cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
COMBINED ELECTROHYDRAULIC AND HOLMIUM:YAG LASER URETEROSCOPIC NEPHROLITHOTRIPSY FOR 20 TO 40 MM RENAL CALCULI

ABSTRACT Purpose: Percutaneous nephrolithotripsy is standard treatment for renal calculi greater than 2 cm. Modern flexible ureteroscopes using the complementary effects of electrohydraulic (EHL) and Ho:YAG laser lithotrites can treat 2 to 4 cm renal calculi in minimally invasive fashion with similar or superior results. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of ureteroscopic nephrolithotripsy for the management of 2 to 4 cm renal calculi in a community setting. Materials and Methods: Between January 2001 and November 2002 all 15 patients presenting with renal calculi 22 to 42 mm long (mean 33) and 275 to 650 mm 2 in area (mean 396), of whom 40% had infection, underwent flexible ureteroscopic nephrolithotripsy. A total of 13 patients had 3-month followup data. Hard stone components, namely calcium oxalate monohydrate and/or apatite, were present in 13 cases (87%). Treatment principles were the aggressive treatment of infection, EHL stone debulking, Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy to weaken hard stones structurally, manual piston irrigation to maintain visibility, bladder drainage to maintain low intrarenal pressures, minimum 6-hour postoperative observation and physiological passage of stone fragments. Results: In the 13 patients with 3-month followup data the stone clearance rate was 92% for complete stone free status and 100% for fragments less than 4 mm. This result was achieved at 1 stage in 10 cases 13 (77%) and at 2 to 4 stages in 1 each. Mean procedure time per stage was 47 minutes (range 25 to 90) and total procedure time per patient was 66 minutes (range 25 to 240). There was no significant change in mean preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin (p = 0.87) and creatinine (p = 0.85) in the 16 of 21 procedures for which data were available. Procedures were done on an outpatient basis except in 1 patient, who was hospitalized overnight for the management of preexisting pulmonary problems. One rehospitalization for colic management but no other unplanned emergency department or clinic visits occurred. All patients were rendered infection-free and symptom-free. Conclusions: Combined EHL and Ho:YAG laser flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy can be an effective treatment with low morbidity. As such, it provides an attractive, minimally invasive alternative to percutaneous nephrolithotripsy or open surgery in patients with 2 to 4 cm renal calculi.
STS Graduate Education and Research.

This short article summarizes the difficulties likely to be experienced in STS graduate education and research; the reasons, nevertheless, for optimism; and ends with an optimistic note about the future.
Feminist and Nonsexist Counseling: Implications for the Male Counselor

Over the past 30 years much has been written about feminism, but the literature needs to point out morestrongly the critical role of counselors, particularly male counselors, in facilitating social change toward a more egalitarian view of the world. This article discusses, from a feminist perspective, issues of anger, power, autonomy, and gender role stereotyping and their importance for women in counseling relationships. Recommendations for training counselors in feminist or nonsexist therapy are also reviewed.
Participation of Chromatin in the Regulation of Phaseolin Gene Expression

Summary It has long been recognized that multiple transcription factors contribute to the overall regulation of gene expression. Since it is inconceivable that a specific transcription factor is assigned to each proteinencoding gene, it has been suggested that several factors interact in various combinations (Goldberg, 1988; Thomas, 1993). However, it is not clear if such combinations are established by the relative linear positions of the corresponding cis-element, by the order in which binding sites are occupied (providing alternative surfaces for protein-protein interactions), or by both of these parameters, possibly in association with other influences. One of these influences is undoubtedly chromatin. While this has previously considered being only a repressive structure, the recent finding that several transcriptional regulators can acetylate histones is rapidly leading to the conclusion that modification of histones, and thus chromatin, is a vital step in activation of the transcriptional machinery (Wade and Wolffe, 1997). Evidence for replacement of the repressive nucleosome structure by TFIID during transcription activation has been postulated by Van Holde and Zlatanova (1996) and may well be involved in phas promoter activation. Discerning actual steps by which the repressive nucleosome structure is modified or displaced will provide new insight to plant gene regulation, and it is tempting to think that histone acetylation will be part of the key. Once the chromatin structure is relaxed, transcription factors can gain access to the promoter, and a careful evaluation of changes in cis-element occupancy during embryogenesis using the sensitive DMS footprinting and LMPCR analysis technique will give important clues to the types of proteins involved. Another future opportunity for these approaches will be to explore events that lead to the cessation of expression as the embryo matures.
On chaos and fractal behavior in a generalized Duffing's system

Abstract In this paper, three Duffing's equations, their attractors and their initial condition maps are examined for elements of universality. In the literature, all three equations have been examined briefly before, but their behavior has only been incompletely described. This paper more completely examines these system and answers important questions concerning the reason for chaotic system behavior.
Electromagnetic Beam Fields

