cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The central helix of calmodulin functions as a flexible tether.

Using site-directed mutagenesis we have created an altered calmodulin in which Gln-3 and Thr-146 have both been replaced by cysteines. We have reacted this protein with the bifunctional reagent, bismaleimidohexane, forming an intramolecular cross-link between the two cysteines. In the crystal structure of native calmodulin alpha-carbons at positions 3 and 146 are 37 A apart. In the bismaleimidohexane cross-linked protein these atoms can be no more than 19 A apart, and model building studies indicate that there is probably a bend in the central helix of calmodulin. A second modified calmodulin was generated by cleaving the central helix of the cross-linked protein at Lys-77 with trypsin. In this molecule, the two lobes of calmodulin are joined solely by the bismaleimidohexane cross-link, which bridges Cys-3 and Cys-146. Vm and Kact values for activation of myosin light chain kinase activity by the cross-linked and cross-linked/trypsinized proteins are not significantly different from those for the control protein. This result indicates that one role for the central helix may be to serve as a flexible tether between the calmodulin lobes. This is consistent with a model calmodulin-enzyme complex in which the central helix is bent, and the two lobes exert a concerted effect. A detailed model of this type has been proposed for the calmodulin-myosin light chain kinase complex (Persechini, A. and Kretsinger, R.H. (1988) J. Cardiovasc. Pharmacol., in press).
Home Ownership, Savings, and Mobility Over The Life Cycle

In a Bewley model with endogenous price volatility, home ownership and mobility across locations and jobs, we assess the contribution of financial constraints, housing illiquidities and house price risk to home ownership over the life cycle. The model can explain the rise in home ownership and fall in mobility over the life cycle. While some households rent due to borrowing constraints in the mortgage market, factors that effect propensities to save and move, such as risky house values and transactions costs, are more important determinants of the ownership rate.
Preference for Flexibility and Random Choice

We study a two-stage model where the agent has preferences over menus as in Dekel, Lipman, and Rustichini (2001) in the first period and then makes random choices from menus as in Gul and Pesendorfer (2006) in the second period. Both preference for flexibility in the first period and strictly random choices in the second period can be, respectively, rationalized by subjective state spaces. Our main result characterizes the representation where the two state spaces align, so the agent correctly anticipates her future choices. The joint representation uniquely identifies probabilities over subjective states and magnitudes of utilities across states. We also characterize when the agent completely overlooks some subjective states that realize at the point of choice.
Mystery of Seasonality: Getting the Rhythm of Nature

Seasonality, a systematic periodic occurrence of events over the course of a year, is a well-known phenomenon in life and health sciences. Understanding seasonal fluctuations in diseases patterns presents us with a major challenge. To develop efficient strategies for disease prevention and control, we need to grasp the main determinants of temporal variations and their interactions. This paper will introduce the notion of seasonality by outlining several of its factors, using as illustrations respiratory and enteric water- or food-borne infections.
VII2. The Kinetics of the Thionine‐Ferrous Ion Reaction

The initial quantum yield of photoreduction of thionine by ferrous ions and the extent of bleaching in the photostationary state are measured. The reaction is interpreted by two mechanisms; in one, a long-lived, excited species of thionine is reduced by ferrous ions; in the other, an electron transfer occurs on excitation of a complex formed between thionine and ferrous ions and is followed by breakdown to products. It is argued that the main product of photoreduction is leucothionine, produced by dismutation of semithionine. Le rendement quantique initial de la photoreduction de la thionine par ions les ferreux et le degre de la decoloration en regime photostationnaire sont mesures, La reaction est interpretee par deux mecanismes: 1) une forme de thionine excitee a longue vie est reduite par ions ferreux; 2) un transfert electronique a lieu par excitation d'un complexe produit par la thionine et les ions ferreux suivi par rupture en produits. On discute la leucothionine comme produit principal de la photoreduction, produit par dismutation de la semithionine. Die Anfangsquantenausbeute der Photoreduktion von Thionin durch Fe2+-Ionen und die Ausbleichung im photo-stationaren Zustand werden gemessen. Die Reaktion kann durch zwei Mechanismen dargestellt werden: In dem ersten Mechanismus wird ein angeregter, langlebiger Zustand des Thionins durch Fe2+-Ionen reduziert; im zweiten findet zunachst ein Elektronenubergang im Anschlus an eine Anregung des zwischen Fe2+ und Thionin gebildeten Komplexes statt; danach zerfallt der Komplex unter Bildung der Endprodukte. Es wird vermutet, das das Hauptprodukt der Photoreduktion Leukothionin ist, das durch Dismutation des Semithionins gebildet wird.
The Gods of Greece Are Not Pleased: The Constitutionality of Legislative Prayer at the Local Level

