cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
163 Identification of Euglenoids That Produce Ichthyotoxin(S) (Euglenophyta)

Diatoms, dinoflagellates, pelagiophytes, prymnesiophytes, and cyanobacteria are the only divisions of microalgae known to produce toxins. We now report toxin production by freshwater members of the genus Euglena. Fish mortalities (sheepshead minnows, catfish, striped bass, and tilapia) have been observed following exposure in the field to Euglena blooms and in the laboratory when exposed to unialgal isolates of two species of Euglena (E. sanguinea Ehrenberg and E. granulata (Klebs) Lemm.). Three toxic fractions have been isolated from unialgal isolates of both species, and include both water soluble and lipophilic compounds having ichthyotoxic activity. The toxins are stable at −80°C for at least 60 days and are heat stable to 30°C. Erratic swimming behavior of fish suggests a neurological toxin. This is the first report of fish kills by any freshwater algal taxa from both field and laboratory studies.
First, do no harm? A framework for evaluating new versus reprocessed medical devices

More than ever before, health care providers are under intense pressure to control costs. Medical devices represent a significant ‘hard’ cost, with worldwide spending exceeding USD 235 billion. A growing number of health care providers are engaging in the practice of reprocessing—sterilizing and reusing medical devices labelled only for a single use. The ethical and technical dimensions of this practice have received much attention, but its economic aspects remain largely unexamined. This paper presents a Markov decision process framework that a health care provider can use to decide whether to use new or reprocessed devices in a given context. Two cases are studied: completely observable device condition and partially observable device condition. After briefly discussing structural results for the two cases, several examples are presented to illustrate how the model can be applied in practice. Useful results can be computed quickly with minimal data. A key insight of the model is that perfect information regarding the device condition is often not required to make a sound decision.
Tissue-engineered vascular grafts: does cell seeding matter?☆

Purpose: Use of tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) in the repair of congenital heart defects provides growth and remodeling potential. Little is known about the mechanisms involved in neovessel formation. We sought to define the role of seeded monocytes derived from bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) on neovessel formation. Methods: Small diameter biodegradable tubular scaffolds were constructed. Scaffolds were seeded with the entire population of BM-MNC (n = 15), BM-MNC excluding monocytes (n = 15), or only monocytes (n = 15) and implanted as infrarenal inferior vena cava (IVC) interposition grafts into severe combined immunodeficiency/bg mice. Grafts were evaluated at 1 week, 10 weeks, or 6 months via ultrasonography and microcomputed tomography, as well as by histologic and immunohistochemical techniques. Results: All grafts remained patent without stenosis or aneurysm formation. Neovessels contained a luminal endothelial lining surrounded by concentric smooth muscle cell layer and collagen similar to that seen in the native mouse IVC. Graft diameters differed significantly between those scaffolds seeded with only monocytes (1.022 ± 0.155 mm) and those seeded without monocytes (0.771 ± 0.121 mm; P = .021) at 6 months. Conclusions: Monocytes may play a role in maintaining graft patency. Incorporation of such findings into the development of second-generation TEVGs will promote graft patency and success.
Regulation of Antigen-Specific Regulatory T-Cell Induction via Nasal and Oral Mucosa

With the identification of regulatory T cells (Tr), the hunt for ways to specifically intervene in ongoing inflammatory responses has grown exponentially. Tr are attractive for therapy because they have the potential to control deleterious responses while preserving normal immune function. It has long been known that application of soluble antigen via the mucosa induces mucosal Tr that preserve systemic tolerance upon challenge with the same antigen. Mucosal Tr exhibit three major properties that allow selective control of immune responses. They are (1) adaptive-that is, they differentiate from naive T cells in the periphery (2) antigen-specific-that is, specific for the (exogenous) antigen applied via the mucosa; and (3) versatile-that is, suppress, irrespective of ongoing Th 1 or Th2 cytokine polarization. These powerful characteristics provide mucosal Tr with all requirements necessary to selectively interfere in an unbalanced immune system, as occurs in diseases ranging from autoimmunity to transplant rejection and allergy. Until now, however, translation into clinical applications has led to moderate success. This is primarily due to limited knowledge about the fundamental characteristics of these cells because of the lack of a differential marker. The initial stages of mucosal Tr induction, which may hold the key to discovering the identity of mucosal Tr and unraveling their function, are discussed in this review.
The regulation of primary mesenchyme cell patterning

The primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) of the sea urchin embryo undergo a dramatic sequence of morphogenetic behaviors that includes migration, localization at specific sites within the embryo, and synthesis of the larval skeleton. To gain information about how these processes are regulated, PMC migration and patterning were analyzed in embryos with experimentally altered numbers of PMCs. PMC movements were followed by labeling the cells with a fluorescent dye, rhodamine B isothiocyanate, or with the PMC-specific monoclonal antibody 6a9. These methods show that individual PMCs have the capacity to join any position in the pattern, and rule out the possibility that PMC morphogenesis involves a sorting out of discrete subpopulations of cells to predetermined sites. All sites in the PMC pattern have the capacity to accept more cells than they normally do, and PMCs do not appear to compete with one another for preferred sites in the pattern. Even in embryos with 2-3 times the normal complement of PMCs, all these cells take part in spiculogenesis and the resultant skeleton is normal in size and configuration. Two special sites along the basal lamina (those corresponding to the positions of the PMC ventrolateral clusters) promote spicule elongation, an effect that is independent of the numbers of PMCs at these sites. These observations emphasize the role of the basal lamina, blastocoel matrix, and embryonic epithelium in regulating key aspects of PMC morphogenesis. The PMCs remain highly flexible in their ability to respond to patterning cues in the blastocoel, since postmigratory PMCs will repeat their patterning process if microinjected into the blastocoel of young recipient embryos.
From Chicago to L.A.: Making Sense of Urban Theory.

Michael Dear, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002. xi and 444 pp., maps, diags., photos, notes, and index. $89.95 cloth ((ISBN)-7619-2094-3) The drive from Chicago to Los Angeles takes a...
Further Validation of the Sports Spectator Identification Scale

Scores on the Sports Spectator Identification Scale gave a self-identification of how strongly a person is a fan of a team for 50 men, with a mean age of 24.2 yr., were negatively correlated with subjects' estimates of the number of calls that referees correctly made and positively correlated with the number of calls referees should have made correctly.
Construct Maps as a Foundation for Standard Setting

Construct maps are tools that display how the underlying achievement construct upon which one is trying to set cut-scores is related to other information used in the process of standard setting. This article reviews what construct maps are, uses construct maps to provide a conceptual framework to view commonly used standard-setting procedures (the Angoff, Bookmark, Mapmark, Briefing Book, Body of Work, Contrasting Groups, Borderline Groups, and Construct Mapping methods), and describes how construct maps can be applied to set cut-scores and provide feedback, evaluate standard-setting methods, and synthesize data from various standard-setting methods when deciding on cut-scores. Suggestions of how construct maps could help resolve several of the common criticisms of operational standard-setting procedures, including issues related to panelist inconsistency and score gaps, are also provided. An example from a large-scale state-testing program illustrates how construct maps may be applied in practice.
Structural and functional characterization of a noncanonical nucleoside triphosphate pyrophosphatase from Thermotoga maritima.

The hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima has a noncanonical nucleoside triphosphatase that catalyzes the conversion of inosine triphosphate (ITP), deoxyinosine triphosphate (dITP) and xanthosine triphosphate (XTP) into inosine monophosphate (IMP), deoxyinosine monophosphate (IMP) and xanthosine monophosphate (XMP), respectively. The k(cat)/K(m) values determined at 323 and 353 K fall between 1.31 × 10(4) and 7.80 × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1). ITP and dITP are slightly preferred over XTP. Activity towards canonical nucleoside triphosphates (ATP and GTP) was not detected. The enzyme has an absolute requirement for Mg(2+) as a cofactor and has a preference for alkaline conditions. A protein X-ray structure of the enzyme with bound IMP was obtained at 2.15 A resolution. The active site houses a well conserved network of residues that are critical for substrate recognition and catalysis. The crystal structure shows a tetramer with two possible dimer interfaces. One of these interfaces strongly resembles the dimer interface that is found in the structures of other noncanonical nucleoside pyrophosphatases from human (human ITPase) and archaea (Mj0226 and PhNTPase).
LIPID-INDUCED CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES OF AN INTEGRAL MEMBRANE PROTEIN : AN INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF TRITON X-100 TREATMENT ON THE PURPLE MEMBRANE OF HALOBACTERIUM HALOBIUM ET1001

Exposure of purple membrane from Halobacterium halobium to sublytic concentrations of Triton X-100 results in significant changes in the bacteriorhodopsin (BR) photocycle (Mukhopadhyay et al., 1994). Infrared spectra of purple membrane samples exposed briefly to Triton indicate that this change in protein function accompanies the preferential release of purple membrane glycolipids and squalenes, an association of Triton with purple membrane, and a perturbation of specific lipid headgroup interactions within the membrane. Specifically, the bilayer alterations induced by Triton entail a disruption of lipid headgroup hydrogen bonding in addition to protein conformational changes involving a loss in beta-turn and alphaII-helical structures in BR. We propose that the purple membrane glycolipids and squalenes are critical for the normal functioning of the BR photocycle and that perturbations of these lipids cause the profound photocycle changes induced by exposure to Triton. Lipid reconstitution studies demonstrated that although several of the infrared spectral parameters characteristic of the structural changes induced by Triton were reversed, the photocycle characteristics of BR in native purple membrane were not regained. The observed changes in the vibrational spectra induced by lipid-mediated bilayer perturbations suggest a useful approach for clarifying structure-function relationships of intrinsic membrane proteins exhibiting transmembrane helices.
Frameworking Ascendency Increase (a review of R. E. Ulanowicz, A Third Window: Natural Life Beyond Newton and Darwin. Templeton Foundation Press, 2009)