An electromagnetic beam is defined using mathematical properties of the associated angular spectrum of plane waves. It is found that the usual paraxial theory for the Hermite Gaussian or Laguerre Gaussian beams, produced by some lasers, can be replaced by a more general theory which is precise according to Maxwell's equations. In this theory the beams exhibit an amplitude distribution over any plane normal to the direction of propagation which can be described using prolate spheroidal wave functions. As the degree of collimation is increased, these beams asymptotically take on the familiar Gaussian amplitude cross section. However, as the divergence from focus is increased, these beams asymptotically approach modified dipole fields. It is found that two, mutually exclusive, classes of beam fields exist. For each beam in one class there is always a complementary beam in the other class. As the degree of collimation is increased, complementary beams become almost identical. Complementary beams contain elect...
Population codes in the visual cortex

Every sensory event elicits activity in a broad population of cells that is distributed within and across cortical areas. How these neurons function together to represent the sensory environment is a major question in systems neuroscience. A number of proposals have been made, and recent advances in multi-neuronal recording have begun to allow researchers to test the predictions of these population-coding theories. In this review, I provide an introduction to some of the key concepts in population coding and describe several studies in the recent literature. The focus of this review is on sensory representation in the visual cortex and related perceptual decisions. The frameworks used to study population coding include population vectors, linear decoders, and Bayesian inference. Simple examples are provided to illustrate these concepts. Testing theories of population coding is an emerging subject in systems neuroscience, but advances in multi-neuronal recording and analysis suggest that an understanding is within reach.
Local dynamics and viscoelastic properties of cell biological systems

How the cytoskeleton, a heterogeneous network of dynamic filamentous proteins, provides the cell with structural support is not well understood. Particle-tracking methods, which probe local mechanical properties, are well suited to test existing hypotheses derived from in vitro models of reconstituted cytoskeleton networks. This paper reviews recent applications of single- and multiple-particle tracking microrheology, with an emphasis on the semiflexible polymer F-actin and the flexible polymer keratin, two ubiquitous proteins of the cytoskeleton. Extensive knowledge of the properties of these polymers allows a rigorous comparison between theory and experiments to a level rarely matched by synthetic polymers.
THE EFFECT OF INJECTIONS OF ANTUITRIN-S ON THE SEXUALLY INACTIVE MALE GROUND SQUIRREL

Comparatively few investigators have reported stimulation of spermatogenesis by means of the gonadotropic substance of human pregnancy urine. Collip, Thomson and Selye (1) found that their A.P.L. fraction from the human placenta caused an increase in the interstitial tissue of the testis but did not prevent degeneration of the germinal epithelium in the hypophysectomized rat. Smith and Leonard (2) successfully maintained spermatogenesis and brought about hypertrophy of the interstitial tissue by the use of Follutein and Antuitrin-S in the mature rat after removal of the pituitary gland. When treatment was delayed after hypophysectomy, these extracts failed to restore normal spermatogenesis. Evans, Pencharz, and Simpson (3) have confirmed these findings. Moore et al. (4) reported briefly that the injection of Antuitrin-S induced spermatogenesis in the sexually inactive ground squirrel and caused at least the residual cells in the seminiferous tubules to metamorphose into spermatozoa. The purpose of this st...
Enterococcus faecalis and otitis media with effusion. How to treat

Although microorganisms are cultured in only one out of 3 middle ear effusions, viable and non-viable bacteria are presumed to be responsible in part for otitis media with effusion (OME). Because of this association, antibiotics in sublethal, bacteriostatic, or bacteriocidal concentrations are frequently used as non-surgical therapy for OME. Antibiotic treatment is predicated on the assumption that microorganisms responsible for OME are the same ones which produce acute otitis media. This may not always be the case. Enterococcus faecalis (formerly known as beta-hemolytic group D Streptococcus) was isolated in pure culture from 3 middle ears of two patients with OME. The significance of the isolation of this bacteria, an enteric organism which is infrequently found in upper respiratory tracts, is its lack of susceptibility to the usually prescribed oral antibiotics. In each of the children, failure to respond to antibiotics led to tympanocentesis and culture followed by middle ear drainage with insertion of middle ear ventilating tubes. Unless intravenous antibiotics are used, surgical drainage should be the procedure of choice when E. faecalis is found in the middle ear.
The adaptive LQG problem--Part I

This paper is concerned with a rigorous study of the "dual control" problem of Fel'dbaum, i.e., the LQG optimal control problem in the presence of Bayesian parameter uncertainty. The solution of this problem involves two parts, one relating to filtering and one to control. Although we establish our filtering result in complete generality in the last section, most of the paper concentrates on the finite parameter case to ease the exposition. The control result that we establish is incomplete in the sense that the smoothness of the optimal cost function is assumed rather than proved. Nevertheless, our results and methods are such that we arrive at a new proof of the classical separation theorem showing that the well-known LQG feedback law is optimal within the widest possible class of admissible controls. As this new proof avoids all talk of "dependence of the sigma algebra on the control," "weak solutions," "measure transformation techniques," etc., we feel that this result will help to clarify what is involved in the classical separation theorem.
Sparstolonin B, a Novel Plant Derived Compound, Arrests Cell Cycle and Induces Apoptosis in N-Myc Amplified and N-Myc Nonamplified Neuroblastoma Cells

