cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Digging the Sigma-Hole of Organoantimony Lewis Acids by Oxidation

The development of group 15 Lewis acids is an area of active investigation that has led to numerous advances in anion sensing and catalysis. While phosphorus has drawn considerable attention, emerging research shows that organoantimony(III) reagents may also act as potent Lewis acids. Comparison of the properties of SbPh3 , Sb(C6 F5 )3 , and SbArF 3 with those of their tetrachlorocatecholate analogues SbPh3 Cat, Sb(C6 F5 )3 Cat, and SbArF 3 Cat (Cat=o-O2 C6 Cl4 , ArF =3,5-(CF3 )2 C6 H3 ) demonstrates that the Lewis acidity of electron deficient organoantimony(III) reagents can be readily enhanced by oxidation to the +V state-as verified by binding studies, organic reaction catalysis, and computational studies. The results are rationalized by explaining that oxidation of the antimony center leads to a lowering of the accepting σ* orbital and a deeper carving of the associated σ-hole.
Learning automata decision analysis for sensor placement

AbstractThis study investigates how to design sensor systems in a way that responds to certain factors in the environment. This decision analysis problem focuses on sensor placement: how to place s...
Variant selection of intragranular Ni2(Mo,Cr) precipitates (γ′) in the Ni-Mo-Cr-W alloy

Abstract Variant selection of Ni2(Mo,Cr) precipitates (γ′) in a low coefficient of thermal expansion Ni-Mo-Cr-W alloy has been investigated as a function of precipitate size and applied stress. The lenticular-shaped, coherent γ′ precipitates form with a {110}M/(010)p habit plane. During conventional aging, all 6 variants of the Ni2(Mo,Cr) precipitates form and coarsen with aging time. With the application of external loading below the yield stress during aging, variants with {110}M habit planes that experience the largest dilations resulting from the externally applied stress are favored. Phase field modeling, coupled with elasticity theory, has been employed to simulate the development of variant selection of γ′ precipitates with and without applied external loading. Similar to the experimental results, the γ′ precipitates tend to form parallel to each other during coarsening and display variant selection when external stress is applied during aging. The mechanism is believed to be the reduction of elastic strain energy caused by the precipitate/matrix lattice mismatch. Thus, the nature of the selection indicates that the sign of the misfit is positive along [010]p. Because the misfit strain energy increases with increasing precipitate size, variant selection occurs during coarsening.
The Hurst Exponent-A Novel Approach for Assessing Focus During Trauma Resuscitation

Current assessment of resuscitation team performance is often based on evaluations using checklists that evaluate verbal communication. However, highly efficient teams may function with several non-verbal cues that may not be measured by current assessment methods. Previous work assessing these non-verbal cues has been accomplished by tracking head movements in providers which however have not been attempted in trauma teams. We sought to perform a preliminary, proof-of-concept study to assess the ability to perform head tracking during a simulated trauma scenario. We enrolled a convenience sample of two simulated trauma teams utilizing undergraduate health professional students from four disciplines available at our institution: second year Radiologic Science (RS), fourth year Physician Assistant (PA), second year Respiratory Care (RC), and fourth year Registered Nurse (RN) students. Each team performed a simulated trauma resuscitation two times while wearing Xsens® MTw motion trackers to track head movements during the resuscitation. These motions were analyzed using a standard measure of discriminating movement patterns known as the Hurst exponent (H). Pre and Post communication training movement patterns were compared to establish reliability of H in trainees learning trauma resuscitation. There was no difference between the pre and post communication training H values for either roll or yaw for any of the four disciplines indicating that non-verbal communications was avoided. The Hurst exponent reliably measures the direction of focus of the participants during some simulated trauma resuscitation scenarios. Future research will be needed to evaluate this analytic technique across providers and in the clinical setting.
Nursing homes underreport antipsychotic prescribing.

Objective: Determine the accuracy of nursing home self-reported antipsychotic prescribing before and after implementation of a Medicare campaign to reduce use.Methods: Quasi-experimental study comp...
Percutaneous Closure of Intra-MitraClip Leak: Impact of Occluder Device Type on Closure Success and Hemolysis

A 76-year-old man with a history of Hodgkin lymphoma, chest radiation, and severe mitral regurgitation treated with 2 MitraClip devices 2 years previously presented with worsening dyspnea (Class III). Echocardiography revealed severe regurgitation between the 2 MitraClip devices, located at a
Neuroendocrine alterations in major depressive disorder

Abstract Several alterations in neuroendocrine systems have been demonstrated to exhibit altered activity in patients with major depression compared to normal healthy volunteers. The most robust and best replicated findings are studies of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and more specifically the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neuropeptide system. Increased neuronal CRH activity in extrahypothalamic and hypothalamic areas and increased HPA axis activity has been implicated in the development of depression during adulthood, in part a consequence of exposure to early-life stress as demonstrated in both in clinical and preclinical studies. In addition other neuroendocrine aberrations in depressed patients have also been demonstrated, most notably the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis and to a lesser extent, the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. This chapter is a brief overview of the research findings over the last 50 or so years highlighting the neuroendocrine abnormalities and their putative role in the pathogenesis of major depression.
Ethical and legal issues in the care of transgender youth in the juvenile justice system