In this paper I provide a framework—what I refer to as ‘development theory’—for Ulanowicz’s ascendency theory of ecosystem development. Development theory is based in thermodynamics and information theory. A prominent feature of development theory is an understanding of senescence.
Alkali metal salts of pentaphenylcyclopentadienide

Abstract Synthetic procedures leading to isolable alkali metal salts of pentaphenyl-cyclopentadienide are described. The Cs, K, Na, and Li salts have been prepared and characterized by IR, UV, 13 C NMR, and by elemental analysis. The stability, structure, and potential utility of these alkali metal organometallic compounds are discussed.
LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY STUDIES OF ACETONITRILE SORPTION ON SILICA-BASED OCTYL PHASES

A complex mechanism of the reverse-phase chromatography can be envisioned as a combination of partition and adsorption processes. In the partition-displacement (P-D) model, partition accounts for the distribution of solute between the mobile and stationary phases, while displacement mostly involves competitive adsorption of solvents in the stationary phase. Therefore, chromatographic properties of a given stationary phase are largely dependent on the intercalation of solvents in the surface layer. The current work is a continuation of the ongoing studies of the factors affecting the surface composition of the stationary phase. Specifically, the goal of this work was the investigation of chromatographic behavior of two octyl phases of a similar surface coverage, which were synthesized from different silica supports. Analysis of methylene selectivity data showed that sorption of acetonitrile on both octyl phases was similar. This outcome could be related to a significant similarity of their structural and s...
Relationship of visit-to-visit and ambulatory blood pressure variability to vascular function in African Americans

Visit-to-visit clinic blood pressure variability (BPV) and 24-h BPV have both been identified as independent risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality; however, the mechanisms contributing to the increased CV risk as yet are unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between BPV and endothelial function in a cohort of putatively healthy African Americans. A total of 36 African Americans who were sedentary, non-diabetic, non-smoking, free of CV and renal disease and not on antihypertensive medication followed an American Heart Association low fat, low salt diet for 6 weeks. Upon completion of the 6-week dietary stabilization period, participants underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring and had their office blood pressure (BP) measured on 3 separate days. Right brachial artery diameter was assessed at rest, during reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated vasodilation: FMD), and after nitroglycerin administration (nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation: NMD). Participants classified as having decreased endothelial function according to either %FMD or the FMD/NMD ratio had significantly higher 24-h BPV and a trend for higher visit-to-visit BPV when compared with participants with normal endothelial function. Continuous variable analyses revealed a significant positive association between NMD and 24-h diastolic BPV (DBPV). Visit-to-visit systolic BPV (SBPV), 24-h SBPV and 24-h DBPV were all negatively associated with the FMD/NMD ratio. All relationships remained significant after adjustment for age, body mass index and mean BP levels. These results may suggest that BPV is increased in African Americans with decreased endothelial function and is associated with the vascular smooth muscle response to nitric oxide.
Health problems of corporate travelers: risk factors and management.

Background: Numerous studies have been done regarding health problems experienced by tourists in developing countries; however, little data exist about these health risks and illnesses experienced by corporate travelers. Methods: The authors examined by electronic survey the health risks encountered, compliance with pretravel health recommendations, and illnesses and injuries experienced by employees of the Coca-Cola Company who travel internationally. Results: Two hundred twenty-six travelers responded. Although most travelers ate meals at their hotels and chose foods that were cooked and still hot, over half also ate foods that remained at room temperature for prolonged periods and/or ate from cold salad bars. Almost half drank untreated tap water. Thirty-five percent of travelers developed diarrhea and 29% reported respiratory illnesses, with 12% seeking medical attention for their problems. Forty-three percent of those traveling to malarious regions admitted to noncompliance with antimalarial recommendations. Health kits provided were used by only 51% of travelers. Conclusions: Although many corporate travelers followed pretravel health recommendations, some did not. Injuries, fever, and illnesses such as diarrhea and respiratory infections occurred. Strategies to improve access to the travel clinic and the acquisition of health information and travel health kits are being implemented. The health risks and behaviors of corporate travelers, including the potential impact of psychosocial stressors, need greater attention.
A histopathologic scoring system as a tool for standardized reporting of chronic (ileo)colitis and independent risk assessment for inflammatory bowel disease

