cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimization of a class of nonlinear dynamic systems: new efficient method without Lagrange multipliers

This paper deals with optimization of a class of nonlinear dynamic systems with n states and m control inputs commanded to move between two fixed states in a prescribed time. Using conventional procedures with Lagrange multipliers, it is well known that the optimal trajectory is the solution of a two-point boundary-value problem. In this paper, a new procedure for dynamic optimization is presented which relies on tools of feedback linearization to transform nonlinear dynamic systems into linear systems. In this new form, the states and controls can be written as higher derivatives of a subset of the states. Using this new form, it is possible to change constrained dynamic optimization problems into unconstrained problems. The necessary conditions for optimality are then solved efficiently using weighted residual methods.
Scarring and Precirrhosis of the Liver in Chronic Phosphorus Poisoning of Guinea Pigs

SummaryIn an attempt to produce portal cirrhosis, guinea pigs were fed white phosphorus in olive oil by mouth for periods up to 35 weeks. Microscopic examination of livers from animals killed after one week showed inconstant, slight to moderate cytoplasmic hyalinization and occasional to few necrotic liver cells. There was also moderate cellular infiltration of portal areas and parenchymal fatty metamorphosis; the latter was sometimes periportal in location. These changes continued to be observed in most animals throughout the experimental period with increasing amounts of collagen in portal areas appearing as the experiment progressed. The increase in collagen was definite but never great. In 4 animals thin collagenous trabecule connected portal areas and surrounded lobules. In a number of other animals fibrous extensions of portal areas were present but incomplete. There was neither prominent lobule distortion nor parenchymal hyperplasia. The failure to produce clear-cut portal cirrhosis is considered t...
Nutritive quality of plant protein: Sources of variation and insect herbivore responses

Protein quality has received comparatively little attention as a factor in host plant suitability for insects. It is argued here that plant protein quality is subject to considerable variation from genetic and environmental influences and thus may significantly impact herbivore performance. Furthermore, other phytochemicals that are ingested with protein may negatively impact protein utilization. There is a wide distribution of alkylating agents found in plants (e.g., quinones, phenolics, aldehydes, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, sesquiterpene lactones, isothiocyanates) that form covalent bonds with nucleophilic side chains of proteins (e.g., -SH, -NH, -NH2) and potentially limit amino acid availability. The behavioral and physiological adaptations of insects to variation in protein quality are also discussed. Finally, preliminary evidence for physiological adaptation to low protein quality in Helicoverpa zea is provided. The potential role of protein quality in host plant specialization is summarized. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Plasma levels of antioxidant β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol in uterine cervix dysplasias and cancer

Abstract Chronic human health problems, namely arteriosclerosis, myocardial ischemia, and cancer, may be caused by highly active oxygen species and may be preventable by antioxidant vitamins. In humans, the sources of two major antioxidants, β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol, are dietary. In this study, we measured the plasma concentrations of s‐carotene and a‐tocopherol by reverse‐phase high‐pressure liquid chromatography in a cross‐sectional sampling of 116 women. Significantly reduced plasma levels of β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol were observed in women with histopathologically diagnosed cervical dysplasias or cancer (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.005, respectively). There was an inverse association between the plasma levels of both β‐carotene and α‐tocopherol and increasingly severe graded cervical histopathology. In groups with advanced dysplasias, the percentage of smokers was markedly increased and the women were comparatively older (p < 0.0001). A strong association was noted between smoking status and plasma β‐ca...
Effect of Zirconium Doping on Hydrogen Permeation through Strontium Cerate Membranes

SrCe0.95Tm0.05O3−δ perovskite-type ceramic membranes offer high hydrogen selectivity, thermal stability, mixed protonic−electronic conductivity, and mechanical strength at temperatures above 600 °C...
Exploring the molecular design of protein interaction sites with molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations

The significant work that has been invested toward understanding protein-protein interaction has not translated into significant advances in structure-based predictions. In particular redesigning protein surfaces to bind to unrelated receptors remains a challenge, partly due to receptor flexibility, which is often neglected in these efforts. In this work, we computationally graft the binding epitope of various small proteins obtained from the RCSB database to bind to barnase, lysozyme, and trypsin using a previously derived and validated algorithm. In an effort to probe the protein complexes in a realistic environment, all native and designer complexes were subjected to a total of nearly 400 ns of explicit-solvent molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The MD data led to an unexpected observation: some of the designer complexes were highly unstable and decomposed during the trajectories. In contrast, the native and a number of designer complexes remained consistently stable. The unstable conformers provided us with a unique opportunity to define the structural and energetic factors that lead to unproductive protein-protein complexes. To that end we used free energy calculations following the MM-PBSA approach to determine the role of nonpolar effects, electrostatics and entropy in binding. Remarkably, we found that a majority of unstable complexes exhibited more favorable electrostatics than native or stable designer complexes, suggesting that favorable electrostatic interactions are not prerequisite for complex formation between proteins. However, nonpolar effects remained consistently more favorable in native and stable designer complexes reinforcing the importance of hydrophobic effects in protein-protein binding. While entropy systematically opposed binding in all cases, there was no observed trend in the entropy difference between native and designer complexes. A series of alanine scanning mutations of hot-spot residues at the interface of native and designer complexes showed less than optimal contacts of hot-spot residues with their surroundings in the unstable conformers, resulting in more favorable entropy for these complexes. Finally, disorder predictions revealed that secondary structures at the interface of unstable complexes exhibited greater disorder than the stable complexes.
N-Heterocyclic carbene-silver complexes : A new class of antibiotics