Summary The juvenile justice system faces ethical and legal issues in dealing with transgender youth. They are entitled to the same legal rights and protections while in state custody as other youth. Within the juvenile justice system, they are at risk for abuse and sexual assault by other youth. This article provides an overview of the issues regarding transgender youth in the juvenile justice system. Transgender youth are at risk for involvement in the juvenile justice system for several reasons, including rejection by families, schools and social networks that lead to contact with law enforcement. A number of legal cases have established some standards for their care and protection, but correctional facilities are often unable or do not know how to meet their needs. It is important for clinicians working with transgender youth to be aware of the risks they face with the juvenile justice system and the protections and treatment they are entitled to receive.
8 – Random walk

Publisher Summary This chapter elaborates the random walk and zero-or-one laws. On the probability triple (Ω, F, P), a sequence {Xn, n ∈; N} where each Xn is an r.v. (defined on Ω and finite a.e.), are called a discrete parameter stochastic process. Various Borel fields connected with such a process are introduced. Ω is just the space of all infinite sequences of real numbers. A point ω is written as {ωn, n ∈; N} and ωn as a function of ω will be called the nth coordinate (function) of ω. Each Ωn is endowed with the Euclidean B.F. B1, and the product Borel field F =(Fn) on Ω is defined to be the B.F. generated by the finite-product sets of the form. The chief advantage of this concrete representation of Ω is that it enables to define an important mapping on the space.
Bone marrow transplantation with interleukin-1 plus kit-ligand ex vivo expanded bone marrow accelerates hematopoietic reconstitution in mice without the loss of stem cell lineage and proliferative potential

Cytokine combinations were tested for their ability to expand murine bone marrow (BM) progenitors in short-term suspension cultures (delta- cultures) with the aim of providing an enriched source of progenitors for BM transplantation (BMT). In a comparison of the efficacy of the combinations interleukin-1 (IL-1) + IL-3, IL-1 + kit-ligand (KL), and IL-1 + IL-6 + KL, BMT with IL-1 + KL expanded progenitors was found to be most effective in accelerating the recovery of peripheral blood leukocytes, platelets, and erythrocytes in lethally irradiated mice. The ex vivo expansion of BM in IL-1 + KL-stimulated delta-cultures also greatly reduced the number of transplanted cells needed to provide radioprotection. All mice survived at least 30 days when receiving 5 x 10(3) delta-cultured d1 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) BM cells (BM cells harvested 1 day after 5-FU administration), whereas complete survival of mice receiving fresh d1 5-FU BM required BMT with a 200-fold greater number of cells. BMT with expanded BM lead to predominantly donor- derived hematopoietic reconstitution for 280 days postprimary BMT and another 71 days after secondary BMT. The expansion of BM did not adversely effect the proliferative capacity and lineage potential of the stem cell compartment.
Validating climate‐change refugia: empirical bottom‐up approaches to support management actions

Efforts to conserve biodiversity increasingly focus on identifying climate‐change refugia – areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable species persistence. Identification of refugia typically includes modeling the distribution of a species’ current habitat and then extrapolating that distribution given projected changes in temperature and precipitation, or by mapping topographic features that buffer species from regional climate extremes. However, the function of those hypothesized refugia must be validated (or challenged) with independent data not used in the initial identification of the refugia. Although doing so would facilitate the incorporation of climate‐change refugia into conservation and management decision making, a synthesis of validation methods is currently lacking. We reviewed the literature and defined four methods to test refugia predictions. We propose that such bottom‐up approaches can lead to improved protected‐area designations and on‐the‐ground management actions to reduce influences from non‐climate stressors within potential refugia.
Requirement of Irf6 and Esrp1/2 in frontonasal and palatal epithelium to regulate craniofacial and palate morphogenesis in mouse and zebrafish

Orofacial clefts are among the most common congenital structural anomalies. From genome-wide association studies over a decade ago to more recent whole-genome sequencing projects of orofacial cleft cohorts, human geneticists have identified several cleft-associated genetic loci, where the transcription factor Interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) continues to be one of the most commonly associated genes. Irf6 has been found to regulate epithelial/periderm differentiation and in mice, adhesion defects are thought to prevent elevation of the palatal shelves, leading to cleft in the secondary palate. Epithelial splicing regulatory factors 1 and 2 (Esrp1, Esrp2) are also important in embryonic epithelial differentiation and palate development. Esrp2 and its homolog Esrp1 are regulators of RNA splicing that are specifically expressed in the epithelium. Esrp1/2 knockout mice exhibit bilateral cleft of the lip and primary palate, as well as a secondary palate cleft. Here, we analyze the Irf6 and Esrp1/2 mutant mouse models together to elucidate the gene expression details of Irf6 and Esrp1/2 during embryogenesis, comparative morphologies and genetic epistasis between these genes. Further, we generated zebrafish orofacial cleft models of irf6 and esrp1/2 and delineated developmental similarities and differences between mouse and zebrafish craniofacial biology. This work highlights the relative strengths of the mouse and zebrafish models for investigating the morphogenetic mechanisms of orofacial clefts and contributes new insights into the function of Irf6 and Esrp1/2 during palatogenesis.
Approximate Nash Equilibria of Imitation Games: Algorithms and Complexity