Neuroblastoma is one of the most common solid tumors and accounts for ∼ 15% of all the cancer related deaths in the children. Despite the standard therapy for advanced disease including chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, the mortality rate remains high for these patients. Hence, novel therapeutic agents are desperately needed. Here we examined the anticancer activity of a novel plant-derived compound, sparstolonin B (SsnB; 8,5'-dihydroxy-4-phenyl-5,2'-oxidoisocoumarin) using neuroblastoma cell lines of different genetics. SsnB was recently isolated from an aquatic Chinese herb, Sparganium stoloniferum, and tubers of this herb have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of several inflammatory diseases and cancers. Our cell viability and morphological analysis indicated that SsnB at 10 µM concentration significantly inhibited the growth of both N-myc amplified (SK-N-BE(2), NGP, and IMR-32 cells) and N-myc nonamplified (SH-SY5Y and SKNF-1 cells) neuroblastoma cells. The flow cytometric analyses suggested that SsnB arrests the cell cycle progression at G2-M phase in all neuroblastoma cell lines tested. Exposure of SsnB inhibited the compact spheroid formation and reduced the tumorigenicity of SH-SY5Y cells and SK-N-BE(2) cells in in vitro 3-D cell culture assays (anchorage-independent colony formation assay and hanging drop assay). SsnB lowers the cellular level of glutathione (GSH), increases generation of reactive oxygen species and activates the cleavage of caspase-3 whereas co-incubation of a GSH precursor, N-acetylcysteine, along with SsnB attenuates the inhibitory effects of SsnB and increases the neuroblastoma cell viability. Our results for the first time demonstrate that SsnB possesses anticancer activity indicating that SsnB-induced reactive oxygen species generation promotes apoptotic cell death in neuroblastoma cells of different genetic background. Thus these data suggest that SsnB can be a promising drug candidate in neuroblastoma therapy.
Real world graph connectivity

We present the topic of graph connectivity along with a famous theorem of Menger in the real-world setting of the national computer network infrastructure of National LambdaRail. We include a set of exercises where students reinforce their understanding of graph connectivity by analysing the National LambdaRail network. Finally, we give suggestions for using this module as a project in an undergraduate mathematics course.
SPIN REORIENTATION TRANSITION IN FE(110) THIN FILMS: THE ROLE OF SURFACE ANISOTROPY

We report on the spin reorientation phase transition in Fe(110) ultrathin films, epitaxially grown on a W(110) single crystal. The critical film thickness of the magnetic reorientation ${(t}_{\mathrm{r}})$ has been monitored by spin-resolved photoemission. Either an increase or a decrease of ${t}_{\mathrm{r}}$ can be induced by controlled modification of the surface (anisotropy) of the Fe films. ${t}_{\mathrm{r}}$ is reduced by deposition of noble metal (Ag and Au) overlayers on the Fe(110) surface. The effect is significantly more pronounced in the case of Au overlayers than Ag. In contrast, ${t}_{\mathrm{r}}$ is found to increase by small amounts of oxygen (0.25 monolayer) adsorbed on the Fe(110) surface.
Dónde Están los Huevos? Surviving in Times of Economic Hardship: Cuban Mothers, the State, and Making Ends Meet

SUMMARY Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, Cuba has experienced difficult economic times. This paper examines the survival strategies that Cuban women have developed for making ends meet. Through working in the dollar economy and using extensive household networks of support, Cuban mothers are able to negotiate the demands of being both caregivers and wage earners. Furthermore, Cuban women's partnership with the state and the Cuban state's assistance to its citizens in the form of subsidized child care, education, health care, housing, and food enables households to survive despite difficult economic times, unlike the trends in the privatization in state services, seen elsewhere in Latin America.
Experimental murine cytomegalovirus infection of ocular structures.

• To study experimental cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of ocular structures, 3-week-old Swiss-Webster mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with a 0% to 20% lethal inoculum of murine CMV (MCMV). Murine cytomegalovirus was recovered from homogenates of eye tissues on days 3, 5, and 7 after inoculation. Peak virus titers, mean of 2.93 ± 0.67 log plaque-forming units of MCMV per gram of ocular tissue occurred on day 5. Urine cytomegalovirus was recovered from explant cultures of eye and optic nerve 14, 21, 60, 90, and 120 days after MCMV inoculation. Murine cytomegalovirus also persisted in intraocular fluids for as long as 90 days. Murine cytomegalovirus infection was confirmed by immunofluorescence antibody staining and transmission electron microscopy. These experiments indicate that MCMV infects the ocular tissues of mice during systemic MCMV infection, and persists in ocular tissues for as long as 120 days after infection. These studies may be directly relevant to ocular disorders that occur during acquired CMV infections of humans, and suggest that ocular tissues may be a site of CMV persistence or latency.
Managers’ perceptions of turnover intention using an organisational justice framework in a large-sized manufacturing company

