cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crystal Structure of Group A Streptococcus Mac-1: Insight into Dimer-Mediated Specificity for Recognition of Human IgG

Group A Streptococcus secretes cysteine proteases named Mac-1 and Mac-2 that mediate host immune evasion by targeting both IgG and Fc receptors. Here, we report the crystal structures of Mac-1 and its catalytically inactive C94A mutant in two different crystal forms. Despite the lack of sequence homology, Mac-1 adopts the canonical papain fold. Alanine mutations at the active site confirmed the critical residues involved in a papain-like catalytic mechanism. Mac-1 forms a symmetric dimer in both crystal forms and displays the unique dimer interface among papain superfamily members. Mutations at the dimer interface resulted in a significant reduction in IgG binding and catalysis, suggesting that the dimer contributes to both IgG specificity and enzyme cooperativity. A tunnel observed at the dimer interface constitutes a target for designing potential Mac-1-specific antimicrobial agents. The structures also offer insight into the functional difference between Mac-1 and Mac-2.
The kinetics of colloid osmotic hemolysis. II: Photohemolysis

Many of the known features of photohemolysis have been organized in a kinetic model that simulates the lytic time-course in a variety of conditions. The model combines Nernst-Planck flux principles, the osmotic equilibrium model of Freedman and Hoffman, equations relating illumination parameters to ion permeability, and an empirical relation between cell volume and lysis. Model simulations are compared with experiments showing the dependence of lysis kinetics on sensitizer concentration and on the osmotic content of the reaction medium. Additional experiments demonstrate that the inherent osmotic fragility of erythrocytes is not altered by illumination conditions that cause major delayed lysis 23 h later. The successful simulations support the hypothesis that photohemolysis is a colloid osmotic lysis occurring in cells behaving as imperfect osmometers.
Efficacy of Carbaryl Applied to Different Life Stages of Rangeland Grasshoppers

The Sevin®-4 oil formulation of carbaryl was diluted either with diesel oil or water + Triton-X® 190 and was applied at rates of 0.56 or 1.12 kg AI/ha for control of a mixed population of grasshoppers. Treatments were applied when the insects were predominantly in the 3rd instar, 4th and 5th instar, or adult stages. The 1.12 kg dosages caused 89–96% mortality within 7 days and ultimately reached 94–98%. In contrast, mortality caused by the 0.56-kg dosages increased gradually for 21 days after treatment and ultimately reached levels of 85–97%. In a single test, 0.28-kg dosage ultimately caused 90% mortality. The economic benefits of higher dosages apparently did not justify their additional costs. The earliest treatments were most economical because ca. 20 and 50% of the potential forage loss had already occurred before application of the mid- and late-season treatments, respectively.
Carboxyhemoglobin levels in hemolytic disease of the newborn.

The concentration of carbon monoxide, a normal metabolic product of hemoglobin breakdown, was measured in the blood of normal term infants and compared with that of a group of 23 infants requiring exchange transfusions for a variety of reasons. Normal term infants had a mean carboxyhemoglobin concentration of 0.42 per cent. Infants with Rh incompatibility had elevations ranging from 2.6 to 11.9 per cent. Infants with ABO incompatibility had moderate elevations while infants with hyperbilirubinemia without evidence of anemia or blood group incompatibilities had carboxyhemoglobin values within the normal range. The possible significance of elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels and their contribution to the reduced oxygen carrying capacity of infants with hemolytic disease is discussed.
The Fault of Not Knowing