Religion played a vital role in the formation of our nation. Today, however, many individuals, including legal professionals, are unsure of the proper relationship between religion and government. In Town of Greece v. Galloway, the U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to examine one facet of this relationship. It will determine whether local legislative bodies can open their meetings with prayer without violating the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Establishment Clause provides, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” In this article, the author will address the various inconsistent tests and factors used to determine whether the government has violated the Establishment Clause. The article will also address Marsh v. Chambers, a case where the U.S. Supreme Court relied on the factors of history and tradition to determine that federal and state legislative bodies can open their meetings with prayer. The author explains why the Town of Greece believes the Court should rule as it did in Marsh, while also explaining the arguments raised in opposition by Galloway. The author concludes that if the Court relies on the factors of history and tradition as it did in Marsh, then it should uphold the constitutionality of the prayer practice at issue here. Furthermore, the author expresses his desire that the Court would take this opportunity to formally adopt a single test, preferably the “actual legal coercion test,” for analyzing future Establishment Clause cases. This “actual legal coercion test,” as supported by some justices currently on the Court, would find no violation of the Establishment Clause unless the government is actually coercing support or participation in religion. By using this test, the Court should uphold the constitutionality of the prayer practice as described in Greece.
Decision making in a hybrid genetic algorithm

There are several issues that need to be taken into consideration when designing a hybrid problem solver. The paper focuses on one of them-decision making. More specifically, we address the following questions: given two different methods, how to get the most out of both of them? When should we use one and when should we use the other in order to get maximum efficiency? We present a model for hybridizing genetic algorithms (GAs) based on a concept that decision theorists call probability matching and we use it to combine an elitist selecto-recombinative GA with a simple hill climber (HC). Tests on an easy problem with a small population size match our intuition that both GA and HC are needed to solve the problem efficiently.
Adding energy efficiency to Openstack

In this paper we consider how energy efficiency aspects can be added to Openstack. With the objective of devising an energy efficient resource manager for Openstack, we first analyze resource and energy utilization on our cloud resources. We observe that there is a large fixed cost associated with server usage patterns and powering down servers is necessary to achieve energy savings. Following this we consider migration mechanisms which are necessary to perform load consolidation: we find that hybrid live migration has the necessary robustness to be part of a sophisticated load management solution. Finally we discuss ongoing work on realizing a load manager for Openstack based on these observations.
Studies on corneal physiology in vitro.

Corneal thickness, potential difference and the rate of epithelial sodium transport are dependent upon the presence of glucose in the bathing medium. When glucose is replaced with sucrose, increased swelling, decreased potential difference and decreased transport rate are found. Corneal swelling after endothelial removal is rapid, and comparison of hydration and thickness at the time intervals studied gives a straightline thickness, hydration relationship. In vitro, the cornea can maintain normal thickness for 8 hr with a scleral ring of
Optimal control model of technology transition.

This paper discusses the use of optimisation software to solve an optimal control problem arising in the modelling of technology transition. We set up a series of increasingly complex models with such features as learning-by-doing, adjustment cost, and capital investment. The models are written in continuous time and then discretised by using different methods to transform them into large-scale non-linear programs. We use a modelling language and numerical optimisation methods to solve the optimisation problem. Our results are consistent with findings in the literature and highlight the impact the discretisation choice has on the solution and accuracy.
Effect of Advanced Imaging Technology on How Biopsies Are Done and Who Does Them

This study showed that the approach with which biopsies are performed evolved in the past decade, with continuing substitution away from more invasive and nonimaging-guided percutaneous biopsy approaches in favor of imaging-guided percutaneous approaches.
Are investments in malaria control saving the lives of children? Challenges in using all-cause child mortality for measuring the impact of malaria control programs

As global investments to combat malaria have reached over 1.8 billion per year, there is a strong desire by governments and donors to measure the number of deaths prevented from these investments. Much of this funding has gone to African countries where malaria burden is highest, but robust health information systems and vital registration are weakest, which precludes measuring changes in malaria deaths directly. Because malaria accounts for a large proportion of deaths in Africa (15%), assessing trends in all-cause child mortality (ACCM) has become a key indicator for measuring program impact. The objectives of this talk will be to provide a comparison of common epidemiological approaches used for evaluating the impact of malaria control programs on ACCM in the African context. Three examples of impact evaluation approached using ACCM as the primary outcome will be discussed: 1) comparison of ACCM measured by household surveys before and after malaria program introduction or scale-up (aka ‘trends over time’); 2) assessment of the association between exposure to malaria control interventions (e.g. insecticide-treated mosquito nets- ITNs) and ACCM using cross-sectional data; and 3) an analytic frameworks that allow a dose-response relationships to be estimated between changes in sub-national (district) malaria program intensity and ACCM. In doing so, an attempt will be made to discuss the key challenges of using these methods, as well as specific recommendations for their improvement.
Cross-validation comparison of NIST OCR databases