A two-player finite game is represented by two payoff matrices (A,B), one for each player. Imitation games are a subclass of two-player games in which B is the identity matrix, implying that the second player gets a positive payoff only if she "imitates" the first. Given that the problem of computing a Nash equilibrium (NE) is known to be provably hard, even to approximate, we ask if it is any easier for imitation games. We show that much like the general case, for any c > 0, computing a 1 over nc -approximate NE of imitation games remains PPAD-hard, where n is the number of moves available to the players. On the other hand, we design a polynomial-time algorithm to find e-approximate NE for any given constant e > 0 (PTAS). The former result also rules out the smooth complexity being in P, unless PPAD ⊂ RP.
Elasticity management for capacity planning in software as a service cloud computing

Applications of cloud computing are increasing as companies shift from on-premise IT environments to public, private, or hybrid clouds. Consequently, cloud providers use capacity planning to mainta...
Abstract 1239: Role of the glutathione antioxidant system in the autophagic process outcome

Ferroptosis has been reported as a unique form of cell death. However, in recent years, researchers have increasingly challenged the uniqueness of ferroptosis compared to other types of cell death. In this study, we examined whether ferroptosis shares cell death pathways with other types of cell death, especially autophagy, via the autophagic process. Here, we observed that ferroptosis inducers (artesunate and erastin) and autophagy inducers (bortezomib and XIE62-1004) led to autophagosome formation via the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response. Unlike XIE62-1004, artesunate, erastin, and bortezomib, which affect glutathione production or utilization, induced oxidative stress responses - an increase in the levels of heme oxygenase-1 and lipid peroxidation. Oxidative stress responses were attenuated by deletion of autophagy related gene-5 or treatment with autophagy inhibitors (bafilomycin and chloroquine). Our studies provide an overview of common death pathways - the ER stress response-associated autophagic process in ferroptosis and autophagy. We also highlight the role the glutathione redox system plays in the outcome of the autophagic process. Citation Format: Yong J. Lee. Role of the glutathione antioxidant system in the autophagic process outcome [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1239.
Effect of different gasifying agents (steam, H2O2, oxygen, CO2, and air) on gasification parameters

Abstract Two sensitivity analyses were performed in an Aspen simulation of fluidized bed gasification for five different gasifying agents such as steam, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), pure oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and air. In the first sensitivity analysis, the modified equivalence ratio (MER) was varied (0.22-0.36). For the varied modified equivalence ratio (MER), %hydrogen, H2/CO molar ratio, and hydrogen yield were the highest in steam-gasification, but %carbon monoxide, %methane, CO yield, and the lower heating values (LHV) were the highest in CO2-gasification. In the second sensitivity analysis, the freeboard temperature was varied (500-900 °C). With increasing freeboard temperature, %hydrogen and %carbon monoxide increased while %carbon dioxide and %methane decreased for all the gasifying agents. Also, with increasing freeboard temperature, the LHV decreased and the hydrogen yield, CO yield, and the gas production rate increased for all the gasifying agents, but the H2/CO molar ratio increased only in oxygen, air, and CO2-gasification.
Avenanthramide Metabotype from Whole-Grain Oat Intake is Influenced by Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in Healthy Adults.

Background Oat has been widely accepted as a key food for human health. It is becoming increasingly evident that individual differences in metabolism determine how different individuals benefit from diet. Both host genetics and the gut microbiota play important roles on the metabolism and function of dietary compounds. Objectives To investigate the mechanism of individual variations in response to whole-grain (WG) oat intake. Methods We used the combination of in vitro incubation assays with human gut microbiota, mouse and human S9 fractions, chemical analyses, germ-free (GF) mice, 16S rRNA sequencing, gnotobiotic techniques, and a human feeding study. Results Avenanthramides (AVAs), the signature bioactive polyphenols of WG oat, were not metabolized into their dihydro forms, dihydro-AVAs (DH-AVAs), by both human and mouse S9 fractions. DH-AVAs were detected in the colon and the distal regions but not in the proximal and middle regions of the perfused mouse intestine, and were in specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice but not in GF mice. A kinetic study of humans fed oat bran showed that DH-AVAs reached their maximal concentrations at much later time points than their corresponding AVAs (10.0-15.0 hours vs. 4.0-4.5 hours, respectively). We observed interindividual variations in the metabolism of AVAs to DH-AVAs in humans. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was identified as the individual bacterium to metabolize AVAs to DH-AVAs by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. Moreover, as opposed to GF mice, F. prausnitzii-monocolonized mice were able to metabolize AVAs to DH-AVAs. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that the presence of intestinal F. prausnitzii is indispensable for proper metabolism of AVAs in both humans and mice. We propose that the abundance of F. prausnitzii can be used to subcategorize individuals into AVA metabolizers and nonmetabolizers after WG oat intake. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04335435.
Respiratory diseases of feedlot cattle in central USA

