cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of alanosine on purine and pyrimidine synthesis.

Abstract Further studies were made of the mode of action of alanosine [L (−) 2-amino-3-nitroso hydroxylamino propionic acid] in a Candida albicans test system. The inhibition by the drug of the growth of the organism was antagonized by aspartate. The incorporation of aspartate- 14 C into RNA pyrimidines was inhibited, while the incorporation of uridine- 3 H was enhanced. Alanosine also depressed the rate of incorporation of formate- 14 C into RNA adenine, but increased the rate of its incorporation into RNA guanine. Formate- 14 C incorporation into acid-soluble adenine nucleotides was inhibited. It was tentatively concluded that the drug depresses the activity of aspartate transcarbamylase and adenylosuccinate synthetase.
A compilation technique for software pipelining of loops with conditional jumps

We describe a compilation algorithm for efficient software pipelining of general inner loops, where the number of iterations and the time taken by each iteration may be unpredictable, due to arbitrary if-then- else statements and conditional exit statements within the loop. As our target machine, we assume a wide instruction word architecture that allows multi-way branching in the form of if-then-else trees, and that allows conditional register transfers depending on where the microinstruction branches to (a hardware implementation proposal for such a machine is briefly described in the paper). Our compilation algorithm, which we call the pipeline scheduling technique, produces a software- pipelined version of a given inner loop, which allows a new iteration of the loop to begin on every cycle whenever dependencies and resources permit. The correctness and termination properties of the algorithm are studied in the paper.
Topography of spinal neurons active during hindlimb withdrawal reflexes in the decerebrate cat.

Abstract There exists a spatial organization of receptive fields and a modular organization of the flexion withdrawal reflex system. However, the three dimensional location and organization of interneurons interposed in flexion reflex pathways has not been systematically examined. We determined the anatomical locations of spinal neurons involved in the hindlimb flexion withdrawal reflex using expression of the immediate early gene c-fos and the corresponding FOS protein. The flexion withdrawal reflex was evoked in decerebrate cats via stimulation of the tibial or superficial peroneal nerve. Animals that received stimulation had significantly larger numbers of cells expressing FOS-like immunoreactivity (42.7±2.3 cells/section, mean±standard error of the mean) than operated unstimulated controls (18.6±1.4 cells/section). Compared with controls, cells expressing FOS-like immunoreactivity were located predominantly on the ipsilateral side, in laminae IV–VI, at L6 and rostral L7 segments, and between 20% and 60% of the distance from the midline to the lateral border of the ventral gray matter. Labeled neurons resulting from tibial nerve stimulation were medial to neurons labeled following superficial peroneal nerve stimulation in laminae I–VI, but not VII. The mean mediolateral positions of labeled neurons from both nerves shifted medially as the transverse plane in which they were viewed was moved from rostral to caudal and as the coronal plane in which they were viewed was moved from dorsal to ventral. The mediolateral separation between populations of labeled cells was consistent with primary afferent projections and the location of reflex encoders. This topographical segregation corresponding to different afferent inputs is a possible anatomical substrate for a modular organization of the flexion withdrawal reflex system.
Fast voltammetric and electrochromic response of semiconductor nanocrystal thin films

CdSe nanocrystal thin films exhibit stable and quantitative electrochemical responses when treated with cross-linking molecules such as dithiols or diamines. For the first time, a voltammetric response is recorded for the reduction of the nanocrystals with quantitative injection of electrons in the 1Se state. Injection in the 1Pe manifold is also achieved as evidenced by spectroscopic measurements. For a 100 nm thick film of 6.2 nm diameter nanocrystals, electrochromic changes are on 100 ms time scales, and remain robust after 10 000 cycles.
Background host effects on the-nonlinear photophysical properties of a two-photon absorbing dye

Organic materials exhibiting strong two-photon absorption cross-sections and subsequent up-converted fluorescence have been targeted for use in a variety of applications including optical data storage, nondestructive imaging, frequency up-converted lasing, and microfabrication. In order for these materials to be useful in practical application they must either be coupled with a liquid solvent or doped into a solid host material. The purpose of this study is to examine effects of different host environments on the nonlinear photophysical properties of AF-455, a recently developed organic two-photon absorber. We present results of experiments using both emission and absorption methods to characterize the linear and nonlinear response of AF-455 dissolved in solvents of varying polarity and doped in a polymer (PMMA) matrix.
Relationship Between Repair Processes and Mutation Induction in Bacteria

A summary is given of the main repair and replication-associated processes that can influence the induction of mutations by various mutagens in bacteria. These include both constitutive and induced, error-free and error-prone systems. The mutation yield from a treatment with a mutagen can be markedly affected by which of these systems is operating in a given bacterial species or strain. The effect of these systems on mutation induction by ultraviolet light, monofunctional alkylating agents, base analogues, and frameshift mutagens is discussed in some detail. The bearing of these studies on the practical problems of estimating hazards is briefly considered.
The effects of nicotine on dopamine and DOPAC output from rat striatal tissue