The quality of reference databases for optical character recognition is vital to the meaningful assessment of classification algorithms. NIST has produced two databases of segmented handprinted characters obtained from socially distinct writer populations. Two approaches to the comparison of the databases are described. The first uses the eigenvalue spectrum of the covariance matrix as an a priori measure of the variance intrinsic to the data. The second cross validates the datasets using classification error to quantify the difficulty of OCR. The eigenvalue spectra from the training partitions of the datasets are generated during the production of the Karhunen Loeve Transforms, the leading components of which are used as prototype features for a classifier. The eignespectra are used to quantify diversity of the character sets and the Bhattacharrya distance is used to measure class separability. The digits, uppers and lowers from the two populations of 500 writers are partitioned into N disjoint sets. The KL transforms of each such set are used for testing, while the remaining N-1 sets form the training prototypes for a PNN nearest neighbor classifier. Recognition error rates and their variances are calculated over the N partitions for both databases independently. This quantifies intra-database diversity. The inter-database results, or `cross' terms, obtained by training and testing on different databases, indicate the generality of the training set. The results for digits suggest that the second NIST database (used nominally for testing) is significantly harder than the first (training) set; the testing images are 11% more variant. The NIST training data classifies partitions of itself with 1.7% error, and the test set with 6.8% error. Conversely the test set generalizes to both itself and the training data with 3.5% error. This effect has also ben reported using non-NIST classifiers.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Cross-linking of viral RNA by 4'-aminomethyl-4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen in HeLa cells infected with encephalomyocarditis virus and the tsG114 mutant of vesicular stomatitis virus.

Abstract The presence of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) of viral origin in infected cells is controversial. We established that in intact HeLa cells infected with encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) viral RNA can be cross-linked with 4′-aminomethyl-4,5′,8-trimethylpsoralen (AMT). This compound intercalates into dsRNA and forms cross-links upon irradiation with uv light. Addition of AMT to EMCV-infected cells, followed by irradiation, resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of viral RNA synthesis, This inhibition was correlated with the cross-linking of nascent RNA strands to template strands of the viral replicative intermediate of EMCV. In contrast, treatment with AMT of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-infected cells had no effect on viral mRNA synthesis and no cross-linking of viral RNA could be detected. The synthesis of viral RNA by the ts G114 mutant of VSV at the nonpermissive temperature, however, was inhibited by AMT. In cells infected with this mutant, cross-linked viral RNA could be detected. These results are discussed with regard to the role of dsRNA in cellular responses to viral infection mediated by interferon.
Judges' risk communication preferences in risk for future violence cases.

The current study examined which types of risk communication messages and combinations of messages judges find most helpful in making decisions about risk for future violence. Seventy six judges from three Southern states responded to a mail survey asking them to rate the probative value of categorical, frequency, and probabilistic risk communication messages. An additional 40 judges completed the survey at a judicial conference. Approximately half of the judges made probative ratings for a high risk patient, while the remaining judges made ratings for a lower risk patient. Overall, the judges gave higher probative value ratings to the categorical risk message and reported that a combination of categorical and numerical messages would be most useful. Judges in the high risk condition were significantly more likely than those assigned to the low risk condition to rate the risk message as probative, regardless of the way in which it was communicated.
Scanning methods applied to bitemark analysis

The 2009 National Academy of Sciences report on forensics focused criticism on pattern evidence subdisciplines in which statements of unique identity are utilized. One principle of bitemark analysis is that the human dentition is unique to the extent that a perpetrator may be identified based on dental traits in a bitemark. Optical and electron scanning methods were used to measure dental minutia and to investigate replication of detail in human skin. Results indicated that being a visco-elastic substrate, skin effectively reduces the resolution of measurement of dental detail. Conclusions indicate caution in individualization statements.
Ion implanted MOSFET's with very short channel lengths

Ion implantation allows the fabrication of very small MOSFET switching devices with considerably thicker gate insulators. Capacitance from the source and drain to the substrate and to the gate is reduced by more than a factor of two compared to conventional structures. Conversely, for a given thickness, smaller devices can be achieved using ion implantation.
An inexpensive chamber for selecting and maintaining phototrophic plant cells

The high cost of lighted CO2 environmental chambers has prevented many laboratories from initiating and maintaining phototrophic cell cultures. The construction of an inexpensive chamber for the selection and subculture of photomixotrophic and photoautotrophic higher plant cell tissue cultures is described.
A special matrix equation and its application in microelectronics

Abstract A special matrix equation is examined, which arises in designing electrical interconnections between microelectronic circuits and systems. The equation is first rewritten as a fixed point problem. A globally convergent iteration method is then proposed and monotone convergence is proved. A sufficient and necessary condition for the existence of the solution is presented. The solution can be used to minimize the reflection coefficients of the active signals.
Misoprostol, a prostaglandin E1 analogue, inhibits basic calcium phosphate crystal-induced mitogenesis and collagenase accumulation in human fibroblasts.

