cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effects of the licorice derivative, glycyrrhetinic acid, on hepatic 3α- and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and 5α- and 5β-reductase pathways of metabolism of aldosterone in male rats

Abstract Ingestion of licorice or treatment with chemical derivatives of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), an active principle of licorice, can cause hypertension, sodium retention, and hypokalemia. Although GA has been shown to inhibit 11β-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase, it may not be the only hepatic enzyme affected by this licorice derivative. Therefore, we studied the effects of GA on other major hepatic steroid-metabolizing enzymes from adrenalectomized male rats using aldosterone as the substrate; namely, Δ4-5α and Δ4-5β-reductases and 3α- and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (3α- and 3β-HSD). From these in vitro studies, we demonstrated that GA does not affect either microsomal 5α-reductase or cytosolic 3α-HSD activity. However, GA is a potent inhibitor of cytosolic 5β-reductase: the K(inis) and k(inii) were calculated from enzyme kinetic analysis to be 6.79 and 5.41 μm, respectively, using the Cleland equation, indicating that GA is a noncompetitive inhibitor of aldosterone. In addition, GA specifically inhibited microsomal 3β-HSD enzyme activity by what appears to be a competitive inhibition mechanism, causing a build-up of the intermediate, 5α-dihydroaldosterone (DHAldo). Thus, this study has indicated that GA has a profound effect on hepatic ring A-reduction of aldosterone. Inhibition of 5β-reductase and 3β-HSD results in decreased synthesis of both 3α, 5β-tetrahy-droaldosterone (THAldo) and 3β, 5α-THAldo and, hence, accumulation of aldosterone and 5α-DHAldo, both potent mineralocorticoids. Thus, more than one enzyme may be involved in the mechanism by which GA causes steroids, such as the glucocorticoid hormones, to display mineralocorticoid-like actions in humans and experimental animals. (Steroids 55:52–58, 1990)
Plasma and pituitary concentrations of LH, FSH, and Prolactin in aging C57BL/6 mice at various times of the estrous cycle ☆

Plasma and pituitary concentrations of LH, FSH, and prolactin (Prl) were measured by RIA in 2-4, 7-8, 12-13 and 16-20 month-old female C57BL/6 mice during various stages of the estrous cycle. In general, gonadotropin concentrations tended to rise with increasing age and Prl concentrations tended to decline. Pronounced differences existed, however, between the four age groups around the time of the LH surge. LH secretion declined progressively with increasing age at 21.00 hr of proestrus. Aged mice, 16-20 months old, had significantly lower plasma concentrations of LH than did other age groups. It is not known whether age-related changes in the ovary, pituitary, or hypothalamus are largely responsible for differences in the secretion of LH, FSH and Prl in aging C57BL/6 mice.
Existence of an optimal control for stochastic systems governed by ito equations

We give existence theorems for stochastic control problems with a lower semicontinuous cost functional and governed by Ito equations. We prove that two formulations of the fundamental problem are equivalent, one involving nonanticipative controls and the other involving (measurable) feedback controls. We then use the concept ofconvergence in distribution to prove existence for the first problem, and hence for the second as well. While our work has certain similarities with a paper of Kushner, our techniques are different and lead to more general results.
Development and evaluation of automated systems for detection and classification of banded chromosomes: current status and future perspectives

Automated detection and classification of banded chromosomes may help clinicians diagnose cancers and other genetic disorders at an early stage more efficiently and accurately. However, developing such an automated system (including both a high-speed microscopic image scanning device and related computer-assisted schemes) is quite a challenging and difficult task. Since the 1980s, great research efforts have been made to develop fast and more reliable methods to assist clinical technicians in performing this important and time-consuming task. A number of computer-assisted methods including classical statistical methods, artificial neural networks and knowledge-based fuzzy logic systems, have been applied and tested. Based on the initial test using limited datasets, encouraging results in algorithm and system development have been demonstrated. Despite the significant research effort and progress made over the last two decades, computer-assisted chromosome detection and classification systems have not been routinely accepted and used in clinical laboratories. Further research and development is needed.
Temperature dependence of flexoelectric response in ferroelectric and relaxor polymer thin films

We report the temperature dependence of the flexoelectric response in thin films of both ferroelectric and relaxor forms of vinylidene fluoride polymers. The ferroelectric samples were depoled to minimize piezoelectric response by heating them beyond their Curie temperature and then cooling in zero applied electric field. In both the relaxor ferroelectric polymer and the paraelectric state of the ferroelectric copolymer, the flexoelectric coefficient was proportional to the dielectric constant over a limited range of temperatures, in agreement with general theoretical principles. The enhancements in flexoelectric response were also observed near the Curie transition temperature for the ferroelectric polymer and near the dielectric relaxation temperature for the relaxors. The broad dielectric anomaly in these systems provides greater temperature stability for these enhancements.
Hypertension and anxiety