The effects of varying doses of nicotine infusion upon spontaneous (basal) and subsequent potassium chloride-stimulated dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) output from superfused corpus striatal tissue fragments of male rats were tested. Spontaneous dopamine and DOPAC outputs were increased in response to 1, 5 and 10, but not to 0.1 and 0 (control) μM concentrations of nicotine. Interestingly, the subsequent K+-stimulated (30 mM) dopamine output was completely abolished in preparations infused with the 5 and 10 μM nicotine, but not with the 1 or 0.1 μM nicotine. No overall significant differences in K+-stimulated DOPAC were obtained among the five doses. In experiment 2, the effects of an initial infusion of amphetamine (10 μM), potassium chloride (30 mM), nicotine (10 μM) or normal superfusion medium (control) were compared upon subsequent K+-evoked dopamine release. The amount of dopamine released in response to the second (subsequent) infusion of K+ was significantly greater in the potassium chloride and control conditions versus the nicotine and amphetamine stimulated groups. No overall differences in DOPAC output were observed among the four conditions of experiment 2. These results demonstrate that nicotine can exert differential modulatory effects upon striatal dopaminergic activity as a function of the dose. The augmented levels of DOPAC output along with the abolition of the K+-stimulated dopamine release in response to the 5 and 10 μM nicotine doses suggest that these doses may simultaneously produce an activation of intraneuronal metabolism of dopamine to DOPAC along with an activation of release and inhibition of uptake to diminish stores available for subsequent responses to K+ stimulation.
Virtual rear projection: do shadows matter?

Rear projection of large-scale upright displays is often preferred over front projection because of the lack of shadows that occlude the projected image. However, rear projection is not always a feasible option for space and cost reasons. Recent research suggests that many of the desirable features of rear projection, in particular shadow elimination, can be reproduced using new front projection techniques. We report on the results of an empirical study comparing two new projection techniques with traditional rear projection and front projection.
Grain growth in lr- 0.3 Pct W alloys

The fuel cladding material for radioisotope heat sources operating above 1300°C is currently an Ir-0.3 pct W alloy. The ductility of this material under high-temperature impact accident conditions is reduced by large grain sizes. Knowledge of grain size as a function of time and temperature is required to determine the effects of high-temperature exposure during fabrication, assembly, ground testing, and operation of the heat source. The average grain diameter of three different heats of Ir-0.3 pct W is reported as a function of time at 1583 K (1310°C), 1688 K (1415°C), and 1808 K (1535°C) up to 2000 h. Growth rates were measured both perpendicular and parallel to the sheet surface in longitudinal cross sections of sheet samples. In samples with Th, Al, Fe, Ni, and Rh dopant additions, the grain structure was elongated and grain growth was retarded. Grain size was measured by the line in-tercept method and the data were described by the grain growth equation,d2-d02=kt. An activation energy for grain growth was determined for each heat, in both the perpendicular and parallel directions, and was found to be consistent with the expected activation energy for self-diffusion in the alloy. Abnormal grain growth was not observed within the time and temperature ranges of this experiment.
Theory of rate of growth of fatigue cracks under combined static and cyclic stresses

An equation is derived that describes the rate of growth of fatigue cracks under combined static and cyclic stresses. The equation predicts that a static tensile stress has very little influence on the rate of growth of fatigue cracks, even if the static stress is very much larger than the amplitude of the cyclic stress, unless the maximum total applied stress is comparable to the (static) fracture stress.
Differential expression of cGMP-inhibited cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases in human hepatoma cell lines.

PDE3 or cGMP-inhibited cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (cGI PDE) activity was detected in homogenates of HepG2, Hep3B and HuH7, but not SK-Hep-1, human hepatoma cells. In HepG2 and Hep3B cells PDE3 activity was found predominantly in particulate fractions; in HuH7, in both particulate and supernatant fractions. cDNAs encoding two human PDE3s (an ‘adipocyte’ type, HcGIP1),and a ‘cardiovascular’ type, HcGIP2) have been cloned. HcGIP1 cDNA hybridized strongly with poly(A)+ RNA species from HepG2 and Hep3B. Both HcGIPI and HcGIP2 mRNAs were expressed in Hep3B and HuH7 cells. The nucleotide sequence of an ∼300-bp cDNA fragment, isolated after RT-PCR cloning from HepG2 RNA, was identical to a sequence within the conserved domain of HcGIP1 cDNA, consistent with the presence of HcGIPI mRNA in HepG2 cells.
High gain power switching using field controlled thyristors

Abstract A technique for high gain power switching using field controlled thyristors is described. This technique uses a MOSFET connected in series with the FCT to control the current flow. The circuit exhibits normally-off behavior and is capable of operation at high voltages. The current through the FCT can be turned on and off by the application of a low voltage gate signal to the MOSFET. Turn-on and turn-off times of less than 1 μs have been observed at a current gain of over 30. The new gating technique offers the advantage of the large operating current density of the FCT even at high breakdown voltages and the high input impedance of the MOS gate used to trigger the device during power switching.
Pediatric environmental health training: Impact on pediatric residents