N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC)–silver complexes were synthesized from pyridine linked pincer ligands and methylated caffeine. Pincer NHC–silver complexes were found to have more potent antimicrobial activity than the conventionally used silver antimicrobials. Encapsulation of a gem-diol pincer NHC–silver complex in a polymer mat demonstrated a promising method for the sustained delivery of silver ions in wound care applications. An NHC precursor derived from caffeine was found to have a low toxicity and the resulting silver complex showed encouraging antimicrobial activity against numerous pathogens including resistant organisms isolated from the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Bacteria studied included members of the Burkholderia cepacia complex, which cause significant morbidity and mortality in infected CF patients. This review explores this newly growing area, focusing on the synthesis from pincer and xanthine ligands of new silver–NHC complexes and their antimicrobial activities.
Spatial Finite Difference Approximations for Wave-Type Equations

The simplest finite difference approximations for spatial derivatives are centered, explicit, and applied to "regular" equispaced grids. Well-established generalizations include the use of implicit (compact) approximations and staggered grids. We find here that the combination of these two concepts, together with high formal order of accuracy, is very effective for approximating the first derivatives in space that occur in many wave-type PDEs.
To Understand What Happens to the Foods That You and I Eat

Vay Liang Go is an internationally renowned pancreatic scientist and clinical investigator. Doctor Go's work was fundamental for the understanding of the neuro-hormonal control of gastrointestinal and pancreatic function and metabolism. Additionally, he contributed enormously to the pancreatic community by being one of the founders of the American Pancreatic Association and also co-founder of the journal Pancreas. He trained a large number of fellows and junior faculties, many of whom now are national and international opinion leaders in gastroenterology and pancreatology. In this interview, Doctor Go gives us his views and shares his professional experiences in pancreatic research.
Gene transfer into the nervous system.

Gene transfer into the cells of the nervous system has the potential to provide interesting information for many fields of the neurosciences, including neurochemistry, neurophysiology, developmental neurobiology, molecular neurobiology and neuropathology, and perhaps may even to contribute to the ongoing debate between psychologists and neurobiologists about the nature of learning and memory. Although the field is in its infancy, however, there are already several different approaches for delivering DNA into the cells of the nervous system. These include transfection of cells with DNA, microinjection of fertilized eggs to construct transgenic animals, and infection with viral vectors. Each of these systems has its advantages and drawbacks, and improvements in the technology are needed. Many different genes of interest to neurobiologists have been cloned, including those for enzymes that synthesize or degrade neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, neurotransmitter receptors, ion channels, and proteins that mediate second messenger effects. Functional characterization of these genes using gene transfer technology has already yielded information. At present far more experiments have been done in tissue culture systems than in vivo. In five years time it should be possible to write a comprehensive review, detailing the technological improvements to allow routine gene transfer in vivo, the cloning of many more genes of interest to neurobiologists, and functional studies of these genes on a molecular level that demonstrate unifying and diversifying principles of neuronal function.
Hams and egls: genetic analysis of cell migration in Caenorhabditis elegans

The analysis of mutations that disrupt egg laying by the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite has identified genes that are required for the long-range migrations of two cell types, the hermaphrodite-specific neurons and the sex myoblasts. Molecular analysis of some of these genes indicates that transcription factors and signal transduction molecules are necessary for the migrations of these cells.
An assessment of alternative application development approaches

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine what development approach would be selected by MIS managers to develop applications with various characteristics. Managers of information systems representing St. Louis based organizations were asked to select from three development approaches, including traditional, user-development, and microcomputer development. The findings showed that these MIS professionals had concrete ideas on what development approach was most appropriate. When the number of users and number of workstations were four or more, respondents felt that traditional development would be used. Where data security, system audit, data recovery, and data retention requirements were necessary, traditional development was also preferred. User and microcomputer development were most likely in cases where on-demand, unstructured reports were needed and where systems were departmental or personal in scope.
Characterization of the plasma membrane of Mycoplasma laidlawii. VII. Phase transitions of membrane lipids

