cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transplantation immunity in mollusks: the histoincompatibility of Helisoma duryi normale with allografts and xenografts.

Abstract Digestive gland tissues from the gastropods Helisoma duryi normale (strain HI-3), Helisoma trivolvis, Tarebia granifera , and Melania newcombi were transplanted into the cephalopedal sinuses of H. duryi normale (strain HI-2), and their fates were traced by examining histological sections fixed at 24, 48, 96, 192, and 384 hr post-transplantation. It was apparent that the recipients were capable of differentiating between allografts and xenografts since host reactions directed at the latter were more rapid and generally more severe. The rapid dissociation of the acinar cells of transplanted H. trivolvis and T. granifera suggested that some yet undetermined factor of host origin may be responsible for the lysis of these xenogenic tissues within 24 hr. Cellular capsules surrounding the dissociated cells of H. trivolvis and T. granifera transplants were in the form of hypertrophic fibroblasts and epithelioid cells. Evidences indicated that the latter differentiated from the former which, in turn, had differentiated from wandering leukocytes. Both H. trivolvis and T. granifera cells were encapsulated by the 48th hour. Eventually, the cellular remnants of these were removed by leukocytic phagocytosis. In the case of M. newcombi xenografts, the primary type of host reaction was in the form of myofibrous encapsulation, which was initiated by the 24th hour. Multinucleate macrophages were also associated with these xenografts at the same time. The transplants, however, were not dissociated during the span of the experiment. In the case of H. duryi normale allografts, epithelioid cell encapsulation occurred by the 192nd hour but the acini were still not dissociated by the 394th hour.
SPATIAL MODELING OF EARLY HOLOCENE MANGROVE FORMATION IN THE SANTA ELENA PENINSULA, SOUTH WESTERN ECUADOR

Los asentamientos humanos en America del sur durante el pleistoceno tardio y el Holoceno temprano deben ser considerados desde una perspectiva hemisferica. Es tambien importante recalcar la singularidad y variedad de ecotonos ambientales que se encuentran en el noroeste de America del sur. En el contexto de la peninsula de santa Elena, en Ecuador, el registro mas completo y mas temprano de ocupacion humana proviene de los sitios de Las Vegas,fechados entre 10.800 y 6.600 anos antes del presente. El registro de la fauna marina de las fases temprana y tardia en Las Vegas refleja un cambio en la configuracion del litoral causado por el levantamiento tectonico y eustasia, junto con otros cambios ecologicos. El uso de sistemas de informacion geografica puede ser efectivamente implementado en el modelado de estas antiguas configuraciones costeras.
Evaluation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ADH2 promoter for protein synthesis

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae ADH2 promoter (PADH2) is repressed several hundred-fold in the presence of glucose; transcription is initiated once the glucose in the medium is exhausted. The promoter can thus be utilized for effective regulation of recombinant gene expression in S. cerevisiae without the addition of an inducer. To evaluate this promoter in the absence of plasmid copy number and stability variations, the PADH2 − lacZ cassette was integrated into the yeast chromosomes. The effects of medium composition, glucose concentration and cultivation time on promoter derepression and expression level were investigated. Maximum protein activity was obtained after 48 h of growth in complex YPD medium containing 1% glucose. The widely used S. cerevisiae GAL1 and CUP1 promoters both require the addition of an inducer [galactose and copper(II) ion, respectively] before regulated genes will be expressed. The strengths of these three different promoters were compared for cells containing one copy of an integrated lacZ gene under their control. The ADH2 promoter was superior for all induction strategies investigated. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eph tumour suppression: the dark side of Gleevec.

Gleevec inhibits the oncogenic BCR–ABL tyrosine kinase in chronic myelogenous leukaemia and thus safely and effectively suppresses this human cancer. Gleevec also inhibits the normal cellular ABL, a downstream effector of the Eph-receptors, which mediate repulsive cell–cell interactions to regulate axon guidance, angiogenesis and epithelial homeostasis. New work shows that Eph-dependent tumour suppression requires ABL and is blocked by Gleevec, thus cautioning against the indiscriminate use of this drug in cancer therapy.
Uncertainty of the electrocardiogram: Old and new ideas for assessment and interpretation

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a highly complex, dynamic and stochastic phenomenon. Although it provides a valuable, noninvasive and rapid means of assessing cardiac state and its change, uncertainties in its measurement and variation in the underlying electrophysiology that generates the ECG make difficult further improvement in its reliability for detecting and monitoring cardiac pathologies and conditions. This article reviews the sources of variability and uncertainty in ECG measurement and interpretation, revisits some old ideas for dealing with them, and proposes some novel directions for improving accuracy of ECG assessment and interpretation. We shall explore relative information content of lead systems, representation of ECG signals and patterns, and estimation of ECG distributions from limited lead systems. In addition, we will compare strategies for measuring ECG information and suggest new paradigms for feature extraction that reduce the sensitivity of assessment accuracy to intrinsic and extrinsic measurement errors. Finally, we review the importance of including dynamic information in ECG assessment, both for interpreting current cardiac state as well as for monitoring its change and significance.
Coalescing into the 21st century: An overview and prospects of coalescent theory.