Despite the outpouring of interest in tort and criminal theory over the last thirty years, not much progress has been made toward understanding the basic concepts for analyzing liability. Common law theorists of torts and criminal law tend to accept the conventional distinction between objective and subjective standards and the view that objective negligence is not really fault in the way that subjective negligence is. The author’s view is that this distinction between objective and subjective standards is misunderstood and that, in fact, so-called objective negligence is a test of fault or culpability in the same way that subjective standards are. This paper seeks to defend inadvertent negligence as a proper basis for blaming someone for causing harm, whether in the context of tort law or criminal law, whether the standard is regarded as objective or subjective. The first part of the paper, the historical part, engages in an extended analysis of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ writings on negligence. The second part of the paper, the philosophical part, addresses the general question of how people can be considered at fault and be blamed for not knowing critical attributes of their conduct, which might be either matters-of-fact or matters of moral evaluation.
Characterization of Radiometric Particle Levitation in a Laser Beam

We investigate the effects of gravity, ambient gas pressure, and beam structure on the capture and trapping of microscopic opaque particles in a laser beam.
Juvenile hormone metabolism during embryogenesis in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (L.)

Juvenile hormones (JH)-I and -III were metabolized in egg homogenates by two primary routes, ester hydrolysis and epoxide hydration, during embryogenesis of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (L.). The duration of embryogenesis was 3.5 days at 27°C. Preovipositional and newly oviposited eggs had the highest rate of JH metabolism, which was reduced by day 1 and remained unchanged thereafter. The decline in JH metabolism was the result of a decrease by one-half in the JH esterase activity. JH epoxide hydrolase activity remained unchanged throughout embryogenesis. Ester hydrolysis averaged 1.9 times faster for JH-I than JH-III and epoxide hydration 6.6 times faster for JH-III than JH-I. There was a sixfold increase in the α-naphthyl acetate (α-NA) esterase activity during the time in embryogenesis when the JH esterase activity was declining or at low levels. Developmental, inhibitor, substrate specificity, gel filtration, and isoelectric focusing studies indicated that the egg JH esterase has some specificity for JH, compared with α-NA, and in part is similar to the hemolymph JH esterase of the adult female. The possible functional role of JH metabolism during embryogenesis is discussed.
(100) facets of γ-Al2O3: The Active Surfaces for Alcohol Dehydration Reactions

Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of ethanol, as well as ethanol and methanol dehydration reactions were studied on γ-Al2O3 in order to identify the active catalytic sites for alcohol dehydration reactions. Two high temperature (>473 K) desorption features were observed following ethanol adsorption. Samples calcined at T ≤ 473 K displayed a desorption feature in the 523–533 K temperature range, while those calcined at T ≥ 673 K showed a single desorption feature at 498 K. These two high temperature desorption features correspond to the exclusive formation of ethylene on the Lewis (498 K) and Bronsted acidic (~525 K) sites. The amount of ethylene formed under conditions where the competition between water and ethanol for adsorption sites is minimized is identical over the two surfaces. Furthermore, a nearly 1-to-1 correlation between the number of under-coordinated Al3+ ions on the (100) facets of γ-Al2O3 and the number of ethylene molecules formed in the ethanol TPD experiments on samples calcined at T ≥ 673 K was found. Titration of the penta-coordinate Al3+ sites on the (100) facets of γ-Al2O3 by BaO completely eliminated the methanol dehydration reaction activity. These results demonstrate that in alcohol dehydration reactions on γ-Al2O3, the (100) facets are the active catalytic surfaces. The observed activities can be linked to the same Al3+ ions on both hydrated and dehydrated surfaces: penta-coordinate Al3+ ions (Lewis acid sites), and their corresponding –OH groups (Bronsted acid sites), depending on the calcination temperature. Temperature-programmed desorption of ethanol, as well as steady state dehydration reactions of ethanol and methanol, indicate that the (100) facets are the primary active surfaces of γ-Al2O3. The active centers on both the hydroxylated and dehydroxylated (100) facets are related to the coordinatively unsaturated Al3+ ions
Inertial microfluidics for continuous particle filtration and extraction

