cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular origin of rapid versus slow intramolecular electron transfer in the catalytic cycle of the multicopper oxidases.

Kinetic measurements on single-turnover processes in laccase established fast type-1 Cu to trinuclear Cu cluster (TNC) intramolecular electron transfer (IET) in the reduction of the native intermediate (NI), the fully oxidized form of the enzyme formed immediately after O–O bond cleavage in the mechanism of O2 reduction. Alternatively, slow IET kinetics was observed in the reduction of the resting enzyme, which involves proton-coupled electron transfer on the basis of isotope measurements. The >103 difference between the IET rates for these two processes confirms that the NI, rather than the resting enzyme that has been defined by crystallography, is the fully oxidized form of the TNC in catalytic turnover. Computational modeling showed that reduction of NI is fast because of the larger driving force associated with a more favorable proton affinity of its μ3-oxo moiety generated by reductive cleavage of the O–O bond. This defines a unifying mechanism in which reductive cleavage of the O–O bond is coupled ...
The Primacy of Geography in Afghanistan: A Look at the Causes of Urbanization Across Afghan Provinces

To test the conventional wisdom that Afghanistan’s lack of development was due to ethnic diversity, institutions or conflict, I examine potential determinants of the urbanization rate and urbanization growth over the past few decades. Specifically, this paper examines new provincial data on urbanization, geography, ethnic diversity, institutions, neighbor country market potential and conflict. I find evidence against the importance of ethnic diversity, institutions or conflict and instead find evidence for geography and neighbor country market potential. The results imply that Afghanistan’s urbanization could be improved by increasing its transport infrastructure and thereby improving market access. Theories of the effect of ethnic diversity, institutions and conflict on development should be reconsidered for Afghanistan.
Buy-Side and Sell-Side: The Industrial Organization of Information Production in the Securities Industry

This paper studies how information production is allocated between buy-side and sell-side firms when identical information-producing agents can choose to be either sell-side analysts or buy-side fund managers. I find that for analysts to be in equilibrium, they must receive some form of subsidy. Without a subsidy, competition among both analysts and fund managers makes an analyst's profit lower than that of a fund manager. Tying investment banking to sell-side research enables such a subsidy. Even though this subsidy may cause a conflict-of-interest problem, a total separation of investment banking from sell-side research to solve the problem may not be a good idea, because analysts improve social welfare by enhancing the information efficiency of the financial markets. This paper also explains the existence of independent research and the fee structure in the credit rating industry.
A theory of convective heat transfer in a rotating hydromagnetic viscous flow

An initial value investigation is made of the combined effects of the free and forced convection in rotating hydromagnetic viscous fluid flows under the action of a uniform transverse magnetic field. The hydromagnetic flow is generated in the uniformly rotating fluid bounded between two rigid non-conducting paralled plates by small non-torsional oscillations of the lower plate, and in addition, the plates are maintained at a constant temperature gradient in a direction parallel to the plane of the plates. The exact solutions of the velocity field and the temperature distribution are obtained by the Laplace transform method combined with the theory of residues. It is shown that the solutions consists of the steady-state and the transient components. The time required for the transient effect to decay is discussed in detail, and the ultimate steady-state is shown to be composed of boundary layers on the plates and an interior flow. Attention is focused upon the physical nature of the solutions, and the structure of the various kinds of boundary layers formed on the plates. The final steady-state velocity, temperature and shear stresses are numerically discussed for different values of the Grashof number and frequency of the plate.
Hypostatic Abstraction in Empirical Science

Etude sur l'abstraction hypostatique dans la science empirique. L'abstraction hypostatique consiste a transformer un predicat comme grand (dans " l'immeuble est grand ") a une expression nominale correspondante comme grandeur (dans " la grandeur de l'immeuble "). L'A. defend l'importance de l'abstraction hypostatique dans la science experimentale et discute du vague dans ses relations aux especes naturelles
Magnetic resonance imaging in assessment of stress urinary incontinence in women: Parameters differentiating urethral hypermobility and intrinsic sphincter deficiency

Magnetic resonance imaging in assessment of stress urinary incontinence in women: Parameters differentiating urethral hypermobility and intrinsic sphincter deficiency
Exploring Developmental Appropriateness of Multitouch Tables in Prekindergarten: A Video Analysis.

AbstractThis study explored how developmentally appropriate practices influenced the affordances of a multitouch surface in an early childhood classroom. Children, ages 4 to 5 years old, were videotaped while engaged in a storymaking application on a multitouch table. As a result of the study, we found that some challenges with the functionality undermined children's autonomous control. The researchers observed numerous instances of issues with control of the medium, including height of the table, sensitivity to multiple types of touch, and limited instructions and prompts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Does educational attainment shape reactions to genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease? Results from a national survey experiment.