This paper examines how an organisational justice framework can be used to explore managers’ perceptions of organisational justice and how it influences turnover intention in a large-sized manufacturing company located in the midwest region of the USA. A multiple-case study research design was used and data were collected from multiple sources, including in-depth interviews and subject matter expert reviews and reflections. Relying on in-depth case study data from eight mid-level floor managers, selected through purposive sampling, the paper conceptualises managers’ perceptions of organisational justice and how it influences turnover intention using an organisational justice framework. Understanding of the effects of organisational justice in the workplace can be used to ameliorate the negative consequences associated with managers’ perceptions of their work environment. Following, the study contributes to existing knowledge regarding manager perception of organisational justice and how it influences turnover intention within the organisational justice literature.
Comparisons of SAS processed data from ordnance replicas over various size scales: Experiments and acoustic models

Sonar has been the Navy's workhorse for detection and discrimination of underwater objects from clutter through analysis of image phenomena. However, new phenomena need to be identified to accommodate a growing class of unexploded ordnance targets with more varied shapes and sizes, and difficulties increase for buried ordnance because the wave attenuation and inhomogeneity in ocean sediments make detection less predictable and high-resolution imaging more difficult. Even when imaging can be done, important image phenomena (e.g., highlight/shadow details) are lost. Therefore, modeling, data collection, and data processing/analysis has been performed at NSWC PCD to build a target response database that could be exploited both for statistical automated target recognition studies based on existing feature types and for isolation of promising physical phenomena that classifiable features could be extracted from without requiring high image resolution. Several methods to build this database have been pursued, including data collection in full-scale field experiments in the Gulf of Mexico, data collection in NSWC PCD's freshwater pond facility, data collection within a small freshwater tank using scaled targets on scaled glass bead sediments, and data generation through finite element simulations. In this paper, results from each of these methods are presented and compared to assess the tradeoffs inherent in them.
Inactivation and Subcellular Redistribution of Ca2+/ Calmodulin‐Dependent Protein Kinase II Following Spinal Cord Ischemia

Reversible spinal cord ischemia in rabbits induced a rapid loss of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) activity measured as incorporation of phosphate into exogenous substrates. About 70% of the activity was lost from the cytosolic fraction of spinal cord homogenates after 15 min of ischemia preceding irreversible paraplegia, which takes 25 min in this model. The loss of enzyme activity correlated with a loss of in situ renaturable autophosphorylation activity and a loss of CaM kinase II alpha and beta subunits in the cytosol detected by immunoblotting. CaM kinase II activity in the particulate fraction also decreased but the protein levels of the alpha and beta subunits increased. Thus ischemia resulted in an inactivation of CaM kinase II and a sequential or concurrent subcellular redistribution of the enzyme. However, denaturation and renaturation in situ of the CaM kinase subunits immobilized on membranes partly reversed the apparent inactivation of the enzyme in the particulate fraction. CaM kinase II activity was restored after reperfusion following short (< or = 25 min) durations of ischemia but not after longer durations (60 min) that result in irreversible paraplegia. The ischemia-induced inactivation of CaM kinase II, which phosphorylates proteins regulating many cellular processes, may be important in the cascade of events leading to delayed neuronal cell death.
A hybrid Tabu Search approach for the design of a paper recycling network

Abstract This paper addresses the design of a paper recycling network including external procurement, in-house recycling of paper, technology selection and selling or disposing of co-products. In contrast to the literature, we consider a combined continuous and discrete facility location problem solved by a hybrid Tabu Search approach to enhance candidate facility locations. We provide rules of thumb regarding the length of the tabu list and suggestions regarding runtime boundaries in cases where pre-evaluations are elaborate. The results based on a real-life application case show the potential savings of in-house paper recycling compared to the solely external procurement of recovered paper.
Two Chiefs' Houses from the Western Aleutian Islands

The earliest Russian explorers of the Aleutians described Near Island chiefs’ houses that were larger than those of ordinary people. The Russians noted that these houses were also functionally different than ordinary dwellings. Chiefs entertained guests, sheltered widows and orphans, and hosted religious ceremonies in their houses. Between 1997 and 2003, Western Aleutians Archaeological and Paleobiological Project (WAAPP) archaeologists excavated two unusual structures on the Near Islands of Buldir and Attu that may have been the houses of chiefs. The structures were larger than ordinary houses, with substantial whalebone structural components. Perhaps of more significance are the substantial caches of artifacts, parts of animals, and burials associated with the structures. The items used in the construction appear to have had spiritual significance, suggesting that people with great power and authority occupied the structures.
Cobordism of algebraic knots