• Objective. —To determine whether incorporation of a course in pediatric environmental health into a pediatric residency program would alter residents' behavior in history taking. Design. —Retrospective chart review. Setting. —Large pediatric training hospital in northern California. Participants. —Twenty-three children admitted with asthma by 12 pediatric residents in June 1991 and a control group of 28 children admitted with asthma by 17 pediatric residents in June 1990. Interventions. —None. Measurements/Main Results. —The initial history and physical assessments were examined for all patients with status asthmaticus admitted to Children's Hospital Oakland (Calif) in June 1990 and 1991. Chi-square analysis revealed a significant difference in the number of environmental questions asked in the group trained in pediatric environmental health compared with the group that received no instruction. Conclusions. —The incorporation of a course in pediatric environmental health markedly affected pediatric residents' behavior in assessing environmental causes for common illnesses. We recommend that the course, "Kids and the Environment," be incorporated into other pediatric residency programs, and that the efficacy of the course be determined by chart review. ( AJDC. 1993;147:682-684)
Sympathy, Patriotism and Cynicism: Post-9/11 New York City Newspaper Advertising Content and Consumer Reactions

Abstract Two studies are presented to help understand the role and tone of select New York City newspaper advertising placed immediately after a catastrophic event. Historical analysis of catastrophic attacks on the United States (e.g., Pearl Harbor, Oklahoma City) suggests that some advertisers use the advertising function to comment on the event. However, commentators have expressed both positive and negative reactions to this tactic. To better understand this type of advertising, this paper examines the advertising placed in the month after 9/11/ 01 that directly or indirectly reflects those horrific events. Our first study, a content analysis of this advertising, suggests five emerging message format categories: image, public interest, participation, patriotic, and commercial. We present frequencies, types of products and services, types of images, and how these categories evolved over time. In addition, little is known about consumer reactions to these kinds of advertisements. In our second study, we...
Regulation of opioid receptor trafficking and morphine tolerance by receptor oligomerization.

Abstract The utility of morphine for the treatment of chronic pain is hindered by the development of tolerance to the analgesic effects of the drug. Morphine is unique among opiates in its ability to activate the mu opioid receptor (MOR) without promoting its desensitization and endocytosis. Here we demonstrate that [D-Ala 2 -MePhe 4 -Gly 5 -ol] enkephalin (DAMGO) can facilitate the ability of morphine to stimulate MOR endocytosis. As a consequence, rats treated chronically with both drugs show reduced analgesic tolerance compared to rats treated with morphine alone. These results demonstrate that endocytosis of the MOR can reduce the development of tolerance, and hence suggest an approach for the development of opiate analogs with enhanced efficacy for the treatment of chronic pain.
Reproductive medicine and Turner syndrome: ethical issues

This article discusses the ethical issues raised by the medical responses to Turner syndrome (TS). It explores the issues and challenges faced by women with Turner, and by prospective parents of a child with Turner. It focuses on four issues: the use of GH to increase height; the use of third-party oocytes to enable women with Turner to become pregnant; the parental decision to remove and cryopreserve ovarian tissue from a child with Turner; and the termination of fetuses diagnosed with Turner. Many of the challenges associated with TS are directly or indirectly related to social attitudes and practices, from harsh teasing in school to health professionals' assumption that a woman will abort a fetus diagnosed with Turner. All the interventions designed to alleviate the difficulties faced by women with TS should be employed with caution, in part because they raise significant concerns about risk and consent; in part because they offer a medical response to problems that are to some extent social.
Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator Missing the First Four Transmembrane Segments Increases Wild Type and ΔF508 Processing

We previously generated an adenoassociated viral gene therapy vector, rAAV-Δ264 cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), missing the first four transmembrane domains of CFTR. When infected into monkey lungs, Δ264 CFTR increased the levels of endogenous wild type CFTR protein. To understand this process, we transfected Δ264 CFTR plasmid cDNA into COS7 cells, and we noted that protein expression from the truncation mutant is barely detectable when compared with wild type or ΔF508 CFTR. Δ264 CFTR protein expression increases dramatically when cells are treated with proteasome inhibitors. Cycloheximide experiments show that Δ264 CFTR is degraded faster than ΔF508 CFTR. VCP and HDAC6, two proteins involved in retrograde translocation from endoplasmic reticulum to cytosol for proteasomal and aggresomal degradation, coimmunoprecipitate with Δ264 CFTR. In cotransfection studies in COS7 cells and in transfection of Δ264 CFTR into cells stably expressing wild type and ΔF508 CFTR, Δ264 CFTR increases wild type CFTR protein and increases levels of maturation of immature band B to mature band C of ΔF508 CFTR. Thus the adenoassociated viral vector, rAAV-Δ264 CFTR, is a highly promising cystic fibrosis gene therapy vector because it increases the amount of mature band C protein both from wild type and ΔF508 CFTR and associates with key elements in quality control mechanism of CFTR.
Thermal interaction between an impinging hot jet and a conducting solid surface