In this paper, we describe a simple passive microfluidic device with rectangular microchannel geometry for continuous particle filtration. The design takes advantage of preferential migration of particles in rectangular microchannels based on shear-induced inertial lift forces. These dominant inertial forces cause particles to move laterally and occupy equilibrium positions along the longer vertical microchannel walls. Using this principle, we demonstrate extraction of 590 nm particles from a mixture of 1.9 μm and 590 nm particles in a straight microfluidic channel with rectangular cross-section. Based on the theoretical analysis and experimental data, we describe conditions required for predicting the onset of particle equilibration in square and rectangular microchannels. The microfluidic channel design has a simple planar structure and can be easily integrated with on-chip microfluidic components for filtration and extraction of wide range of particle sizes. The ability to continuously and differentially equilibrate particles of different size without external forces in microchannels is expected to have numerous applications in filtration, cytometry, and bioseparations.
The ecology of empowerment: Predicting participation in community organizations

The community empowerment model of grassroots organizing is briefly described. A particular ecological framework of physical, economic, and social environmental predictors of citizen participation in grassroots community or ganizations is presented. Individual and block-level (contextual) survey and observational data from New York City, Baltimore, and Salt Lake City were used to predict residents' participation in such organizations, cross-sectionally and after a one-year time lag. Longitudinal data from one city were used to predict the viability of block associations seven years later. Crime and fear were unrelated to participation. Defensible space, territoriality, and physical incivilities were sometimes negatively and sometimes positively related to participation. Income, home ownership, minority status, and residential stability were positively, but inconsistently, related to participation. Community-focused social cognitions (organizational efficacy, civic responsibility, community attachments) and behaviors (neighboring, volunteer work through churches and other community organizations) were consistently and positively predictive of participation at both the individual and block levels. The model explained up to 28% of the variance in individual participation and up to 52% of the variance in block-level participation. Implications for theory, research, and community organizing are discussed.
Roughness corrections to the van der Waals interaction energies between bodies with periodically modulated surfaces

Abstract A theoretical approach is developed to describe the effect of surface irregularities on the van der Waals adhesion energy between macroscopic bodies. The approach allows for computing the energies of dispersive interactions between a body, bounded by a periodically modulated surface, and a point-like as well as a semi-infinite planar adherent. Furthermore, the model is employed to investigate dispersive interaction between two semi-infinite bodies with periodically modulated surfaces, separated by a vacuum gap, in which case the effect of misalignment between periodic profiles on the interaction energy was theoretically analyzed.
Amine–quinone polyurethanes containing N‐alkylated amine–quinone monomers

A series of amine–quinone diol monomers, containing the 2,5-diamino-1,4-benzoquinone group, were synthesized where the alkyl group on the amine was varied from methyl to ethyl to n-propyl. Polyurethanes were prepared from these monomers by condensation polymerization in N,N-dimethylformamide solution with toluene diiscyanate and poly(tetrahydrofuran) diol (Mn = 650). These amine–quinone polyurethanes were used as binders in metal particle tape. Samples were exposed to pH 2.0 aqueous buffer and the all amine–quinone polymers were shown to be superior in their ability to protect the iron particle against corrosion, relative to the commercial binders. There was no significant difference in the ability of the three amine–quinone polymers to inhibit corrosion. Clearly the increasing the steric bulk at the nitrogen did not affect their ability to inihibit corrosion. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 3284–3292, 2000
The effect of Tier 2 intervention for phonemic awareness in a response-to-intervention model in low-income preschool classrooms.

Purpose This study assessed the effectiveness of a Tier 2 intervention that was designed to increase the phonemic awareness skills of low-income preschoolers who were enrolled in Early Reading First classrooms. Method Thirty-four preschoolers participated in a multiple baseline across participants treatment design. Tier 2 intervention for beginning sound awareness was provided twice weekly in small groups over 6 weeks by trained teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Results The intervention was successful for 71% of the children, as indicated by medium to large effect sizes. Comparisons between children who did and did not qualify for intervention suggest that Tier 2 intervention helped narrow the gap in beginning sound awareness that had begun to emerge before treatment. Although children receiving special education and those learning English as a second language were enrolled in the classrooms, they were not overrepresented in the group qualifying for Tier 2 intervention, and most who did qu...
Genetic Mapping of the Or5 Gene for Resistance to Orobanche Race E in Sunflower