Coalescent theory represents the most significant progress in theoretical population genetics in the past two decades of this century. It is now widely recognized as a cornerstone for rigorous statistical analyses of molecular data from populations. In the future, challenges from the rapidly expanding body of molecular data will continue to inject fresh blood into the development of coalescent theory. As the 21st century looms, we review recent progress in coalescent theory and discuss some prospects for future developments, particularly with regard to human population genetics.
Veratridine-induced activation ofcholine-O-acetyltransferase activity in rat hippocampal tissue: relationship to the veratridine-induced release of acetylcholine

The effect of veratridine depolarization on the activity of 3 choline-O-acetyltransferase (ChAT) fractions in rat hippocampal tissue was investigated. Those concentrations of veratridine which augmented acetylcholine (ACh) release also increased the activity of water and detergent soluble ChAT fractions. These results may suggest that the depolarization induced release of ACh is linked to an activation of ChAT activity.
Lung pathology in high-altitude pulmonary edema.

Autopsy findings in 10 cases of high-altitude pulmonary edema have been collected from published articles and personal observations. All cases were males with a mean age of 37 years (22–62). The altitude of occurrence was from 8400 to 17 500 feet. The mean combined lung weight in nine cases was 1682 g (1200–3000 g). Cerebral edema was present in five of eight cases. The most frequency pulmonary findings in addition to diffuse edema consisted of leukocyte infiltrates, alveolar hemorrhages, thrombi in small pulmonary arteries, and alveolar hyaline membranes. Pulmonary infarction was present in only one case. Right ventricular dilatation was commonly present. The left ventricle was normal. No significant coronary disease was present.
Guanfacine modulates the emotional biasing of amygdala-prefrontal connectivity for cognitive control

Functional interactions between amygdala and prefrontal cortex provide a cortical entry point for emotional cues to bias cognitive control. Stimulation of α2 adrenoceptors enhances the prefrontal control functions and blocks the amygdala-dependent encoding of emotional cues. However, the impact of this stimulation on amygdala-prefrontal interactions and the emotional biasing of cognitive control have not been established. We tested the effect of the α2 adrenoceptor agonist guanfacine on psychophysiological interactions of amygdala with prefrontal cortex for the emotional biasing of response execution and inhibition. Fifteen healthy adults were scanned twice with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing an emotional go/no-go task following administration of oral guanfacine (1 mg) and placebo in a double-blind, counterbalanced design. Happy, sad, and neutral faces served as trial cues. Guanfacine moderated the effect of face emotion on the task-related functional connectivity of left and right amygdala with left inferior frontal gyrus compared to placebo, by selectively reversing the functional co-activation of the two regions for response execution cued by sad faces. This shift from positively to negatively correlated activation for guanfacine was associated with selective improvements in the relatively low accuracy of responses to sad faces seen for placebo. These results demonstrate the importance of functional interactions between amygdala and inferior frontal gyrus to both bottom-up biasing of cognitive control and top-down control of emotional processing, as well as for the α2 adrenoceptor-mediated modulation of these processes. These mechanisms offer a possibile method to address the emotional reactivity that is common to several psychiatric disorders.
Identification of vitelline membrane proteins in Drosophila melanogaster.

Abstract In Drosophila melanogaster , proteins involved in vitelline membrane production are secreted by ovarian follicle cells during stages 9 and 10 of oogenesis. We have used SDS-PAGE and two-dimensional electrophoresis to identify six major size classes of radiolabeled components in purified vitelline membrane preparations. Analyses of in vivo labeled proteins from egg chambers of different developmental stages and stage 10 follicle cells show that components of five of these size classes are synthesized by follicle cells during the period of vitelline membrane deposition. Immunological analysis of eggshell antigens utilizing complex antisera raised to purified eggshell fragments has confirmed the identity of components of three size classes.
Effect of myasthenic immunoglobulin on acetylcholine receptors of intact mammalian neuromuscular junctions

Degradation of acetylcholine receptors of intact mouse neuromuscular junctions was determined in vivo and in vitro by the release of radioactivity from mouse diaphragms labeled with 125I-alpha-bungarotoxin. Treatment of mice with immunoglobulin from myasthenic patients accelerated the degradation rate to approximately three times normal, in both intact animals and organ cultures. The released radioactivity was in the form of [125I]tyrosine, confirming the nature of the degradative process. Accelerated degradation of acetylcholine receptors at neuromuscular junctions may represent an important antibody-mediated mechanisms in myasthenia gravis.
Food Microbiology 101