Synovial fluid basic calcium phosphate (BCP) crystals are associated with severe destructive arthropathy. BCP crystals induce the secretion of matrix-degrading enzymes such as collagenase. No prophylactic or therapeutic agents are recognized to ameliorate the cartilage damage associated with BCP deposits in joints. As a chondroprotective effect of prostaglandins (PG) has been suggested, we studied the effect of misoprostol, a PGE1 analogue, on BCP crystal-induced mitogenesis and collagenase messenger RNA (mRNA) accumulation in human fibroblasts (HF). Mitogenesis was determined by3H-thymidine incorporation assays and collagenase mRNA accumulation by Northern blot analysis, in HF stimulated with BCP crystals in the presence or absence of misoprostol. Misoprostol caused concentration-dependent inhibition of BCP crystal-induced mitogenesis. The inhibition of BCP-stimulated mitogenesis was not specific as misoprostol also inhibited the mitogenic response to 10% serum. There was only 50 (±5)% inhibition of serum-induced mitogenesis by misoprostol at 500 ng/ml, the concentration that completely inhibited BCP crystal-induced mitogenesis. Misoprostol also inhibited the accumulation of collagenase mRNA in BCP-stimulated HF by 63%. These data suggest that misoprostol may inhibit the synovial proliferation and cartilage degradation that accompany BCP crystal deposition.
Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate and Ammonium Chloride on Ascorbic Acid Metabolism of Adults

SummaryThis study indicates that the changes in the excretion of ascorbic acid are not accurate indications of utilization. The ingestion of both salts significantly lowered the mean plasma ascorbi...
Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide Antiserum Affects Rat Prolactin mRNA in 40-Day but Not 110-Day Diethylstilbestrol-Induced Prolactinoma Tissue

Abstract Experiments were designed to examine whether vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), a known stimulator of basal prolactin (PRL) secretion, regulates PRL gene expression in the rat diethylstilbestrol (DES)-induced prolactinoma model. The VIP-induced increase in PRL release could result from increased PRL synthesis and/or decreased PRL degradation. Male Fischer 344 rats were implanted with 10 mg DES pellets 40 or 110 days prior to obtaining the anterior pituitary glands for cell dispersal. Cells were incubated in 1:10 normal rabbit serum or VIP antiserum (AVIP). After incubation, cells were pelleted, washed, and pooled for total nucleic acid extraction. The rat PRL (rPRL) mRNA abundance was quantitated using a solution hybridization/ribonuclease protection assay. Supernatant was collected and analyzed for PRL content using radioimmunoassay. Results from this experiment reveal partial immunoneutralization of intrapituitary VIP significantly decreased PRL secretory rate by rapid reduction in rPRL mRNA in the 40-day tumors. However, in the 110-day tumors the rPRL mRNA steady-state levels were unchanged but the basal release of PRL continued to be decreased by AVIP. These results indicate VIP exerts its effects on PRL secretion through at least two mechanisms.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome during treatment with transfer factor

Two children with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome were treated with multiple doses of dialyzed transfer factor. A positive Coombs test develped after the first course of therapy in one patient. During the second course of therapy, a severe autoimmune hemolytic anemia occurred concomitant with a Coxsackie B infection. Review of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome reveals an unexpectedly high incidence of antiglubulin-positive hemolytic anemia. Prior to therapy both patients lacked delayed skin hypersensitivity and had poor or absent in vitro responses of lymphocytes to allogenic cells and to specific antigens. Conversion of mixed leukocyte culture reactivity represents new evidence which seems to indicate that transfer factor exerts a nonspecific influence on cellular immune function. The relationship of the autoimmune hemolytic anemia in the one patient to the altered immunologic capacity following treatment with transfer factor is discussed.
An E2 model category structure for pointed simplicial spaces

Abstract We find settings in which it is possible to resolve a topological space by simplicial spaces or cosimplicial spaces. We determine what such a resolution consists of, and study the sense in which any two resolutions are equivalent. As in ordinary homological algebra, these resolutions are useful for constructing spectral sequences.
RXR: no longer a stepchild

[Comment on Taschner et al, page 971][1]The nuclear receptor superfamily contains members with known ligands, orphans, and RXR playing a subservient role as heterodimer partner. Taschner and colleagues demonstrate that RXRα may be more than a stepchild. RARα and its heterodimer partner retinoid X
Pharmacogenetic correlates of pentylenetetrazol and electroconvulsive seizure thresholds in mice.