Orobanche cumana Wallr. (= O. cernua Loefl., broomrape), a weedy parasitic plant, is a serious pest of cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Breeding for resistance has been crucial for protecting sunflowers from broomrape damage, a challenging task because new races of the pathogen continually emerge and ultimately defeat known resistance genes. Despite several attempts to identify DNA markers tightly linked to Orobanche resistance genes, the closest reported thus far is 5.6 centimorgans (cM) downstream of Or 5 , a gene for resistance to Race E. The Or 5 locus was placed on the simple sequence repeat (SSR) map of sunflower by genotyping and phenotyping 262 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross between elite inbred lines (PHC x PHD) segregating for resistance to Orobanche Race E. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) multiplexes were used to screen 78 SSR marker loci, strategically positioned throughout the genome, for polymorphisms between resistant and susceptible bulks of PHC x PHD RILs. The bulks were polymorphic for three of five Linkage Group 3 (LG3) SSR marker loci amplified by the PCR multiplexes. The RILs were phenotyped for resistance to Race E and genotyped for 13 SSR markers from the upper end of LG3. The Or 5 locus mapped to the end of LG3 distal to the SSR marker loci (the closest SSR marker locus was 6.2 cM downstream of Or 5 . The terminal and perhaps telomeric location of Or 5 on LG3 sheds light on difficulties, past and present, of identifying flanking DNA markers tightly linked to Or 5 .
Rates of advance in land combat operations

This article presents some of the highlights from a study of rates of advance in land combat operations, conducted between mid- 1989 and mid-1990. It descrives how the basic information was obtained, indicates how that information was used to compose the data bases, comments on the major features of past work on this subject, and summarizes our own analyses and interpretations of the data
Anterior communicating artery aneurysm associated with an infraoptic course of anterior cerebral artery and rare variant of the persistent trigeminal artery: A case report and literature review

Abstract Infraoptic course of the precommunicating segment of the anterior cerebral artery (A1) is a rare anomaly. Furthermore, the presence of this anomaly associated with persistent trigeminal artery variant has been reported in the literature only once. We present a patient who had infraoptic course of A1 associated with an ipsilateral persistent trigeminal artery variant arising from the right internal carotid artery with no apparent connection to the basilar artery. The persistent trigeminal artery variant supplied to the right posteroinferior cerebellar artery territory. The patient also had hypoplastic left vertebral artery, superior cerebellar arteries originating from posterior cerebellar arteries bilaterally, and a bilobed aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery. The aneurysm was clipped and the infraoptic course was verified during the surgery. The post-operative course was uneventful and a follow-up arteriogram on the 7th postoperative day revealed successful obliteration of the aneurysm. We reviewed the literature with respect to presentation, associated vascular anomalies, imaging, associated cerebral aneurysms and other cerebral abnormalities, and treatment of the associated aneurysms. A discussion of the embryogenesis of this rare anomaly is also provided.
On the shape of effective inclusion in the Maxwell homogenization scheme for anisotropic elastic composites

Abstract The paper focuses on the main uncertainty involved in classical Maxwell’s (1873) homogenization method for elastic composites. Maxwell’s scheme that equates the far fields produced by a set of inhomogeneities and by a fictitious domain with unknown effective properties (“effective inclusion”) is re-written in terms of the compliance and stiffness contribution tensors. It is shown that the shape of the effective inclusion substantially affects the overall elastic properties. The choice of this shape in the case of anisotropic composite is a non-trivial problem that has never been discussed in literature. In this paper, we show that the problem appears due to incompleteness of the Maxwell scheme and show that the problem can be realized when the effective inclusion is of ellipsoidal shape. We discuss how the aspect ratios of the ellipsoid have to be chosen and illustrates the approach by two examples – material with cracks having orientation scatter and a three-phase transversely-isotropic composite. It is also shown that tensor of the effective elastic constants calculated in the framework of Maxwell’s scheme is always symmetric with respect to couples of indices.
Color realism: toward a solution to the "hard problem".