The isolated singularities of complex hypersurfaces are studied by considering the topology of the highly connected submanifolds of spheres determined by the singularity. By introducing the notion of the link of a perturbation of the singularity and using techniques of surgery theory, we are able to describe which invariants associated to a singularity can be used to determine the cobordism type of the singularity.
Survival of indicator organisms in Sonoran Desert soil amended with sewage sludge

Abstract Anaerobically digested sewage sludge is currently applied to farmland surrounding Tucson, Arizona to supply nutrients for the growth of cotton. Bacterial pathogens introduced into the environment by this practice may survive or move through the soil profile thus posing health risks to animals and humans. We have conducted both laboratory and field studies to monitor the survival and transport of bacterial pathogens added to soil via sludge. In laboratory studies, sewage sludge was added to soil and incubated at constant moisture and temperature conditions. Populations of fecal streptococci, fecal coliforms and total coliforms were monitored at weekly intervals using the Most Probable Number (MPN) method. Two soils and 3 temperatures were evaluated. Field studies determined the survival of indicator organisms in the surface horizon, and survival and transport of fecal coliforms up to a depth of 300 cm. We found that soil moisture, texture and temperature all affected the persistence of bacterial p...
Constraints on modified gravity from Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster surveys

We investigate the constraining power of current and future Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster surveys on the f(R) gravity model. We use a Fisher matrix approach, adopt self-calibration for the mass-observable scaling relation, and evaluate constraints for the South Pole Telescope (SPT), Planck, SPT polarimeter (SPTpol), and Atacama Cosmology Telescope polarimeter (ACTpol) surveys. The modified gravity effects on the mass function, halo bias, matter power spectrum, and mass-observable relation are taken into account. We show that, relying on number counts only, the Planck cluster catalog is expected to reduce current upper limits by about a factor of 4, to σ_f_(R0)=2×10^(-5) (68% confidence level) while SPT, SPTpol, and ACTpol yield about 3×10^(-5). Adding the cluster power spectrum further improves the constraints to σ_f_(R0)=5×10^(-6) for Planck and σ_f_(R0)=2×10^(-5) for SPTpol, pushing cluster constraints significantly beyond the limit where number counts have no constraining power due to the chameleon screening mechanism. Further, the combination of both observables breaks degeneracies, especially with the expansion history (effective dark energy density and equation of state). The constraints are only mildly worsened by the use of self-calibration but depend on the mass threshold and redshift coverage of the cluster samples.
Human hexosaminidase isozymes: Chromatographic separation as an aid to heterozygote identification

Abstract The correct identification of Tay-Sachs heterozygotes requires a reliable procedure for separation and quantitation of the hexosaminidase isozymes. The most commonly employed method involves thermal inactivation of the heat labile hexosaminidase A and assay of residual enzyme activity. This procedure, however, consistenly yields a significantly lower absolute and relative activity of hexosaminidase A and a higher activity of the thermostable components (B and I) in comparison with the results obtained by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. DEAE-cellulose chromatographic separation of the hexosaminidase isozymes in serum following thermal inactivation reveals the presence of relative and absolute increase in the activity of the B and I components in addition to loss of the heat-labile A isozyme. Because the conversion of hexosaminidase A into thermostable forms by heating may vary according to the conditions employed, the thermal inactivation procedure may lead to ambiguity in heterozygote identification. This difficulty can be minimized by fractionation of the hexosaminidase isozymes by DEAE-cellulose chromatography followed by assay of the individual components. In addition to the Tay-Sachs carrier state, other conditions can alter the distribution of the hexosaminidase isozymes in tissues and body fluids. For example in serum of patients with juvenile diabetes mellitus there is a characteristic elevation of hexosaminidase B and less consistently, of hexosaminidase A. Since the activity of hexosaminidase A in serum of diabetics fractionated by ion exchange chromatography is at least as high as the activity in serum of healthy non-carriers, patients with diabetes can be easily differentiated from Tay-Sachs heterozygotes. Similarly, the distribution of the hexosaminidase isozymes in serum is altered during pregnancy, where there is usually a significant rise in hexosaminidase A and I (P). However, during pregnancy activities of hexosaminidase A and I in serum of obligate Tay-Sachs carriers are only 50% of the values observed in non-carriers at comparable gestational periods. Since the absolute activities of hexosaminidase A in serum of pregnant carriers obtained by ion exchange chromatography do not overlap with the activities in serum of non-carrier pregnant women at comparable gestational periods, this method has obvious advantages for identification of pregnancies where the fetus may be at risk for Tay-Sachs disease.
MYB98 Positively Regulates a Battery of Synergid-Expressed Genes Encoding Filiform Apparatus–Localized Proteins