Review of: Food Microbiology: an Introduction , 3rd ed.; Thomas J. Montville, Karl R. Matthews, and Kalmia E. Kniel; (2012). ASM Press, Washington, DC. 570 pages.
Effects of Alkaline Protease in Minced Fish on Texture of Heat‐Processed Gels

Measurements of properties relating to the physical integrity of heat-processed fish gels varied among samples obtained over a 1-yr period or subjected to various processing temperatures. Such gel properties correlated well with the heat-stable protease (alkaline protease) activity measured in the raw samples. A significant inhibitor concentration-dependent relationship was noted between the addition of a potato derived protease inhibitor and gel strength. These observations support the causative role of an erzymic proteolytic agent in the weakening of gel integrity at processing temperatures near 60°C.
Evolving neural networks to identify bent-double galaxies in the FIRST survey

The FIRST (Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm) survey is an ambitious project scheduled to cover 10,000 square degrees of the northern and southern galactic caps. Until recently, astronomers associated with FIRST identified radio-emitting galaxies with a bent-double morphology through a visual inspection of images. Besides being subjective, prone to error and tedious, this manual approach is becoming increasingly infeasible: upon completion, FIRST will include almost a million galaxies. This paper describes the application of six methods of evolving neural networks (NNs) with genetic algorithms (GAs) to the identification of bent-double galaxies. The objective is to demonstrate that GAs can successfully address some common problems in the application of NNs to classification problems, such as training the networks, choosing appropriate network topologies, and selecting relevant features. We measured the overall accuracy of the networks using the arithmetic and geometric means of the accuracies on bent and non-bent galaxies. Most of the combinations of GAs and NNs perform equally well on our data, but using GAs to select feature subsets produces the best results, reaching accuracies of 90% using the arithmetic mean and 87% with the geometric mean. The networks found by the GAs were more accurate than hand-designed networks and decision trees.
Hemispheric differences for feature perception.

Hemisphere differences for featural processing were investigated in three experiments. Stimulus arrays composed of the same background letter were presented tachistoscopically and the subject instructed to detect an embedded target letter. Background and target letter features were manipulated across studies, while stimulus arrays were presented at different retinal loci within experiments. Signal detection analysis revealed that left hemisphere stimulus presentations demonstrated slightly better detection when target and background features were relatively dissimilar, while right hemisphere stimulus presentations demonstrated better detection when target and background features were highly similar. Retinal locus generally decreased detection performance when the stimulus letters were dissimilar and interacted with hemispheric advantages. Both of these factors also were affected by changes in response criterion across experiments which were linked to target/background perceptual confusions. The findings suggest that the left and right hemispheres differ in their feature extraction capabilities during the early stages of visual stimulus processing.
Impact of Non-Newtonian Drops on Pharmaceutical Tablet Surfaces

This study discusses the spreading of a non-Newtonian, power-law, film formed after a drop impinges on a flat surface (i.e., a pharmaceutical tablet). Non-Newtonian drop spreading is described by a model based on the one of Roisman et al. [2002]. The effects of variations in non-Newtonian liquid rheological parameters m (the consistency index) and n (the fluid behavior index) are shown to be significant. In either case, changes leading to a reduction in viscous forces result in enhanced spreading of the film, followed by more rapid recession. Both are expected. Of interest is the observation that an increase in consistency index can be compensated for by a reduction in flow behavior index since the sensitivity of film recession to a change in n is larger than that to variations in m.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Reliability estimation for neural network based autonomous driving

Abstract This paper describes a technique called Input Reconstruction Reliability Estimation (IRRE) for determining the response reliability of a restricted class of multi-layer perceptrons (MLPs). The technique uses a network's ability to accurately encode the input pattern in its internal representation as a measure of its reliability. The more accurately a network is able to reconstruct the input pattern from its internal representation, the more reliable the network is considered to be. IRRE provides a good estimate of the reliability of MLPs trained for autonomous driving. Results are presented in which the reliability estimates provided by IRRE are used to select between networks trained for different driving situations.
Using modes of inquiry and engaging problems to link computer science and mathematics

In this paper we show how an engaging problem can be used in both a discrete mathematics course and a programming course as a way to expose students to multiple methods of inquiry and to strengthen the links between the two courses. Since students typically take Discrete Mathematics and a programming course simultaneously, this is an opportunity for them to analyze a problem from multiple perspectives during a single semester. We describe how we have accomplished this using a relatively new problem that is easily stated and has a surprising solution that defies intuition. In the programming course, students experienced a design/empirical approach to the problem by implementing simulations of various solutions and collecting experimental results. By adjusting the emphasis of the programming assignment, we show that it can fit naturally into a range of programming courses, i.e. courses on introductory programming, data structures, and object-oriented techniques. In the Discrete Mathematics course, students analyzed solutions using tools from counting, probability, and calculus. We observed that by linking the two courses using a common problem, our students were more cognizant of inquiry methods and student engagement increased.
NK Cells Are Effectors for Resolvin E1 in the Timely Resolution of Allergic Airway Inflammation