Abstract While higher education is associated with healthy lifestyles and health literacy, it remains unclear whether education shapes reactions to varying levels of genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, participants (N = 701) in the National Genetic Risk Survey Experiment (NGRISE) received a hypothetical genetic risk assessment for AD (ranging from 20 to 80% lifetime risk) and then completed items on their cognitive (perceived threat to health), emotional (general negative affect), and anticipated behavioral (seek information, improve health behaviors, engage in public or private civic action) reactions to this risk. Individuals with a college education showed reactions to increasing genetic risk approximately twice or several times as strong relative to those of individuals with lower (high school, HS) education. In fact, behavioral reactions do not significantly increase with AD risk among those with HS education. Some educational differences in risk response widen at older ages.
Fukushima Fallout in Japanese Manga: The Oishinbo Controversy Through the Lens of Habermas’ Discourse Ethics

Japan’s 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant calamity created a global focal point for debate about nuclear energy, and a notable forum for dissent. The incident, marked by the meltdown of three of the nuc...
AI characters and directors for interactive computer games

We are creating an environment for investigating the role of advanced AI in interactive, story-based computer games. This environment is based on the Unreal Tournament (UT) game engine and the Soar AI engine. Unreal provides a 3D virtual environment, while Soar provides a flexible architecture for developing complex AI characters. This paper describes our progress to date, starting with our game, Haunt 2, which is designed so that complex AI characters will be critical to the success (or failure) of the game. It addresses design issues with constructing a plot for an interactive storytelling environment, creating synthetic characters for that environment, and using a story director agent to tell the story with those characters.
Do emotional control beliefs lead people to approach positive or negative situations? Two competing effects of control beliefs on emotional situation selection

Control beliefs are widely acknowledged to play a critical role in self-regulation and well-being, but their impact on decisions to approach or avoid situations that vary in emotional valence remains unclear. We propose that two contradictory, yet equally intuitive, predictions can be made about the impact of control beliefs on emotional situation selection. On the one hand, control beliefs might encourage individuals to initiate proactive emotion regulatory efforts, helping people select positive situations. On the other hand, control beliefs might promote a sense of confidence in one's ability to manage emotions once they arise, helping people select negative situations. We propose that both effects occur via different mechanisms and suppress one another: control beliefs facilitate (1) positivity engagement by enhancing awareness of opportunities to regulate emotions, and (2) negativity engagement by enhancing confidence in one's ability to handle negative situations. We found support for this framework in four studies. Consistent with our hypotheses, control beliefs (measured in Studies 1-3 and manipulated in Study 4) exerted two simultaneous and competing effects on emotional situation selection (assessed via self-report measures in Studies 1 and 2 and behaviorally in Studies 3 and 4) via the proposed mechanisms, and evidence of suppression was found. New opportunities for research on control beliefs, emotion regulation, and motivation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
On the Determining Parameters of Serviceability of the Elastic Clamps of Rail Fasteners

It is established that the KP-5-type elastic clamps of the of the KPP-5-type rail fasteners made of 65G steel have lower durability as compared with the clamps of 60C2 steel despite the high strength and durability characteristics of 65G steel determined separately under the conditions of tension, bending, and torsion of laboratory specimens. It is discovered that the fatigue life of the clamps depends, first of all, on the ability of the material to relax mechanical stresses. A parameter that should be used for the selection of the material of clamps is proposed.
Judgmental Alternatives, Empathy, and Moral Responsibility

In Responsibility From the Margins, David Shoemaker distinguishes three forms of responsibility: attributability, answerability, and accountability. The introduction of various normative competence requirements lends precision to the contrasts that Shoemaker draws between these forms of responsibility. I argue, however, that these competence requirements are less well motivated than Shoemaker supposes, which raises the possibility that we cannot distinguish between forms of responsibility in the way that he hopes.
Towards an Optimal Dialog Strategy for Information Retrieval Using Both Open- and Close-ended Questions

The emerging paradigm of dialogue interfaces for information retrieval systems opens new opportunities for interactively narrowing down users' information query and improving search results. Prior research has largely focused on methods that use a set of close-ended questions, such as decision tree, to learn about the user's search target. However, when there is a myriad of documents or items to search, solely relying on close-ended questions can lead to long and undesirable dialogues. We propose an adaptive dialogue strategy framework that incorporates open-ended questions at the optimal timing to reduce the length of the dialogue. We propose a method to estimate the information gain of open-ended questions, and in each dialog turn, we compare it with that of close-ended questions to decide which question to ask. We present experiments using several synthetic datasets designed to explore the behavior of such an adaptive dialogue strategy under different environments, and compare the system's performance with that of a close-ended-questions-only strategy.
Micellar Control of the Nitrous Acid Deamination Reaction

The nitrous acid deamination of amines descends from Piria’s discovery (1848) that the action of nitrous acid on either aspartic acid or asparagine gave malic acid.1 Despite subsequent intensive investigation,2 the important role which micelles can play in controlling the kinetics and stereochemistry of this reaction remained unrevealed until 1969.3
60-OR: IDENTIFICATION OF NOVEL MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS LIGANDS AND EPITOPES RESTRICTED BY HLA-A2