The synergid cells within the female gametophyte are essential for reproduction in angiosperms. MYB98 encodes an R2R3-MYB protein required for pollen tube guidance and filiform apparatus formation by the synergid cells. To test the predicted function of MYB98 as a transcriptional regulator, we determined its subcellular localization and examined its DNA binding properties. We show that MYB98 binds to a specific DNA sequence (TAAC) and that a MYB98-green fluorescent protein fusion protein localizes to the nucleus, consistent with a role in transcriptional regulation. To identify genes regulated by MYB98, we tested previously identified synergid-expressed genes for reduced expression in myb98 female gametophytes and identified 16 such genes. We dissected the promoter of one of the downstream genes, DD11, and show that it contains a MYB98 binding site required for synergid expression, suggesting that DD11 is regulated directly by MYB98. To gain insight into the functions of the downstream genes, we chose five genes and determined the subcellular localization of the encoded proteins. We show that these five proteins are secreted into the filiform apparatus, suggesting that they play a role in either the formation or the function of this unique structure. Together, these data suggest that MYB98 functions as a transcriptional regulator in the synergid cells and activates the expression of genes required for pollen tube guidance and filiform apparatus formation.
Ligation of high‐melting‐temperature ‘clamp’ sequence extends the scanning range of rare point‐mutational analysis by constant denaturant capillary electrophoresis (CDCE) to most of the human genome

Mutations cause or influence the prevalence of many diseases. In human tissues, somatic point mutations have been observed at fractions at or below 4/10,000 and 5/100,000 in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, respectively. In human populations, fractions for the multiple alleles that code for recessive deleterious syndromes are not expected to exceed 5 x 10(-4). Both nuclear and mitochondrial point mutations have been measured in human cells and tissues at fractions approaching 10(-6) using constant denaturant capillary electrophoresis (CDCE) coupled with high-fidelity PCR (hifiPCR). However, this approach is only applicable to those target sequences (approximately 100 bp) juxtaposed with a 'clamp', a higher-melting-temperature sequence, in genomic DNA; such naturally clamped targets represent approximately 9% of the human genome. To open up most of the human genome to rare point-mutational analysis, a high-efficiency DNA ligation procedure was recently developed so that a clamp could be attached to any target of interest. We coupled this ligation procedure with prior CDCE/hifiPCR and achieved a sensitivity of 2 x 10(-5) in human cells for the first time using an externally attached clamp. At this sensitivity, somatic mutations, each representing an anatomically distinct cluster of cells (turnover unit) derived from a mutant stem cell, may be detected in a series of tissue samples, each containing as many as 5 x 10(4) turnover units. Additionally, rare inherited mutations may be scanned in pooled DNA samples, each derived from as many as 10(5) persons.
Recovering 3-D Motion and Structure from 1st-Order Image Deformation

Recent research in motion analysis is concerned with finding a stable algorithm to recover 3-D motion and structure for practical use. We claim that any robust algorithm must improve the 3-D solution adaptively over time. As an initial step toward this goal, we investigate the behavior of the optical flow field over a short time period. This approach yields a new method for recovering 3-D motion and structure. The surface of the object is assumed to be locally planar. The 3-D velocity vectors are assumed to be constant or varying slowly. We prove the deformation parameter of the first kind, or equivalently the first order flow approximation (in space and time), is sufficient to recover 3-D rigid body motion and the surface normal. We also demonstrate, through sensitivity analysis and experiments, that 3-D inferences can be made reliably.
Global trade, public health, and health services: Stakeholders’ constructions of the key issues

Abstract Focusing mainly on the United States and Latin America, we aimed to identify the constructions of social reality held by the major stakeholders participating in policy debates about global trade, public health, and health services. In a multi-method, qualitative design, we used three sources of data: research and archival literature, 1980–2004; interviews with key informants who represented major organizations participating in these debates, 2002–2004; and organizational reports, 1980–2004. We targeted several types of organizations: government agencies, international financial institutions (IFIs) and trade organizations, international health organizations, multinational corporations, and advocacy groups. Many governments in Latin America define health as a right and health services as a public good. Thus, the government bears responsibility for that right. In contrast, the US government's philosophy of free trade and promoting a market economy assumes that by expanding the private sector, improved economic conditions will improve overall health with a minimum government provision of health care. US government agencies also view promotion of global health as a means to serve US interests. IFIs have emphasized reforms that include reduction and privatization of public sector services. International health organizations have tended to adopt the policy perspectives of IFIs and trade organizations. Advocacy groups have emphasized the deleterious effects of international trade agreements on public health and health services. Organizational stakeholders hold widely divergent constructions of reality regarding trade, public health, and health services. Social constructions concerning trade and health reflect broad ideologies concerning the impacts of market processes. Such constructions manifest features of “creed,” regarding the role of the market in advancing human purposes and meeting human needs. Differences in constructions of trade and health constrain policies to address the profound changes generated by global trade.
Fast parallel sorting algorithms