Cattle feedlots are concentrated in the central plains of the USA near areas of high grain production and slaughter plants. Cattle that are brought into these feedlots are generally young animals from six months to twelve months of age. Average morbidity rates are about 8% and mortality rates are under 1% during the feeding period. Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD), is the most common disease of feedlot cattle causing about 75% of the morbidity and over 50% of the mortality. BRD is also known as "shipping fever" since it occurs soon after the cattle arrive in the feedlot and the stress from shipping is considered to be one of the major factors in producing the disease. Reducing the expense of this disease complex is considered to be very worthwhile. Many preventive steps can be taken to reduce the calves' exposure and minimize shipping stress.
A Location Optimization Approach to Refugee Resettlement Decision-Making

Abstract Whether due to customary or emerging causes, the growing refugee population precipitates a variety of issues globally. Resettlement of refugees is a multi-disciplinary issue that should be regarded carefully. Perceiving refugee resettlement as a layered problem, the purpose of this study is to help decision-makers with arduous resettlement planning by proposing a multicriteria facility location and allocation problem that accounts for physical capacities of the host cities, matching-opening dependencies of resettlement sites, and matching feasibility. We focus on the significant objectives of the resettlement process: prioritization and the overall success of the resettlement process based on the socio-cultural differences to improve social resilience of the host cities along with the physical distances and travel difficulties between origin and host locations. As a result, the model provides, Pareto-optimal solutions on the timing and amount of the resettlement. The results show that it would be a naive approach to focus solely on maximization of the resettled refugees and considering it to be the only reason for resettlement. The trade-offs among the objectives revealed by the model show that a multi-objective approach is critical to create realistic policies.
From Nasser’s Revolution to the Fall of the Muslim Brotherhood

The fall of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) movement might be discerned as a matter of politics, economics, theology, and culture; but, steeped in complexity, it is many, many things. This chapter compares and contrasts the experiences of both President Nasser (1952–1970) and the MB’s rule (2012–2013) to explain the significance of Egypt’s geopolitics and the role of Egypt’s geography and history in the outcome of both experiences. Based on a long scholarly tradition of some of Egypt’s distinguished scholars and historians, I argue that Egypt’s geopolitical dimension and the ongoing regional antagonisms and transformations contributed to the downfall of the MB movement. Similar to both Sadat and Mubarak, but unlike President Nasser, the MB failed to grasp the uniqueness of Egypt’s geopolitics and the political implications of both Egypt’s history and geography. Based on a re-reading of what I call “Nasser’s Revolution,” this chapter both assesses and questions examples of the political performance of President Mursi during his single year in power. It shows that the movement’s comprehension of the significance of Egypt’s history and geography, and by implications their failure to perceive the nature of the ongoing Arab popular uprisings, were among the underlying factors that led to its political downfall.
The Reform of Indirect Taxation in Spain: VAT and Excise

In this chapter we analyze the reform and evolution of consumption taxes in Spain over recent decades, paying particular attention to the new developments stemming from the introduction of the VAT in 1986 and the modifications carried out to excise taxes in order to bring the Spanish tax system into line with European Community legislation. In the second section we proceed to review the situation of consumption taxation in Spain in the years previous to the democracy’s fiscal reform. The third section deals with a basic description of the before-mentioned reform and includes an analysis of its main economic. It ends with the consideration of the role of indirect taxation in the financing of the territorial governments. The fourth section describes the evoluation of the consumption taxation pattern in Spain in relation to other OECD countries, beginning in the year 1965. The fifth section analyzes the process of fiscal harmonization of the VAT and of excise taxes in the European Union. The incidence of indirect taxation in Spain is studied in the sixth section from a personal and territorial perspective, given the implications of this last one in the finance of regional and local governments (Comunidades Autonomas y Corporaciones Locales). In seventh section, we consider the main pending issues as well as a variety of future reform options. The last section of the paper offers some concluding thoughts.
The basolateral targeting signal in the cytoplasmic domain of glycoprotein G from vesicular stomatitis virus resembles a variety of intracellular targeting motifs related by primary sequence but having diverse targeting activities