Pathologists regularly evaluate for the presence of chronic (ileo)colitis in lower gastrointestinal mucosal biopsies, for which a major differential diagnosis is inflammatory bowel disease. Although the histologic features of chronic (ileo)colitis are clearly defined, there is no standard, experimentally derived and validated terminology to document these findings in pathology reports and to convey the likelihood of inflammatory bowel disease in a compact, consistent style. This study had 2 retrospective and 1 prospective phases. In phase 1, we developed a histopathologic scoring system for chronic (ileo)colitis and measured the agreement in scoring between pathologists. In phase 2, we emulated the surgical pathology practice by scoring mucosal biopsies of 164 patients who had undergone lower gastrointestinal endoscopies for clinical suspicion of (ileo)colitis. The cases were matched to 6 different groups based on clinical diagnoses. In phase 3, we prospectively assessed accuracy and ease of application of the scoring system in our practice. The scoring system showed low interobserver variability (correlation coefficient, 0.94-0.96) and distinguished chronic (ileo)colitis from negative cases. In addition, it enabled us to provide probabilistic diagnostic statements based on total scores and their positive predictive values, conveying the likelihood of inflammatory bowel disease as low (<20%), intermediate (∼50%), and high (∼90%). In conclusion, this histopathologic scoring system might be a useful approach to report the findings of lower gastrointestinal mucosal biopsies and to provide measured opinion regarding chronic (ileo)colitis independent of available clinical information. In addition, a defined set of diagnostic statements with regard to likelihood of inflammatory bowel disease would reduce interpretive variability.
Health habits, type A behaviour and job burnout

Abstract This study examined the effects of health habits and type A behaviour on psychological health outcomes in the face of daily life stress. Measures of the experience of life stress, health habits, type A behaviour, job burnout and psychological distress were collected for 146 employees at the UCLA Medical Centre. Analyses of covariance revealed that health habits contributed significant main effects to psychological distress but not job burnout. Type A behaviour, but not life stress or health habits, directly affected both job burnout and psychological distress. The implications of the research for employee health programmes are discussed.
Clusters and Correlates of Experiences With Parents and Peers in Early Adolescence

This study used a person-oriented approach to examine links between adolescents' experiences with parents and peers. Cluster analysis classified 361, White, working- and middle-class youth (mean age=12.16 years) based on mothers' and fathers' reports of parental acceptance and adolescents' reports of perceived peer competence. Three patterns were identified: high mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; low mother and father acceptance and high peer competence; and high mother acceptance, moderate father acceptance, and low peer competence. The groups differed with respect to youth's and parents' individual characteristics, family and peer dynamics, and youth functioning over time. Discussion focuses on the utility of a person-oriented approach for studying parent–peer linkages in early adolescence and their implications.
Precipitation from cubic ZrO2 solid solutions

Abstract The kinetics of precipitation of both tetragonal zirconia (t-ZrO2) and CaZr4O, (O1) from cubic ZrO2 (c-ZrO2) solid solutions have been studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A hypo-cutectoid (8.5 mol% CaO) hot-pressed polycryslal was used to investigate precipitation of t-ZrO2 and a hyper-eulecloid (16.1 mol% CaO) single crystal was used to investigate precipitation of o1 The hypo-eutectoid material, even when quenched rapidly from temperatures in the single phase cubic field, contained 1–2 nm diameter particles of t-ZrO2 The diffusional coarsening of these particles was found to follow the Greenwood-Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner (GLSW) theory, with an apparent activation energy of 425 ± 50 kJ/mol, close to the activation energy for inter-diffusion in CaO-stabilized ZrO2. The interfacial energy between the cubic solid solution and the tetragonal precipitates was estimated from the OLSW theory to be ~0.2J/m2. An isothermal transformation (IT) diagram was constructed for the nucleation and diffusional growth of o1 in the hyper-eutectoid crystal. The activation energy for o1 coarsening was estimated from the GLSW theory to be 376 ± 50 kJ/mol, essentially the same as that for the coarsening of t-ZrO2 precipitates. The interfacial energy between the cubic solid solution and o1 is ~0.1 J/m2.
Inner-shell photoionization of fullerenes C20 and C60 within the "Dirac bubble" model

The "Dirac bubble" (δ-potential) model is applied to description of the structure of fullerenes C20 and C60 and photoelectron states. Energy spectra for σ valence orbitals for both fullerenes are obtained. Photoionization from two innermost delocalized electrons states (1s and 2p) is considered. The s-,p-,d- scattering phaseshifts are calculated, they demonstrate clear resonance properties which have oscillation in energy. Partial and total photoionization cross sections are obtained, the latter reveal an interesting "serrated" structure. Intriguing high-energy asymptotics is deduced, σ ~ ω−5/2 sin2 (kR).
Interactions of visual and auditory mossy fiber inputs in the paraflocculus of the rat: a gating action of multimodal inputs.