DBA/2J mice, susceptible to audiogenic seizures, were found to be more susceptible to pentylenetetrazol- and electrically-induced seizures than either C57BL/6J or F1 hybrid mice, which are resistant to audiogenic seizures. Reserpine increased susceptibility to both pentylenetetrazol and electroconvulsive seizures in C57BL/6J, DBA/2J and F1 hybrid mice. 5-hydroxytrptophan, iproniazid and amino-oxyacetic acid decreased seizure susceptibility in all groups of mice. These results were interpreted to mean that DBA/2J mice are more susceptible to seizures than C57BL/6J or F1 hybrid mice regardless of the agents used to induce the seizures, and that levels of 5-HT, NE and GABA are important in determining seizure thresholds.
Studies on persistent infections of tissue cultures. III. Some quantitative aspects of host cell-virus interactions.

Efforts were made to obtain information on some of the quantitative aspects of host cell-virus interactions in MCN cultures persistently infected with Newcastle disease, mumps, and 6-6 viruses, and to elicit the mechanism which permits simultaneous maintenance of virus and cells for indefinite periods of time. It was shown by 4 different technics that only between 10 and less than 1 per cent of the cells yield infectious virus, depending upon the agent employed and, possibly, variations in the conditions of the cultures. No evidence was found to indicate production of non-infectious virus materials. Only the cells carrying infectious virus are capable upon transfer to uninfected cultures to transmit the infection. Cells from persistently infected cultures, which are free of infectious virus at the time of transfer, failed to liberate virus at a later time during incubation periods of up to 4 weeks. The virus-producing cells contain at any given moment not more than 1 infectious unit of virus, suggesting a linear mode of production; i.e., as soon as a virus particle is completed, it is released. Upon inoculation of MCN test tube cultures with chick embryo-adapted NDV persistent infection and interference with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is established with considerable delay. In contrast, following transfer of MCN-adapted NDV, in form of MCN(NDV) cells or first allantoic passage seeds derived therefrom, the number of virus-producing cells increases logarithmically, doubling every 6 to 8 hours until a total of about 10(4) is reached. Thereafter their numbers rise in proportion to the increase in total cell population; i.e., doubling approximately every 48 hours. At the time when 10(4) virus-producing cells are present in the culture interference with VSV is solidly established. In order to obtain this result about 10(6) cells must have adsorbed virus particles, or, in other words, at least 10(6) virus units must have totally been produced instead of the 10(4) measured by infectivity assay. The implications of these and previously reported data have been discussed in detail and a scheme of the course of events in persistently infected cultures has been presented.
A Process Model of Family Formation and Development

Theoretical models of family formation have assumed sexual coupling as the foundation of family life. This article proposes instead a model of family formation predicated on the processes of taking care of one another, eating together, and sharing life together. The interpersonal dynamics that distinguish a family from other close relationships are attachment, belonging, and entitlement. This process model of family formation does not presume marriage or any other form of sexual coupling to be a requirement for family formation. A case study illustrates, with implications for social work practice.
Fast online L 1 -dictionary learning algorithms for novel document detection

Online L1-dictionary learning, introduced by Kasiviswanathan et al. [1], is the process of generating a sequence of (dictionary) matrices {At+1}, one at a time, for t = 0, 1,.... After committing to At+1, a pair of matrices (Pt+1,Xt+1) is revealed and the online algorithm incurs a cost of ∥Pt+1 - At+1Xt+1∥1. The goal of the online algorithm is to ensure that the total cost up to each time is not much larger than the smallest total cost of any fixed A chosen with the benefit of hindsight. In this paper, we study three different algorithms for this problem based on the schemes of dual averaging, projected gradient, and alternating direction method of multipliers. We focus on the performance of these algorithms for the application of novel document detection, where online dictionary learning could be used to automatically identify emerging topics of discussion from a voluminous stream of text documents in a scalable manner. Our empirical results show the relative benefits of these three algorithms for this application.
Abstract 2468: A p53 and microRNA-mediated pathway regulates mesenchymal stem cell differentiation

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA The tumor suppressor p53 plays important roles in bone density regulation and osteosarcoma suppression. However, the relationship between p53-mediated bone density regulation and osteosarcoma suppression is unclear mainly because the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms are elusive. Here, we reported that p53 controls differentiation of mouse mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) in a cell cycle and apoptosis independent manner. The loss of p53 predisposes mMSCs towards osteogenic lineage but not adipogenic and chondrogenic lineages. This pro-osteogenic effect caused by p53 loss is associated with the up-regulation of Runt related transcription factor 2, a factor required for the osteogenic differentiation of mMSCs. Without extrinstic stress, studies show that p53 does not directly repress the transcription of Runt related transcription factor 2. Instead, it indirectly represses Runt related transcription factor 2 through activating microRNAs (miRs), which suppress Runt related transcription factor 2 at a post-transcriptional level. In osteosarcoma cells, the loss of p53 correlates with high levels of Runt related transcription factor 2 and the oncogene addiction of these cells to Runt related transcription factor 2. Together, our results discover a p53 and miR-mediated pathway regulating the differentiation of MSCs and this pathway is dysregulated in osteosarcoma cells. This lineage controlling role links the role of p53 in the osteogenic differentiation of MSC to its suppressive functions in osteosarcoma. Citation Format: Yunlong He, Shunlin Jiang, Wendy Dubois, Ling Ren, Chand Khanna, Jing Huang. A p53 and microRNA-mediated pathway regulates mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2468. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2468
Myostatin protein and RNA transcript levels in adult and developing brook trout.

Quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western analysis were used to measure RNA expression of the two brook trout myostatin (MSTN) genes (“ovarian”, ov and “brain/muscle”, b/m), and levels of MSTN immunoreactive protein (MIP) in developing embryos and muscle of brook trout adults. In developing brook trout embryos, ov and b/m MSTN RNAs and MIP significantly increased 45 days post-fertilization. In adult brook trout, the b/m MSTN form was expressed at higher levels in red versus white muscle regardless of gender or time of year. While few changes were observed in MSTN transcripts in fish sampled throughout the year, a significant increase in the processed 14kDa MIP was observed at spawning in a tissue specific manner, and differences were observed between males and females. These data, along with promoter sequence analysis of the of b/m and ov genes, support a role for MSTN in muscle growth and development in fish. © 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
On the Construction of Structured LDPC Codes Free of Small Trapping Sets

We present a method to construct low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with low error floors on the binary symmetric channel. Codes are constructed so that their Tanner graphs are free of certain small trapping sets. These trapping sets are selected from the trapping set ontology for the Gallager A/B decoder. They are selected based on their relative harmfulness for a given decoding algorithm. We evaluate the relative harmfulness of different trapping sets for the sum-product algorithm by using the topological relations among them and by analyzing the decoding failures on one trapping set in the presence or absence of other trapping sets. We apply this method to construct structured LDPC codes. To facilitate the discussion, we give a new description of structured LDPC codes whose parity-check matrices are arrays of permutation matrices. This description uses Latin squares to define a set of permutation matrices that have disjoint support and to derive a simple necessary and sufficient condition for the Tanner graph of a code to be free of four cycles.
Nuclear orientation facility for the study of the angular distribution of γ radiation and β particles emitted by polarized nuclei

Abstract A nuclear orientation facility using a 3 He/ 4 He dilution refrigerator and ferromagnetic host foils for the polarization of radioactive nuclei is described. A unique feature of this facility is the capability of studying the directional distribution of β particles ( E β > 100 keV) emitted by polarized nuclei over a wide range of angles without significant deflections of the β particle trajectories. Closed magnetic loops and high permeability source host foils are critical elements of the design that reduce stray magnetic fields in the region between the β source and the detector. This orientation facility has been used to completely map out the angular distribution of β particles emitted by polarized 60 Co nuclei. The observed angular distribution is in excellent agreement with the expected [1 + AP ( v / c cos θ ) dependence from the V-A theory of weak interactions. The experimental value of the β-asymmetry parameter ( A exp = −1.01 0.02) is consistent with maximal parity violation ( A theory = −1).
Improvement of raman lidar techniques for quantifying aerosol extinction

The work described here reports on the improvement of a Raman lidar algorithm for measuring aerosol extinction. In order to calculate aerosol extinction from Raman lidar data it is necessary to perform the derivative of a molecular Raman signal with respect to altitude. The typical approach taken in the lidar community is to make an a priori assumption about the functional behavior of the data in order to calculate the derivative. Here a technique is shown that uses the chi-squared test to determine the most likely functional behavior of the data prior to actually calculating the derivative. A mathematical simulation is described that shows the capabilities of this technique and the possibility of reducing the extinction uncertainties with respect to traditional techniques.
Tissue distribution of TAG-72 in malignant mixed müllerian tumors of the uterus.

Abstract Malignant mixed mullerian tumors are the most frequent sarcomas arising from the uterus. Since these tumors are traditionally associated with a poor prognosis, tumor-associated antigens may be useful in the evaluation and follow-up of affected patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and tissue distribution of TAG-72, an antigen frequently expressed in endometrial carcinomas, and to compare it to CA 125 and CA 19-9 expression in malignant mixed mullerian tumors of the uterus. Consecutive, paraffin-embedded sections from 35 tumors were immunohistochemically evaluated using primary antibodies directed against the tumor-associated antigens. These antigens were demonstrated in the neoplastic glandular epithelium and not in the sarcomatous portion of the tumor. The degree of antigen expression was unrelated to the nature of the sarcomatous element present (homologous vs heterologous). Positive staining (⩾5% of the glandular epithelium) for TAG-72 was present in 66% of the tumors; another 6% of the tumors contained focal staining ( P = 0.046) or CA 19-9 ( P = 0.004). The extent of TAG-72 expression was unrelated to the extent of disease (intrauterine vs extrauterine) and overall patient survival. However, antigen expression was correlated with the differentiation of the glandular component present. Although the biological significance of TAG-72 expression by neoplastic epithelium is unknown, this antigen may offer advantages in the assessment of affected patients.
The Viscous Flow Through a Slightly Distorted Flexible Tube