Immune responses are pathologically sustained in several common diseases, including asthma. To determine endogenous proresolving mechanisms for adaptive immune responses, we used a murine model of self-limited allergic airway inflammation. After cessation of allergen exposure, eosinophils and T cells were cleared concomitant with the appearance of increased numbers of NK cells in the lung and mediastinal lymph nodes. The mediastinal lymph node NK cells were activated, expressing CD27, CD11b, CD69, CD107a, and IFN-γ. NK cell depletion disrupted the endogenous resolution program, leading to delayed clearance of airway eosinophils and Ag-specific CD4 + T cells. NK cell trafficking to inflamed tissues for resolution was dependent upon CXCR3 and CD62L. During resolution, eosinophils and Ag-specific CD4 + T cells expressed NKG2D ligands, and a blocking Ab for the NKG2D receptor delayed clearance of these leukocytes. Of interest, NK cells expressed CMKLR1, a receptor for the proresolving mediator resolvin E1, and depletion of NK cells decreased resolvin E1-mediated resolution of allergic inflammation. Resolvin E1 regulated NK cell migration in vivo and NK cell cytotoxicity in vitro. Together, these findings indicate new functions in catabasis for NK cells that can also serve as targets for proresolving mediators in the resolution of adaptive immunity.
A novel fairness based criticality avoidance routing algorithm for wavelength routed optical networks

In conventional RWA algorithms the shorter lightpaths fragment the available wavelengths resulting in a higher blocking probability for longer hopcount lightpaths. In this paper we study a novel routing algorithm, which uses traffic classification to classify different hop count connection requests to provide fairness among short and long hop count traffic requests. Also our routing algorithm uses the link criticality information which is related to the number of available wavelengths on a link to provide load balancing over all the links in a network.
Forage Enhancement Plots as a Management Tool for Sonoran Pronghorn Recovery

Abstract We studied the efficacy of forage enhancement plots for Sonoran pronghorn (Antilocapra americana sonoriensis) during a drought in a large (130-ha) enclosure. As drought conditions continued, Sonoran pronghorn increased percent of time foraging in forage enhancement plots from 5.3 ± 2.2% (SE) to 47.8 ± 2.8% but showed signs of poor body condition and one died of starvation. Our results confirm the utility of forage enhancement plots for Sonoran pronghorn recovery, but suggest future research be conducted to determine the optimal size and watering regime of plots to increase survival and recruitment during prolonged droughts.
Simulation of multiconductor transmission lines using Krylov subspace order-reduction techniques

A mathematical model for lossy, multiconductor transmission lines is introduced to facilitate the efficient application of Krylov subspace order-reduction techniques to the analysis of linear networks with transmission line systems. The model is based on the use of Chebyshev polynomial expansions for the approximation of the spatial variation of the transmission-line voltages and currents. The exponential convergence of Chebyshev expansions, combined with a simple collocation procedure, leads to a low-order matrix representation of the transmission line equations with matrix coefficients that are first polynomials in the Laplace variable s, and in which terminal transmission-line voltages and currents appear explicitly. Thus, the resulting low-order model is compatible with both Krylov subspace order-reduction methods (such as the Lanczos and the Arnoldi processes) and the modified nodal analysis formalism. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed model, as well as its compatibility with Krylov subspace order reduction, are demonstrated through its application to the numerical simulation of several interconnect circuits.
MARS code Status

Recent developments of the MARS Monte Carlo code system for simulation of hadronic and electromagnetic cascades in shielding, accelerator and detector components in the energy range from a fraction of an electronvolt up to 100 TeV are described. These include hadron production model, unified treatment of heavy particle electromagnetic interactions and absorption, interface to MCNP for low-energy neutrons, and newly created electromagnetic shower modules (down to 1 keV), MAD-MARS Beam Line Builder and Graphical-User Interface.
A Service Mediator Based Information System: Service-Oriented Federated Multiple Document Management

The primary goal of this research is to propose a novel approach for developing a federated information system of document management applications, which we call SoDOCM (Service-Oriented Document Management) system. The SoDOCM system is a mediator-based federated Information System that is designed and developed based upon the four-level service schema architecture concept, which is a variant of the five-level schema architecture for Federated Database Systems. By modeling the fivelevel schema architecture in terms of service-oriented computing paradigm, four-level service schema architecture is proposed as the central concept for integrating heterogeneous multiple document managements systems. Three different service types such as atomic, simple, and composite services are employed to make the heterogeneous multi-document management system interoperable since standard interfaces and interaction protocols of web services can be supported in a loosely coupled fashion. Representation schemes for schemata at each level are defined by using XML based web services and schema description languages. Several functions such as service request, discovery, composition, publishing, and invocation are proposed and implemented for the mapping between different schema levels.
Cell-free protein synthesis by mouse brain during early development.