Abstract 1. 1. Epinephrine (E) as well as norepinephrine (NE) was infused during ganglion blockade in 22 hypertensive and 13 normotensive subjects and circulatory responses including digital vascular reactivity (DVR) were recorded. The apparent NE secretion rate (ANESR) was also measured in most of the subjects. 2. 2. The hypertensive group included many patients with labile as well as with established essential hypertension. 3. 3. Formal psychological tests were administered to evaluate personality “trait” anxiety (IPAT test) as well as to assess both momentary affect and rapid shifts of overt emotions in the following categories: pleasurable affect, depression, anxiety, hostility, and combined unpleasant affect (MARS test). 4. 4. No significant correlation was found between IPAT anxiety scores and DVR to E or NE, initial or resting blood pressure, initial or resting heart rate, or between such scoring and changes in blood pressure or heart rate during E infusion, in both normotensive and hypertensive groups. Correlation was significant between anxiety scores and diastolic blood pressure decrease during E infusion, but in a different direction for normotensive as against hypertensive subjects. 5. 5. Epinephrine infusion induced a significant increase in anxiety and combined unpleasant affect of a similar magnitude in normotensive and hypertensive subjects. 6. 6. In the hypertensive group, correlation between DVR to E and anxiety as well as unpleasant affect during E infusion was significant, whereas such correlation was not significant in the normotensive group. 7. 7. Although scoring for personality “trait” anxiety was no higher in the hypertensive than in the normotensive group, DVR to E was significantly higher in the hypertensive group.
X‐ray source and the output factor

When the collimator setting of a linear accelerator is made sufficiently small, the output factor in air, R, is greatly reduced because the collimators obstruct the periphery of the x‐ray source. This has been utilized to examine the size of the source by varying the width y of a narrow field and determining how R(y) varies. The source diameters in the two principal directions were clearly influenced by the design of the accelerators. The x‐ray sources of two accelerators with bending magnets were found to be noncircular while that of a linear accelerator without a magnet showed circular symmetry. The position of the source relative to the axis of collimator rotation was determined by measuringR for offset narrow fields. For one of the accelerators, the source was initially moving and off the central axis by about 2 mm for the first five monitor units. The results correlated well with sharpness in portal–film images. The technique can serve to evaluate the major source characteristics in acceptance testing and quality control.
Just say "NO" to viral hepatitis?

Interferons (IFNs) induce antiviral activity in many cell types. The ability of IFN-γ to inhibit replication of ectromelia, vaccinia, and herpes simplex-1 viruses in mouse macrophages correlated with the cells' production of nitric oxide (NO). Viral replication was restored in IFN-γ–treated macrophages exposed to inhibitors of NO synthase. Conversely, epithelial cells with no detectable NO synthesis restricted viral replication when transfected with a complementary DNA encoding inducible NO synthase or treated with organic compounds that generate NO. In mice, an inhibitor of NO synthase converted resolving ectromelia virus infection into fulminant mousepox. Thus, induction of NO synthase can be necessary and sufficient for a substantial antiviral effect of IFN-γ.
Volume-of-interest reconstruction from severely truncated data in dental cone-beam CT

As cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has gained popularity rapidly in dental imaging applications in the past two decades, radiation dose in CBCT imaging remains a potential, health concern to the patients. It is a common practice in dental CBCT imaging that only a small volume of interest (VOI) containing the teeth of interest is illuminated, thus substantially lowering imaging radiation dose. However, this would yield data with severe truncations along both transverse and longitudinal directions. Although images within the VOI reconstructed from truncated data can be of some practical utility, they often are compromised significantly by truncation artifacts. In this work, we investigate optimization-based reconstruction algorithms for VOI image reconstruction from CBCT data of dental patients containing severe truncations. In an attempt to further reduce imaging dose, we also investigate optimization-based image reconstruction from severely truncated data collected at projection views substantially fewer than those used in clinical dental applications. Results of our study show that appropriately designed optimization-based reconstruction can yield VOI images with reduced truncation artifacts, and that, when reconstructing from only one half, or even one quarter, of clinical data, it can also produce VOI images comparable to that of clinical images.
Energy protection arguments fail in the interaction picture

Spin Hamiltonians with degenerate ground states are one potential system for the storage of quantum information at low temperatures. Trapped ions can be used to simulate the dynamics of these Hamiltonians, but the coherence-preserving properties will be lost. This illustrates that a quantum simulation performed in an interaction frame will not thermalize with its environment.
Operant training of head control and beginning language for a severely developmentally disabled child

Abstract Contingent social reinforcement was applied differentially to aid the behavioral and educational development of a nine-year-old, severely retarded, non-verbal female with quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy. Four behaviors prerequisite and collateral to beginning language development were defined and measured: eye contact, head control, imitative vocalization, and drooling. Treatment was administered in multiple baseline design, and improvements in all behaviors were observed over the 20 week program. The experimenters found the improvements maintained during follow-up periods one month and 12 months after the initial child training had ceased.
#53-S dietary and environmental risk factors for clinical hyperthyroidism in pet cats