Powered-lift aircraft may produce severe high-temperature environments which are potentially damaging to a landing surface or the aircraft. The interaction betweean the high temperature flow field and a nonadiabatic landing surface is analyzed with a coupled computational fluid dynamics/solid thermal conduction computer code, HOTJET. The HOTJET code couples time-accurate, implicit, factored solution schemes for the governing fluid dynamics equations (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations) to the unsteady thermal conduction equation, which governs heat flux within a solid. HOTJET is validated against exact solutions to the thermal conduction and Navier-Stokes equations. First-of-a-kind results are included which show the impact of surface material properties on the fluid physics and the coupled fluid/material thermal fields.
A Model for Ku Heterodimer Assembly and Interaction with DNA IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUNCTION OF Ku ANTIGEN

Ku autoantigen, a heterodimer of 70- and 80-kDa subunits, is a DNA end-binding factor critical for DNA repair. Two domains of p70 mediate DNA binding, one on the C-terminal and one on the N-terminal portion. The latter must dimerize with p80 in order to bind DNA, whereas the former is p80-independent. Both must be intact for end binding activity in gel shift assays. To evaluate the role of p80 in DNA binding, deletion mutants were co-expressed with full-length p70 using recombinant baculoviruses. We show by several criteria that amino acids 371–510 of p80 interact with p70. Both of the p70 dimerization domains bind to the same region of p80, but apparently to separate sites within that region. In DNA immunoprecipitation assays, amino acids 179–510 of p80 were required for p80-dependent DNA binding of p70, whereas in gel shift assays, amino acids 179–732 were necessary. Interestingly, both the p80-dependent and the p80-independent DNA binding sites preferentially bound to DNA ends, suggesting a model in which a single Ku heterodimer may juxtapose two broken DNA ends physically, facilitating their rejoining by DNA ligases.
Adam Smith on the Nature and Causes of Poverty

Adam Smith's views on poverty have received less attention than one would expect, but they are worth examining. In the Moral Sentiments Smith takes a skeptical, ironic view of the striving for material goods and wealth. Poverty is treated not as a condition of economic deprivation but as a cause of social isolation and psychic unease. In the Lectures on Jurisprudence Smith theorizes the amval of economic inequality as a society advances from the hunting to the herding stage. He sees “poverty” (poorness) as widespread but not problematic in commercial society, since wage earners do not experience actual misery. In the growth model of the Wealth of Nations, laborers earn a wage that affords them all the necessities and even a few conveniences and luxuries. True, grinding poverty characterizes the stationary and declining economies only. Smith is oddly silent on state assistance to the poor but incisive on the health and moral consequences of urban-industrial development for the lower classes.
Studies of avian visual pathways involved in cardiac conditioning: nucleus rotundus and ectostriatum.

The rotundo-ectostriatal pathway of the pigeon was investigated to determine its involvement in the visual pathway necessary for heart and respiratory rate conditioning. The study included 20 birds with bilateral electrolytic lesions of ectostriatum, 10 birds with bilateral electrolytic lesions of nucleus rotundus, and 10 surgical control birds. Following recovery from surgery, each bird was trained in a defensive conditioning situation in which light was paired with foot-shock, and changes in heart and respiratory rates were measured.
Relationship between slope probability density function and the physical optics integral in rough surface scattering

The integral for the average scattered power from a rough surface obtained from physical optics is shown to be proportional to the joint probability density function for the surface slopes in the high-frequency limit.
Reviews: Developing Culturally Sensitive Dementia Caregiver Interventions: Are We There Yet?

Despite evidence of ethnic differences in family caregivers' experiences, the extent to which caregiver interventions are culturally tailored to address these differences is unknown. A systematic review of literature published from 1980 to 2009 identified: differences in caregiving experiences of African American, Latino, and Chinese American caregivers; psychosocial support interventions in these groups; and cultural tailoring of interventions. Ethnic differences in caregiving occurred at multiple levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental) and in multiple domains (psychosocial health, life satisfaction, caregiving appraisals, spirituality, coping, self-efficacy, physical functioning, social support, filial responsibility, familism, views toward elders, use of formal services and health care). Only 18 of 47 intervention articles reported outcomes by caregiver ethnicity. Only 11 reported cultural tailoring; 8 were from the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) initiative. Cultural tailoring addressed familism, language, literacy, protecting elders, and logistical barriers. Results suggest that more caregiver intervention studies evaluating systematically the benefits of cultural tailoring are needed.
Mammographic dual-screen-dual-emulsion-film combination: visibility of simulated microcalcifications and effect on image contrast.