—Cell-free homogenates were employed to study the nature of the mechanism that is responsible for the rapid decrement in protein synthesis during early neural development. There was a progressive loss of polypeptide synthesis in post-mitochondrial fractions that were isolated from increasingly older tissue. By the time the animals were approximately 17 days old, the rate of amino acid incorporation had decreased to the rate that was measured in adult brain preparations. This decrement in synthetic activity was similar to that previously measured in developing intact brain cells. The loss in protein synthesis was demonstrated to be independent of cellular membrane permeability and under the influence of intracellular control mechanisms. Although the nature of the control mechanism is still not clear, a lack of template RNA to direct protein synthesis was not the limiting factor in the decreased synthesis of the older brain preparations.
Dissecting JNK signaling, one KKKinase at a time

Specificity in signal transduction is essential to ensure distinct and appropriate cellular responses to extracellular cues. Determining the mechanisms that mediate specificity is key to understanding complex cell behaviors in development, when multiple pathways fire simultaneously and individual pathways are used recurrently. Jun kinase (JNK) signal transduction exemplifies a pathway that is used multiple times in animal development and homeostasis. Indeed, molecular genetic analysis of JNK signaling in Drosophila has shown that a core signaling module consisting of Hep (JNKK), Bsk (JNK), and Jun regulates various processes, including tissue morphogenesis, wound repair, stress response, innate immune response, and others. Six putative JNKK kinase (JNKKK) family members are present in the fly genome, which could activate the core module in response to distinct stimuli. The diversity of kinases at this level of the signaling hierarchy could substantially increase the number of possible signals that feed into activation of the core module. Recent studies have described the distinct phenotypic consequences of mutations in three of the genes, Slpr (dMLK), Tak1, and Mekk1. These data, together with Drosophila cell culture and genomic array analyses support the contention that the choice of JNKKK may contribute to signaling specificity in vivo. Whether this is achieved by individual JNKKKs or by means of a combinatorial mechanism will require a systematic characterization of compound mutants and a toolbox of transcriptional reporters specific for distinct JNK-dependent processes.
Human cyt P450 mediated metabolic toxicity of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) evaluated using electrochemiluminescent arrays

Electrochemiluminescent (ECL) arrays containing polymer ([Ru(bpy)2(PVP)10]2+, PVP = polyvinylpyridine), DNA, and selected enzymes were employed to elucidate cytochrome (cyt) P450 dependent metabolism of the tobacco specific carcinogen, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Bioactivated NNKmetabolites formed upon H2O2-enzymatic activation were captured as DNAadducts and detected simultaneously from 36 spot arrays by capturing and quantifying emitted ECL with an overhead CCD camera. Increased ECL emission was dependent on NNK exposure time. Of the enzymes tested, the activity toward NNK bioactivation was cyt P450 1A2 > 2E1 > 1B1 ≈ chloroperoxidase (CPO) > myoglobin (Mb) in accordance with reported in vivo studies. Cyt P450/polyion films were also immobilized on 500 nm diameter silica nanospheres for product analysis by LC-MS. Analysis of the nanosphere film reaction media provided ECL array validation and quantitation of the bioactivated NNK hydrolysis product 4-hydroxy-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (HPB) confirming production of reactive metabolites in the films. Chemical screening in this fashion allows rapid clarification of enzymes responsible for genotoxic activation as well as offering insight into cyt P450-related toxicity and mechanisms.
Adaptive cleaning for RFID data streams

To compensate for the inherent unreliability of RFID data streams, most RFID middleware systems employ a "smoothing filter", a sliding-window aggregate that interpolates for lost readings. In this paper, we propose SMURF, the first declarative, adaptive smoothing filter for RFID data cleaning. SMURF models the unreliability of RFID readings by viewing RFID streams as a statistical sample of tags in the physical world, and exploits techniques grounded in sampling theory to drive its cleaning processes. Through the use of tools such as binomial sampling and π-estimators, SMURF continuously adapts the smoothing window size in a principled manner to provide accurate RFID data to applications.
Comparing the effectiveness of endoscopic full-thickness plication and endoscopic radiofrequency treatments for patients with GERD

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a significant health concern, with millions of Americans experiencing weekly heartburn and the resulting significant impairment in quality of life. Even mo...
A Smithean Perspective on Increasing Returns