This article was written as a commentary on an article by Peter W. Ross entitled "The Location Problem for Color Subjectivism" [Consciousness and Cognition 10(1), 42-58 (2001)], and was published together with that article (and with other commentaries, and Ross's reply). However, it is by means essential for you to have read Ross's piece in order to understand the approach to the "hard problem" of consciousness proposed here. Ross's article defends a view called "color physicalism" or color realism that holds (simplifying somewhat) that colors are real physical properties (in typical cases, spectral reflectances of object surfaces). This is in opposition to what is probably a more widely held "subjectivist" view of color, that holds that color qualities exist only in the mind. In my commentary I suggest that a realist view of qualitative properties, such as Ross's, together with a direct, active view of perception, and a concept of "extended mind" (Clark & Chalmers, 1998) may provide the materials for a real solution to the notorious "hard problem" of consciousness. I sketch this solution in outline.
Cyclodextrin polymer encapsulated particles for supercritical fluid chromatography

Cyclodextrin polysiloxane encapsulated particles were prepared for packed capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography. Silica particles were deactivated using polymethylhydrosiloxane through a dehydrocondensation reaction, and then coated and crosslinked with a cyclodextrin-substituted polymethylsiloxane. Using a fluidized bed coating method, nonagglomerating polymer coated particles were obtained even when a high loading of cyclodextrin polymer (25% w/w) was used. The polarities and enantiomeric selectivites of the packing materials were investigated for a wide variety of chiral test solutes, including hydrocarbon, alcohol, ketone, ester, lactone, diol, acid and amine, using neat supercritical CO2 as mobile phase. The effects of temperature and pressure on polarity and enantiomeric selectivity were also investigated. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Oxidizer and pressure effects on the combustion of 10-μm aluminum particles

An experimental investigation of the combustion times of nominally 10-μm spherical aluminum particles burning in a shock tube is presented. Burn times were measured by observing the light emission from AlO, a combustion intermediate, at elevated ambient temperatures (∼2650 K) while independently varying both oxidizer composition (O 2 , CO 2 , and H 2 O in Ar) and pressure (3-30 atm). Burn times decreased with increasing oxidizer mole fraction for all oxidizers. The oxidizer species had a strong effect on the burn time, with oxygen giving the shortest burn times, followed by carbon dioxide and then water vapor. Burn times in CO 2 and H 2 O were found to increase weakly with increasing pressure, while burn times in oxygen decreased as pressure increased. At the small particle sizes investigated here, there is some evidence that surface processes could be playing an important role in the overall rate of aluminum combustion.
Perceived Sweetness and Redness in Colored Sucrose Solutions

Perceived sweetness and redness in five red colored solutions containing 0.25–5.0% FD&C Red 40 were quantified using magnitude estimation. Three panels of 14 subjects each evaluated solutions containing five sucrose concentrations ranging from 2.7–5.3%. Color had a statistically significant effect (p≤0.05) on sweetness perception in 80% of the treatments. Sweetness in darker colored solutions was 2–10% greater than the lighter reference when the actual sucrose concentration was 1% less. Sweetness increased linearly over all sucrose concentrations and over a narrow range of color intensities. Color was measured using the Gardner XL-23 Colorimeter and the G.E. Recording Spectrophotometer. All color measurements were converted to L*, a*, b* and the value arctan (a*/b*) - used to represent color intensity. The perception of increasing color intensity was a linear power law function of arctan (a*/b*).
Control of incident irradiance on a batch operated flat-plate photobioreactor