Abstract Use of a very sensitive differential calorimeter has revealed two major regions of heat absorption in purified plasma membranes of Mycoplasma laidlawii. These consist of a rapidly increasing rate of heat absorption showing an inflection point at approx. 40°; this is followed at higher temperatures by a slightly decreased rate of heat uptake. Within this latter region it is barely possible to distinguish a second inflection point. These transitions were found also to be properties of whole cells. Experimental results presented in this paper support the conclusion that the first region of heat absorption is due to a reversible transition in the lipid component of the membrane, and that the second region is due to an irreversible denaturation of the protein component. These results also provide evidence that the lipid transition is essentially unaffected by the protein component of the membrane. The calorimetric transition curves indicate that the apparent heat capacity of the membrane lipids increases during the transition. This most likely arises from new modes of freedom available to the fatty acid hydrocarbon chains in the melted state. By means of a viable cell titer taken before and after cells were submitted to a calorimetric run extending to 40°, the lipid transition was demonstrated unambiguously to be a property of living cells. The Tm of the lipid transition was found to be a function of the conditions of growth of the cells. In all cases studied the temperature at which the cells grew lies within the range of the lipid transition. Results suggest that the cells attempt to regulate their position in the lipid transition.
A comparison of normal and discrete bootstraps for standard errors in equation systems

Abstract Root-mean-squared errors and asymptotic standard errors of ML coefficient estimates are compared for equation systems of different size, using normal and discrete bootstrap. It appears that exploiting normality does not yield any gain. Suggestions are made for correcting the downward bias of bootstrap RMSEs.
Hypokalemia in acute theophylline poisoning

Abstract The frequency, severity, and time of occurrence of hypokalemia and their relationship with vomiting was studied in 40 patients with acute theophylline poisoning. The mean peak theophylline concentration was 58 μg/mL (range, 21 to 115), and the mean nadir of serum potassium was 3.0 mEq/L (range, 2.1 to 3.9). In 85% of the patients, the nadir of serum potassium was less than 3.5 mEq/L; 45% had potassium concentrations of less than 3 mEq/L. The severity of hypokalemia correlated with peak serum theophylline concentrations ( p vs 3.4 ± 0.1 mEq/L, p p = not significant). Spontaneous or ipecac-induced emesis occurred in 95% of the patients; however, hypokalemia preceded vomiting in 13 patients. Its severity was similar whether patients did or did not vomit before its occurrence. Hypoklaemia is a frequent manifestation of acute theophylline poisoning, has a very early onset, and occurs independently of vomiting, suggesting an intracellular shift of potassium.
Functional specialization of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchor

The discovery of GPI-anchored membrane proteins presented a conundrum for membrane biologists. What could the special purpose be for this type of membrane anchor and why couldn't a transmembrane anchor do the same job? Recent information from several different sources is beginning to provide answers to these questions. In this review, evidence is presented that GPI-anchored membrane proteins are uniquely adapted for delivering to the cell both nutrient and signaling molecules or ions using two distinct endocytic pathways. So far, they are the only surface molecules known to have this capability.
Application and analysis of structure-switching aptamers for small molecule quantification

Modern tools for the analysis of cellular function aim for the quantitative measurement of all members of a given class of biological molecules. Of the analyte classes, nucleic acid measurements are typically the most tractable, both on an individual analyte basis and in parallel. Thus, tools are being sought to enable measurement of other cellular molecules using nucleic acid biosensors. Of the variety of potential nucleic acid biosensor strategies, structure-switching aptamers (SSAs) present a unique opportunity to couple sensing and readout of the target molecule. However, little has been characterized about the parameters that determine the fidelity of the signal from SSA biosensors. In this study, a small molecule biosensor based on a SSA was engineered to detect the model small molecule, theophylline, in solution. Quantitative theophylline detection over nearly three orders-of-magnitude was achieved by scintillation counting and quantitative PCR. Further analysis showed that the biosensor fidelity is primarily controlled by the relative stability of the two conformations of the SSA.
Stable route-tracking synchronization between two chaotically pulsing semiconductor lasers

Stable route-tracking synchronization is experimentally demonstrated in two semiconductor lasers with delayed optoelectronic feedback. When the two lasers are stably synchronized, the receiver laser is observed to track the route to chaotic pulsing of the transmitter laser. The stability of the route-tracking synchronization is examined by calculation of the transverse Lyapunov exponents of the coupled system.
Oral methylphenidate alleviates the fine motor dysfunction caused by chronic postnatal manganese exposure in adult rats.