Using systematic site-directed mutagenesis, the basolateral targeting signal in the cytoplasmic domain of glycoprotein G from vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV G) has been localized to an 11-amino acid sequence, which contains two essential residues and a third that makes a minor contribution. A tyrosine at position 19 of the 29-residue carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic tail is the most important residue and cannot be replaced by other aromatic amino acids, while an isoleucine at position 22, 3 residues carboxyl-terminal to this tyrosine, is also critical but can be replaced by other aliphatic residues. Additionally, an arginine at position 16 makes a minor contribution. Therefore the crucial elements of this targeting signal can be represented by the sequence Y-X-X-aliphatic. While earlier investigation has suggested similarity between basolateral targeting and internalization signals, alignment of this sequence with other cytoplasmic targeting signals suggests the existence of a broad class of homologous targeting motifs that direct protein delivery to a variety of cellular locations. This in turn suggests the existence of a family of homologous receptors, distributed throughout the cell, which differ in their affinity for subsets of these targeting sequences.
Mammalian Evolution at the Cellular Level

The development of new techniques in molecular biology has greatly advanced our understanding of the evolutionary and systematic biology of mammals. Before 1965 our comprehension of mammalian evolution and our approach to systematics rested upon our ability—sometimes strictly intuitive—to interpret the significance of interspecific differences in gross anatomic features. Since then, we have been increasingly able to study proteins, chromosomal structure and organization, comparisons of individual genes, gene loci, and nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Evolutionary and systematic investigations in mammalogy now routinely include biochemistry of proteins as well as gross anatomy, but often neglect everything in between.
Fast nonparametric machine learning algorithms for high-dimensional massive data and applications

Nonparametric methods have become increasingly popular in statistics and probabilistic AI communities. One well-known nonparametric method is "nearest-neighbor." It uses the observations in the training set T closest in input space to a query q to form the prediction of q. Specifically, when k of the observations in T are considered, it is called k-nearest-neighbor (or k-NN). Despite its simplicity, k-NN and its variants have been successful in many machine learning problems, including pattern recognition, text categorization, information retrieval, computational statistics, database and data mining. It is also used for estimating sample distributions and Bayes error. However, k-NN and many related nonparametric methods remain hampered by their computational complexity. Many spatial methods, such as metric-trees, have been proposed to alleviate the computational cost, but the effectiveness of these methods decreases as the number of dimensions of feature vectors increases. From another direction, researchers are trying to develop ways to find approximate answers. The premise of this research is that in many cases it is not necessary to insist on the exact answers; instead, determining an approximate answer should be sufficient. In fact, some approximate methods show good performance in a number of applications, and some methods enjoy very good theoretical soundness. However, when facing hundreds or thousands dimensions, many algorithms do not work well in reality. I propose four new spatial methods for fast k-NN and its variants, namely KNS2, KNS3, IOC and spill-tree. The first three algorithms are designed to speed up k-NN classification problems, and they all share the same insight that finding the majority class among the k-NN of q need not to explicitly find those k-nearest-neighbors. Spill-tree is designed for approximate k-NN search. By adapting metric-trees to a more flexible data structure, spill-tree is able to adapt to the distribution of data and it scales well even for huge high-dimensional data sets. Significant efficiency improvement has been observed comparing to LSH (localify sensitive hashing), the state of art approximate k-NN algorithm. We applied spill-tree to real-world three applications: shot video segmentation, drug activity detection and image clustering, which I will explain in the thesis.
Gene replacement and retrieval with recombinant M13mp bacteriophages.

Abstract We have developed an allele exchange system for shuttling sequences of DNA to and from their original chromosomal loci. Cloned segments of the histidine operon of Salmonella typhimurium and the lactose operon of Escherichia coli served as target sequences and were used to develop the system. Replacement and retrieval of target sequences used the phage M13mp vectors and proceeded through an M13 lysogen intermediate. The intermediates and products of allele exchange were characterized by genetic and hybridization analyses. Several unique properties of M13 lysogens were exploited to devise positive selections to detect integration and excision. These positive selections were used to manipulate phenotypically silent alleles.
Large variability in ecosystem models explains uncertainty in a critical parameter for quantifying GPP with carbonyl sulphide

Regional gross primary productivity (GPP) estimates are crucial to estimating carbon-climate feedbacks but are highly uncertain with existing methods. An emerging approach uses atmospheric carbonyl sulphide (COS) as a tracer for carbon dioxide: COS plant uptake is simulated by scaling GPP. A critical parameter for this method is leaf-scale relative uptake (LRU). Plant chamber and eddy covariance studies find a narrow range of LRU values but some atmospheric modelling studies assign values well outside this range. Here we study this discrepancy by conducting new regional chemical transport simulations for North America using the underlying data from previous studies. We find the wide range of ecosystem model GPP estimates can explain the discrepancy in LRU values. We also find that COS concentration uncertainty is more sensitive to GPP uncertainty than to LRU parameter uncertainty. These results support the COS tracer technique as a useful approach for constraining GPP estimates. Keywords: carbon cycle, GPP, carbonyl sulphide (Published: 27 July 2015) Citation: Tellus B 2015, 67, 26329, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v67.26329
Determination of Total Urinary Protein, Combining Lowry Sensitivity and Biuret Specificity