This study experimentally demonstrated a feed-forward inversion control scheme for maintaining an optimum incident irradiance on photobioreactors (PBRs) during batch cultivation. A data-based modelfree optimization using quadratic fit was utilized to rapidly estimate the optimum average fluence rate set point value that rendered maximum microalgae growth rate. Then, the feed-forward inversion control scheme adjusted the incident irradiance with respect to the in-process measured mass concentration to maintain the optimum average fluence rate inside the PBR. Optimization of growth conditions with respect to light is of prime importance for increasing biomass and lipid productivity in microalgae cultivation. The present approach can rapidly identify the optimum average fluence rate for any given species, reduce the lag time, and increase the growth rate and productivity of microalgae. This was illustrated with Nannochloropsis oculata batch grown in a flat-plate PBR illuminated from both sides.
Discovering correctness constraints for self-management of system configuration

Managing the configuration of computer systems is a difficult task. Too easily, a computer user or administrator can make a simple mistake and misconfigure a system, causing instabilities, unexpected behavior, and general unreliability. Bugs in software that changes these configurations, such as installers, only worsen the situation. A self-managing configuration system should be continuously monitoring itself for invalid settings, preventing the bugs from harming the system. Unfortunately, while there are many constraints which can differentiate between valid and invalid settings, few are explicitly written down, much less written down in a form usable by an automatic monitor. We propose an approach to automatically infer these correctness constraints based on samples of known good configurations. In this paper we present Glean, a system for analyzing the structure of configurations and automatically inferring four types of correctness constraints on that structure.
How and why do college students use Wikipedia

The purposes of this study were to explore college students' perceptions, uses of, and motivations for using Wikipedia, and to understand their information behavior concerning Wikipedia based on social cognitive theory (SCT). A Web survey was used to collect data in the spring of 2008. The study sample consisted of students from an introductory undergraduate course at a large public university in the midwestern United States. A total of 134 students participated in the study, resulting in a 32.8p response rate. The major findings of the study include the following: Approximately one-third of the students reported using Wikipedia for academic purposes. The students tended to use Wikipedia for quickly checking facts and finding background information. They had positive past experiences with Wikipedia; however, interestingly, their perceptions of its information quality were not correspondingly high. The level of their confidence in evaluating Wikipedia's information quality was, at most, moderate. Respondents' past experience with Wikipedia, their positive emotional state, their disposition to believe information in Wikipedia, and information utility were positively related to their outcome expectations of Wikipedia. However, among the factors affecting outcome expectations, only information utility and respondents' positive emotions toward Wikipedia were related to their use of it. Further, when all of the independent variables, including the mediator, outcome expectations, were considered, only the variable information utility was related to Wikipedia use, which may imply a limited applicability of SCT to understanding Wikipedia use. However, more empirical evidence is needed to determine the applicability of this theory to Wikipedia use. Finally, this study supports the knowledge value of Wikipedia (Fallis, [2008]), despite students' cautious attitudes toward Wikipedia. The study suggests that educators and librarians need to provide better guidelines for using Wikipedia, rather than prohibiting Wikipedia use altogether. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Decentralizing water supply services in developing countries: Factors affecting the success of community management

This article examines the problem of extending access to potable water through conventionally controlled government services and describes the roles of non-governmental organizations and community management associations in improving service delivery and maintaining local water systems. Six sets of factors that are crucial to the success of community management are identified: adequate incentives, sufficient skills and resources, appropriate processes for water systems operations and maintenance, effective interorganizational relationships, appropriate technology, and effective systems of monitoring, evaluation and feedback. The components that must be taken into consideration in designing and implementing programmes for decentralizing water supply systems through community management are set out.
X-ray Scattering for Bio-Molecule Structure Characterization