Abstract We have demonstrated previously that visual and auditory inputs reach the rat paraflocculus via dorsolateral pontine gray from the secondary regions of the visual and auditory cortices. It has also been demonstrated that mossy fiber responses can be evoked to physiological acoustic stimuli in unanesthetized preparations. In this study, we investigated the interaction of auditory and visual inputs in the paraflocculus. Activity of parafloccular neurons was recorded in immobilized, locally anesthetized hooded rats. Selected images and tones were presented to animals. Orientation, position, and velocity of visual stimuli and different parameters of acoustic stimuli were controlled by a computer. Visual and auditory stimuli were also presented in combination or in different temporal sequences. We discovered that visual and auditory stimuli have coextensive termination zones in paraflocculus, and influence the same neurons in 60% of the cases. Combined auditory and visual stimuli produced synergistic responses in parafloccular neurons in comparison with single modality stimuli. Augmentation of responses could be observed even when one of the stimuli was subthreshold and did not alter per se the neuronal activity. Our findings suggest that within the cerebro-cerebellar system, subthreshold inputs are capable of powerful control over the neuronal activity and may alter responses to subsequent stimuli when properly biased by inputs from paired modalities.
The Life Cycles of GATE Convective Systems

Abstract The life cycles of GATE squall lines and loosely organized cloud clusters are analyzed and documented using radar and composited rawinsonde data. Time variations of the temperature, moisture, wind and vertical motion fields are presented for both types of systems. The convective systems are usually triggered by the approach of a middle-level trough in the easterlies. Low-level convergence increases prior to intensification of convection, possibly by several hours. Once the convection begins, the systems largely cause the changes in their upper and lower level divergence profiles through cumulus-induced and radiational heating. Squall line and cluster systems are found to be essentially similar except for their propagation speeds and their vertical wind shears.
Analytical and Physiological Variability of Salivary Microbial Counts

Quantitation of mutans streptococci (MS) and Lactobacillus has been proposed as a method for the identification of patients at high risk for dental caries. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the analytical and physiological variability of this procedure. Variability due to specimen collection and processing was investigated by repeated sampling studies. Sample stability was investigated over storage periods of up to 72 hr at 5°C, room temperature, and 37°C. Physiological variability was investigated by performance of serial analyses on ten individuals, who collected six samples at intervals on a single day, and rising and noon samples on ten subsequent days. Sample collection, rather than sample processing, was found to be the major factor determining the imprecision of salivary microbial analysis in the majority of cases. However, individual subjects varied considerably in the consistency with which they provided saliva samples. Imprecision due to sample processing was relatively small, ...
Unions of certain bounded deterministic languages

This paper presents conditions under which the union of a finite number of certain bounded deterministic languages is also deterministic. The languages under consideration are defined by conditions on the generators of linear sets. Similarly, the conditions given for the union to be deterministic are conditions among generators for several linear sets. We establish the result by demonstrating how several deterministic pushdown automata may be merged into one when our conditions are satisfied.
Bombardment-induced Gibbsian segregation and its role in secondary ion formation

Abstract There is good evidence that a phenomenon resembling Gibbsian segregation, i.e. involving a surface composition spike, occurs when alloys are bombarded either in the absence or presence of oxygen. The existence of such segregation means that the non-segregating species will be present in, and be emitted from, atom layer two to an untypical extent. The present work explores the consequences of this unusual situation for secondary ion formation. In particular, emission from atom layer two is shown to be numerically significant for a dilute non-segregating species but the sense of the effect, i.e. which species is non-segregating, is sometimes reported incorrectly. The non-segregating species will show characteristic differences in emission, including preferential emission near the target normal and a slightly narrower energy distribution. There is a possibility that the matrix effect associated with O2+ bombardment or O2 flooding in part arises because a non-segregating species passes through a greater thickness of target in escaping.
Oxidized low-density lipoproteins facilitate leukocyte adhesion to aortic intima without affecting endothelium-dependent relaxation: Role of P-selectin

Abstract Inflammatory cell deposition in atherosclerotic blood vessels has been thought to relate to loss of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO). To examine whether cell deposition correlates temporally with the loss of NO activity, rat aortic rings were incubated with buffer, native LDL (n-LDL), oxidized LDL (ox-LDL), or the endothelium-derived relaxing factor synthase inhibitor N ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) for 2 hours, and vascular contractile response to norepinephrine and relaxant response to acetylcholine, thrombin, and calcium ionophore A23,187 were examined. Thereafter, the rings were exposed to biotin-fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled fluorescent or unlabeled leukocytes for 30 minutes. Cell adhesion was quantitated by fluorescent microscopy as well as by scanning electron microscopy. Incubation with n-LDL or ox-LDL did not affect either the contractile or the relaxant response of rings. However, leukocyte adhesion increased markedly in all ox-LDL–treated rings but not in those treated with n-LDL. Thus, leukocyte adhesion occurred independent of NO activity. In keeping with this concept, pretreatment of rings with the NO precursor l-arginine failed to influence leukocyte adhesion to rings incubated with ox-LDL. Treatment of rings with l-NAME also resulted in adhesion of a large number of leukocytes. Furthermore, all rings treated with ox-LDL or l-NAME demonstrated marked expression of P-selectin leukocyte adhesion molecules, determined by immunohistochemistry. Pretreatment of rings with the P-selectin blocking antibody PB1.3 markedly decreased deposition of leukocytes in rings exposed to ox-LDL. These data show that cell adhesion to vascular intima exposed to ox-LDL shows no temporal relation with attenuation of NO activity, although inhibition of NO synthesis leads to leukocyte deposition. P-selectin expression on vascular rings exposed to ox-LDL appears to be the basis of leukocyte deposition.
Aparametric investigation of multiletter matches