Abstract PURPOSE: The prevalence of hyperthyroidism in pet cats (benign nodular hyperplasia) has reached epidemic proportions, since it was first described in 1979. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that consumption of canned foods compared with dry foods increases the risk of hyperthyroidism. Furthermore, the risk associated with lower iodine concentrations in canned foods and chemicals in can linings was evaluated. Secondary hypotheses were that hyperthyroid risk is increased by well water consumption and exposure to environmental endocrine disrupters. METHODS: Case cats (n = 109) had serum T4 concentration ⩾5.0 μg/dl and ⩾1 clinical sign of hyperthyroidism; control cats (n = 173) had a serum T4 concentration ⩽3.5 μg/dl. RESULTS: Lifetime canned (vs. dry) food consumption was associated with increased risk (⩾50% canned: OR = 3.45, 95% CI: 1.77, 6.74; CONCLUSIONS: Endocrine disrupters in food can linings and the environment may explain the recent epidemic of hyperthyroidism in cats, since easy-open cans have gained popularity. This same relationship should also be evaluated in humans.
“These girls gave me AIDS. Why should I use condoms?” Clients of Sex Workers in Kamathipura Express Their Attitudes About HIV

Very little research has been conducted that examines the attitudes toward HIV/AIDS from the perspective of clients of sex workers. This study examined 13 male clients of sex workers through in-depth interviews that aimed to explore their understanding of risks associated with unprotected sex, as well as condom use and attitudes about condoms and HIV/AIDS. The findings suggested that clients of sex workers often have incorrect knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Additionally, differences arose around condom use with sex workers versus intimate partners. Finally, participants were found to deceive sex partners and intimate partners about their HIV/AIDS status. These findings emphasize the importance of more effective HIV/AIDS awareness programming aimed at male clients of sex workers.
Origin and context of C. T. R. Wilson's ideas on electron runaway in thunderclouds

[1] The publications, research notebooks and personal correspondence of C.T.R. Wilson are reviewed to understand his thinking on the idea of electron runaway in thunderclouds. The expansion cloud chamber, developed and refined over a period of nearly fifty years, is centrally important. Wilson's habit of research is characterized by a pattern of alternating between laboratory work with the cloud chamber and field observations of thunderclouds and the global electrical circuit. The evidence that the ionization tracks of electrons in the cloud chamber straightened with increasing energy was key to the idea of electron runaway, published in 1925. Despite numerous negative results by Wilson's colleagues Schonland, Halliday and others in searching for energetic particles in the vicinity of thunderclouds, Wilson supported the idea from its inception to his final publication in 1956. Wilson's notebooks indicate a conceptual awareness of runaway breakdown in thunderclouds 60 years in advance of contemporary theoretical publications. Definitive observational results on runaway breakdown in contemporary research were likely delayed for 60 years as a result of the unfortunate negative experimental results with inadequate equipment.
Investigations in Abrasive Water Jet Erosion Based on Wear Particle Analysis

In the study, gray cast iron specimens are cut by abrasive water jets with pressures between p = 140 MPa and p = 345 MPa. Wear particles collected during cutting are analyzed based on average grain size and grain size distribution. The average diameter of the removed wear particles was found to be between D = 60 μm and D = 70 μm and drops with rising pump pressure. A semi-empirical model is developed to describe this relation. The grain distribution of the wear particles can be characterized by a Rosin-Rammler-Sperling (RRSB)-distribution. The surface area of the removed wear particle samples increases with an increase in the pump pressure. The progress drops at higher pressure levels indicating accelerated efficiency losses if the pump pressure exceeds a certain value. An efficiency parameter, Φ, is defined which relates the jet kinetic energy to the creation of the wear particles, and a method for its estimation is developed. It was found that the efficiency parameter exhibits a maximum value at a pressure level of about three times the material threshold pressure. The average efficiency parameter is estimated to φ = 0.02.
Small-Angle Rayleigh Scattering by Relatively Large Latex Particles

According to the Rayleigh−Debye (RG) theory of light scattering, the intensity of forward scattering is proportional to the volume-squared of the scatterers, independent of their shape or orientation. This makes small-angle light scattering (SALS) attractive as a tool for studying the kinetics of flocculation of model latexes, where the conformation of elemental particles in any floc is unknown. In preparation for such a study using a modified version of the apparatus of Lips and Willis (1973), we experimentally determine the limits under which SALS produced by a He−Ne laser can be used for sizing of monodisperse polystyrene latexes. For every particle in the sample volume to experience the same intensity of incident light (i.e. for negligible extinction), the particle concentration must be less than cmax, where cmaxld6 = (1.08 ± 0.09) × 10-26 m4, l is the pathlength and d is the particle diameter. For c < cmax, the scattering per particle at 2° is proportional to d6 provided d is less than 1 μm, which is...
Development and validation of a rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy assay for determination of 17-(allylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin and 17-(amino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin in human plasma.