Aim Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains a world health threat, with 8.8 million cases reported in 2010, 65% of which were new and recurrent cases of tuberculosis. HLA mediated cellular immune responses are critical for controlling Mtb and recent studies have identified CD8+ T cells as important in controlling infection. Little is known about the minimal Mtb peptide ligands presented during an infection. The objective of this study is to biochemically purify ligands from the HLA of cells infected by Mtb to identify ligands distinct to infected cells. Methods 20 mg of soluble HLA-A ∗ 02:01 were harvested from Mtb infected THP-1 monocyte cells. Peptides were eluted from A ∗ 02:01, fractionated by HPLC, and comparatively analyzed using mass spectrometry (MS). Peptides unique to Mtb infected cells were identified, sequenced by tandem MS, and tested for immunogenicity in an IFNγ ELISOPT assay using PBMC from patients with acute and latent Mtb. Results Five novel Mtb derived ligands from five different Mtb open reading frames were presented by HLA-A ∗ 02:01 during infection. Patient T cells responded to four of the peptides. One peptide, LIL9 from a hypothetical Mtb protein, was dominant relative to the other four peptides, greater in both immunogenicity and in the number of Mtb patients with a response. A ligand from arsA, IMI10, only showed a measurable CD8 T-cell response in patients with latent tuberculosis infection. Conclusions We report the identification and characterization of 5 novel Mtb derived ligands, 4 of which were identified as CD8 T-cell epitopes. We further identify an epitope, who’s specific T-cells are only detectable in patients with latent tuberculosis infection. The reactive Mtb ligands identified not only represent novel epitopes, but also give us a glimpse of what Mtb proteins are processed and presented by class I HLA.
Illustrations of Complex Economic Analyses

The sample problems of this chapter touch on many elements of complexity in comparative engineering economic analysis of transportation alternatives, including, but not limited to:
Neonatal Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial illnesses in febrile infants younger than 60 days of age. It usually involves the upper urinary tract (pyelonephritis) and delay in therapy can lead to permanent renal damage. During early infancy, UTI is more common in boys, and uncircumcised males have the highest rates of UTI. The male-to-female ratio starts reversing by 4–6 months of age, and by 1 year of age, UTI is three times more common in girls than in boys. In febrile young infants, the diagnosis of UTI is made during sepsis evaluation as there are no specific symptoms or signs of UTI at this age. All febrile newborns <29 days of age and ill appearing 29–60 days old, undergoing sepsis evaluation (that must include urinalysis and culture), are hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotics until completion of sepsis work-up. Those with uncomplicated UTI are treated for 10–14 days and part of therapy can be completed with oral antibiotics as outpatient.
Alterations in galectin-3 expression and distribution correlate with breast cancer progression: functional analysis of galectin-3 in breast epithelial-endothelial interactions.

To define the role of galectin-3 in breast cancer progression, we have used a novel three-dimensional co-culture system that recapitulates in vivo reciprocal functional breast epithelial-endothelial cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, and examined the expression of galectin-3 mRNA and protein in human breast tumors and xenografts. Galectin-3 is required for the stabilization of epithelial-endothelial interaction networks because immunoneutralization with galectin-3 antibodies abolishes the interactions in a dose-dependent manner. Co-culture of epithelial cells with endothelial cells results in increase in levels of secreted galectin-3 and presence of proteolytically processed form of galectin-3 in the conditioned media. In contrast, intracellular galectin-3 predominantly exists in the intact form. This difference in sensitivity to proteolytic processing of secreted versus intracellular galectin-3 probably arises from differences in accessibility of protease-sensitive sites, levels, and/or type of activated protease(s), and may be indicative of different functional roles for intact and processed galectin-3. To determine whether the proteolytically cleaved galectin-3 retains its ability to bind to endothelial cells, binding assays were performed with the full-length and matrix metallopeoteinase-2-cleaved recombinant galectin-3. Although a dose-dependent increase in binding to human umbilical vein endothelial cells was observed with both full-length and cleaved galectin-3, proteolytically cleaved galectin-3 displayed ∼20-fold higher affinity for human umbilical vein endothelial cells as compared to the full-length protein. Examination of galectin-3 expression in breast tumors and xenografts revealed elevated levels of galectin-3 mRNA and protein in the luminal epithelial cells of normal and benign ducts, down-regulation in early grades of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and re-expression in peripheral tumor cells as DCIS lesions progressed to comedo-DCIS and invasive carcinomas. These data suggest that galectin-3 expression is associated with specific morphological precursor subtypes of breast cancer and undergoes a transitional shift in expression from luminal to peripheral cells as tumors progressed to comedo-DCIS or invasive carcinomas. Such a localized expression of galectin-3 in cancer cells proximal to the stroma could lead to increased invasive potential by inducing novel or better interactions with the stromal counterparts.
Workplace Violence in Organizations: An Exploratory Study of Organizational Prevention Techniques