Summary One of the challenges in photosynthesis research lies in resolving the molecular basis for function with atomic-scale precision across the full time-scale of photosynthetic events. While crystallography provides the most detailed and accurate measurement of molecular structure, structure determination is necessarily confi ned to specifi c crystalline states. Critical issues that can be left unresolved by crystallography include the range, amplitudes, and time-scales of molecular motions, and a determination of how these dynamic events are linked to biological function. Advances in synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques offer new opportunities for characterization of photosynthetic structure and dynamics in non-crystalline media that build upon crystallographic, NMR, and molecular dynamics databases, but are applied to conditions most closely relevant to in-situ function. Recent advances in the application of synchrotron X-ray scattering techniques include the extension to the high-angle, high-resolution domain, where measurements can be routinely made to a spatial resolution of 1 A or better, and the development of coordinate-based analyses of X-ray scattering data that allows scattering data to be analyzed in terms of detailed coordinate models for structure and dynamics. Promising new directions include application of element specifi c anomalous X-ray scattering and ultrafast time-resolved scattering techniques. This chapter will review recent progress in the application of synchrotron scattering techniques for the in-situ characterization of molecular structure. This work has focused primarily on proof-of-principle and technique development using model compounds and molecular systems. These studies
Acidic fibroblast growth factor (HBGF-1) stimulates DNA synthesis in primary rat hepatocyte cultures.

Acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) stimulated DNA synthesis in primary rat hepatocyte cultures in a dose-dependent manner with maximal effect at 10-50 ng ml-1. This activity was dependent on the presence of heparin at a concentration of 10-50 micrograms.ml-1. Insulin interacted synergistically with aFGF, as it did with epidermal growth factor (EGF). The response to aFGF was only 50% that found with EGF. The disparity was not due to different kinetics of DNA synthesis, since the peak response for both growth factors occurred at 36-72 hr after plating of the hepatocytes. The potential relevance of this novel hepatocyte mitogen to normal and pathological liver growth is discussed.
FRAME: An Innovative Incentive Scheme in Vehicular Networks

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are envisioned to provide promising applications and services. One critical deployment issue in VANETs is to motivate vehicles and their drivers to cooperate and contribute to packet forwarding in vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-roadside communication. In this paper, we examine this problem, analyze the drawbacks of two straightforward schemes, and present a secure incentive scheme to stimulate cooperation in VANETs. We define the measurement of contribution according to the unique characteristics of VANET communication. Our scheme uses the weighted rewarding component to ensure fairness. Extensive simulation results are presented to support the effectiveness of our scheme.
ARMADA Middleware and Communication Services

Real-time embedded systems have evolved during the past several decades from small custom-designed digital hardware to large distributed processing systems. As these systems become more complex, their interoperability, evolvability and cost-effectiveness requirements motivate the use of commercial-off-the-shelf components. This raises the challenge of constructing dependable and predictable real-time services for application developers on top of the inexpensive hardware and software components which has minimal support for timeliness and dependability guarantees. We are addressing this challenge in the ARMADA project. ARMADA is set of communication and middleware services that provide support for fault-tolerance and end-to-end guarantees for embedded real-time distributed applications. Since real-time performance of such applications depends heavily on the communication subsystem, the first thrust of the project is to develop a predictable communication service and architecture to ensure QoS-sensitive message delivery. Fault-tolerance is of paramount importance to embedded safety-critical systems. In its second thrust, ARMADA aims to offload the complexity of developing fault-tolerant applications from the application programmer by focusing on a collection of modular, composable middleware for fault-tolerant group communication and replication under timing constraints. Finally, we develop tools for testing and validating the behavior of our services. We give an overview of the ARMADA project, describing the architecture and presenting its implementation status.
A first look at TH cell transcriptomes

John O'Shea describes a 2000 paper by Rogge et al. that was the first to compare the transcriptomes of human TH1 cells and TH2 cells.
Creating a More Ethical Workplace