Developmental manganese (Mn) exposure is associated with motor dysfunction in children and animal models, but little is known about the underlying neurochemical mechanisms or the potential for amelioration by pharmacotherapy. We investigated whether methylphenidate (MPH) alleviates fine motor dysfunction due to chronic postnatal Mn exposure, and whether Mn exposure impairs brain extracellular dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatum in adult animals. Rats were orally exposed to 0 or 50 mg Mn/kg/day from postnatal day 1 until the end of the study (PND 145). The staircase test was used to assess skilled forelimb function. Oral MPH (2.5 mg/kg/day) was administered daily 1 h before staircase testing for 16 days. DA and NE levels were measured by dual probe microdialysis. Results show that Mn exposure impaired reaching and grasping skills and the evoked release of DA and NE in the PFC and striatum of adult rats. Importantly, oral MPH treatment fully alleviated the fine motor deficits in the Mn-exposed animals, but did not affect forelimb skills of control rats not exposed to Mn. These results suggest that catecholaminergic hypofunctioning in the PFC and striatum may underlie the Mn-induced fine motor dysfunction, and that oral MPH pharmacotherapy is an effective treatment approach for alleviating this dysfunction in adult animals. The therapeutic potential of MPH for the treatment of motor dysfunction in Mn-exposed children and adults appears promising pending further characterization of MPH efficacy in other functional areas (eg, attention) believed to be affected by developmental Mn exposure.
Comment on symmetry-adapted perturbation theories

Abstract In a recent paper, Suzuki and I'Haya have criticized many of the proposed symmetry-adapted perturbation theories on the grounds that they are not physically adequate. We show that these criticisms are without merit.
Dissection of functional domains of the pituitary-specific transcription factor GHF-1

THE specific expression of growth hormone (GH) in the somatotrophic cells of the anterior pituitary is largely attributable to a short promoter in the 5' flanking region of the GH gene1–6. This promoter contains two binding sites for the transcription factor GHF-1 (refs 3,7), the expression of which is also specific to cells of the somatotrophic lineage8,9 and correlates with activation of the GH gene in the developing mouse pituitary9. Various studies indicate that GHF-1 is the main determinant of cell type-specific expression of the GH gene3–9. GHF-1 is a member of the POU-domain class of proteins that each contain two highly conserved sequence motifs, the homoeodomain and the POU-specific domain8,10,11. Here we report that the GHF-1 homoeodomain is sufficient for sequence-specific DNA binding, although its activity is stimulated by the POU-specific domain, which does not interact directly with the DNA. Transcriptional activation is mediated by a separate domain rich in hydroxylated amino-acid residues. Similar sequences are present in other cell type-specific transcription factors.
Significant functional heterogeneity among KIR2DL1 alleles and a pivotal role of arginine245

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) play an essential role in the regulation of natural killer cell functions. KIR genes are highly polymorphic in nature, showing both haplotypic and allelic variations among people. We demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo models a significant heterogeneity in function among different KIR2DL1 alleles, including their ability to inhibit YT-Indy cells from degranulation, interferon γ production, and cytotoxicity against target cells expressing the HLA-Cw6 ligand. Subsequent experiments showed that the molecular determinant was an arginine residue at position 245 (R245) in its transmembrane domain that mechanistically affects both the efficiency of inhibitory signaling and durability of surface expression. Specifically, in comparison with R245-negative alleles, KIR2DL1 that included R245 recruited more Src-homology-2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 and β-arrestin 2, showed higher inhibition of lipid raft polarization at immune synapse, and had less down-regulation of cell-surface expression upon interaction with its ligand. Thus, our findings provide novel insights into the molecular determinant of KIR2DL1 and conceivably a fundamental understanding of KIR2DL1 allelic polymorphism in human disease susceptibility, transplant outcome, and donor selection.
In vitro propagation of Gladiolus by precocious axillary shoot formation

Abstract Axillary buds excised from corms of 3 cultivars of hybrid Gladiolus were cultured on nutrient medium containing various levels of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). BAP prevented dormancy, promoted shoot growth and inhibited root development. These effects were accompanied by precocious outgrowth of axillary shoots which developed into detachable, independent in vitro plantlets which could be serially sub-cultured for further proliferation. The level of BAP required to promote a steady rate of axillary branching was inversely related to its natural propagation rate. Plantlets not sub-cultured on to fresh medium eventually became dormant with the formation of small corms which could be planted in compost.
Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography of glycopeptides

A practical procedure for isolating and purifying glycopeptides is described, viz. enzymatic hydrolysis-gel permeation chromatography-ion exchange chromatography-reversed phase HPLC. Using this procedure 28 glycopeptides from hen ovalbumin have been isolated some of which hitherto have not been identified. Water was a suitable mobile phase for preparing pure glycopeptides, and control of column temperature was important for good separations and reproducible retention times. Structural confirmation was by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry.
Matrix Representations for Positive Noncommutative Polynomials

In real semialgebraic geometry it is common to represent a polynomial q which is positive on a region R as a weighted sum of squares. Serious obstructions arise when q is not strictly positive on the region R. Here we are concerned with noncommutative polynomials and obtaining a representation for them which is valid even when strict positivity fails.
A survey of edentulous patient preference among different denture esthetic concepts.