A parallel bucket-sort algorithm is presented that requires time O(log n) and the use of n processors. The algorithm makes use of a technique that requires more space than the product of processors and time. A realistic model is used in which no memory contention is permitted. A procedure is also presented to sort n numbers in time O(k log n) using n1+1/k processors, for k an arbitrary integer. The model of computation for this procedure permits simultaneous fetches from the same memory location.
Creating densely populated virtual environments

Few virtual environments are capable of supporting large numbers of autonomous agents (> 5000) with complex decision-making on a single machine. This demonstration depicts such an agent infrastructure set within a game-based virtual environment. The embodied agent framework consists of two primary components: a lower-level navigation layer consisting of commercially-available AI middleware, and a higher-level cellular automata system driven by agent goals, resources and thresholds. The overarching game-based infrastructure consists of these two AI components, along with an ICT-developed perception system sitting atop the Gamebryo rendering engine. The typical number of agents supported on a dual-core CPU with a modern graphics card is ~10,000 rendering at 30 frames-per-second. To support this quantity and level of intelligence several design considerations were implemented, including the use of multiple threads, a clone/sprite-based avatar view, and a dynamic level-of-detail update system. Future work includes distributing the AI mechanism across multiple machines to support numbers of agents a level of magnitude higher than is currently possible.
Pertussis toxin blocks the inhibitory effect of adenosine on rat cerebral cortical neurons.

Abstract Rat cerebral cortex was injected with 2 μg of purified pertussis toxin, which inactivates various guanine nucleotide-dependent regulatory proteins. The spontaneous firing of cortical neurons in toxin-treated animals was unresponsive to adenosine or adenosine 5′- N -ethylcarboxamide applied iontophoretically in coparison with the pronounced inhibitory effects of these purines observe on neurons in the contralateral, saline-injected, hemisphere. Excitatory effects of acetylcholine were also reduced in the toxin-treated cortex. These findings implicate guanine nucleotide-dependent regulatory proteins (G proteins) in the inhibitory actions of adenosine on transmitter release.
Thermal-neutron fission cross section of 26.1-min 235Um.

The thermal-neutron fission cross section of $^{235}\mathrm{U}^{\mathrm{m}}$ has been measured relative to the ground-state cross section. A rapid radiochemical separation procedure was developed to provide sizeable (${10}^{10}$ to ${10}^{11}$ atom) samples that were reasonably free of the parent $^{239}\mathrm{Pu}$. From a series of eight measurements, the value of 1.42\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.04 was obtained for the ratio ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{m}$/${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{g}$.
Observations of wind ripple migration on an Egyptian seif dune using an inexpensive digital timelapse camera

Abstract I report experiments on the observation of sand ripples on the Quattani dunes in Egypt using an inexpensive ($150) digital timelapse camera. Simple ripples in the fine sand had a wavelength of 10 cm and propagated downwind (windspeed ∼10 m/s) at a speed of ∼3 cm/min, and Y-junction defects moved one wavelength forward in the propagating ripple pattern over ∼6 min. This defect propagation speed of ∼0.5 times the ripple speed is rather slower than suggested in idealized models. Compound ripples at a nearby site were also observed – the megaripples moved at ∼0.2 cm/min while smaller superposed normal ripples moved ∼3–4× faster: the small ripples did not propagate through the larger ones. Experimental technique and some aspects of the design of a windsock/gnomon for use in further studies are discussed. A similar experimental setup should be able to observe fast-moving barchans.
The inheritance of cell differentiation during limb regeneration in the axolotl

Abstract The objective of these experiments was to determine whether, when a differentiated vertebrate cell divides, its daughter cells inherit the parental cell-type determination. This problem was investigated in the regenerating limb of the axolotl by grafting differentiated cells carrying the triploid cell marker (3 nucleoli per nucleus rather than 2) into the limbs of diploid X-irradiated host animals. The limbs were then amputated through their grafts, allowed to regenerate, and the regenerates examined histologically to determine whether the cells that descended from the triploid graft had regained the parental cell differentiation. The following results were obtained. 1. 1. During limb regeneration, cartilage cells dedifferentiate morphologically and can then give rise by mitosis to cells that differentiate as cartilage, perichondrium, joint connective tissue, subepidermal fibroblasts, and fibroblasts in skeletal muscle. Cartilage cells do not give rise to epidermis, and probably not to myoblasts. 2. 2. The combination of cell types present in whole muscle can, after dedifferentiation, give rise by mitosis to all the mesodermally-derived tissues of the limb, including cartilage. 3. 3. Epidermis produces only more epidermis.
Photoinduced charge carrier generation in a poly(3-hexylthiophene) and methanofullerene bulk heterojunction investigated by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy.