A highly sensitive method with specificity for the peptide chain backbone was developed for determination of total urinary protein. Interfering substances are removed by gel filtration and cupric ions are stoichiometrically bound to the peptide bonds of protein by the biuret reaction. Ion-exchange characteristics of the gel are neutralized, allowing protein—copper complex to be separated from excess cupric ions by a second gel filtration step. Copper bound to peptide bonds is colorimetrically determined by use of sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. Nonprotein substances do not interfere unless they simultaneously bind to protein and chelate copper. As little as 1 mg of total protein per deciliter can be determined in heterogeneous biological fluids such as urine.
Antecedents of Positivity Effects in Social Versus Nonsocial Judgments

The positivity effect in judgments of personal experiences is a well-established finding. In this article, we posit that this effect may not manifest in the case of product experiences. We base this on literature that suggests that social stimuli (such as personal experiences) are more ambiguous than nonsocial stimuli (such as experiences associated with products). Because of this ambiguity, construal processes are more likely to occur for social versus nonsocial stimuli, increasing the likelihood of the operation of self-serving theories in social judgments. Experiment 1 reveals that positive personal experiences are more likely to be retrieved than negative personal experiences; however, there is no difference in recall of positive and negative product experiences. Experiments 2 and 3 extend this finding to judgments of past and future experiences, respectively, and replicate the better-than-average effect for personal, but not product, experiences. Experiment 4 then examines the motivational underpinnings of construal processes and shows that construals can operate even for relatively unambiguous product experiences when participants believe such experiences implicate the self.
An enolate-accelerated Cope rearrangement

Abstract The first example of an enolate accelerated Cope rearrangement is described along with its importance in the rearrangement of 5-alkoxy-deca-1,3,7,9-tetraenes.
Sequence of the precursor of bovine liver mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase as determined from its cDNA, its gene, and its functionality.

The partial sequence coding for bovine liver mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase was previously reported (Farres, J., Guan, K.L., and Weiner, H., 1989, Eur. J. Biochem. 180, 67-74); cDNA coding for the N-terminal region has now been obtained by primer extension. The deduced 520 amino acids contained 499 residues corresponding to the mature mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase which was one residue shorter than other mammalian mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenases. The N-terminal signal peptide had only 21 amino acids but showed high sequence identity to the signal sequences of human and rat enzymes, which have 17 and 19 amino acids, respectively, and had general characteristic features of typical mitochondrial signal peptides. Although the direct protein sequence of the signal peptide was not available, a mRNA coding for a 57-kDa precursor was proven to exist. The bovine signal peptide was able to direct the import of bovine aldehyde dehydrogenase precursor into isolated liver mitochondria. The complete nuclear gene coding for bovine mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase was found to span at least 25 kb. A restriction map of this gene was constructed. Two potential transcription start sites were identified by primer extension and S1 nuclease protection. Several SpI transcription factor recognition sequences were found in the 5'-region of the gene. TATA box and CAAT box like sequences were found to be exist 18 and 64 bp upstream from the major transcription start site, respectively.
Productive reduplication in a fundamentally monosyllabic language

The question to be addressed in this paper is how a language which is fundamentally monosyllabic in structure can have about a dozen different reduplication types with at least eight different linguistic functions. The language under discussion, American Sign Language (ASL), is one representative of a class of languages that makes widespread use of reduplication for lexical and morphological purposes. The goal here is to present the set of phonological features that permit the productive construction of these forms and a first approximation to the feature geometry in which they participate. Reduplication forms are dependent on the event structure of the predicate and the associated aspectual modifications.
Group work with parents of children with disabilities

Abstract Professionals are increasingly aware of the impact a child with a disability has on the family. This article focuses on the marital dyad and reviews the literature on group counseling with parents of children with disabilities.
Have you seen the 10-Year long-term safety data on laser in situ keratomileusis?