Despite its recent re-emergence to analytical importance, the phenomenon of increasing returns remains outside the central core of neoclassical economics. The history of this idea (or set of ideas) might have been quite different if Adam Smith's explanation of the origins of trade had not been replaced by that of David Ricardo. To Adam Smith, mutually beneficial exchange emerges because of specialization, which, in its turn, implies the presence of increasing returns to the size of the exchange nexus. Even in a world of equals, trade offers mutuality of gain. There is no need for participants in the economic nexus to differ one from another. In the Ricardian logic, by contrast, trade presumably emerges because productive resources differ in their capacities to create economic value, at least among separate “goods.” Specialization is a “natural” feature of resource endowments—a feature that is exploited by trade. Comparative advantage ensures the mutuality of gain. But, in this explanation, there is no direct linkage between the size of the exchange network and the degree of specialization that is viable. There is no need to introduce increasing returns. Comparative advantage may be present even if there are constant returns to scale, both for the economy and for its separate productive sectors.
Adrenocortical carcinoma: past, present, and future.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine malignancy. Due to its rarity, heterogeneity, and a lack of a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis, little progress has been made in treatment and outcomes. The current review explores the past, present, and future of the understanding and treatment of this disease process. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012; 106:586–594. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Rapid Direct Effects of Castration and Androgen Treatment on Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone-Induced Luteinizing Hormone Release in the Phenobarbital-Treated Male Rat: Examination of the Roles Direct and Indirect Androgen Feedback Mechanisms Might Play in the Physiological Control of Luteinizing Hormone Release

Adult male rats, given phenobarbital (PB) to suppress their endogenous LH-releasing activity, were used to test whether orchidectomy and dihydrotesterone (DHT) treatment and withdrawal could act acutely to modify the pituitary LH release response to exogenous LHRH infusion. When LHRH was infused at a constant rate of 15 or 45 ng/h beginning immediately after orchidectomy, castrates and sham-castrated controls responded similarly for up to 18 h. However, when the LHRH infusion rate was abruptly changed from 15 to 45 ng/h 4 h postoperatively, castrates developed greater serum LH levels than uncastrated controls. Castration (the withdrawal of testicular feedback signals) appeared to have increased the ability of the pituitary to respond to an increment in the LHRH infusion rate. This effect of orchidectomy was reduced in rats given DHT by sc implantation at the time of castration, using doses of DHT equal to or less than those needed to prevent the orchidectomyinduced increase in circulating LH in the absenc...
A new method for adaptive wideband beamforming

Classical angle of arrival (AOA) estimation methods assume incoming signals are either purely narrowband or purely wideband in nature. There are many physical scenarios where this may not be the case. The authors call such scenarios mixed, in that the incoming signals contain a combination of both wideband and narrowband components. They introduce a new method for performing AOA estimation using a wideband adaptive beamsummer in the presence of mixed (narrowband and wideband) signals. The method uses an adaption criterion which is a function of both the mean and variance of the beamsummer output. The method is an extension of a similar narrowband beamsummer method (ICASSP1992 vol.4, p.461-4). Simulation results are presented which compare the performance of the new criterion with the standard narrowband and wideband adaptation criteria. These results show that the new method can perform as well or better than the classical methods in terms of target resolution and angle of arrival estimator variance. >
Toll-like receptor signaling mechanisms in hostile neutrophils. Focus on “Bone marrow MyD88 signaling modulates neutrophil function and ischemic myocardial injury”

more than three decades of research have demonstrated that circulating leukocytes can be trapped under a variety of conditions in the microcirculation, including the myocardial microcirculation. Such entrapment may occur as a consequence of the activation of the innate immune reaction to an
Social Justice Mentoring Supporting the Development of Future Leaders for Struggle, Resistance, and Transformation

In this address, I honor my ancestors for their commitment to social justice. I pay tribute to my mentors and students who have inspired me to join with others to struggle for justice and liberation. I share stories of my journey and I encourage social justice mentors in counseling psychology to consider: (a) identifying core dimensions of social justice, (b) clarifying one’s social justice position, (c) modeling social justice values and practices, (d) providing meaningful learning and training opportunities, (e) working to transform learning and training spaces, and (f) encouraging students and trainees to create mentoring networks.
Origins of Coccidiosis Research in the Fowl—The First Fifty Years

SUMMARY. In 1910, H. B. Fantham described the life cycle of a coccidian parasite in birds. Fantham was a parasitologist at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom working for an enquiry into diseases affecting the red grouse. Despite the growing importance of the poultry industry and the realization that coccidiosis was an important disease of the fowl, little further work was carried out in the United Kingdom until coccidiosis research was initiated at the Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge almost 30 yr later. Further progress depended upon research carried out at academic and agricultural institutions in the United States. E. E. Tyzzer at Harvard University provided the solid foundation upon which our present knowledge of coccidiosis, and the species of Eimeria involved in the disease, is based. Agricultural experiment stations (AESs) throughout the nation played an important role in communicating advances to the agricultural community. W. T. Johnson at Western Washington and, subsequently, Oregon AES made significant contributions to our understanding of the disease, as did C. A. Herrick and coworkers at Wisconsin AES, J. P. Delaplane and coworkers at Rhode Island AES, and P. P. Levine at Cornell University.
Thorax unit driven by unidirectional USM for under 10-gram flapping MAV platform