We report on the ultrafast photoinduced charge separation processes in varying compositions of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) blended with the electron acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Through the use of time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy, the time- and frequency-dependent complex photoconductivity is measured for samples with PCBM weight fractions (WPCBM) of 0, 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8. By analysis of the frequency-dependent complex conductivity, both the charge carrier yield and the average charge carrier mobility have been determined analytically and indicate a short (<0.2 nm) carrier mean free path and a suppressed long-range transport that is characteristic of carrier localization. Studies on pure films of P3HT demonstrate that charge carrier generation is an intrinsic feature of the polymer that occurs on the time scale of the excitation light, and this is attributed to the dissociation of bound polaron pairs that reside on adjacent polymer chains due to interchain charge transf...
Practical service provisioning for wireless meshes

Community wireless mesh networks (WMNs) are increasingly being deployed for providing cheap, low maintenance Internet access. For the successful adoption of WMNs as a last-mile technology, we argue that a guarantee of per-client fairness is critical. Specifically, WMNs should support a "bitrate-for-bucks" service model similar to other popular access technologies such as Cable/DSL.We analyze the effectiveness of both off-the-shelf and theoretically optimal approaches towards providing such a service. We propose the APOLLO system that outperforms both these approaches.APOLLO seamlessly integrates three synergistic components: theory-guided service planning and subscription, rate-based admission control to enforce the planned service, and a novel distributed light-weight fair scheduling scheme to deliver the admitted traffic. We evaluate APOLLO using simulations and testbed experiments.
Gasification characteristics of an activated carbon in supercritical water

Abstract The gasification characteristics of a granular, coconut shell activated carbon in supercritical water (600–650 °C, 25.5–34.5 MPa) were investigated. A rate law for carbon gasification in steam at subatmospheric pressure (
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) induces antiapoptotic and proapoptotic signals in acute myeloid leukemia

High levels of cytokines are associated with a poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, cytokines may induce, on one hand, survival factor expression and cell proliferation and, on the other hand, expression of inhibitory signals such as up-regulation of suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) and induce apoptotic cell death. Because blasts from patients with AML express high procaspase protein levels, we asked whether granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) enhances procaspase protein production in AML cells. In the GM-CSF-responsive OCIM2 AML cell line, GM-CSF induced signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (Stat 5) phosphorylation, up-regulated cyclin D2, and stimulated cell cycle progression. Concurrently, GM-CSF stimulated expression of SOCS-2 and -3 and of procaspases 2 and 3 and induced caspase 3 activation, poly(ADP[adenosine 5'-diphosphate]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and apoptotic cell death. The Janus kinase (Jak)-Stat inhibitor AG490 abrogated GM-CSF-induced expression of procaspase 3 and activation of caspase 3. Under the same conditions GM-CSF up-regulated production of BAX as well as Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, survivin, and XIAP. GM-CSF also increased procaspase 3 protein levels in OCI/AML3 and Mo7e cells, suggesting that this phenomenon is not restricted to a single leukemia cell line. Our data suggest that GM-CSF exerts a dual effect: it stimulates cell division but contemporaneously up-regulates Jak-Stat-dependent proapoptotic proteins. Up-regulation of procaspase levels in AML is thus a beacon for an ongoing growth-stimulatory signal.
The functions of corticosteroid-binding globulin and sex hormone-binding globulin: recent advances.

Introduction The presence of corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) in plasma was detected about 30 yr ago, and of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) about 20 yr ago. In the interval since their discovery, sophisticated binding and RIAs have been devised for their measurement; their concentrations in plasma and other biological fluids, from milk to saliva, have been measured in myriad clinical conditions in humans, and numerous experimental ones in animals; their phyletic distribution has been examined; they have been isolated and their complementary DNAs (cDNAs) cloned; their binding specificities for steroids have been examined in heroic detail; hormonal and drug influences on their plasma concentration in vivo, and their secretion by liver cells in vitro, have been widely explored; they have been the subject of two long, splendid monographs (1, 2) and many shorter reviews (3–11) [wherein the original citations for the first part of this sentence may be found]—and yet we still have not come to a consens...
Equation of state for a fluid of hard convex bodies in any number of dimensions.

An equation of state is proposed for an isotropic fluid of hard convex bodies in any number of dimensions. In general, only knowledge of the first three virial coefficients is required. In three dimensions an approximation can be used that involves a single nonsphericity parameter. The result appears to be very accurate as far as it can be tested against available computer simulations.
Figure of merit calculations for spectral unmixing and classification algorithms

Abundances of material components in objects are usually computed using techniques such as linear spectral unmixing on individual pixels captured on hyperspectral imaging devices. The effectiveness of these algorithms usually depends on how distinct the spectral signatures in the libraries used in them are. This can be measured by SVD or Least Squares based figures of merit such as the condition number of the matrix consisting of the library signatures. However, it must be noted that each library signature usually is the mean of a number of signatures representing that material, or class of objects. This aspect of how individual library spectral signatures vary in real-world situations needs to be addressed in order to more accurately assess linear unmixing techniques. These same considerations also goes for signature libraries transformed into new ones by wavelet or other transforms. Figures of merit incorporating variations within each library signature (which more accurately reflects real measurements) will be implemented and compared with other figures of merit not taking these variations into account.