Abstract A sensitive method was developed and validated for the measurement of 17-(allylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17AAG) and its active metabolite 17-amino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17AG) in human plasma using 17-(dimethylaminoethylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17DMAG) as an internal standard. After the addition of internal standard, 200 μL of plasma was extracted using ice cold acetonitrile followed by analysis on a Thermo Finnigan triple-quadruple mass spectrometer coupled to an Agilent 1100 HPLC system. Chromatography was carried out on a 50 mm × 2.1 mm Agilent Zorbax SB-phenyl 5 μm column coupled to a 3 mm Varian metaguard diphenyl pre-column using glacial acetic acid 0.1% and a gradient of acetonitrile and water at a flow rate of 500 μL/min. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and detection of 17AAG, 17AG and 17DMAG were accomplished using selected reaction monitoring of m / z 584.3 > 541.3, 544.2 > 501.2, and 615.3 > 572.3, respectively in negative ion mode. Retention times for 17AAG, 17AG, and 17DMAG were 4.1, 3.5, and 2.9 min, respectively, with a total run time of 7 min. The assay was linear over the range 0.5–3000 ng/mL for 17AAG and 17AG. Replicate sample analysis indicated within- and between-run accuracy and precision within 15%. The recovery of 17AAG and 17AG from 200 μL of plasma containing 1, 25, 300, and 2500 ng/mL was 93% or greater. This high-performance liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectroscopy (HPLC/MS/MS) method is superior to previous methods. It is the first analytical method reported to date for the quantitation of both 17AAG and its metabolite 17AG and can reliably quantitate concentrations of both compounds as low as 0.5 ng/mL.
Impact of fluorine substituents on the rates of nucleophilic aliphatic substitution and β-elimination

Abstract A measure of the quantitative effect of proximate fluorine substituents on the rates of SN2 and E2 reactions has been obtained through a study mainly of reactions of fluorinated n-alkyl bromides with weak base, strong nucleophile azide ion and strong base/nucleophile methoxide ion in the protic solvent methanol and the aprotic solvent, DMSO. The order of reactivity for SN2 reactions of azide in methanol at 50 °C was found to be: n-alkyl-Br > n-alkyl-CHFBr > n-perfluoroalkyl-CH2CH2Br ≫ n-perfluoroalkyl-CH2Br > n-alkyl-CF2Br. Approximate relative rates of reaction were: 1, 0.20, 0.12, 1 × 10−4, n-alkyl-CHFBr > n-alkyl-Br. The approximate relative rates for reaction of methoxide in methanol at 50 °C were: 1100, 4.4, 1.9, 1.
The relationship between emotional adjustment and two factor structures of the mental adjustment to cancer (MAC) scale

Using two different factor structures for the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale, the present study examined the relationship between mental attitude and emotional adjustment in a sample of 58 cancer patients. Analyses, using the original Watson MAC subscales, showed that: (a) fighting spirit was associated with better emotional adjustment, whereas hopelessness/helplessness and anxious preoccupation were associated with poor emotional adjustment and (b) subjects with low fighting spirit, high hopelessness/helplessness and moderate anxious preoccupation also had high levels of emotional distress. Analyses, on the alternative Schwartz MAC subscales, showed that: (a) positive reappraisal was associated with better emotional adjustment, whereas hopelessness was associated with poor emotional adjustment and (b) subjects with low hopelessness, high positive reappraisal, high positive attitude and high vigilant participation also had lower levels of emotional distress. However, for both factor structures, certain subscales showed a weak association to mood. Overall, the results validate both MAC factor structures, but highlight the need for additional refinement of the MAC scale.
Proton Efflux from Roots of Intact Spergularia marina Plants

Premier signalement d'une liberation rapide de H + des racines d'une halophyte S.m. en milieu nutritif complet, en presence de lumiere
Scaled Isotropic Results for Two-Dimensional Anisotropic Scattering Media

The full anisotropic scattering solutions of the radiative equation of transfer are compared with the scaled isotropic scattering solutions. Square enclosures with a collimated incidence, a diffuse incidence, or an isothermal emission are considered for comparison. The isotropic scaling approximation is found to predict accurately the radiative flux and the average incident radiation for the isothermal emission problem and for most diffuse incidence problems. For the collimated incidence problem, the isotropic scaling solutions are acceptable only for weakly scattering media. For large scattering albedo the error in the isotropic scaling is appreciable for the diffuse incidence problem and unacceptably large for the collimated incidence problem. The largest error in the y-direction net flux is found at the side wall regions when the medium is purely scattering. The isothermal emission problem or problems with symmetric boundary conditions can be accurately modeled by a scaled isotropic phase function, since the effect of the phase function anisotropy is negligible in such problems.
Catalytic carbide formation at aluminium-carbon interfaces