Proctor (1981) presented a theoretical framework that distinguishes factors contributing to disparities in time to classify physical-same, name-same, and different letter pairs as a function of three variables: method of presentation (simultaneous vs. successive), case relationship (samecase vs. opposite-case pairs), and blocking (blocked vs. mixed presentation of same-case and opposite-case pairs). He also argued that these variables were critical in multIletter matches, and performed a between-study comparison of existing data to support his contention. Because comparison across studies is always a tenuous process and because the absence of several relevant conditions precluded a complete analysis of predictions, a within-experiment manipulation of the three relevant variables was desirable. The present study reports such an experiment. In general, the factorial manipulation of variables supported predictions of Proctor’s framework and indicated that many phenomena of multiletter matching, including the widely studied fast-“same” phenomenon, are attributable primarily to differences in the rate at which component letter pairs are matched.
Retrotransposons and regulatory suites

Summary Cellular differentiation and multicellular development require the programmed expression of coregulated suites of genetic loci dispersed throughout the genome. How do functionally diverse loci come to share common regulatory motifs? A new paper finds that retrotransposons (RTEs) may play a role in providing common regulation to a group of functions expressed during the development of oocytes and preimplantation embryos. Examining cDNA libraries, Peaston et al. (1) find that 13% of all processed transcripts in full-grown mouse oocytes contain RTE sequences, mostly from the MT family of retroviral-like elements. Smaller but still significant percentages of RTE sequences are found in cDNA libraries from 2-cell embryos and blastocysts. A quarter of these RTE sequences are at the 5 0 ends of chimeric transcripts that also contain exons from endogenous mouse loci. These chimeric transcripts display restricted expression in oocytesand preimplantationembryosand presumably originate from developmentally regulated LTR promoters. Some, but not all, chimeric transcripts encode novel protein products. BioEssays 27:122–125, 2005. 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Why so many mobile elements in genomes? More than half the human genome is repetitive DNA. (2) The transcriptionally active euchromatic portion of our DNA contains 20–30 times more nucleotides in mobile genetic elements than in protein-coding sequences. The genomes of other multicellular organisms also have large excesses of repetitive DNA. What does all this repeat DNA do? Functional genomics is starting to produce some answers. When Barbara McClintock first discovered transposable components in the maize genome, she called them ‘‘controlling elements’’ because they could alter patterns of developmental expression when inserted near any genetic locus. (3) Although her discovery of genome fluidity has received widespread acceptance, McClintock’s ideas about transposable regulatory modules fell out of favor. However, a new paper from the Jackson Laboratory in Developmental Cell by Anne Peaston, Alexei Evsikov and their colleagues may help change that view. (1) Examining expression patterns in mouse oocytes and preimplantation embryos, they found a major developmental role for retrotransposons (RTEs) in determining transcription initiation and mRNA structure. This paper is part of a rapidly growing literature that implicates dispersed mobile elements in the control of genome expression. Retrotransposon sequences in oocyte- and preimplantation-embryo-specific transcripts Peaston et al. found that 13% of the cDNAs in an EST library prepared from full-grown oocytes (FGOs) contained RTE sequences. At least one quarter of these transcripts were chimeric mRNAs, containing RTE sequences at the 5 0 end attached to identified cellular coding sequences (i.e. >3% of the total ESTs). Most of the RTEs were related to retroviruses andhadlongterminalrepeats(LTRs).SoitappearedthatRTE
SELECTIVE DECAY HYPOTHESIS AT HIGH MECHANICAL AND MAGNETIC REYNOLDS NUMBERS

Implications of certain applications of turbulence theory to two-dimensional turbulence and magnetohydrodynamic flow are discussed. It is shown that the use of the Navier-Stokes equation (NSE) for measurements of turbulent fluctuations has been effective only for three-dimensional flows. For two-dimensional flows, used for the study of large-scale motions in the atmosphere or ocean, enstrophy is cascaded to high wave numbers and dissipated at a finite rate even at infinite Re. MHD flows are numerically calculated for the two-dimensional case and analytically for the three-dimensional case, for which discrepancies in the relative rates of energy and cross helicity decay lead to a recommendation that numerical calculations for the three-dimensional case be carried out to determine the precise decayed states.
Anterograde neuroanatomical tract tracing with central nervous system injections of immunoglobulin G : a light and electron microscopic evaluation