In an effort to better understand workplace violence, this exploratory study examines it from an organizational level perspective. This perspective allows for the identification of the types of prevention measures used by organizations to address workplace violence, as well as the effectiveness of these techniques at preventing it. Descriptive statistics indicate the types of organizational policies and procedures used to prevent workplace violence, as well as some of the conditions that place organizations at a higher risk of experiencing it. Additionally, the methods for minimizing violence in the workplace, such as counseling and grievance procedures, are analyzed to determine which prevention techniques appear to be most effective at addressing workplace violence. The significance of the findings and future research directions are discussed.
Abstract IA14: Not the same everywhere: The moderating role of context on cancer disparities

In the emerging field of multilevel cancer disparities research, investigators typically examine the independent contribution of factors such as individual- and neighborhood-level race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The moderating role of context is often neglected. In the real world, people interact with and are nested within multiple contexts that may influence the processes whereby disparities are generated and reinforced. The moderating role of context will be explored using two illustrative examples drawn from colorectal cancer screening and breast cancer mortality. Specific contexts explored include patient residence, neighborhood, health care system, and state. In the first example, expected patterns of individual- and neighborhood- level disparity were not evident in colorectal cancer screening among patients of an urban safety-net health care system. For example, neighborhood disparity was limited and the expected pattern of patient-level racial and ethnic disparity (i.e., advantage of white patients as compared to African American and Hispanic patients) was not observed. In the second example, differences in neighborhood context between Texas and California are explored in a study of breast cancer mortality. State-level differences in both neighborhood socioeconomic status and density of Hispanic residents are explored as potential moderators of the association between patient ethnicity, birthplace, and mortality. To conclude the discussion, contextual variables potentially influencing cancer behaviors and outcomes will be identified and described in regard to existing evidence about their influence, methods, and datasets for their analysis, and opportunities for future research. Citation Format: Sandi L. Pruitt. Not the same everywhere: The moderating role of context on cancer disparities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr IA14.
Food and Foreignnes in Sir Thomas More

In Sir Thomas More , by Anthony Munday and others, foreign culinary appetites are associated with physical and sexual degeneracy, and the perception that foreign consumption is harmful to English natives acts as a dominant theme. The accusations rehearsed against resident foreigners in the play are that they have a detrimental effect upon the economy (specifically causing inflation), they have strange culinary practices, and they bring disease. One of the play's key linkages brings these last two together: vegetables grown by the foreigners infect Londoners and so undermine the security of the city. The body's consumption of infected vegetables becomes a powerful symbol for what the rioters believe to be the effect of London's absorption of aliens: as the body consumes that which will infect it so London incorporates the seeds of its own destruction by allowing the aliens to remain. Just as a body that has been poisoned should purge itself of the poisonous matter to ensure its well-being, so violent efforts to purge London of its foreigners are considered necessary by the rioters to ensure the safety of the city. Complaints made by Londoners against European foreigners in Sir Thomas More can be contextualized via contemporary accounts of the Irish diet in colonial prose writings that describe unusual and degenerate consumption in order to draw distinctions between civilized English men and their foreign inferiors. The dating of Sir Thomas More is itself difficult and a further complication is the relationship between the manuscript's main text, an apparent layer of censorship, and the 'additions' in several hands, but I will nevertheless attempt to contextualize the play's interrelation of food and civil disorder in the light of food shortages in the 1590s and early 1600s that gave rise to real riots. My study of food in the play links Shakespeare's 'addition' (Hand D) in a way that supports recent work on the manuscript's specific theatrical provenance.
Longitudinal associations between white matter maturation and cognitive development across early childhood.

From birth to 5 years of age, brain structure matures and evolves alongside emerging cognitive and behavioral abilities. In relating concurrent cognitive functioning and measures of brain structure, a major challenge that has impeded prior investigation of their time-dynamic relationships is the sparse and irregular nature of most longitudinal neuroimaging data. We demonstrate how this problem can be addressed by applying functional concurrent regression models (FCRMs) to longitudinal cognitive and neuroimaging data. The application of FCRM in neuroimaging is illustrated with longitudinal neuroimaging and cognitive data acquired from a large cohort (n = 210) of healthy children, 2-48 months of age. Quantifying white matter myelination by using myelin water fraction (MWF) as imaging metric derived from MRI scans, application of this methodology reveals an early period (200-500 days) during which whole brain and regional white matter structure, as quantified by MWF, is positively associated with cognitive ability, while we found no such association for whole brain white matter volume. Adjusting for baseline covariates including socioeconomic status as measured by maternal education (SES-ME), infant feeding practice, gender, and birth weight further reveals an increasing association between SES-ME and cognitive development with child age. These results shed new light on the emerging patterns of brain and cognitive development, indicating that FCRM provides a useful tool for investigating these evolving relationships.
Effect of Soil Treatments for Cottony Cushion Scale (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) Control on Nylanderia fulva (Hymenoptera: Formidicae) Survival and Trailing Activity

Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), or tawny crazy ant, is an invasive ant from South America that is spreading in the southern US. Extremely large populations of this ant can inundate urban and natural landscapes, and efficient control methods are lacking. This study was conducted to determine if activity of N. fulva would decline after controlling the hemipteran honeydew-producers they were tending. Potted plants infested with cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi Maskell) (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) were treated with 2 imidacloprid insecticide formulations, and changes in N. fulva survival and foraging behavior were monitored. There were fewer ant trails, lower trailing intensity, less foraging, and less nesting in potted plants treated with either product than in the control pots. The use of low application rates of systemic insecticide to reduce honeydewproducing hemipterans, such as cottony cushion scale, could be an important component of the integrated pest management of N. fulva.
Leveraging Remote Research Associates During a Pandemic

Author(s): Cronin, Alexandrea O.; Carlile, Morgan A.; Dameff, Christian J.; Coyne, Christopher J.; Castillo, Edward M. | Abstract: Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has seriously impacted clinical research operations in academic medical centers due to social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders. The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of a program to continue clinical research based out of an emergency department (ED) using remote research associates (RA).Methods: Remote RAs were trained and granted remote access to the electronic health record (EHR) by the health system’s core information technology team. Upon gaining access, remote RAs used a dual-authentication process to gain access to a host-based, firewall-protected virtual network where the EHR could be accessed to continue screening and enrollment for ongoing studies. Study training for screening and enrollment was also provided to ensure study continuity.Results: With constant support and guidance available to establish this EHR access pathway, the remote RAs were able to gain access relatively independently and without major technical troubleshooting. Each remote RA was granted access and trained on studies within one week and self-reported a high degree of program satisfaction, EHR access ease, and study protocol comfort through informal evaluation surveys.Conclusions: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we virtualized a clinical research program to continue important ED-based studies.
FILIP1L Loss Is a Driver of Aggressive Mucinous Colorectal Adenocarcinoma and Mediates Cytokinesis Defects through PFDN1.

Aneuploid mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma (MAC) is an aggressive subtype of colorectal cancer with poor prognosis. The tumorigenic mechanisms in aneuploid MAC are currently unknown. Here we show that downregulation of Filamin A interacting protein 1-like (FILIP1L) is a driver of MAC. Loss of FILIP1L increased xenograft growth, and, in colon-specific knockout mice, induced colonic epithelial hyperplasia and mucin secretion. The molecular chaperone prefoldin 1 (PFDN1) was identified as a novel binding partner of FILIP1L at the centrosomes throughout mitosis. FILIP1L was required for proper centrosomal localization of PFDN1 and regulated proteasome-dependent degradation of PFDN1. Importantly, increased PFDN1, caused by downregulation of FILIP1L, drove multi-nucleation and cytokinesis defects in vitro and in vivo, which were confirmed by time-lapse imaging and 3D cultures of normal epithelial cells. Overall, these findings suggest that downregulation of FILIP1L and subsequent upregulation of PFDN1 is a driver of the unique neoplastic characteristics in aggressive aneuploid MAC.
In-situ TEM observation of shear induced microstructure evolution in Cu-Nb alloy

Abstract Phase boundaries in multiphase alloys govern defect interaction and chemical intermixing across different phases during plastic deformation. Dynamic interaction of defects with phase boundaries in multiphase alloys, especially for immiscible alloys, has generated more research interest in recent years. Here, we describe a novel approach for carrying out in-situ TEM shear deformation to directly observe interfacial microstructural evolution of a Cu-Nb alloy. A unique double shear specimen geometry is microfabricated by a focused ion beam technique to apply shear deformation upon push loading inside the TEM. From the real-time observation, we discover that the phase boundary with a zigzag morphology effectively blocks stacking faults nucleated in a Cu grain from slipping into a Nb grain. Meanwhile, the Cu phase bears the most plastic deformation through slip or twinning mechanisms. This work sheds light on understanding the shear deformation and the behavior of phase boundaries in multiphase alloys during shear deformation.
California's Climate Change Policy The Case of a Subnational State Actor Tackling a Global Challenge

For all its economic capacity, population size, and resource base, California remains only one among the 50 United States and, essentially, is a subnational actor attempting to play a role in the c...
Conventional and Organic Wheat Germ Have Distinct Physiological Effects in the Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca Sexta: Use of Black Mutant Assay to Detect Environmental Juvenoid Activity of Insect Growth Regulators