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy investigations of the reaction of several monolayer-thick films of aluminum with glassy carbon substrates are presented. The influence of molecular oxygen and water vapor on the rate of reaction is examined. It is concluded that water vapor catalyzed the formation of aluminum carbide from aluminum and carbon by forming active sites which weakened carbon-carbon bonds at the glassy carbon surface, thus assisting their cleavage. The rate of carbide formation for undosed and molecular oxygen-dosed examples was less as neither metallic aluminum nor oxygen-formed alumina could bond to the carbon atom with sufficient strength to dissociate it quickly.
Modeling and simulation of compressive gravity thickening of activated sludge

Abstract A mathematical model of compressive thickening is developed which is based on Kos’ model yet can be calibrated from measurements of concentration, concentration gradient, and bulk underflow velocity in continuous thickening experiments. The need for sensitivity and difficult measurements such as interparticle pressure or volumetric solids concentration is eliminated. Numerical programs to simulate the model are described. The model was calibrated and tested using steady state continuous thickening experiments. Unsteady state continuous thickening was studied by use of computer simulation of the model. Programs are described for nonlinear regression of the models to continuous thickening column data, and for steady state and unsteady state simulation.
Opioids: Mediators of fear or mania

Beta-endorphins have been reported to increase animal locomoter activity that parallels the effects of psychostimulants and have been found to be naloxone reversible. These effects have been considered (Holtzman 1974; Segal et al. 1979) to be animal models of mania. The applications of this idea to humans have led to inconsistant findings (Janowski et al. 1979; Davis et al. 1980; Judd et al. 1980; Pickar et al. 1982; Janowski et al. 1983), but some investigators still report endorphins as potential models for mania. Others have argued (Bolles and Fanselow 1980) that the major function of endorphins is the inhibition of pain-related behaviors when an injured animal needs to defend itself. Fear is postulated as a trigger for the endorphin system, and the reductions in gnawing and running seen in animals after an injection of naloxone may reflect alterations in fear rather than mania. This study examines the question of whether or not endotphins are more relevant to fear versus mania mediators in humans by investigating the role of naloxone as a blocker of the endogenous opiate system in the systematic desensitization of phobic patients. This disorder and its treatment presumes fear as its central issue, as it has been observed (Carr 1978) that patients in systematic desensitization who do not report fear response
Inhibitory effects of dopamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) on glutamate-evoked firing of nucleus accumbens and caudate/putamen cells are enchanced following cocaine self-administration

Rats were allowed to self-administer cocaine during a 3-h session for 15 days. One to 11 days after the last cocaine exposure, rats were anesthetized with urethane and effects of microiontophoretically-applied dopamine on glutamate-evoked firing of neurons in the nucleus accumbens and in the caudate/putamen were tested. Dopamine produced a dose-dependent inhibition of glutamate-evoked firing in both the nucleus accumbens and the caudate/putamen of rats that had been repeatedly exposed to self-administered cocaine and in control rats. However, the DA-induced inhibition was significantly greater in the group that had self-administered cocaine. The cocaine self-administration group was significantly sensitized to the inhibitory effects of dopamine in both early (1-3 day) and later (9-11 days) periods of cocaine abstinence. Following cessation of repeated cocaine self-administration sessions, nucleus accumbens cells were also sensitized to the inhibitory effects of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), a drug that increases extracellular levels of DA and serotonin in the nucleus accumbens. This sensitization to DA- and MDMA-induced inhibition in the nucleus accumbens and in the striatum indicates that long-term neuroadaptations occur in these regions of the nervous system following repeated exposure to self-administered cocaine.
Negotiating Resistance to Multiculturalism in a Teacher Education Curriculum: A Case Study.

This study examined a teacher education program rooted in a social justice framework and intended to infuse multicultural education throughout the curriculum. Two teacher educators designed the three-year, undergraduate program to prepare mostly White candidates from a suburban area to teach in urban elementary schools. By describing the perceptions of both teacher candidates' and their instructors about programmatic experiences, coupled with examination of all course syllabi, we illuminate various dynamics that support and hinder multiculturalism in teacher education. The findings from this study reveal opportunities to enhance multicultural teacher education by negotiating candidates' resistance. Through opportunities that challenge their perspectives and scaffold their conceptions of ideas, such as classroom as communities, candidates can develop capacities as multicultural educators. Although we acknowledge that multicultural education should be a focus within and across programs, we believe this focu...
Mechanism of enhanced broadening of the ionization level of Li outside transition metal surfaces

Keith Niedfeldt,1 Peter Nordlander,2 and Emily A. Carter1 1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544-5263, USA 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, M.S. 61, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, 6100 South Main Street, Houston, Texas 77251-1892, USA Received 30 May 2006; published 15 September 2006
Effects of using two- versus three-dimensional computational modeling of fluidized beds: Part II, budget analysis