a t v N AN EDITORIAL IN THE NOVEMBER 2006 ISSUE OF THE Journal of Refractive Surgery, Dan Reinstein and I fired off a challenge: Have you seen the 10-year long-term safety data n LASIK? We answered, “No.” In this issue of the Journal, orge Alio and associates have fired back a four-gun salvo: our articles that report the 10-year follow-up of patients who eceived laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) or photorefracive keratectomy (PRK) for lower and higher myopia. The first comprehensive scientific clinical study of refracive surgery was the National Eye Institute-funded Prospecive Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) study (1981 to 994). Achieving a 10-year follow-up on 88% of 427 living atients, the study demonstrated a progressive shift in refracion in the hyperopic direction of 1 diopter (D) or more in 3% of eyes. Safety was demonstrated with the loss of best pectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) in 3% to levels of 0/20 to 20/30, with none to 20/40 or worse. The procedure as effective: 70% of patients wore no optical correction for istance vision. The longest follow-up of myopic keratomilusis is that of Barraquer, who reported 21-year outcomes of ,606 eyes that underwent cryolathe keratomileusis. Two major barriers obstruct long-term follow-up of refracive surgery patients: 1) the population itself, which is enerally younger, highly mobile, pleased with their surgical esults, and “way too busy” to undergo follow-up examinaions; and 2) financial: Who will pay for staff and examinaions? The PERK study has been the only federally funded linical trial of refractive surgery. Commercial funding does ot extend to 10 years “for the sake of science.” Thus, private unding must rise to the occasion, as the Instituto Ofthalmoogico de Alicante, Alicante, Spain, has. The US Food and Drug Administration clinical invesigation criteria require 90% overall follow-up with 85% of atients examined at each visit. Of the approximately 800 atients who underwent surgery (Alio JL, personal written ommunication, October 15, 2007), 178 (approximately 8%) were evaluated at 10 years. This leaves the nagging uestion: What was the outcome in the other 82%?
Stability Derivative Measurements with Magnetically Suspended Cone-Cylinder Models

In a feasibility study, the stability derivatives Cw^, Cm^ + Cm , Cz^, and Cz + Cz for 5- and 7-caliber cone-cylinder models are measured at Af= 0.071 an°d /?e = 1.3xl04 by "suspending each model electromagnetically in a small subsonic wind, tunnel, forcing it in periodic combined pitching and lateral motion at frequencies near pitch resonance, and comparing its frequency response with flow to that without flow. Drag coefficients are measured as well. The apparatus and techniques employed are described, the analytical model used to extract the derivatives from the response data is outlined, typical response data are shown, and comparisons are made with conventionally obtained similar data from other facilities. Nomenclature! a = axial distance between the model's center of mass and center of magnetization Cm(x,Cmdi,Cm ^aerodynamic pitching moment derivatives Cx = aerodynamic axial force coefficient
Earthquake analysis of concrete gravity dams including reservoir bottom absorption and dam-water-foundation rock interaction.

The available substructure method for the earthquake analysis of concrete gravity dams, including the dynamic effects of the impounded water and the flexible foundation rock, is extended to include the effects of alluvium and sediments invariably present at the bottom of actual reservoirs. Modelled approximately by a reservoir bottom that partially absorbs incident hydrodynamic pressure waves, these effects are incorporated into the continuum solution for the hydrodynamic pressure. The dam-water-foundation rock system is idealized as a two-dimensional system and analysed under the assumption of linear behaviour. An example earthquake analysis is presented to demonstrate the results obtained from the analytical procedure. Computation times for several cases illustrate the efficiency of the analytical procedure. In particular, the additional computation time required to include reservoir bottom absorption is shown to be very small.
Geophysics: the disappearing dipole.

Satellite measurements of the Earth's magnetic field reveal a detailed picture of the circulation in the liquid iron core. The data suggest that the planet could be in the early stages of reversing its magnetic polarity.
Rejoinder to “Comment” by S. J. Brams and M. D. Davis

Brams and Davis begin their comment with the assertion that our "main criticism" of their research is that the 3/2's rule is an artifact of an empirical relationship rather than a theoretically derived proposition. This statement reverses our argument, however, which is that the apparent empirical support for their hypothesis is the artifact. Their remaining comments warrant more attention. Briefly, they assert that (1) their model, contrary to our statements, incorporates considerations of the relative competitiveness of states and that our empirical analysis "unwittingly" confirms this fact; (2) the parsimony of their model (as, presumably, against ours) is a virtue and not a vice, and; (3) the logic of our hypothesis as to why we observe greater than proportional allocations (even after controlling for competitiveness) is, at best, unintelligible to them while, at worst, the hypothesis is our initial assumption rather than a derived conclusion. First, Brams and Davis properly note that in their model, if nj is proportional to state j's size, the proportionate margin of victory (in absolute terms) should on the average be smaller in larger states. To see this, let Nj denote state j's voting population and x; denote the realized number of uncommitted voters voting for, say, the Republican candidate. Given their assumptions (including that, in each state, candidates match allocations and committed voters are evenly divided), a candidate's plurality in proportionate terms, (2xj-nj)/Nj, is normally distributed with zero mean and standard deviation a = V/ /Nj. Clearly, if nj= CNj, a = iC/N, which decreases as Nj increases and thus El (2xj-nj)/NjI = a-N2/-n decreases as well. Brams and Davis then state that the regression results we report in Table 4 confirm this consequence of their model and that they wished "all critics were so charitable with the ammunition they provide their adversaries." Indeed, a superficial examination of the data and of their model's implications supports their argument. In Table 1 we report, for the two competitive elections in our study, the average value of I P1jI and the standard deviation of Ptj. For both elections, I PljI and a are greater in smaller states (defining "small" to be those states with fewer than nine electoral votes, which approximately divides the sample). Furthermore, as we show in our essay, I P4jI does tend to decrease with the square root of electoral vote. Their model, however, not only predicts that a decreases with Nj but, given nj, it also renders a prediction about the magnitude of o. This consequence should also be tested lest we accept their model when the true cause of variations derive from a different stochastic process.' Using the data in Table 1 to estimate nj for small states, we obtain:
Intracavity second harmonic generation in quantum cascade lasers in the telecommunication range

