I show this by capitalizing on the distinction between what is contained in a concept and what is entailed by a concept. What a term or concept means is different from what it may entail. What a concept or term entails is conceptually more robust than what it simply means. I call this the “containment objection” and if is true, then the restricted conjunction rule cannot apply since a version of theism sufficient to deflate the evidential argument would not be logically independent from RST,pace Rowe.
A Psychiatric Consultant's Survival Guide to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

"Intensive care" generally evokes a visceral response in peo­ ple, and the psychiatric consultant is no exception. The degree ofpatient acuity, uncertainty ofprognoses, and ethical dilemmas make the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) especially stressful. Woolston (1994) identifies the sources of emotional intensity as the constant exposure to death, disfigurement, loss, and dehumanization and likens the PICU to participating in "active warfare." Survival strategies for psychiatric consultation in this arena are detailed in the four important domains of the patient, family, staff, and consultant. The PICU provides high-volume acute care with preserva­ tion of life as its most critical function (Gilkerson, 1990). This setting is dominated by advanced technology, anxious families, and large numbers of urgently busy staff. The sickest, most unstable, technology-dependent children are admitted to the unit. The starkest of alternatives-life and death of children-are focused into sharp relief in the PICU. The consultant may be called in the midst of crisis and feel pressured to "do something." The psychiatrist needs to resist the pressure to act immediately and tty to clarify the reason for the consult (Lewis, 1994). This information may be difficult to ascertain, and it is not unusual for the consultant to arrive on the unit with only minimal informa­ tion. The consultant may initially need to tolerate consider­ able ambiguity about the referral reasons. Do not expect precise referral questions or detailed psychosocial histories given the atmosphere of crisis. At the same time, do not "push the system too hard," for the staff may truly not know how to articulate the problem.
Incidence and indications for revision cochlear implant surgery in adults and children.

Objectives/Hypothesis: To identify the incidence of and common causes for cochlear implant revision. Study Design: Retrospective case series. Methods: Operative records were reviewed for all cases of revision cochlear implantation from 1992 to 2006. The causes for reimplantation were classified as hard device failure, soft device failure, exposure/infection, receiver/stimulator migration, and electrode migration. Manufacturers' failure analysis of explanted devices was likewise determined. Results: Eight hundred and six cochlear implants were performed during the study period including 44 (5.5%) revision procedures. The revision rate was 7.3% for children and 3.8% for adults and reached statistical significant difference. The most common reasons for revision were device failure (78%; 55% hard failure, 23% soft failure) followed by electrode migration (9%) and receiver/stimulator migration (7%). Manufacturers' analysis of failed devices revealed loss of hermetic seal and cracked cases to be the most common causes of failure. Bench analysis of 5/10 explanted devices that were soft failures demonstrated identifiable device defects. Conclusions: Revision cochlear implant surgery is an infrequent occurrence. Its incidence appears to be higher in children than in adults, although in this series does not appear to be due to increased wound complications, infections, or trauma. Explanted implants that have soft failure as the etiology may have demonstrable defects on bench testing. Laryngoscope, 119:152–157, 2009
Post-slaughter traceability.

Abstract Traceability programs can cover the whole of life, or parts of it, for individual animals or groups/lots of animals. Of 13 country or community traceability programs for cattle/beef, 11 are mandatory (4 encompass, or are scheduled to encompass, birth to retail; 7 cover birth to slaughter) while 2 are voluntary and encompass birth to slaughter. Of 10 country or community traceability programs for swine/pork, 2 are mandatory (1 covers birth to retail; 1 covers birth to slaughter) while 8 are voluntary. Of 6 country or community traceability programs for sheep/sheep-meat, 3 are mandatory (1 encompasses birth to retail; 2 encompass birth to slaughter) while 3 are voluntary. Mandatory birth to retail programs that include “post-slaughter individual animal identification (IAID) traceability” have been implemented for cattle/beef, swine/pork and sheep/sheep-meat by the European Union and for cattle/beef by Japan. Many of the voluntary as well as mandatory, birth to slaughter traceability programs for all three species are presumed (though that is not specified) to include “post-slaughter group/lot identification (GLID) traceability” – e.g., those qualifying products for shipment to the European Union. “Post-slaughter IAID traceability” can be accomplished in very-small, small, medium, large and very-large packing plants using single-carcass processing units, tagging and separation/segregation, and/or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fingerprinting technology but all of these approaches are time-consuming and costly; and, to-date, in most countries, there has been no reason compelling enough to cause industry to adopt such protocols or technology.
Disneyland and the Future of Museum Anthropology

September 2, 1971, was my first day of work as a curator of anthropology at Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. I was told I should always say "Field Museum," not "The Field Museum." I was also told my place of employ is the fourth-largest natural history museum in the world-ranking just behind the British Museum (Natural History) in London, the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Chicago may be a far cry from London, Washington, or New York, but it is my experience that being in Chicago has never meant that what happens here is not happening elsewhere. So I am worried about the future of an-
Summary of research activity at ICASE