Stored grains used in artificial diets are often treated with insecticides to control infestation by pests. In recent years, insect growth regulators (IGRs) have become an increasingly popular form of insect pest control in agricultural settings. Most IGRs specifically target insects by either disrupting their endocrine system or their chitin synthesis. One type of IGRs comprises of chemical analogs of juvenile hormone (JH), a major hormone involved in growth and development of insects. Here we demonstrate that conventional wheat germ contains JH activity and impacts growth and development of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta . Feeding diet containing conventional wheat germ delayed the timing of metamorphosis in wildtype larvae by extending the duration of the final instar. Diet with conventional wheat germ also inhibited melanization of the black mutant larvae and induced the expression of the JH response gene, Kruppel homolog 1 . We demonstrate that the black mutant bioassay is a sensitive assay that can determine the amount of JH activity in stored grains and suggest that this assay may offer a quick and reliable assay to determine the amount of environmental juvenoids. Researchers are urged to use caution when purchasing stored grains for mass-rearing of research insects.
Angular Dependence of Thin-Film Dielectric Coating Damage Thresholds Revisited

Newnam et al. [1] reported experiments showing that the angular dependence of 351-nm laser damage thresholds in HfO 2 /SiO 2 multilayer dielectric reflectors was much weaker than even the 1/cosθ expected from simple geometric fluence dilution. Several plausible explanations were suggested, but none were convincing. We propose a simple geometric model based on a cylindrical form for the coating defect responsible for damage initiation. We have measured 248-nm damage thresholds for bare fused silica, evaporated aluminium films, and HfO 2 /SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 dielectric reflectors at angles out to 85°. The measured data agree well with our simple model.
Site-directed mutagenesis of phosphorylation sites of the branched chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex.

Regulation of the branched chain alpha-ketoacid dehydrogenase complex, the rate-limiting enzyme of branched chain amino acid catabolism, involves phosphorylation of 2 amino acid residues (site 1, serine 293; site 2, serine 303). To directly assess the roles played by these sites, site-directed mutagenesis was used to convert these serines to glutamates and/or alanines. Functional E1 heterotetramers were expressed in Escherichia coli carrying genes for E1 alpha and E1 beta under control of separate T7 promoters in a dicistronic vector. Mutation of phosphorylation site 1 serine to glutamate inactivated E1 activity, i.e. mimicked the effect of phosphorylation of site 1. Replacement of the site 1 serine with alanine greatly increased Km for the alpha-ketoacid substrate but had no effect on maximum velocity. The site 1 serine to alanine mutant was phosphorylated at site 2, but phosphorylation had no effect upon enzyme activity. Mutation of site 2 serine to either glutamate or alanine also had no effect upon enzyme activity, but phosphorylation of these proteins at site 1 inhibited enzyme activity. E1 mutated to change both phosphorylation site serines to glutamates was without enzyme activity. The binding affinity of E1 to the E2 core was not affected by mutation of the phosphorylation sites to glutamates, suggesting no gross perturbation of the association of E1 with the E2 core. The results provide direct evidence that a negative charge at phosphorylation site 1 is responsible for kinase-mediated inactivation of E1. Site 2 is silent with respect to regulation of activity by phosphorylation.
Effect of Chronic Protein-Energy Malnutrition on Fecundability, Fecundity and Fertility in Rats

To assess the effect of chronic protein-energy malnutrition on fecundability (ovulation rate), fecundity (percentage of animals bred that conceived) and fertility (live fetuses at d 18 of pregnancy), 42-d-old female rats were assigned to six groups: two dietary treatment groups and, within each treatment group, three outcome groups. Rats were fed ad libitum (AL) or were chronically restricted (CR) to 50% of AL intake for 28 d before ovulation was assessed and then until implantation and fetal viability were measured. In the ovulation groups, corpora lutea were counted at estrus. In the implantation groups, blastocyst implantation sites were quantified by using Pontamine Blue dye at d 5 of pregnancy. In the viability groups, live and dead fetuses and metrial nodes were counted at d 18 of pregnancy. CR rats had 74% as many corpora lutea as AL rats; however, fecundity did not differ between dietary treatments. CR rats had 71% as many blastocyst implantation sites and 65% as many viable fetuses as AL rats. Chronic malnutrition negatively affected weight gain before and during pregnancy as well as reproductive performance. These findings help to explain why CR rats have fewer progeny.
Distributed systems: lessons learned and challenges remaining

The design of most distributed systems has settled down into a reasonably coherent architectural framework, with only moderate perturbations occurring from system to system, and from generation to generation. I'll describe the framework, some lessons learned as this framework has progressed over the last 20 years, and some important research and engineering challenges ahead. I'll extrapolate to the types of amazing systems we might successfully construct, if we can meet these challenges.
Rehabilitating Psychology in Australia: The Journey from Colonising Agent to Cultural Broker