We propose and theoretically study the performance of short-wavelength mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers integrated with resonant second-harmonic generation (SHG) cascade. We show the feasibility of SHG in the near infrared range 1.5-2 μm with nonlinear susceptibility of ~150 pm/V. Theoretical treatment takes into account the non-sphericity and the non-parabolicity of the conduction band within a modified energy-dependent effective mass approximation based on the 14 band kP model. This approximation is shown to coincide with the first conduction band calculated by the 30 band kP model up to 2.3 eV above the band edge. We demonstrate the possibility of modal phase matching in the InGaAs/AlAsSb/InP QC laser which yields the intracavity frequency conversion efficiency of the order of 0.2 mW/W 2 .
Factors Affecting Soybean Root Colonization by Calonectria ilicicola and Development of Red Crown Rot Following Delayed Planting

Field studies were conducted in 1994, 1995, and 1996 to determine the effects of planting date, cultivar susceptibility, and soil pathogen population on soybean root colonization by Calonectria ilicicola and subsequent development of red crown rot. Early season colonization of roots was important for red crown rot symptom development. Symptom development in the more susceptible cultivar, Sharkey, was reduced following delayed planting and remained low in the less susceptible cultivar, Cajun, regardless of planting date. Taproot colonization was positively correlated with inoculum density during all three growing seasons but was strongest in 1994. Also, lateral root colonization correlated positively with inoculum density in 1994, the only year in which foliar symptoms were detected. A substantial decrease in inoculum density in 1995, along with reduced soybean root colonization, were attributed to high soil temperatures and probably low rainfall recorded during that summer. The effect of soybean plant age on root colonization was examined by exposing plants to the pathogen at different ages. Soybean plants were most susceptible to C. ilicicola during the first week after seedling emergence. By the second week, susceptibility was reduced by nearly half, and it remained near that level for the next several weeks.
Heating-induced flows in cable-in-conduit conductors

Abstract The flow and pressure transients induced in stagnant supercritical helium in a pipe are calculated by energy transfers typical of those associated with the recovery of cable-in-conduit conductors (∼ 50–200 mJ cm−3 in 10–20 ms) are calculated. Pressure surges of several atmospheres accompanied by fluid flow velocities of several meters per second are possible. These strong induced flows are probably the mechanism of recoverey of cable-in-conduit conductors cooled by initially stationary helium.
Stalking Myth-Attributions: Examining the Role of Individual and Contextual Variables on Attributions in Unwanted Pursuit Scenarios

Undergraduates from a large southeastern university in the U.S. (n = 258) read a scenario describing an unwanted heterosexual pursuit that manipulated story perspective (pursuer’s vs. rejecter’s) and pursuer/rejecter gender. Measures of 1) external attributions for pursuer behavior, 2) negative internal attributions to rejecters, and 3) Stalking Myths endorsement followed. Individuals adopting the pursuer’s perspective showed higher rates of external attributions for pursuer behavior than those in the rejecter perspective condition. They also endorsed more negative internal attributions for rejecters than those in the rejecter perspective condition, especially when the rejecter was male. Participant gender also mattered. Men exhibited more victim blaming tendencies than women when the rejecter was female. However, stalking myth endorsement was the strongest predictor of attributions.
Investigating pedal errors and multi-modal effects: Driving testbed development and experimental analysis

These days, Intelligent Driver Assistance Systems (IDAS) for driving safety enhancement have an increasingly important role. Although there have been a large amount of related research studies in this area, developing an efficient assistance system, which can perceive and assist the driver in a non-intrusive and naturalistic manner, is still an open question. Due to the diverse characteristics and safety issue of driving, one initial and major difficulty in studying and developing such systems is to have adequate infrastructure testbeds with multi-modal sensing and displays. In this paper, we introduce two multi-modal driving testbeds (including both a real-world vehicle and a driving simulator) that we have been developing for years in our laboratory. Based on these testbeds, we describe two novel joint audio visual driving experiments and databases that we have built for investigating driver pedal misapplication error phenomenon in traffic accident prevention. We will then discuss our analysis towards understanding some factors influencing driver pedal errors including driver workload, sequential effect, and cue modality (i.e. audio visual stimuli) as well as a possibility to predict and mitigate pedal errors to some extent using our approach for modeling and prediction of driver foot behavior.