The Institute for Computer-Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) is operated at the Langley Research Center of NASA by the Universities Space Research Association, a nonprofit consortium of major U.S. colleges and universities, under a contract with the Center. The Institute conducts unclassified basic research in applied mathematics, numerical analysis and computer science in order to extend and improve problem solving capabilities in science and engineering, particularly in aeronautics and space.
Novel analogs of d-e-MAPP and B13. Part 1: Synthesis and evaluation as potential anticancer agents

A series of novel isosteric analogs of the ceramidase inhibitors, (1S, 2R)-N-myristoylamino-phenylpropanol-1 (D-e-MAPP) and (1R, 2R)-N-myristoylamino-4′-nitro-phenylpropandiol-1, 3 (B13), with modified targeting and physicochemical properties were designed, synthesized, and evaluated as potential anticancer agents. When MCF7 cells were treated with the analogs, results indicated that the new analogs were of equal or greater potency compared to the parent compounds. Their activity was predominantly defined by the nature of the modification of the N-acyl hydrophobic interfaces: N-acyl analogs (class A), urea analogs (class B), N-alkyl analogs (class C, lysosomotropic agents) and ω-cationic-N-acyl analogs (class D, mitochondriotropic agents). The most potent compounds belonged to either class D, the aromatic ceramidoids, or to class C, the aromatic N-alkylaminoalcohols. Representative analogs selected from this study were also evaluated by the National Cancer Institute in Vitro Anticancer Drug Discovery Screen. Again, results showed a similar class-dependent activity. In general, the active analogs were non-selectively broad spectrum and had promising activity against all cancer cell lines. However, some active analogs of the D-e-MAPP family were selective against different types of cancer. Compounds LCL85, 120, 385, 284, and 204 were identified to be promising lead compounds for therapeutic development.
Significance of aromatic-backbone amide interactions in protein structure

Weakly polar interactions between aromatic rings of amino acids and hydrogens of backbone amides (Ar-HN) have been shown to support local structures in proteins. Their role in secondary structures, however, has not been elucidated. To investigate the relationship between Ar-HN interaction and the stability of local and secondary structures of polypeptides and to improve the prediction of this interaction based on amino acid sequence, the structures of 560 nonhomologous proteins, from the Protein Data Bank, were searched for Ar-HN interactions between the aromatic ring of each Phe, Tyr, and Trp residue at position i and the backbone amide group of any residue, except Pro, at the positions i, i - 1, i - 2, i - 3, i + 1, i + 2, and i + 3. Ar-HN interactions were identified by calculating the chemical shift of the amide hydrogen caused by the proximal aromatic ring. Ar(i)-HN(i + 1, i + 2 and i + 3) interactions were more common (7.10%, 2.08%, and 0.54%, respectively) than were Ar(i)-HN(i - 1, i - 2, and i - 3) interactions (0.66%, <0.1%, and 0.18%, respectively). The value of the chi(1) torsion angle of the aromatic residue in position i depended on the direction of the Ar-HN interaction. The position of the aromatic ring in Ar(i)-HN(i + 1, i + 2, and i + 3) interactions was mostly trans, in Ar(i)-HN(i - 1, i - 2, and i - 3) interactions mainly gauche(-), and in Ar(i)-HN(i) interactions mostly gauche(+). The analyses of the secondary structures of the protein fragments containing Ar-HN interactions showed that Ar-HN interactions were in all types of secondary structures. Search results suggest that Ar-HN interactions have a stabilizing effect on all types of secondary structures.
Cold climate genes and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Summary Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is approaching epidemic proportions globally. However, some human populations, such as Western-Europeans, have a lower prevalence compared with urban or westernized groups with origins in warmer climates. To explain this conspicuous trend we have developed a hypothesis suggesting that pressure for survival on ancestral Western-Europeans (or on other human populations) in extremely cold climates could lead to selection for a combination of specific genes or alleles, which we have named cold climate genes, promoting adaptation to these condition. The possible molecular basis for the effects of these genes could lead to decreasing susceptibility to T2D. The possible candidates for cold climate genes have been evaluated from three areas: the uncoupling proteins, maternally-transmitted mitochondrial genes, and mitochondrial biogenesis. Conclusions/significance : The possible existence of cold climate genes can lead to both increased thermogenesis and decreased prevalence of T2D. This may help explain the variations in prevalence of T2D in different ethnic groups. This consideration suggests testable experimental approaches towards prevention and therapies for T2D.
DSP/C: a standard high level language for DSP and numeric processing

A set of nonproprietary extensions is introduced to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) C programming language (HLL) for digital signal processing (DSP) and numeric applications. The problems of using C as it exists today for DSP applications are defined, and solutions are proposed. This work is an interpretation of the work being done by the Numeric C Extensions Group (NCEG), a working group of the ANSI X3J11 committee. The Analog Devices ADSP-21000 family of IEEE floating-point digital signal processors is used to illustrate how these extensions solve the problems mentioned. >