Historically, research, theory and practice have focused on promoting and maintaining Western privilege through Western knowledge and Western ways of knowing that deny the validity of Indigenous knowledge and culture. In Australia, psychology, in particular, has been complicit in the colonising process and, as a dominant discourse, has a documented past that has been ethnocentric and has objectified, dehumanised, and devalued those from culturally different groups. It has acted as an agent for assimilation and oppression. As psychotherapists who may be invited into the lives of Indigenous clients, we need to develop reflective competency in, and respect for, the distinct and diverse nature of Indigenous cultural identity and experience if we are to successfully forge meaningful therapeutic alliances. We need to engage in a journey of decolonisation. Such a journey will take many of us through two mindscapes, two worlds. Decolonisation is not a simple process. Managing its complexity requires personal, professional, and social introspection, and commitment to change. This paper offers a model for decolonisation which can support this process. Central to the success of this model will be the role psychotherapists can play as change agents and cultural brokers in developing approaches which are fully committed to genuine reconciliation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Wear Problem in a Linear Hydraulic Actuation System and Solution Using Forced Lubrication

The subject of this paper is early hours wear problem of a hydraulic actuator. Material transfer from the actuator housing to the actuator surface was observed after short time of component testing. A general case, where the actuator is tilted in the bore due to side load, is examined. The mechanism of local scuffing (micro-welding) is discussed. The paper describes the theoretical analysis combined with practical experience in solving common wear problems related to poor material pair and lack of lubrication between sliding surfaces. A validated solution is also discussed.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Estradiol Reduces Susceptibility of CD4+ T Cells and Macrophages to HIV-Infection

The magnitude of the HIV epidemic in women requires urgent efforts to find effective preventive methods. Even though sex hormones have been described to influence HIV infection in epidemiological studies and regulate different immune responses that may affect HIV infection, the direct role that female sex hormones play in altering the susceptibility of target cells to HIV-infection is largely unknown. Here we evaluated the direct effect of 17-β-estradiol (E2) and ethinyl estradiol (EE) in HIV-infection of CD4+ T-cells and macrophages. Purified CD4+ T-cells and monocyte-derived macrophages were generated in vitro from peripheral blood and infected with R5 and X4 viruses. Treatment of CD4+ T-cells and macrophages with E2 prior to viral challenge reduced their susceptibility to HIV infection in a dose-dependent manner. Addition of E2 2 h after viral challenge however did not result in reduced infection. In contrast, EE reduced infection in macrophages to a lesser extent than E2 and had no effect on CD4+ T-cell infection. Reduction of HIV-infection induced by E2 in CD4+ T-cells was not due to CCR5 down-regulation, but was an entry-mediated mechanism since infection with VSV-G pseudotyped HIV was not modified by E2. In macrophages, despite the lack of an effect of E2 on CCR5 expression, E2–treatment reduced viral entry 2 h after challenge and increased MIP-1β secretion. These results demonstrate the direct effect of E2 on susceptibility of HIV-target cells to infection and indicate that inhibition of target cell infection involves cell-entry related mechanisms.
Roentgenologic demonstration of intra-hepatic hematoma following liver biopsy. Report of a case.

Complications of liver biopsy are difficult to demonstrate by any means short of abdominal exploration. The present case illustrates the use of Thorotrast in visualizing an intrahepatic hematoma, and the use of such a procedure in similar cases and in anticoagulant induced hematoma is discussed.
Elasticity of single-crystal SmAlO3, GdAlO3 and ScAlO3 perovskites

Abstract The adiabatic single-crystal elastic moduli of SmAlO3, GdAlO3 and ScAlO3, all with the orthorhombic perovskite structure, have been measured by Brillouin spectroscopy under ambient conditions. These 3 compounds display various degrees of crystallographic distortion from the ideal cubic perovskite structure. We find that longitudinal moduli in directions parallel to the axes of a pseudocubic subcell are nearly equal and insensitive to distortions of the crystal structure from cubic symmetry, whereas, the moduli C11 and C22, parallel to the orthorhombic axes, display pronounced anisotropy with the exception of ScAlO3. The shear moduli also correlate with distortion from cubic symmetry, as measured by rotation, or tilt angles, of the AlO6 octahedra. Our data support the observations of Liebermann et al. that perovskite-structure compounds define consistent elasticity trends relating bulk modulus and molar volume, and sound speed and mean atomic weight. These relationships have been used to estimate bulk and shear moduli for the high-pressure polymorphs of CaSiO3 and MgSiO3 with the perovskite structure.
Differential T-cell activation by B7-1 expression

T-cell receptor-mediated T-cell activation requires cosimulation signal, which can be provided by B7-1 molecule. Our previous study demonstrated that the coexpression of a covalent peptide/major histocompatibility complexclass II molecule complex and costimulatory molecule B7-1 by recombinant adenovirus leads to synergy in peptide-specific T-cell activation. However, the viral antigen-specific T-cell activation is not enhanced by B7-1 expressed by the adenovirus. To verify the differential T cell activation by B7-1 and investigate its underlying mechanisms, we constructed an adenovirus coexpressing a covalent complex of hen egg lysozyme peptide/I-A k (HEL 4 6 - - 6 1 /I-A k ) and B7-1 in the present study. In vivo studies revealed that HEL 4 6 - 6 1 -specific T-cell response, but not viral antigen-specific T-cell response, was enhanced by B7-1 expression mediated by the adenovirus, suggesting that exogenous B7-1 expression may regulate T-cell response to these two different antigens through distinct mechanisms. Furthermore, our results revealed that antigen-presenting cells were unsusceptible to adenovirus infection in vivo. Based on these findings, the possible mechanism of differential B7-1 costimulation on peptide-specific and viral antigen-specific T-cell activation is discussed.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE EFFECTIVE EQUATION OF STATE OF THE INTERGALACTIC MEDIUM