Three test objects simulating different mammographic problems were imaged with a new low-dose dual-screen-dual-emulsion-film combination and a standard screen film combination, with and without a moving grid, at 28 and 32 kVp, and with 0.3- and 0.5-mm focal spots. The new combination reduced exposure by 50%, but it failed to equal the other combination in the depiction of simulated microcalcifications, even when a different brand of film-processing chemicals was used. Compared with the standard screen-film combination exposed without a grid, the new combination exposed with a grid resulted in a superior image of dense parenchyma without an increase in dose. Furthermore, when the exposure time was decreased by 25% (rather than 50%), dense breasts were imaged with greater penetration by the new combination. A clinical trial of the new combination in 200 patients showed prominent quantum mottle and reduced contrast in regions of dense parenchyma. In addition, the skin and subcutaneous tissue were often poorl...
Care of Orphans: Fostering Interventions for Children Whose Parents Die of AIDS in Ghana

One of the devastating social problems associated with HIV/AIDS is the increasing number of children who are orphaned within relatively short periods of time. The increasing number of orphans resulting from AIDS calls for a review of the support and care systems available for them. This article addresses fostering as a traditional care and support system for orphans in Ghana, especially those whose parents have died of AIDS. Strengthening of, and support for, foster care through governmental and community efforts is advocated. The enormous nature of the burden of care and support for such orphans calls for individual, community, societal, and even global efforts.
Reduction of gap junctional conductance by microinjection of antibodies against the 27-kDa liver gap junction polypeptide

Abstract Antibody raised against isolated rat liver gap junctions was microinjected into coupled cells in culture to assess its influence on gap junctional conductance. A rapid inhibition of fluorescent dye transfer and electrical coupling was produced in pairs of freshly dissociated adult rat hepatocytes and myocardial cells as well as in pairs of superior cervical ganglion neurons from neonatal rats cultured under conditions in which electrotonic synapses form. The antibodies have been shown by indirect immunofluorescence to bind to punctate regions of the plasma membrane in liver. By immunoreplica analysis of rat liver homogenates, plasma membranes, and isolated gap junctions resolved on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels, binding was shown to be specific for the 27-kDa major polypeptide of gap junctions. This and similar antibodies should provide a tool for further investigation of the role of cell-cell communication mediated by gap junctions and indicate that immunologically similar polypeptides comprise gap junctions in adult mammalian cells derived from all three germ layers.
Accumulation of a specific subset of D. melanogaster heat shock mRNAs in normal development without heat shock

Abstract During normal development in D. melanogaster, messenger RNAs for three of the seven heat shock proteins (hsp83, hsp28 and hsp26) accumulate in adult ovaries and are abundant in embryos until blastoderm. The three mRNAs appear to originate in nurse cells and subsequently pass, during stages 10–11, into the oocyte. Little if any of the four other heat shock mRNAs is present in unshocked ovaries or embryos at any time examined. Pre-blastoderm embryos fail to accumulate these heat shock mRNAs even if subjected to heat shock. The accumulation in normal oogenesis of mRNAs for only three of the seven heat shock proteins indicates the existence of differential, possibly multiple controls of heat shock gene expression, and suggests that heat shock proteins hsp83, hsp28 and hsp26 function in the oocyte or early embryo.
Update in Cardiology

This Update focuses on heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, hypertension, and lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. The newer clinical trials in these fields are changing appr...
Coordinated motion control of multiple robotic devices for welding and redundancy coordination through constrained optimization in Cartesian space

The authors consider the problem of coordinating multiple motion devices for welding purposes. They focus on the problem of controlling a positioning table and a seven-axis manipulator, given the parametric definition of a trajectory on a weld piece. The problem is complex as there are more than nine axes involved and a number of permutations are possible which achieve the same motions of the weld torch. The system is redundant and the robot has singular configurations. As a result, manual programming of the robot system is rather complex. The authors illustrate an approach to redundancy control and coordination of a multiple-robotic-device arc welding system that does not require manual teaching of the intermediate trajectory points. The system requires only the start and end points of the trajectory for setting up and calibration. The redundancy coordination scheme is based on constrained optimization of the maneuverability of the manipulator in Cartesian space. To bypass accuracy issues related to joint rate control, inverse kinematics is directly used in the kinematic control of the manipulator. >
Nutrient release from combustion residues of two contrasting herbaceous vegetation types

Fire is a critical regulator of biogeochemical cycles in approximately 40% of the earth's land surface. However, little is known about nutrient release from combustion residues (ash and char) from herbaceous or grassland fires of varying intensity. Much of our knowledge in this area is derived from muffle furnace temperature gradient experiments. Therefore, we used two approaches (muffle and flame burning) to combust herbaceous biomass from contrasting nutrient level sites to estimate the forms and availability of nutrients after fire. Clear differences were measured in total and extractable nutrient concentrations in combustion residues of different plant types, with most carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) being volatilized (>99%), while P remained in high concentrations in the residues. Different combustion methods yielded contrasting results, where temperatures greatly affected nutrient quantity and form in muffle furnace residues, while relatively similar residues resulted from flame combustion at varying intensities. It was also found that only 5% of N and 50% of P remaining in flame combustion residues were extractable. Flame residues appeared to be composed of mixtures of materials (ash and char) created at low ( 450 °C) muffle temperatures (pH, extractable potassium (K), and extractable NH(4)-N). We attribute dissimilar results of the combustion methods to heterogeneity of combustion (zones of low oxygen availability) and short duration (<300 s) of combustion characterizing natural fires in herbaceous, grassland systems. These results can be adapted to ecosystem level models to better predict nutrient changes that may occur after a fire event.
Whose safety net? Home insurance and inequality

