Psychosexual development of women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) (N = 31) and their unaffected sisters or female cousins (N = 15) participated in a study of psychosexual development. All participants were > or = 18 years of age (mean age, 25 years; range, 18-40). Comparisons were also made between the CAH women with the salt-wasting (SW) form of the disorder and those with simple virilization (SV). A psychosexual assessment protocol examined six variables: (1) sex assignment at birth (probands only); (2) recalled sex-typed behavior during childhood; (3) gender identity and gender role identification in adulthood; (4) relationship status; (5) sexual orientation in fantasy; and (6) sexual orientation in behavior. Salt-wasting status and sex assignment at birth were also ascertained for the CAH women who either refused to participate in the study (N = 10) or could not be traced (N = 13). Compared to the controls, the women with CAH recalled more cross-gender role behavior and less comfort with their sense of "femininity" during childhood. The two groups did not differ in degree of gender dysphoria in adulthood, although the probands showed more cross-gender role identification. Three of the nonparticipant probands were living, as adults, in the male social role (2 reared from birth as boys and 1 who changed from the female to the male social role during adolescence). The CAH women and the controls did not differ in relationship status (married/cohabiting vs. single). The CAH women had lower rates of exclusive heterosexual fantasy and fewer sexual experiences with men than the controls; however, the CAH women did not have more sexual experiences with women than the controls. Comparisons between the SW and SV revealed several differences: the SW were less likely to be assigned to the female sex at birth, recalled more cross-gender role behavior during childhood, were less likely to be married or cohabiting, and had lower rates of sexual experiences with men. The results were discussed in relation to the effects of prenatal androgens on psychosexual differentiation.     

Cloning of human cDNA encoding a novel heptahelix receptor expressed in Burkitt's lymphoma and widely distributed in brain and peripheral tissues

Using PCR with degenerate primers and screening of a human B-cell lymphoblast cDNA library, a full-length cDNA encoding a 375-amino-acid protein was isolated. It contains seven regions of hydrophobic amino acids probably representing membrane-spanning domains of a novel heptahelix receptor, tentatively named CMKRL2. It shows nearly 30% overall identity with the high-affinity IL8 receptor and similar degree of homology with other chemoattractant receptors, including the "fusin" coreceptors for HIV1. Measurements of various transduction pathways following application of a panel of chemokines to transfected cells failed to evoke any reproducible response. Although the natural ligand for CMKRL2 could, thus, not be identified, receptor expression in spleen and lymph nodes as well as in Burkitt's lymphoma (irrespective of EBV status) supports a functional role in activated B-cells. Receptor message was ubiquitously distributed in normal peripheral tissues and CNS, suggesting that CMKRL2 is expressed in widespread cell populations, such as macrophages and neuroglia.     

Automated generation of lattice QCD Feynman rules

The derivation of the Feynman rules for lattice perturbation theory from actions and operators is complicated, especially for highly improved actions such as HISQ. This task is, however, both important and particularly suitable for automation. We describe a suite of software to generate and evaluate Feynman rules for a wide range of lattice field theories with gluons and (relativistic and/or heavy) quarks. Our programs are capable of dealing with actions as complicated as (m)NRQCD and HISQ. Automated differentiation methods are used to calculate also the derivatives of Feynman diagrams.

Program summary

Program title: HiPPY, HPsrcCatalogue identifier: AEDX_v1_0Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEDX_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: GPLv2 (see Additional comments below)No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 513 426No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 4 893 707Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: Python, Fortran95Computer: HiPPy: Single-processor workstations. HPsrc: Single-processor workstations and MPI-enabled multi-processor systemsOperating system: HiPPy: Any for which Python v2.5.x is available. HPsrc: Any for which a standards-compliant Fortran95 compiler is availableHas the code been vectorised or parallelised?: YesRAM: Problem specific, typically less than 1 GB for either codeClassification: 4.4, 11.5Nature of problem: Derivation and use of perturbative Feynman rules for complicated lattice QCD actions.Solution method: An automated expansion method implemented in Python (HiPPy) and code to use expansions to generate Feynman rules in Fortran95 (HPsrc).Restrictions: No general restrictions. Specific restrictions are discussed in the text.Additional comments: The HiPPy and HPsrc codes are released under the second version of the GNU General Public Licence (GPL v2). Therefore anyone is free to use or modify the code for their own calculations. As part of the licensing, we ask that any publications including results from the use of this code or of modifications of it cite Refs. [1,2] as well as this paper. Finally, we also ask that details of these publications, as well as of any bugs or required or useful improvements of this core code, would be communicated to us.Running time: Very problem specific, depending on the complexity of the Feynman rules and the number of integration points. Typically between a few minutes and several weeks. The installation tests provided with the program code take only a few seconds to run.References:

• [1] 

  A. Hart, G.M. von Hippel, R.R. Horgan, L.C. Storoni, Automatically generating Feynman rules for improved lattice eld theories, J. Comput. Phys. 209 (2005) 340–353, doi:10.1016/j.jcp.2005.03.010, arXiv:hep-lat/0411026.

• [2] 

  M. Lüscher, P. Weisz, Efficient Numerical Techniques for Perturbative Lattice Gauge Theory Computations, Nucl. Phys. B 266 (1986) 309, doi:10.1016/0550-3213(86)90094-5.

     

CRT and LCD monitor and process materials evaluated for environmental improvement

Decision rules have been developed and applied to the bills of materials of a color cathode‐ray tube (CRT) and a liquid‐crystal‐display (LCD) desktop monitor to determine which product and process materials will be evaluated in an environmental life‐cycle assessment. Materials of significant mass, of technological importance, and of potential environmental impact are targeted. The list of materials identified are those for which life‐cycle inventory data will be obtained for the materials extraction and materials processing life‐cycle stages of a CRT and an LCD. Additionally, materials identified will also be used to represent life‐cycle impact in terms of resource consumption, as well as surrogates for occupational health impacts.     