The partial differential equations for modeling gas-solid flows using computational fluid dynamics are compared for different coordinate systems. The numerical results of 2D and 3D simulations for both cylindrical and rectangular domains are presented in Part I (N. Xie, F. Battaglia, S. Pannala, Effects of using two- versus three-dimensional computational modeling of fluidized beds: Part I, Hydrodynamics (2007-this volume), doi:10.1016/j.powtec.2007.07.005), comparing the hydrodynamic features of a fluidized bed. The individual terms of the governing equations in 2D and 3D simulations with the cylindrical and Cartesian coordinate systems are evaluated in this study through a budget analysis. The additional terms appearing in the 3D equations can be used to explain the discrepancies between 2D and 3D simulations. The values of the additional terms is shown to increase as inlet gas velocity increases. This explains the good agreement between 2D and 3D simulations that is observed for bubbling regimes with low gas velocity, and why the differences between 2D and 3D simulations increases for slugging and turbulent regimes.
Molecular cloning, sequence analysis and translation of proenkephalin mRNA from rat heart

Proenkephalin mRNA is abundant in rat cardiac ventricles but surprisingly low levels of opioid peptides or precursor forms derived from proenkephalin are present in tissue extracts. Proenkephalin mRNA in rat heart was characterized at the molecular level with the use of cDNA sequencing, in vitro translation, and primer extension. Two positive proenkephalin cDNA clones were obtained by screening approx. 20,000 recombinant phages from a heart cDNA library. Sequence analysis of the cDNA clones indicated that the heart transcript was the same form as in rat brain, but differed from the germ cell-specific testis transcript that utilizes a different transcriptional start site. Heart proenkephalin cRNA translated efficiently, resulting in the synthesis of a 35 kDa protein that was immunoprecipitated by an antibody specific to the protein. The transcriptional initiation sites utilized in the heart were the same as in the brain, based on primer extension studies. These data suggest that the proenkephalin transcript found in abundance in rat heart is the same form as found in the brain, and differs from the testis-type transcript. We conclude that the scant level of proenkephalin-derived peptides in the heart is not due to an intrinsic inability of the proenkephalin transcript to translate.
Single-phase PWM rectifier with power decoupling ripple-port for double-line-frequency ripple cancellation

This paper proposes a new technique for double-frequency ripple-power decoupling in a single-phase PWM rectifier that does not require an electrolytic capacitor, which improves the reliability of the system for long-life applications such as LED lighting. A ripple-port is added in parallel with the output of the PWM rectifier to filter the double-line-frequency ripple using the minimum capacitance necessary for power buffering. Hence, a very small, highly reliable film capacitor is used, which will improve the reliability dramatically compared to the bulky electrolytic capacitor option, which increased the power density of the system. The proposed topology doubles the MTBF increases the lifetime by one order of magnitude. Moreover, the design and control of the ripple-port is independent from the PWM rectifier circuit, so it can be dropped in as an auxiliary circuit to an existing design.
Different Signaling Pathways in Bovine Sperm Regulate Capacitation and Hyperactivation

Hyperactivated sperm motility is characterized by high-amplitude and asymmetrical flagellar beating that assists sperm in penetrating the oocyte zona pellucida. Other functional changes in sperm, such as activation of motility and capacitation, involve cross talk between the cAMP/PKA and tyrosine kinase/phosphatase signaling pathways. Our objective was to determine the role of the cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway in hyperactivation. Western blot analyses of detergent extracts of whole sperm and flagella were performed using antiphosphotyrosine antibody. Bull sperm capacitated by 10 microg/ml heparin and/or 1 mM dibutyryl-cAMP plus 100 microM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine exhibited increased protein tyrosine phosphorylation without becoming hyperactivated. Procaine (5 mM) or caffeine (10 mM) immediately induced hyperactivation in nearly 100% of motile sperm but did not increase protein tyrosine phosphorylation. After 4 h of incubation with caffeine, sperm expressed capacitation-associated protein tyrosine phosphorylation but hyperactivation was significantly reduced. Sperm initially hyperactivated by procaine or caffeine remained hyperactivated for at least 4 h in the presence of Rp-cAMPS (cAMP antagonist) or PKA inhibitors H-89 or H-8. Pretreatment with inhibitors also failed to block induction of hyperactivation; however, the inhibitors did block protein tyrosine phosphorylation when sperm were incubated with capacitating agents, thereby verifying inhibition of the cAMP/PKA pathway. While induction of hyperactivation did not depend on cAMP/PKA, it did require extracellular Ca(2+). These findings indicate that hyperactivation is mediated by a Ca(2+) signaling pathway that is separate or divergent from the pathway associated with acquisition of acrosomal responsiveness and does not involve protein tyrosine phosphorylation downstream of the actions of procaine or caffeine.
Present status and perspectives on neutron scattering instrumentation development at IPNS