A unidirectional ultrasonic motor (USM) is applied to the thorax unit of a flapping micro aerial vehicle (MAV) with the aim to develop an MAV in the 10-gram-range, for which appropriate DC motors with high power-weight ratios are unavailable. As a trial, a unidirectional USM having an ultrasonic transducer with mass of 336 mg and rotor of 3 mm diameter is implemented to a belt drive mechanism in place of a DC motor and spar gear unit. At no load and without wings, the USM works well and achieves a flapping frequency exceeding 32 Hz, while the output power is around 36 mW owing to the mismatch of the two vibration modes that dominate the efficiency of the USM. Although the observed lift force remains low because of the lack of USM power and heaviness of the wings, the appropriateness of the mechanical design is confirmed and improvements toward the 10-gram-range flapping MAV with USM are discussed on the basis of these results. Another actuation mechanism of the flapping MAV is proposed.
Study of Mechanism with Applications to Frame

The stiffness method of analysis is applied to general plane frames with straight members under the assumption that the length of the members does not change. The application requires the analysis of a class of mechanisms. Graph-theoretical concepts and results are found extremely useful in both the theoretical discussion and the actual determination of the displacement modes of the mechanism. A special method is developed for a subclass of mechanisms. Following the analysis of the mechanism, the equations of frame analysis can be formulated with no difficulty. An iterative method of solution is shown.
The Usefulness of Chest X-Rays for T1a Renal Cell Carcinoma Surveillance

Purpose: The overall incidence of pulmonary metastasis of T1 renal cell carcinoma is low. We evaluated the usefulness of chest x-rays based on the current AUA (American Urological Association) guidelines and NCCN Guidelines® for T1a renal cell carcinoma surveillance.Materials and Methods: Between 2006 and 2012, 258 patients with T1a renal cell carcinoma were treated with partial nephrectomy, radical nephrectomy or radio frequency ablation with surveillance followup at our institution. A retrospective chart review was performed to identify demographics, pathological findings and surveillance records. The primary outcome was the incidence of asymptomatic pulmonary recurrences diagnosed by chest x-ray in cases of T1a disease. Our secondary outcome was a comparison of diagnoses by treatment modality (partial nephrectomy, radical nephrectomy or radio frequency ablation).Results: Pulmonary metastases developed in 3 of 258 patients (1.2%) but only 1 (0.4%) was diagnosed by standard chest x-ray surveillance. Medi...
Outcomes of Bilateral Sturge-Weber Syndrome

Researchers at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI studied 14 children with bilateral Sturge-Weber syndrome, representing 12.7% of a total of 110 patients with the disorder.
Rethinking Technology Neutrality

Technology progresses at an increasingly rapid rate; Congressional action does not. How then should laws be drafted to keep pace with changes to the world they regulate? Scholars and legislators have overwhelmingly answered that laws should anticipate unexpected technologies through ex ante statutory inclusion. “Technology neutrality,” as this principle is known, assumes that drafting a law to general characteristics, rather than specific technologies, promotes statutory longevity and equal regulation of technologies old and new. This Article challenges that assumption.In uncovering four problems inherent to technology neutrality, this Article recasts the drafting principle as suboptimal and often self-defeating. It does so through a case study of copyright law, which for the past four decades has been structured around technology-neutral default rules; copyright also has been plagued by countless revisions and inconsistent application to substantively equivalent technologies.This rethinking leads to a counterintuitive alternative: technological discrimination. A mixture of neutrality and specificity, technological discrimination recognizes the unappreciated benefits of specificity — e.g., better tailoring and greater certainty — while responding to the shortcomings of neutrality revealed herein. Laws, including copyright, ought to be drafted to known technologies with what I call domain-specific neutrality, and should task courts and agencies with determining whether and how the law applies to innovations. This Article concludes by showing how technological discrimination could help copyright law better respond to new technologies like cloud computing. It also considers implications for patent law.
Military spending boosts the deficit

Propelled by strategic weapons, the growing military portion of the budget is sending the federal deficit to unprecedented levels. Even greater increases are planned for future years.
Silicon Microfabrication: Laser Ablation vs. Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Etch