We develop a method to extract the "effective equation of state" of the intergalactic medium from the Doppler (b) parameter distribution of the low-density Lyα forest. We test the method on numerical simulations and then apply it to published observations of the Lyα forest at redshifts z 0-4. We find that the effective equation of state is close to isothermal at redshift z ~ 3, indicating that a second reheating of the intergalactic medium took place at z ~ 3. This reheating can plausibly be identified with the reionization of He II observed to occur at z ~ 3.
OPTIMIZING THE TRANSFER OF TAX EXEMPTIONS IN NEW ZEALAND FARM DEVELOPMENT

Farmers and their advisers frequently face complex problems involving the scheduling of claims for tax exemptions. A case in point is the New Zealand tax law allowing farmers to transfer exemptions associated with development expenditure up to specified time horizons. This paper examines procedures for solving this, and similar, problems. Linear programming could be used, but an alternative algorithm is proposed for farm advisers whose access to computing facilities is limited. The latter procedure is intended for use with forecast budgeting in farm development planning.
Comparison of steady-state pharmacokinetics of valproic acid in children between monotherapy and multiple antiepileptic drug treatment

Steady-state pharmacokinetics of valproic acid (VPA) with or without other antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment were studied in 37 children. Children (N=16) receiving multiple AED therapy had a higher clearance (23.5 vs 13.0 ml/hr/kg, P
Cobalt (II) halides as electrolytes in acetonitrile

The electrical conductance of CoCl2 and CoBr2 from 10−4 to 10−1 mol/l over the temperature range 0–35°C is reported. The effects of water as trace impurity, and the halide common ion effect on conductance are examined. The properties of these solutes are also examined using spectrophotometry and transport numbers. Crystalline “solvated” compounds, of empirical formulae [CoX2(CH3CN)3]x can be separated from the saturated solutions. The magnetic susceptibilities of the crystalline substrates are in accord octahedral and tetrahedral symmetry for the cationic and anionic species in these “solvates”, the bonding in both being the spin-free type for divalent cobalt. From the optical properties of the solutions it is apparent that the “anomalous” properties of these electrolytes can be understood in a series of simultaneous processes under Mass-Law control, in which CoX2, CoX42−, Co(CH3CN)62+ and [Co(CH3CN) 62+CoX42−]° are predominant.
Troponin T isoforms modulate calcium dependence of the kinetics of the cross-bridge cycle: studies using a transgenic mouse line

Alternative splicing of troponin T (TnT) in striated muscle during development results in expression of different isoforms, with the splicing of a 5(') exon of TnT resulting in the expression of low-molecular-weight basic adult TnT isoforms and high-molecular-weight acidic embryonic TnT isoforms. Although other differences exist, the main differences between cardiac TnT (cTnT) and fast skeletal muscle TnT (fTnT) are in the NH(2) terminus, with fTnT being less acidic than cTnT. A transgenic mouse line expressing chicken fTnT in the heart was used to investigate the functional significance of TnT NH(2)-terminal charge differences on cardiac muscle contractility. The rates of force redevelopment (k(tr)) at four levels of Ca(2+) activation were recorded for skinned left ventricular trabeculae from control and transgenic mice. The k(tr) vs Ca(2+) relationship was different in control mice and transgenic mice, suggesting that the structure of TnT, and possibly the NH(2)-terminal region, is involved in determining the kinetics of cross-bridge cycle. These results suggest that isoform shifts in TnT may be an important molecular mechanism for determining the Ca(2+) dependence of cardiac muscle contractility.
The high cost of acute health care: a review of escalating costs and limitations of such exposure in intensive care units.

The high costs of the last year of life, reduced hospital reimbursement, increased cost controls, proliferation ofmanaged care plans and capitated payment mechanisms, and the increasing costs of technology require hospitals to carefully review the future role of the intensive care unit (ICU). Studies have documented that 10 to 42070 of all ICU patients can be considered low risk ICU monitor patients that could be discharged from an ICU if an appropriate intermediate care setting was available. This commentary will review the interface to ICUs on the health care system and the impact of utilizing noninvasive monitoring technology to place monitored patients in an intermediate setting. The cost savings associated with a noninvasive monitoring approach in a l5-bed ICU unit with a 95% occupancy would be approximately 106 thousand dollars annually if 10% of ICU patients are diverted from admission into the ICU unit. Nationwide cost savings could approximate 500 million dollars with just a 10% diversion from ICU beds to noninvasive monitored beds.