Since its beginnings in ZING-P in the early 1970s, the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) at Argonne National Laboratory has played an important role in the development of neutron scattering instrumentation, particularly in the utilization of time-of-flight techniques such as time-focusing for diffractometers. IPNS operates a user program for 11 instruments 25 weeks per year with a call for proposals every 6 months. As a medium-flux user facility, it serves the needs of the broader scientific community while providing training in the design and use of neutron scattering instruments for the next generation of scientists. The instruments at IPNS are continually being upgraded and evaluated; a significantly improved quasielastic neutron spectrometer was commissioned in 2000, and a similar enhancement on the high-resolution, medium-energy-range chopper spectrometer is currently underway. An enhancement plan, which includes improvements to most of the instruments and would approximately double the scientific throughput of IPNS, was recently reviewed and highly recommended. IPNS has lead responsibility for neutron scattering instruments for the Spallation Neutron Source being built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has played a leading role in developing a proposal for target station and instruments for a long wavelength target station submitted in January 2001 to the National Science Foundation. Through these and other projects, IPNS will continue to be a source and testbed for novel neutron scattering instrumentation concepts. Thus, IPNS will play a vital role in the global neutron scattering community for the foreseeable future.
A dynamical systems perspective on agent-environment interaction

Using the language of dynamical systems theory, a general theoretical framework for the synthesis and analysis of autonomous agents is sketched. In this framework, an agent and its environment are modeled as two coupled dynamical systems whose mutual interaction is in general jointly responsible for the agent's behavior. In addition, the adaptive fit between an agent and its environment is characterized in terms of the satisfaction of a given constraint on the trajectories of the coupled agent-environment system. The utility of this framework is demonstrated by using it to first synthesize and then analyze a walking behavior for a legged agent.
A place for organisational critical consciousness: comparing two case studies of Freirean nonprofits

One of the primary goals of Freirean theory is the achievement of a higher level of political and social consciousness amongst participants in educational programming. Freire himself only loosely defined this sense of consciousness, and interpretations of how this abstract concept might look vary widely. In some organisations, the politically radical goals of Freirean facilitators do not match the desired outcomes of participants. Other organisations may use Freirean methods to pursue their programming, but without subscribing to Freire's revolutionary educational project. This article provides case study examples of both extremes in Brazil and Mozambique, concluding with the argument that applying Freire's notion of critical consciousness organisationally can help to make sense of the diversity of interpretation among Freirean nonprofits.
Development of Porous Antireflective Films on Borosilicate Glasses

Experiments were conducted to characterize the development of gradient-index antireflective (GIAR) films formed on a phase-separated alkali borosilicate glass. Solution chemistry, secondary-ion mass spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy, weight-loss, scanning electron microscopy, and specific surface area analyses were used to evaluate a proposed model for film formation. The results suggest that the film-forming process is more complicated than proposed. For near-optimum heat trcatments, the film-formation acid treatment was virtually nonselective; only for much longer than optimum annealing times was selectivity evident. The graded-index films may result from precipitation of dissolved glass. The analyses were complicated by major compositional variations existing in the as-received glass.
Civil Engineering Education in Ecuador

The writers visited Ecuador under the auspices of the Fulbright Program, administered by the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, to lecture and advise several public and private universities on procedures to modernize curricula in civil engineering. Five visits were made over a 10 year period for time intervals ranging between one and six months. Based on interviews with a number of individuals and general observations, a number of recommendations were made. These recommendations ranged from improving the quality of students entering the university to improving library and laboratory facilities to improving faculty quality. The prime driving force toward implementing these recommendations will be the availability of adequate economic resources.
Site2 binding energetics of the regulatory step of growth hormone–induced receptor homodimerization

Receptor signaling in the growth hormone (GH)–growth hormone receptor (GHR) system is controlled through a sequential two-step hormone-induced dimerization of two copies of the extracellular domain (ECD) of the receptor. The regulatory step of this process is the binding of the second ECD (ECD2) to the stable preassociated 1 : 1 GH/ECD1 complex on the cell surface. To determine the energetics that governs this step, the binding kinetics of 38 single- and double-alanine mutants in the hGH Site2 contact with ECD2 were measured by using trimolecular surface plasmon resonance (TM-SPR). We find that the Site2 interface of hGH does not have a distinct binding hot-spot region, and the most important residues are not spatially clustered, but rather are distributed over the whole binding surface. In addition, it was determined through analysis of a set of pairwise double alanine mutations that there is a significant degree of negative cooperativity among Site2 residues. Residues that show little effect or even improved binding on substitution with alanine, when paired with D116A-hGH, display significant negative cooperativity. Because most of these pairwise mutated residues are spatially separated by ≥10 A, this indicates that the Site2 binding interface of the hGH–hGHR ternary complex displays both structural and energetic malleability.
Phase I dose escalation and pharmacokinetic study of oral gefitinib and irinotecan in children with refractory solid tumors

Purpose This phase I study endeavored to estimate the maximum tolerated dose and describe the dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) of oral irinotecan with gefitinib in children with refractory solid tumors.
A search for oscillating loops in Solar-B XRT observations