Abstract Normal rabbit serum (NTRS) was pressure injected into the forebrain of rats to be tested as an anterograde neuroanatomical tracing substance. Undiluted NRS was stereotaxically injected into the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) with a 1-μl Hamilton syringe. Postinjection survival times ranged from 24 h to 14 days. An immunohistochemical method utilizing goat anti-rabbit IgG antibody was used to detect the rabbit IgG within vibratome sections. Visualization of the final reaction product (diaminobenzidine, DAB) was enhanced by a silver/gold postintensification (SGI) method. Rabbit IgG-containing neural structures were examined at both light and electron microscopic (EM) levels. At the injection site neuronal soma, dendrites and axons were filled homogeneously with the SGI-DAB at 24 h, 48 h, 7 days and 14 days indicating local neuronal uptake, storage and transport of rabbit IgG. In the hypothalamus many anterogradely filled axons were present and displayed short collateral branches and terminals. EM examination revealed synaptic terminals containing IgG, without signs of transsynaptic transport after 14 days. Signs of retrograde transport of IgG were never observed. A propensity of neurons to take up, sequester and anterogradely transport immunoglobulin G is indicated.
Robust detection in the presence of integrity attacks

We consider the estimation of a binary random variable based on m noisy measurements that can be manipulated by an attacker. The attacker is assumed to have full information about the true value of the variable to be estimated and about the value of all the measurements. However, the attacker has limited resources and can only manipulate n of the m measurements. The problem is formulated as a minimax optimization, where one seeks to construct an optimal detector that minimizes the “worst-case” probability of error against all possible manipulations by the attacker. We show that if the attacker can manipulate at least half the measurements (n ≥ m/2) then the optimal worst-case estimator should ignore all m measurements and be based solely on the a-priori information. When the attacker can manipulate less than half the measurements (n < m/2), we show that the optimal estimator is a threshold rule based on a Hamminglike distance between the (manipulated) measurement vector and two appropriately defined sets. For the special case where m = 2n+ 1, our results provide a constructive procedure for the optimal estimator.
The effect of dietary garlic on the development of cardiovascular disease

Abstract The medicinal properties of garlic were recognized by the Babylonians and by many later populations. Garlic can lower serum lipid levels in rats and can significantly reduce the severity of cholesterol-induced atherosclerosis in rabbits. Most studies on humans have shown garlic to reduce serum cholesterol levels. In addition to its hypolipidemic properties, garlic also has hypotensive, anticoagulant and fibrinolytic properties. Thus, it can affect several of the factors that contribute to the risk of coronary heart disease. At present, there is no unified standard description of garlic potency; such a standard is needed to compare data from different sources accurately. The principal chemical entities in garlic are diallyl disulfide (obtained on steam distillation), allicin (obtained by ethanol-water extraction) and alliin (obtained by extraction with cold ethanol). Alliin can rearrange to give ajoene, a compound with many of the pharmacological properties of garlic oil.
Mutagenesis of certain benzo[a]pyrene phenols in vitro following further metabolism by mouse liver

Abstract Low concentrations of 1-hydroxy- and 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene in the presence of NADPH and liver S-9 fraction from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated C57BL/6N mice are as much as 3-fold more mutagenic than benzo[a]pyrene in the bacteria Salmonella typhimurium LT 2 tester strain TA98. The level of mutagenicity rises with increasing phenol or S-9 protein concentration. In this system, 9-hydroxy-benzo[a]pyrene is slightly mutagenic, while 2-hydroxy-, 7-hydroxy- and 12-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene are not mutagenic at low concentrations. The S-9 fraction from 3-methylcholanthrene-treated DBA/2N mice or phenobarbital-treated C 5 7BL/6N mice does not support significant levels of mutagenesis. The high level of mutagenicity by 1-hydroxy- or 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene is inhibited by α-naphthoflavone but is not inhibited by metyrapone, 1, 2-epoxy-3, 3, 3-trichloropropane or glutathione. The substrate for UDP-glucuron-osyltransferase, UDP-glucuronic acid, prevents more than half of the mutagenicity caused by the further metabolism of 1-hydroxy- and 3-hydroxybenzot alpyrene. The combination of UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP- N -acetylglucosamine provides an even higher level of protection. The addition of the substrate for sulfotransferase(s), 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate sulfate, also prevents about half of the mutagenesis caused by 1-hydroxy- or 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene.
Estimating the clinical effect of incorporating a new risk marker into therapeutic decisions via a risk reclassification strategy

Abstract Background: Risk reclassification tables are an effective means of evaluating the added prognostic information provided by a new risk marker beyond an established set of risk markers. These cross-tabulations
Types of Open Access Publishers in Scopus

This study assessed characteristics of publishers who published 2010 open access (OA) journals indexed in Scopus. Publishers were categorized into six types; professional, society, university, scholar/researcher, government, and other organizations. Type of publisher was broken down by number of journals/articles published in 2010, funding model, location, discipline and whether the journal was born or converted to OA. Universities and societies accounted for 50% of the journals and 43% of the articles published. Professional publisher accounted for a third of the journals and 42% of the articles. With the exception of professional and scholar/researcher publishers, most journals were originally subscription journals that made at least their digital version freely available. Arts, humanities and social science journals are largely published by societies and universities outside the major publishing countries. Professional OA publishing is most common in biomedicine, mathematics, the sciences and engineering. Approximately a quarter of the journals are hosted on national/international platforms, in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia largely published by universities and societies without the need for publishing fees. This type of collaboration between governments, universities and/or societies may be an effective means of expanding open access publications.
Nucleotide excision repair in E. coli.