Statement of Problem: Despite the fact that solutions to functional problems are available, successfully restoring the appearance of an edentulous patient remains a challenge. Purpose: The aim of this survey was to determine if edentulous respondents could differentiate among three denture esthetic concepts and if there was an overall preference among the three. Materials and Methods: Six edentulous test subjects were selected based on age and smile cri-teria. One wax tooth arrangement was completed according to each of the three esthetic concepts for a total of three wax tooth arrangements per test subject. The three esthetic concepts followed were natural, supernormal, and denture look. Standardized full-face digital photographs were made of each arrangement (three) during maximum smile for each subject (six). These 18 photographs were included in a questionnaire. Respondents were asked questions about their preference among the three randomly ordered concept photographs for each of the six subjects. A total of 147 completed questionnaires were analyzed. Results: Ninety-six percent of respondents were able to differentiate among the three esthetic denture concepts. Natural tooth arrangements were preferred by 55% of the respondents, supernormal tooth arrangements were preferred by 19%, and the denture look arrangements were preferred by 26%. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this survey, the questionnaire respondents differentiated between the three esthetic denture concepts. The tooth arrangement most closely resembling the anatomical average was selected by 55% of the respondents. Preference for a particular concept changed when responses to each test subject set were considered individually. Demographic factors do not significantly affect patient preference. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Three esthetic concepts for complete denture construction have been differentiated. Questionnaire respondents preferred appearances that are far from the anatomical average 45% of the time.
Putative Pair-Bonding in Agkistrodon contortrix (Copperhead)

Abstract Pair-bonding between sexes is common in vertebrate taxa, yet it has been noted far less frequently in some groups such as reptiles, and snakes in particular. Evidence to date indicates that many snake mating-systems are polyandrous, with both males and females having multiple partners in a single breeding season, and thus unlikely to exhibit lengthy pair-bonds. Wittenberger and Tilson (1980) suggested that pair-bonding exists when pairs remain intact for a consecutive period equaling at least 25% of the breeding season. Using this criterion, we present evidence of pair-bond formation in a North American pitviper, Agkistrodon contortrix (Copperhead), a species with a polyandrous mating system.
Determination of the glyceride structure of fats. glyceride structure of fats with unusual fatty acid compositions

Five fats containing less common fatty acids, nutmeg butter (myristic), rapeseed oil (erucic, eicosenoic), peanut oil (arachidic, behenic, lignoceric), tung oil (eleostearic), and coriander seed oil (petroselinic) were oxidized, and the oxidized esterified glycerides were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The values obtained are compared with those calculated from lipase hydrolysis data. Although there was a general over-all agreement between the compositions calculated from lipase hydrolysis data and that obtained by GLC analysis of the oxidized glycerides, there were some discrepancies that exceeded the range of experimental error.
An analysis of local feature extraction in digital mammography

Abstract A fundamental problem of automating the detection and recognition of abnormalities in digital mammograms utilizing computational statistics is one of extracting the appropriate features for use in a classification system. Several feature sets have been proposed although none have been shown to be sufficient for the problem. Many of these features tend to be local in nature, which means their calculation requires a connected region of the image over which an average or other statistic is extracted. The implicit assumption is that the region is homogeneous, but this is rarely the case if a fixed window is used for the calculation. We consider a method of using boundaries to segment the window into more homogeneous regions for use in the feature extraction calculation. This approach is applied to the problem of discriminating between tumor and healthy tissue in digital mammography. A set of 21 images, each containing a biopsied mass, is described. The results of the boundary-gated feature extraction methodology on this image set shows a difference in distribution between tissue interior to the mass and tissue far away from the mass. Less difference is discernible when boundaries are not used in the feature extraction.
Antigen enhances neuronally induced contraction of intrapulmonary bronchi from IgE-producing rabbits.

Abstract The effect of in vitro antigen exposure on contraction induced by electrical field stimulation (EFS) was examined in bronchial rings isolated from rabbits producing specific IgE antibodies. After exposure to antigen, tissues showed an enhanced isometric contractile response to EFS especially at low frequencies, leading to a significant change in the mean slope factor ( p SEM decreased from 1.03±0.05 to 0.88±0.07 Hz ( p p
Photoassociation spectrum of ultracold Rb atoms.

We study the photoassociative collisional loss of laser-cooled Rb atoms from a far-off resonance optical dipole force atom trap. We obtain a well-resolved photoassociation spectrum from 50 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ to 980 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ below the first excited dissociation limit of the ${\mathrm{Rb}}_{2}$ molecule. Two vibrational series associated with excited ${\mathrm{Rb}}_{2}$ $^{3}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{\mathit{g}}^{+}$ states are clearly visible. Oscillations in the associated Franck-Condon factors reflect the structure of the triplet ground state wave function. Our results clearly demonstrate the potential of photoassociation spectroscopy as a new probe of molecular structure.
Characterization of defective SV40 isolated from SV40-transformed cells.