Between November 2006 and March 2007, on several occasions, XRT has been taking high-cadence one or two filter observations of prominent active regions on the disk. We took these datasets and conducted a quick search for acoustic brightness oscillation in loops. We concentrated our search on flaring active regions. Here we present the preliminary results of this search. We found one active region - NOAA 10953 from 27 April - 02 May 2007 that had indications of acoustic oscillations with periods around 5 min, as well as multiples of this period, and one 40 min period that we associate with periodic heating of the loops. An interesting result is that all the loops in the active region seemed to oscillate with the same set of periods, only the power in the FFT was different and maybe dependent on the magnetic field strength.
Sociology of Sport and Humor

Humor is a pervasive aspect of sport. While there are sociological writings that focus on the sociology of humor, little consideration has been given to the sociology of humor and sport. Yet, the p...
The human BCL6 transgene promotes the development of lymphomas in the mouse

BCL6, a gene on chromosome 3, band q27, encodes a zinc finger transcriptional repressor that is needed for germinal center formation and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of some human lymphomas when it is mutated or involved in chromosomal rearrangements. To explore further the mechanisms of action of BCL6 in lymphomagenesis, we developed a transgenic mouse model mimicking a common translocation, the t(3, 14)(q27;q32), in human lymphomas. The transgenic mice develop normally and express the transgenic BCL6 protein constitutively in lymphocytes. A small fraction of the animals develop B and T cell lymphomas after a long latency period, but the incidence is dramatically enhanced following administration of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea, a carcinogen that induces DNA mutations. The N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced lymphomas spread widely, were exclusively T cell, expressed the BCL6 protein, and occurred only in the transgenic mice. Because BCL6 expression has been reported in a number of T cell tumors as well as in the more commonly occurring B cell lymphomas in humans, our transgenic mice provide a model for the study of human lymphomas.
Orbital tuning of geomagnetic polarity time-scales

Milankovitch climate cyclicity and magnetic polarity stratigraphy are being successfully combined as a powerful geochronometer in the astronomical polarity timescale (APTS). The APTS for 0{5.23 Ma has been rapidly accepted as the denitive chronology for the Pliocene and Pleistocene against which even high precision radiometric dating is now calibrated. Extensions of astronomical calibration to the late Miocene (5.23 Ma to ca. 10 Ma) in Mediterranean and Pacic marine sections agree to within about a 100 ka eccentricity, which amounts to an uncertainty of only ca .1 % of the age. Orbital eccentricity periods are thought to remain stable over very long times and thus provide the possibility of precise relative age control in the preNeogene. An APTS, for example, has been developed in a thick lacustrine section of Late Triassic age (ca. 202{233 Ma) on the basis of the 404 ka orbital eccentricity cycle modulating the expression of the precession climate cyclicity. Finally, there has been renewed speculation about an obliquity-modulated precessional geodynamo based on periodicities in relative palaeointensity data from Ocean Drilling Program sediment cores.
Code simulation concept for S/390 processors using an emulation system

An innovative simulation concept has been developed for the IBM S/390 system of the year 2000 in the area of microcode verification. The goal is to achieve a long-term improvement in the quality of the delivered microcode, detecting and solving the vast majority of code problems in simulation before the system is first powered on. The number of such problems has a major impact on the time needed during system integration to bring the system up from power on to general availability. Within IBM, this is the first time that much a code simulation concept has been developed and implemented. Our element of that concept is the usage of a large emulation system for hardware/software co-verification.
On the rank minimization problem over a positive semidefinite linear matrix inequality

We consider the problem of minimizing the rank of a positive semidefinite matrix, subject to the constraint that an affine transformation of it is also positive semidefinite. Our method for solving this problem employs ideas from the ordered linear complementarity theory and the notion of the least element in a vector lattice. This problem is of importance in many contexts, for example in feedback synthesis problems, and such an example is also provided.
Moving target detection and characterization with circular SAR

In this work, we examine ground target detection and characterization from radar data, which incorporates a modelbased optimization method called dynamic logic (DL). We apply our methodology to a prototype airborne radar platform called Gotcha, developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory/Sensors Directorate/Automatic Target Recognition Division in recent years. The aircraft traces out a circular path around an area of interest, and the onboard, side-looking radar transmits and receives energy at a constant pulse repetition frequency, while the main beam direction is maintained at a fixed aim point on the ground. Data collected during any appropriate length arc of the flight path can be used to create synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of the ground. The data can also be used for ground moving target indication (GMTI) and provide Doppler/Range imagery of the same ground area. Our approach combines the computation of Range-Doppler surfaces and a variable target velocity backprojection SAR method. Potential targets are detected using multiple backprojection images and features are extracted using adaptive mixture models. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach using target truth information provided with the Gotcha dataset. We outline the steps toward implementing a comprehensive automatic target tracking solution based on presented methodology.