The high Reynolds number structure is examined for a viscous Newtonian flow through a thin axisymmetric flexible Hookean tube. Linear and nonlinear solutions are examined for a number of cases encompassing both large and small tube compliances. Particular cases studied are a flexible tube with a flexible stenosis/dilatation and a flexible tube supported between two rigid tubes. Novel vacillating free-interactions are identified at low tube compliances. These free-interfactions are believed to have application to general viscous-inviscid interactions. Solutions are also found which appear to terminate at a critical level of tube dilation for the slightly constricted tube.
A note on the restarted CG method and reduced space additive correction

Abstract This paper develops a general theory of the Reduced Space Additive Correction method (RSAC), which can also be viewed as a two grid method. In particular, we show that the restarted conjugate gradient method is a two-grid method consisted of a Richardson presmoothing phase followed by a projection or error correction step in a pseudo-residual space.
Comparative Analysis of Owner Goals for Design/Build Projects

This paper reports the results of a study that compared what owners believe is important to achieve their project goals using design/build project delivery to what they make important in their design/build proposal evaluation plans. It also explores industry attitudes and compares those with owner attitudes regarding design/build project success. The conclusions are based on the analysis of 221 survey responses from 37 states compared to the results of a previous content analysis by Barton on 110 design/build requests for proposals. It was also able to confirm its findings with a 1997 owner design/build attitudes study by Songer and Molenaar finding that the main reason owners select design/build project delivery is to compress the project's schedule. The research concluded that although owners believe that design/build team qualifications are the most important to project success, they give price the heaviest weight in design/build proposal evaluation plans. This effectively forces design/build teams to submit a low price to win the project. The study also found that owners are not putting as much weight on the technical design as the industry design professionals believed. Thus, this paper will sensitize design/build project owners to the importance of publishing an evaluation plan that matches the most important aspect of the project and assist design/build practitioners in better understanding the way owners articulate their requirements in the proposal evaluation plans.
Structure-Function Analysis of Nod Factor-Induced Root Hair Calcium Spiking in Rhizobium-Legume Symbiosis

In the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis, compatible bacteria and host plants interact through an exchange of signals: Host compounds promote the expression of bacterial biosynthetic nod (nodulation) genes leading to the production of a lipochito-oligosaccharide signal, the Nod factor (NF). The particular array of nod genes carried by a given species of Rhizobium determines the NF structure synthesized and defines the range of legume hosts by which the bacterium is recognized. Purified NF can induce early host responses even in the absence of live Rhizobium One of the earliest known host responses to NF is an oscillatory behavior of cytoplasmic calcium, or calcium spiking, in root hair cells, initially observed in Medicago spp. and subsequently characterized in four other genera (D.W. Ehrhardt, R. Wais, S.R. Long [1996] Cell 85: 673-681; S.A. Walker, V. Viprey, J.A. Downie [2000] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97: 13413-13418; D.W. Ehrhardt, J.A. Downie, J. Harris, R.J. Wais, and S.R. Long, unpublished data). We sought to determine whether live Rhizobium trigger a rapid calcium spiking response and whether this response is NF dependent. We show that, in the Sinorhizobium meliloti-Medicago truncatula interaction, bacteria elicit a calcium spiking response that is indistinguishable from the response to purified NF. We determine that calcium spiking is a nod gene-dependent host response. Studies of calcium spiking in M. truncatula and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) also uncovered the possibility of differences in early NF signal transduction. We further demonstrate the sufficiency of the nod genes for inducing calcium spiking by using Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) engineered to express 11 S. meliloti nod genes.
Sound scattering from an inhomogeneous turbulent wake

The solutions from previous investigations on the interaction of a plane, acoustic wave with a volume of homogeneous, isotropic turbulence, based on Lighthill's development, have been extended, under appropriate conditions, to scattering from inhomogeneous turbulence. In this note, a brief report is made of this extension and of an application of the results to sound scattering from the inhomogeneous, turbulent wake of a totally immersed, axisymmetric, self-propelled body.
Return to Play After Partial Lateral Meniscectomy in National Football League Athletes