Abstract Defective SV40 viruses were isolated from SV40-transformed monkey, human and hamster cells after Sendai virus-mediated fusion of the transformed cells with TC7 cells, a stable line of African green monkey kidney cells. Viral isolates were concentrated and purified and the defective viruses examined by electron microscopy. The buoyant densities in CsCl of the defective viruses ranged between 1.32 and 1.33 g/cc. DNA isolated from defective viruses was characterized by dye-buoyant density centrifugation and by velocity sedimentation in neutral CsCl. The DNA was heterogeneous in size and contained some covalently closed double-stranded circular molecules.
How Should We Manage Peer Review and Why

I truly enjoyed reading the article by Brian A. Nosek and Yoav Bar-Anan (this issue), and discussing it with colleagues. It is important and useful to be forced to consider how things are and how t...
Transcuticular solute movement in parasitic nematodes: relationship between non-polar solute transport and partition coefficient.

Abstract 1. 1. The rate constants ( K ) for steroid transport across the isolated cuticle of Ascaris suum were linearly related to partition coefficients ( P ) of steroids in model solvents. 2. 2. The slope of log P vs log K for an isolated cuticle was closest to unity for the more polar solvents, octanol and ether, suggesting that the barrier to steroid movement across the cuticle has partition properties similar to these solvents. 3. 3. The transcuticular movement of steroids into intact adult A. suum and infective larvae of Haetnonchus contortus was predicted by the P in model solvents suggesting that the same barriers for transcuticular solute movement may exist in intact worms as in isolated cuticles.
Carbon-13 NMR studies of 13Co binding to human hemoglobin

Abstract In the 13 C NMR spectrum of hemoglobin A carbonylated with 13 CO, separate resonances can be distinguished at 207.04 ppm and 206.60 ppm (with respect to the 13 C resonance of external tetramethyl-silane) for 13 Co bound to the α and β chains of the hemoglobin tetramer. A study of the 13 Co derivatives of the isolated α and β chains, and of the abnormal hemoglobin M IWATE which contains α chains which are in the met [Fe(III)] form and do not bind CO, has permitted an assignment of the high field (206.60 ppm) resonance to the β chain 13 CO and the low field one to the α chain 13 CO. The identification of these 13 Co resonances permits a study of the differences in the chemistry of the α and β heme units in intact hemoglobin. Some results on the differences in the redox behavior of these chains are included.
Detection and characterization of nitrous oxide sites in the brain of a dog under halothane-N2O anesthesia by infrared spectroscopy

Infrared spectra of N2O in a variety of solvents and in the brain of a dog under typical conditions of halothane-N2O anesthesia have been determined. The appearance or disappearance of N2O in the brain was readily followed as N2O was administered or withdrawn. The sites in brain were of two major types; one, with ν3 = 2229.8 ± 0.4 cm−1 and Δν12 = 13.0 ± 0.6 cm−1, is rather like the polar site in water and the other, with ν3 = 2216.8 ± 0.8 cm−1 and Δν12 = 9.6 ± 1.0 cm−1, is non-polar and is probably associated with membrane lipid. The significant variations in the antisymmetric stretch (ν3) of N2O as the polarity and other properties of the medium (solvent) vary make possible the characterization of in tissue sites occupied by this anesthetic.
The initiation problem in bankruptcy

American bankruptcy law provides creditors of a corporate debtor with an alternative way of sorting out their claims to the debtor’s assets. Bankruptcy differs from ordinary avenues of debt collection in that all claims against a common debtor are determined at one time and in one place. Creditors are forced to give up their right to seek repayment on their own. Each creditor must stay its hand while decisions are made about what to do with the firm’s assets and how to recognize the different claims against it. Some creditors who might have been paid in full if bankruptcy had not intervened are worse off. Others, who might have been unaware of the debtor’s financial straits, may be better off. The premise of American bankruptcy law is that sometimes the creditors and others who contributed capital to the firm are better off as a group than they would be if this avenue of debt collection did not exist and creditors had to depend upon their individual remedies under nonbankruptcy law.’ This premise-that the collective interests of the group can be put at risk when individual creditors exercise their rights-brings with it a problem that other legal regimes do not face. Ordinarily, one can depend upon the party that benefits from a particular legal rule to invoke it. Bankruptcy is different. The beneficiaries of bankruptcy law are the creditors as a whole, not individual creditors within the group.? One wants a bankruptcy proceeding to begin when it is in the collective interest of the group, but one must still depend upon someone to initiate it. One must somehow ensure that when a bankruptcy proceeding is in the collective interest of the creditors, it is also in someone’s individual interest as well. Existing bankruptcy law allows creditors to trigger the collective proceeding when three of them with unsecured claims totaling more than $5,000 join in a
Species Names in the PhyloCode: the approach adopted by the International Society for Phylogenetic Nomenclature.