Mechanical prototypes of a silicon interposer device, having high-aspect ratio straight walls, were required for experiments to qualify various packaging assembly options. The ideal solution would yield expendable, quickly made, and relatively inexpensive replica parts. This need led to the investigation of micromachining of silicon via laser ablation. We sought to optimize the results by varying several parameters, the most influential of which was shown to be laser wavelength. Silicon wafers of thickness 500 µm were machined using laser wavelengths of 10,600 nm, 1064 nm, and 355 nm. As was predicted according to the theoretical silicon absorption profile, the best results were obtained using 355 nm wavelength light from an ultraviolet laser source. Several post-machining cleaning routines, to remove melted silicon debris, were evaluated as well. Pictorial results of both laser processing and cleaning are shown and discussed. ICP was concurrently investigated as a viable alternative to laser machining. These cuts were markedly cleaner and straighter than those induced by laser; additionally, cut features were more well defined. Pictorial results are compared and contrasted with those of laser ablation. Cost and time are traded for quality when choosing between laser ablation and ICP etch. Therefore, process choice should be application-dependent. For wafers with moderately complex cutout features, laser micromachining is significantly lower in cost and manufacturing time. However, the laser process does produce residual thermal stress surrounding the cut region, machined edges are relatively rough, and fine features are more difficult to produce. Laser ablation is an attractive manufacturing option for quick-turnaround prototyping as well as high-volume production; ICP is better suited to producing high-definition parts without potential for thermal stress damage.
Anaphylaxis in the mouse: possible relation of the Schultz-Dale reaction to serotonin release.

Summary(1) The egg white sensitized or normal mouse uterus is 1,000 times more sensitive to serotonin than it is to histamine. (2) This sensitivity is completely abolished in the presence of two known serotonin antagonists, LSD and reserpine. (3) LSD and reserpine, which as far as is known inhibit only serotonin, always and completely prevented the anaphylactic contraction on strips of demon-strably sensitized uterus in the ten trials with each drug.
Efficacy of topical treatment for herpes simplex virus infections: predictions from an index of drug characteristics in vitro.

Topical antiviral treatments for recurrent infection with herpes simplex virus in immunocompetent patients have been generally ineffective. We investigated whether in vitro drug measures could predict in vivo efficacy. Twelve topical antiviral formulations were evaluated in vitro by measuring inhibition of viral plaque formation in cell culture (ID50) and drug penetration through excised guinea pig skin. In vivo efficacy for each treatment was determined in an experimental cutaneous infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 in guinea pigs and expressed as the percent reduction in lesion number, lesion area, and virus titer in the lesions. The in vitro findings were correlated with the results in the animal model. ID50 was a poor predictor of in vivo efficacy, whereas stronger correlations were found between the degree of skin penetration and in vivo activity. The best correlation was noted by using a summary expression of the in vitro results as follows: the ratio of drug penetration through skin at 37 C to ID50 (r = .95, .94, and .92 for lesion number, area, and virus titer, respectively, P less than .0005). Determination of this in vitro index should be included in the preclinical evaluation of new topical antiviral formulations.
Advances in Friction Stir Welding for Aerospace Applications

Friction stir welding (FSW), an innovative solid-state joining technique, is finding greater use in aerospace applications through advances in materials development evaluations, structural design and testing programmes, tooling and process innovations, and standards and specification developments. To advance FSW from the research stage into direct application, performance and properties data are needed. Therefore, the NIAR in Wichita, Kansas, began a multipronged approach to facilitate technology transfer of friction stir welding into production applications. Research programmes are focused on materials evaluations (e.g. corrosion resistance), structures evaluations, weld tool development, and process innovations. This article is an edited version of the expert paper and summarises the findings that were underpinned by detailed tests whose results were provided and are logged at WSU. A major conclusion is that significant advances continue to be made.
Design and implementation of application integration on PI3000 workflow

The workflow-based enterprise application integration is propitious to application reusability and business process re-engineering. This paper analyzed the characteristic requirements and key technical problems of application integration on workflowsystem. Aworkflowintegration framework based on PI3000 platform was proposed. Then three kinds of application integration pattern were summarized: portal, monitor, and mediator. This framework was proved to be efficient which could provide a flexible integration framework for unified enterprise information.
The Occurrence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in “Routine” Genital Cultures

Genital specimens for “routine” culture were also examined for Neisseria gonorrhoeae . Gonococci were isolated from a significant number of these specimens even though gonorrhea was not suspected in the majority of these patients. N. gonorrhoeae was detected by cultural and fluorescent antibody methods. In a single year 57% of all genital isolations of gonococci were from “routine” cultures. The importance of routinely culturing all genital specimens for gonococci is emphasized.
Clinical Consequences of Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract

With advances in the surgical management of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT), many affected children now have the capability to live well into adult life. Specific medical attention in this patient population must focus on the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its complications (especially hypertension and proteinuria), as well as the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections. This chapter highlights the diagnosis, morbidity and mortality, and overall medical support required for the pediatric patient with CKD resulting from CAKUT. We also briefly highlight the emerging evidence regarding the treatment of pediatric urinary tract infections (UTIs), specifically focusing on the treatment of recurrent UTI.