Background:Lateral meniscal injury is a common and possibly career-threatening injury among players in the National Football League (NFL). The rate of return to play (RTP) and factors that affect RTP after lateral meniscal injury in NFL players are currently not defined.Purpose:The aims of this study were to determine the rate of RTP to regular-season NFL game play of NFL players after arthroscopic partial lateral meniscectomy and to identify factors that can predict the ability to return to play.Study Design:Case series; Level of evidence, 4.Methods:Seventy-two patients undergoing 77 arthroscopic lateral partial meniscectomies were followed to determine the rate of RTP (defined as successful RTP in at least 1 regular-season NFL game after meniscectomy) and factors predicting players’ ability to return to play. Perioperative variables were recorded using retrospective chart review. Players’ heights and weights, dates of return, draft rounds, and counts of games, starts, and seasons both before and after m...
TargetOrtho: A Phylogenetic Footprinting Tool To Identify Transcription Factor Targets

The identification of the regulatory targets of transcription factors is central to our understanding of how transcription factors fulfill their many key roles in development and homeostasis. DNA-binding sites have been uncovered for many transcription factors through a number of experimental approaches, but it has proven difficult to use this binding site information to reliably predict transcription factor target genes in genomic sequence space. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and other related nematode species as a starting point, we describe here a bioinformatic pipeline that identifies potential transcription factor target genes from genomic sequences. Among the key features of this pipeline is the use of sequence conservation of transcription-factor-binding sites in related species. Rather than using aligned genomic DNA sequences from the genomes of multiple species as a starting point, TargetOrtho scans related genome sequences independently for matches to user-provided transcription-factor-binding motifs, assigns motif matches to adjacent genes, and then determines whether orthologous genes in different species also contain motif matches. We validate TargetOrtho by identifying previously characterized targets of three different types of transcription factors in C. elegans, and we use TargetOrtho to identify novel target genes of the Collier/Olf/EBF transcription factor UNC-3 in C. elegans ventral nerve cord motor neurons. We have also implemented the use of TargetOrtho in Drosophila melanogaster using conservation among five species in the D. melanogaster species subgroup for target gene discovery.
Requirement for a major soluble protein in the conversion of lanosterol to cholesterol by membrane-bound enzymes

Abstract The conversion of the 30-carbon atom sterol, lanosterol, to cholesterol by a series of membrane-bound rat liver enzymes requires one major soluble protein called squalene and sterol carrier protein (SCP). This homogenous low-molecular-weight liver protein was previously known to function with membrane-bound enzymes catalyzing cholesterol synthesis from 27-carbon atom precursor sterols. To define characteristics of the multienzyme system catalyzing lanosterol metabolism and the role of SCP in this process, a rapid spectroscopic assay was developed, i.e., formation of Δ 5,7 -cholestadienol from lanosterol. In addition to SCP, the cofactor requirements for synthesis of cholesterol from lanosterol are NAD, NADPH, and oxygen. Metal ions, reducing agents, heme, or heme-containing proteins are not required. Another homogeneous, low-molecular-weight protein, which accompanies SCP during purification steps, does not support sterol metabolism by membrane-bound enzymes. The broad functions of SCP in cholesterol synthesis and metabolism coupled with its remarkable abundance (~8% of the liver-soluble proteins), ubiquitous occurrence, and recently discovered functions in fatty acid metabolism suggest SCP plays an important regulatory role in lipid metabolism.
An analysis of the use of energy differences in explaining solvent effects on photophysical processes

Abstract This letter contains a discussion of the implicit approximations involved in using energy difference to explain solvent effects on photophysical processes. The adequacy of expressions resulting from the approximations is investigated by comparing the expressions to the exact perturbation expansion. The physical model implicit in these approximations is also discussed.
Elastic field equations for blunt cracks with reference to stress corrosion cracking

The elastic stress field equations for blunt cracks are derived and presented in a form equivalent to the usual sharp crack tip stress fields. These stress field equations are employed in analyzing a dissolution model for the arrest of stress corrosion cracking by crack tip blunting, which is often observed with the arrest of stress corrosion cracks.
Phase retrieval for imaging symmetric particles

Phase retrieval for reconstructing symmetric molecules from x-ray crystallographic data is investigated. The additional information contained in the symmetry should be sufficient to render the solution to such problems unique in many cases. This is supported by the application of iterative phase retrieval algorithms to simulated crystallographic data from a model of an icosahedral virus particle.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Guaranteeing conflict free diamonds: From compliance to norm expansion under the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

This study addresses compliance and business practices at the local level subsequent to the international adoption of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme by states and the adoption of the voluntary System of Warranties by the diamond industry. This paper also explores the distance between norm creation, norm sustainability and norm expansion. Interests of various stakeholders led to the creation of international norms, and evidence supports widespread compliance at the state level. Data gathered at the local level of retailer suggests, however, that the regulatory system is not leading to the education of consumers that potentially transforms beliefs. Central to understanding the challenge of deepening and broadening new global norms is exploring the distance between compliance within the regulatory regime and the awareness or change of beliefs of stakeholders. Recommendations include steps to make the process of bringing diamonds to market transparent and available to public scrutiny.