Edwards, S. V., L. Liu, and D. K. Pearl. 2007. High resolution species trees without concatenation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104:5936– 5941. Hennig, W. 1950. Grundzuge Einer Theorie der Phylogenetischen Systematik. Deutscher Zentralverlag, Berlin. [Published in English translation in 1966: Phylogenetic systematics, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois.] Hudson, R. R. 1983. Testing the constant-rate neutral allele model with protein sequence data. Evolution 37:203–217. Liu, L., and D. K. Pearl. 2007. Species trees from gene trees: Reconstructing Bayesian posterior distributions of a species phylogeny using estimated gene tree distributions. Syst. Biol. 56:504–514. Maddison, W. P. 1997. Gene trees in species trees. Syst. Biol. 46:523– 536. Maddison, W. P., and L. L. Knowles. 2006. Inferring phylogeny despite incomplete lineage sorting. Syst. Biol. 55:21–30. Nei, M. 1987. Molecular evolutionary genetics. Columbia University Press, New York. Neigel, J. E. and J. C. Avise. 1986. Phylogenetic relationships of mitochondrial DNA under various demographic models of speciation. Pages 515–534 in Evolutionary processes and theory (S. Karlin and E. Nevo, eds.). Academic Press, Orlando, Florida. Nichols, R. 2001. Gene trees and species trees are not the same. Trends Ecol. Evol. 16:358–364.
Rehabilitation of Railroad Bridges Using GFRP Composites

The use of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite materials to rehabilitate timber Railroad Bridge is investigated in this research. Two different rehabilitation methods were developed and implemented to strengthen timber stringers using GFRP. These methods are referred to as GFRP spray lay-up and vacuum bagging of GFRP wraps around timber members. Tests were conducted on four full scale (8″ ×16″ ×12″ ) timber stringers in the WVU-CFC laboratory under four point bending loads. These creosote treated timber stringers were loaded up to 20% of their ultimate loads to verify their properties. The stringers were then repaired using the above two rehabilitation methods and retested to failure. Strengthening the stringers with GFRP composites increased the shear moduli of the two stringers by 41% and 267%. Rehabilitation and load testing were carried out on an open-deck-timber railroad bridge built during early 1900’s on the South Branch Valley Railroad (SBVR) owned by the WVDOT in Moorefield, WV. Specifically, field rehabilitation involved repairing piles using GFRP composite wraps and phenolic formaldehyde adhesives. Using a 80-ton locomotive, static and dynamic tests were performed to determine the dynamic response of the substructure. Rehabilitated SBVR Bridge showed a 43% and 46% strain reduction in the piles and pile cap, respectively.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Multipayload modeling for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

A multipayload spacecraft modeling approach that combines constituent subassemblies (plant and controllers) into a combined system (model synthesis) is presented. This technique was used to model the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The simulation was developed to determine the amount of controls-structure interaction, and the satellite flight results verified simulation predictions during payload tracking and scan modes and solar-array sun-tracking modes. The simulation was developed using the Dynamics Analysis Design System program. The program was modified to include a multirate sampling capability, a robust analog delay element, a stepper-motor kinematic driver, and a modified flexible body formulation. The simulation includes the structural models of the satellite components, the dominant flexible modes, the vehicle attitude control system and orbit adjust capability, and all instrument elevation and azimuth control systems. The model includes the flexible modes below 16 Hz and the instrument control systems. This study presented simulation results using the synthesized modeling approach and the in-flight data to validate the approach
How Television News Viewers Deal with Facts that Contradict Their Beliefs: A Consistency and Attribution Analysis1

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a counterattitudinal news story on the perceived credibility of a television newscaster. In the basic 2 x 2 design, subjects, who were either pro-student or pro-police, viewed a newscast in which either students or police were blamed for initiating a violent confrontation. The results indicated that subjects, for whom the newscast's conclusion was counterattitudinal (as compared to those for whom the conclusion was consistent with initial student-police attitudes), rated the newscast as less objective, rated the newscaster as less credible and more intending to persuade, and attributed to the newscast and newscaster more extreme political positions consistent with the newscast's conclusions The implications of these results for the problem of newscaster credibility are discussed, as are the connections between the present results and previous research on communicator credibility.
Cross-reactivity in the HL-A system.