Evolutionary pattern search algorithms for unconstrained andlinearly constrained optimization

We describe a convergence theory for evolutionary pattern search algorithms (EPSA) on a broad class of unconstrained and linearly constrained problems. EPSA adaptively modify the step size of the mutation operator in response to the success of previous optimization steps. The design of EPSA is inspired by recent analyzes of pattern search methods. Our analysis significantly extends the previous convergence theory for EPSA. Our analysis applies to a broader class of EPSA and it applies to problems that are nonsmooth, have unbounded objective functions, and are linearly constrained. Further, we describe a modest change to the algorithmic framework of EPSA for which a nonprobabilistic convergence theory applies. These analyses are also noteworthy because they are considerably simpler than previous analyses of EPSA     

Clip art rendering of smooth isosurfaces

Clip art is a simplified illustration form consisting of layered filled polygons or closed curves used to convey 3D shape information in a 2D vector graphics format. This paper focuses on the problem of direct conversion of smooth surfaces, ranging from the free-form shapes of art and design to the mathematical structures of geometry and topology, into a clip art form suitable for illustration use in books, papers and presentations.We show how to represent silhouette, shadow, gleam and other surface feature curves as the intersection of implicit surfaces, and derive equations for their efficient interrogation via particle chains. We further describe how to sort, orient, identify and fill the closed regions that overlay to form clip art. We demonstrate the results with numerous renderings used to illustrate the paper itself.     

The normal of a fractal surface

  We have discovered a class of fractal functions that are differentiable. Fractal interpolation functions have been used for over a decade to generate rough functions passing through a set of given points. The integral of a fractal interpolation function remains a fractal interpolation function, and this new fractal interpolation function is differentiable. Tensor products of pairs of these fractal functions form fractal surfaces with a well-defined tangent plane. We use this surface normal to shade fractal surfaces, and demonstrate its use with renderings of fractal mirrors.     

Identification of two distinct properties of class II major histocompatibility complex-associated peptides

We have examined the interactions of various peptides with the mouse class II major histocompatibility complex molecule I-Ak. The peptides were derived from the model protein hen egg white lysozyme (HEL). The immunodominant peptide of HEL is a 10-mer, residues 52-61. Our previous work established that this sequence contains the key residues for binding and presentation to T cells. Now we show that the binding of this 10-mer sequence resulted in complexes of I-Ak and peptide that, in SDS/PAGE (without boiling the protein), rapidly dissociated from the component alpha and beta chains. The binding interactions were studied in vitro, by incubating purified I-Ak and radiolabeled peptide, or ex vivo, by using antigen-presenting cells incubated with peptides. Peptides with additional residues at either the amino or carboxyl terminus behaved dramatically differently. Complexes of I-Ak with the longer peptides were stable to SDS/PAGE. Very few amino acid additions result in the change from unstable to stable complexes. The important issue here is that when cultured with HEL, antigen-presenting cells selected the HEL peptides containing the 52-61 sequences that favored stability [Nelson, C. A., Roof, R. W., McCourt, D. W. & Unanue, E. R. (1992) Proc. Natl., Acad. Sci. USA 89, 7380-7383]. Also, from other studies, such sequences correlate with a high immunogenicity of the peptide. We conclude that there are structural features of peptides that change the stability of the class II molecule and that are independent of the "core" peptide seen by the T cells.     

Pancreatic xanthomatous neuropathy associated with hyperlipidemia: a cause of abdominal pain mimicking chronic pancreatitis

"Hyperlipidemic crisis" is a term used to describe episodic abdominal pain in patients with hyperlipidemia. The morphologic correlates of this phenomenon have not been investigated and the etiology of the disorder is uncertain. We report a unique histologic finding in the pancreas of a 34-year-old woman with a 17-year history of episodic abdominal pain, sometimes accompanied by hyperamylasemia. At the age of 18 years, grossly elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels were documented and type V hyperlipidemia was diagnosed. At the age of 34 years, subtotal pancreatectomy was performed for intractable abdominal pain. Histologic examination identified an increased number of enlarged pancreatic nerves that were infiltrated by foamy macrophages and encircled by fibrous tissue; endoneurial infiltration with macrophages occasionally split nerves into individual fascicles. Otherwise, the pancreas had only minimal fibrosis, nesidioblastosis, mucinous metaplasia of some pancreatic ducts, and scattered small collections of chronic inflammatory cells, subtle features suggesting very mild chronic pancreatitis. We propose that this novel xanthomatous neuropathy mimicked pancreatitis and was one of the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms of abdominal pain in this patient. Further studies are necessary to document the prevalence of this new entity in patients with hyperlipidemia and to correlate its occurrence with "hyperlipidemic crisis" in those individuals.     

Dielectric properties of apples in the range 0.1–100 kHz

Capacitance and conductance spectra are measured between 100 Hz and 100 kHz for three varieties of apple. Analysis of the spectra for several types of electrode material indicates that electrode effects may be neglected for frequencies above 1 kHz. Power-law responses are observed withCf ^–0.3 for the capacitance andG _a.c.f ^+0.9 for the a.c. conductance. Activation energies were found to be of the order of 0.05–0.15 eV for the three apple varieties and found to be frequency dependent. Comparison is made with an apple in which the cellular structure has been damaged by freezing. Freezing produced a significant increase in the high-frequency activation energy for conductance and a decrease in the power-law exponent to +0.3 for a.c. conductance. It is suggested that the dielectric properties result from a combination of relatively free ionic diffusion in the extracellular medium and the hopping of counterions along trap sites on the cell wall.