Drawing on prior theoretical and empirical work that has begun to constitute the insurance field as a distinct sociolegal research project, this study uses quantitative and qualitative data collected following Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to explore distributional questions within that field. Survey results show that higher income, age, and education were associated with having home insurance and that Hispanics and blacks were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have insurance. The study provides the first quantitative evidence of bias in the insurance claims process by documenting a statistically significant and substantial ethnic difference in the timing of insurance payments. The qualitative research helps to explain the difference in the timing of insurance payments as the product of unconscious bias by insurance adjusters. The study concludes by proposing market-structuring regulation to reduce the inequality encountered.
Knowledge is necessary but insufficient to change provider attitudes about intrauterine devices for adolescents.

describing the results from a survey of New York City school based health center staff designed to identify barriers to intra uterine device (IUD) provision for adolescents. I am pleased that Kohn et al. based their survey on a very similar survey my colleagues and I conducted with a national sample of family physicians in 2008 [2,3]. We too found that providers, in this case family physicians, have knowledge gaps and attitudes that likely result in missed opportunities to provide IUDs to all eligible patients including adolescents. Kohn found as we did that those providers who have better IUD knowledge and who recommend IUDs are more likely to perceive that their patients are receptive to discussing IUDs. It is encouraging that, as compared with our sample, Kohn’s clinician responders appear to have better IUD knowledge. This likely reflects the secular trend of increased IUD use in the United States [4] and dissemination of research sup porting the safety and efficacy of IUDs across the reproductive lifespan [5]. In fact, a recent study found that increasing IUD use in adolescents can decrease the adolescent pregnancy rate [6]. However Kohn’s study also finds, as we did, that the persis tence of a gap between provider IUD knowledge and their atti tudes around actually providing or counseling about IUDs. This lends more weight to Kohn’s conclusion that increased knowl edge about IUDs may be insufficient to increase IUD provision. We must consider that in order to counterbalance provider attitudes there is also a need to identify and discuss potential biases and/or assumptions affecting our contraception
A new approach for continuous estimation of baseflow using discrete water quality data: Method description and comparison with baseflow estimates from two existing approaches

Summary Understanding how watershed characteristics and climate influence the baseflow component of stream discharge is a topic of interest to both the scientific and water management communities. Therefore, the development of baseflow estimation methods is a topic of active research. Previous studies have demonstrated that graphical hydrograph separation (GHS) and conductivity mass balance (CMB) methods can be applied to stream discharge data to estimate daily baseflow. While CMB is generally considered to be a more objective approach than GHS, its application across broad spatial scales is limited by a lack of high frequency specific conductance (SC) data. We propose a new method that uses discrete SC data, which are widely available, to estimate baseflow at a daily time step using the CMB method. The proposed approach involves the development of regression models that relate discrete SC concentrations to stream discharge and time. Regression-derived CMB baseflow estimates were more similar to baseflow estimates obtained using a CMB approach with measured high frequency SC data than were the GHS baseflow estimates at twelve snowmelt dominated streams and rivers. There was a near perfect fit between the regression-derived and measured CMB baseflow estimates at sites where the regression models were able to accurately predict daily SC concentrations. We propose that the regression-derived approach could be applied to estimate baseflow at large numbers of sites, thereby enabling future investigations of watershed and climatic characteristics that influence the baseflow component of stream discharge across large spatial scales.
The ExpR/Sin Quorum-Sensing System Controls Succinoglycan Production in Sinorhizobium meliloti

Sinorhizobium meliloti is a gram-negative soil bacterium capable of forming a symbiotic nitrogen-fixing relationship with its plant host, Medicago sativa. Various bacterially produced factors are essential for successful nodulation. For example, at least one of two exopolysaccharides produced by S. meliloti (succinoglycan or EPS II) is required for nodule invasion. Both of these polymers are produced in high- and low-molecular-weight (HMW and LMW, respectively) fractions; however, only the LMW forms of either succinoglycan or EPS II are active in nodule invasion. The production of LMW succinoglycan can be generated by direct synthesis or through the depolymerization of HMW products by the action of two specific endoglycanases, ExsH and ExoK. Here, we show that the ExpR/Sin quorum-sensing system in S. meliloti is involved in the regulation of genes responsible for succinoglycan biosynthesis as well as in the production of LMW succinoglycan. Therefore, quorum sensing, which has been shown to regulate the production of EPS II, also plays an important role in succinoglycan biosynthesis.
Clinical Application of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning

Ischemic preconditioning1 has been shown to reliably reduce ischemic myocardial cell necrosis in a host of animal models.2 Although preconditioning is one of the most powerful and reproducible phenomena in cardioprotection, it has not readily translated to routine clinical use. One issue is that the timing of the long duration of ischemia must be known in advance and the treatment must be applied before the long duration of ischemia. Thus, although evidence suggests that preinfarction ischemia (angina) before an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is associated with smaller infarct size and better clinical outcome,3 there is no reliable way to predict when a myocardial infarction will occur and hence no way to either induce ischemic preconditioning or apply a preconditioning mimetic agent just before the infarction. There are, of course, situations in which myocardial ischemia is planned, eg, during coronary artery balloon angioplasty, during coronary artery bypass surgery, during excision and transportation of a donor heart, and before exercise in a patient with known demand-induced ischemia. Preconditioning has been applied to some of these situations. For example, multiple brief balloon inflations and deflations in the coronary artery reduce the severity of chest pain, ST-segment elevation, and lactate production on subsequent balloon inflations compared with an initial balloon inflation without necessarily recruiting blood flow.4 Intermittent aortic cross clamping before coronary artery bypass surgery has been observed to preserve cardiac high-energy phosphate levels.2 These examples of ischemic preconditioning require an invasive procedure to induce ischemia within the heart and the possibility of showering atherosclerotic emboli either down the coronaries or into the aorta as a coronary angioplasty balloon is repeatedly inflated or deflated or the aortic cross clamp is repeatedly clamped and unclamped. Article p 820 Another approach exists that has the potential to be entirely noninvasive: remote …
Expression of Murine Leukemia Virus Envelope Protein Is Sufficient for the Induction of Apoptosis

The generation of cytopathic effects by murine leukemia viruses (MLVs) in different cell types correlates with the ability of the virus to induce thymic lymphoma. We showed that the induction of apoptosis in mink epithelial cells by mink cell focus-forming (MCF) MLV infection results in the accumulation of high levels of both unintegrated viral DNA and the envelope precursor polyprotein (gPr80env). Comparisons of envelope protein expression levels of plasmid clones of the env gene of the MCF13 and noncytopathic NZB-9 MLV strains demonstrated that the accumulation of MCF13 gPr80env results in endoplasmic reticulum stress and is sufficient for the induction of apoptosis.
Active matrix LCD design for avionics applications

Requirements of AM LCDs for avionics applications are discussed. Performance characteristics are discussed for two avionics grade AM LCDs we developed using the IPS, and MVA modes for use in both landscape and portrait orientation.
The Mutiny on the Hermione: Warfare, Revolution, and Treason in the Royal Navy

The mutiny on the Hermione in September 1797 was the bloodiest ever to explode onboard a warship of the British Royal Navy. And only as such, unfortunately, has it been remembered. By treating it as an exceptional event, historians have isolated the Hermione from the history of the mutinous Atlantic, and the age of revolution more broadly. The present article seeks to return it to that context by tracing in particular the many paths by which the crew – a typical hodgepodge of at least twelve nationalities from two or three continents – found its way onto the ship, was pushed to the point of insurrection by the experience of brutal West Indian warwork, and afterwards disappeared again into the vast and complex, transnational networks of the revolutionary Atlantic.
Periaxin Mutations Cause Recessive Dejerine-Sottas Neuropathy

The periaxin gene (PRX) encodes two PDZ-domain proteins, L- and S-periaxin, that are required for maintenance of peripheral nerve myelin. Prx−/− mice develop a severe demyelinating peripheral neuropathy, despite apparently normal initial formation of myelin sheaths. We hypothesized that mutations in PRX could cause human peripheral myelinopathies. In accordance with this, we identified three unrelated Dejerine-Sottas neuropathy patients with recessive PRX mutations—two with compound heterozygous nonsense and frameshift mutations, and one with a homozygous frameshift mutation. We mapped PRX to 19q13.13-13.2, a region recently associated with a severe autosomal recessive demyelinating neuropathy in a Lebanese family (Delague et al. 2000) and syntenic to the location of Prx on murine chromosome 7 (Gillespie et al. 1997).
Effects of cover crop quality and quantity on nematode-based soil food webs and nutrient cycling