A comprehensive study to elucidate the cross-reactivity between 25 specificities of the HL-A system was carried out systematically with 65 monospecific anti-HL-A antisera and nearly 150 cell donors. Antisera were absorbed by platelets in microvolumes and the degree of absorption was measured by the inhibition of lymphocytotoxicity. The following conclusions were drawn: (1). Cross-reactivity occurred only between allelic gene products of a single HL-A segregant series and not between those of the two different series. (2). Cross-reactive groups did not form isolated clusters but were interconnected. (3). Cross-reactivity was found to be one-way (unidirectional) or two-way (bidirectional). One-way cross-reactivity was observed between 24 pairs of antigen groups and two-way cross-reactivity was observed between 8 pairs of antigen groups. (4). Cross-reactivity is exhibited by certain antisera of a given specificity and not by others of the same specificity. (5). Some cells possessing a cross-reacting antigen cross-absorbed a certain anti-HL-A antiserum, whereas other cells with the same antigen did not. These results suggest the possibility that cross-reactivity depends also upon other antigens present on the cells.
Design of High Efficiency Blowers for Future Aerosol Applications

High efficiency air blowers to meet future portable aerosol sampling applications were designed, fabricated, and their performance evaluated. A preliminary blower design based on specific speed was selected, modeled in CFD, and the flow field simulated. This preliminary blower size was scaled in planar and axial directions, at different rpm values, to set the Best Efficiency Point (BEP) at a flow rate of 100 L/min (1.67×10−3 m3 /s @ room conditions) and a pressure rise of 1000 Pa (4″ WC). Characteristic curves for static pressure rise versus air flow rate through the impeller were generated. Experimentally measured motor/blower combination efficiency (ηEXP ) for the preliminary design was around 10%. The low value was attributed to the low efficiency of the D.C. motor used (Chadha, 2005). CFD simulations using the κ–e turbulent model and standard wall function (non-equilibrium wall functions) approach overpredicted the head values. Enhanced wall treatment under-predicted the head rise but provided better agreement with experimental results. The static pressure rise across the final blower is 1021 Pa at the design flow rate of 100 L/min. Efficiency value based on measured static pressure rise value and the electrical energy input to the motor (ηEXP ) is 26.5%, a 160% improvement over the preliminary design.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
SU‐GG‐J‐94: Feasibility Study On the Efficacy of Dual Energy Cine Imaging in Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer

Purpose: Modern IMRT plans have necessitated improved image localization techniques. In the lungs, internal target volumes (ITVs) are often generated from 4DCT images; however, the patient must be properly localized daily for this to work effectively. In this simulation study, we investigate the efficacy of dual energy cine (DEC) imaging in radiation therapy (RT). Method and Materials: An advanced 4D NURBS (nonuniform rational b‐splines) based Cardiac‐Torso (NCAT) phantom, which includes a detailed whole‐body anatomy of organs including the lungs, airway tree, heart, and vessels, was used for this study. This model allows for the insertion of a lung nodule of any size, shape, contrast, and location. The NCAT phantom also incorporates realistic 4D modeling of periodic cardiac and respiratory motion. The NCAT includes an x‐ray projection algorithm that can accurately generate x‐ray images in 4D. This algorithm was used to generate cine images of the chest with an embedded lung nodule. Images were generated using spectra of 80 and 120 kV. Dual energy subtraction was performed on these two sets of cine images to remove the overlying bony anatomy. The resulting images were visually examined to determine if the lung nodule motion could be better visualized in the DEC images then in the 120 kV images.Results: The removal of the overlying bony anatomy of the chest allowed the DEC images to demonstrate superior visualization of the temporo‐spatial motion of the nodule. Conclusion: This feasibility study demonstrates that DEC imaging may provide increased visualization of lung nodules for RT treatment. Daily DEC imaging would allow for proper treatment portal placement for thoracic plans using ITVs and IMRT. Additionally, this technique shows much promise to be used in conjunction with dynamic adaptive radiation therapy, where nodule tracking is a necessity.
Toxicity characterization of complex mixtures using biological and chemical analysis in preparation for assessment of mixture similarity.

In the United States, several proposed approaches for using bioassays for the risk assessment of complex hazardous mixtures require that selected mixtures be “sufficiently similar” to each other. The goal of this research was to evaluate the utility of a protocol using in vitro bioassays and chemical analysis as a basis for assessing mixture similarity. Two wood preserving wastes (WPWs) containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pentachlorophenol were extracted and fractionated to generate potentially similar mixtures. Chemical analysis was conducted using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Genotoxicity was evaluated using the Salmonella/microsome and Escherichia coli prophage induction assays. The crude extract of one WPW was also tested in the chick embryotoxicity screening test (CHEST) assay. The CHEST assay provided the most sensitive measurement of toxicity. Overall, the biological potency of the samples was not well correlated with predicted potency based on chemical analysis. Although sever...
Theory of two-dimensional multirate filter banks

Results are presented on 2-D FIR (two-dimensional finite-impulse-response) filter banks for multirate applications. The theory is valid for all sampling lattices; conditions for alias-free and perfect signal reconstruction are derived. Synthesis structures for paraunitary and nonparaunitary polynomial matrices are derived, which yield perfect reconstruction filter banks. The degrees of freedom are given for these systems. Linear phase conditions are posed on the polyphase form of filter banks. which is used to derive a design structure for the restricted, but important, case of linear phase filter banks. >