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a generalized repair system capable of removing a large number of DNA lesions that differ widely in their chemical structure and conformation. NER is a highly conserved process and can be described in four basic steps. Genetic insult results in conformational change in the DNA helix, which serves as a binding site for damage recognition proteins. The binding of these proteins at a damaged site serves as a scaffold for the formation of an endonuclease complex that hydrolyzes the phosphodiester bond in two places near the damaged site. In E. coli, the incision sites are 7 nucleotides 5{prime} and 3 or 4 nucleotides 3{prime} to the damaged site, whereas it has been reported that in mammalian cells incisions occur approximately 27-29 nucleotides 5{prime} and 5 nucleotides 3{prime} to the damaged site. Following incision, the damaged site and the flanking nucleotides are removed, and DNA polymerase fills the excised gap. The process is completed by the ligation of the newly complete repair patch into the parental DNA. Nucleotide excision repair is a complex process, performed by a multiprotein machine. This complexity is underscored by the number of genetic loci, which, if mutated, can lead to inefficientmore » damage recognition and incision. During the last decade, using modern molecular techniques, several laboratories have cloned and characterized nucleotide excision repair genes from several organisms. Simultaneously, cell-free assays have been developed that can be used to characterize the specific protein products encoded by these genes. Due to its relative simplicity and ease of manipulation, the bacteria Escherichia coli has served as a model system for elucidation of the molecular details of nucleotide excision repair in other organisms. This paper briefly highlights some of the important features of nucleotide excision repair in E. coli.« less
A comparison of two structural forms of α,α-5, 15-bis(o-nicotinoylamidophenyl)-2,8,12,18-tetraethyl-3,7,13,17-tetramethylporphyrinato nickel(II)

Abstract The structure of α, α-5, 15-bis(o-nicotinoylamidophenyl)-2,8,12-18-tetraethyl-3,7,13,17-tetramethylporphyrinato nickel(II), [Ni(DPE)]-(py)2 has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. [Ni(DPE)]-(py)2·H2O crystallizes from wet DMF/CH3OH with one water molecule solvate, C56H54N8O3Ni in the space group P21/n with a = 14.240(2), b = 25.418(4), c = 14.725(5)A, β = 117.20(6)°, V = 4740(4)A3, Z = 4, R = 0.0807 and Rw = 0.1072.
Cleaved and Missed Sites for Trypsin, Lys-C, and Lys-N Can Be Predicted with High Confidence on the Basis of Sequence Context

Trypsin, Lys-C, and Lys-N are the most broadly used enzymes in proteomics. Here, on the basis of large-scale peptide mass spectrometry (MS) data sets, an approach is described to confidently identify missed cleavage sites in either phosphorylated or unmodified substrates for these three proteases, or any protease, on the basis of side chain species present within 15 residues of the cleavage-specificity residue. Previously known effects of proline, negatively charged side chains, and phospho-modified residues have been quantified, and additional side chain effects were noted. By applying a set of quantitative side chain rules established for each of the three proteases, scissile and nonscissile sites could be established, on the basis of protein sequence alone, with near certainty for Lys-C, and with a high degree of confidence for trypsin or Lys-N. These rules were applicable to orthogonal peptide data sets, including the two largest in the PeptideAtlas database. The approach described here facilitates th...
Ethnic Group Affiliation and Patterns of Development of a Phonological Variable

In today's increasingly multicultural and multilingual world, having the ability to use a variety of second (L2) or foreign languages is no longer just a luxury but a socioeconomic necessity. This situation has given rise to an urgency to understand more deeply the relationship between L2 learning and use and factors arising from membership in social groups. In this study, we examined the association between a group of Quebec Francophones’ sense of belonging to their ethnic group (ethnic group affiliation, or EGA) and their English pronunciation accuracy. The results revealed that certain component dimensions of EGA were negatively associated with participants’ pronunciation accuracy of the English voiced interdental fricative (e.g., // in other), an important marker of ethnolinguistic identity. The stronger the EGA, the less native-like the L2 pronunciation accuracy. This EGA–pronunciation accuracy link, however, was mediated by the amount of self-reported L2 use. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for L2 and foreign language learning in contexts in which ethnolinguistic identity issues are important.