Abstract Soil food webs cycle nutrients and regulate parasites and pathogens, services essential for both agricultural productivity and ecosystem health. Nematodes provide useful indicators of soil food web dynamics. This study was conducted to determine if nematode soil food web indicators and crop yield can be enhanced by combinations of cover crops in a conservation tillage system. The effects of three cover crop treatments (vetch/pea, oat/wheat and oat/wheat/pea/vetch) with low, medium and high C:N and a bare fallow control were investigated in Davis, CA. Nematode fauna, soil properties and plant productivity were measured. Soil food web indices, including the Enrichment Index (EI), Structure Index (SI), Basal Index (BI), and Channel Index (CI), based on the composition of nematode assemblages, were calculated to infer soil food web condition. Cover cropped tomato/corn rotations had twice the number of enrichment opportunist bacterial feeding nematodes, active participants in nitrogen mineralization, than fallowed tomato/corn rotations (opportunist bacterial feeders = 163 versus 98). In winter fallowed plots food webs were basal, common in disturbed, nutrient-poor conditions (BI = 37). Total number of enrichment opportunist nematodes, soil NH 4 -N levels, and inferred nitrogen mineralization, were higher in cover crop treatments with low to mid C:N ratios. Omnivore and predator nematodes were scarce, averaging less than 6 nematodes 100 g −1 in all treatments. In year one, plant productivity was highest after fallow. In contrast, in year two productivity was highest after cover crops with high nitrogen content and productivity significantly correlated with the structure of the soil fauna. Monitoring the abundance of enrichment opportunists may provide managers with a new tool to evaluate soil food web nitrogen mineralization and plant productivity.
Modeling High-Frequency Acoustic Velocities in Patchy and Partially Saturated Porous Rock using Differential Effective Medium Theory

Differential effective medium (DEM) theory is applied here to the problem of modeling physical properties of poroelastic media that are partially saturated with liquid. Typical fluid saturants are air and water, or gas and oil. If the liquid and gas saturants are homogeneously mixed, then we say the medium is partially saturated. If the liquid and gas saturants are poorly mixed, so each constituent occupies separate, but contiguous, regions of the porous medium, we say the medium has patchy saturation. Some examples are presented to show that a reasonable approach to modeling the effects of patchy saturation at high frequencies (200 kHz and above) is produced by treating the medium as if it is a composite of gas-saturated and liquid-saturated porous inclusions that are homogeneously mixed together. Estimates of the properties are obtained using differential effective medium theory. The results differ dramatically from those predicted by Gassmann’s equations for homogeneous mixing of the fluids in individual pores. In particular, the shear modulus depends on the elastic properties of the fluid constituents, unlike the quasistatic behavior predicted by Gassmann.
Low-Distortion Embeddings of Infinite Metric Spaces into the Real Line

Abstract We present a proof of a Ramsey-type theorem for infinite metric spaces due to Matousek. Then we show that for every K > 1 every uncountable Polish space has a perfect subset that K -bi-Lipschitz embeds into the real line. Finally we study decompositions of infinite separable metric spaces into subsets that, for some K > 1 , K -bi-Lipschitz embed into the real line.
Design and simulation of fast pulsed kicker/bumper units for the positron accumulator ring at APS

In the design of fast pulsed kicker/bumper units for a positron accumulator ring at APS, different pulse forming networks were considered and different structures for the magnet were studied and simulated. Some design considerations and computer simulation results of different designs are described. >
Computer-assisted and image-guided abdominal interventions

This paper gives an overview of computer-assisted and image-guided systems for abdominal interventions. Computer-assisted means that the power of the computer is used to provide the physician a virtual reality view of the anatomy. Image-guided means that the intervention is carried out based on imaging modalities such as CT, MM, and ultrasound. These minimally invasive procedures are rapidly increasing in popularity as they cause less trauma to the patient and the technology to carry them out continues to improve.
A unilateral cleavage furrow in embryos of S. droebachiensis

Embryos of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, develop normally at temperatures ranging from 8°C to 0°C. An embyro cultured at 8°C cleaves symmetrically about its equator whereas one cultured at 0°C cleaves unilaterally. In embryos cultured at 8°C the mitotic apparatus (MA) occupies the entire cell volume at late anaphase whereas at 0°C the MA at the same stage is 20% smaller (Anstrom and Summers, '83). At 8°C the MA is centered within the zygote whereas at 0°C it is located eccentrically. The cleavage furrow always forms at the cell surface closest to the eccentric MA. We attribute the unilateral cleavage furrow in the 0°C embryo to the small size and eccentric placement of the mitotic apparatus within it. Both symmetrical and unilateral cleavage are apparently normal in this species, suggesting a common mechanism for both types of cleavage.
THESEUS: maximum likelihood superpositioning and analysis of macromolecular structures

Summary: THESEUS is a command line program for performing maximum likelihood (ML) superpositions and analysis of macromolecular structures. While conventional superpositioning methods use ordinary least-squares (LS) as the optimization criterion, ML superpositions provide substantially improved accuracy by down-weighting variable structural regions and by correcting for correlations among atoms. ML superpositioning is robust and insensitive to the specific atoms included in the analysis, and thus it does not require subjective pruning of selected variable atomic coordinates. Output includes both likelihood-based and frequentist statistics for accurate evaluation of the adequacy of a superposition and for reliable analysis of structural similarities and differences. THESEUS performs principal components analysis for analyzing the complex correlations found among atoms within a structural ensemble. Availability: ANSI C source code and selected binaries for various computing platforms are available under the GNU open source license from http://monkshood.colorado.edu/theseus/ or http://www.theseus3d.org Contact: douglas.theobald@colorado.edu Supplementary Information: Supplementary data including details of the ML superpositioning algorithm are available at Bioinformatics online.