This chapter explores individual, group, and systemic sources of ethical and unethical behavior in the workplace. Examples covering workplace safety issues, corrupt business practices, and a school district cheating scandal reveal fundamental lapses in ethical judgment of individuals and groups working within the context of their organizational environments. Several conceptual models are examined to provide insights into factors that influence ethical behaviors. Among these, are a model of ethical climate that frames behavior around a set of motivational factors (e.g., egoism, benevolence, principle) and a model of decision mapping. Other organizational concepts that are examined within the context of workplace ethics are integrity-based leadership, cultures of virtue, candor, healthy debate, and social sustainability. A concluding narrative focuses on the need for organizations to empower their employees to “do well by doing good”, supported by leaders who embrace multiple bottom lines and a culture infused with ethical-moral principles.
Disposition of catecholamine-derived alkaloids in mammalian systems.

The biosynthesis of alkaloids has long been considered unique to plants. Evidence evolving in recent years, however, indicates that mammalian systems may also possess this capability and the potential pharmacological consequences of biosynthesized alkaloids may be of great significance.
Fair Play in Assemblies

This paper studies the conditions under which minority proposal rights emerge from majority voting in a legislature. I develop a legislative bargaining model in which rules persist, i.e., remain in effect until a majority agrees to change them. In each session, legislators first determine whether a minority leader can offer amendments, and subsequently they determine policy using these procedures and majority rule. The main result demonstrates that legislative majorities grant minority rights today in order to moderate policy tomorrow when they may become the minority. This mechanism operates without punishment strategies and private information and in the presence of polarized and unified parties; however, persistent rules are necessary for the right to substantively influence policies. Comparative statics indicate that weak parties, super-majority rule, patient legislators, and extreme proposers encourage the adoption of minority rights. More broadly, these results demonstrate the importance of persistent rules for the endurance of inclusive institutions and political compromises, and they suggest one reason for procedural differences between the House and Senate.
Hospital Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) incidence as a risk factor for hospital-associated CDI.

Background Environmental risk factors for Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) have been described at the room or unit level but not the hospital level. To understand the environmental risk factors for CDI, we investigated the association between institutional- and individual-level CDI. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project state inpatient databases for California (2005-2011). For each patient's hospital stay, we calculated the hospital CDI incidence rate corresponding to the patient's quarter of discharge, while excluding each patient's own CDI status. Adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics, we ran a pooled logistic regression to determine individual CDI risk attributable to the hospital's CDI rate. Results There were 10,329,988 patients (26,086 cases and 10,303,902 noncases) who were analyzed. We found that a percentage point increase in the CDI incidence rate a patient encountered increased the odds of CDI by a factor of 1.182. Conclusions As a point of comparison, a 1-percentage point increase in the CDI incidence rate that the patient encountered had roughly the same impact on their odds of acquiring CDI as a 55.8-day increase in their length of stay or a 60-year increase in age. Patients treated in hospitals with a higher CDI rate are more likely to acquire CDI.
Initial Stages of InAs Quantum Dots Evolution in GaAs/AlAs Matrixes

We have studied the first phases of post-growth evolution of InAs quantum dots (QDs) using in-situ Auger electron spectroscopy in conjunction with Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED). Direct evidence for InAs intermixing with about 6ML (monolayers) of the matrix material is found from Auger signal behavior during MBE overgrowth of InAs nanostructures. Re-establishment of 2D growth mode by overgrowth with GaAs or AlAs was monitored in single-layer and multi-layer QD structures using RHEED. Decay process of InAs QDs on the surface is found to have activation energy of about 1.1 eV that corresponds to In intermixing with the matrix rather than evaporation from the surface.
Taylor Polynomials for Rational Functions

(1998). Taylor Polynomials for Rational Functions. The College Mathematics Journal: Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 226-228.
Cereal Leaf Beetle:1 Larval Feeding, Orientation, Development, and Survival on Four Small-Grain Cultivars in the Laboratory2

‘Hudson’ barley, ‘Clintland 64’ oats, ‘Genesee’ wheat and CI 8519 wheat (density and length of whose trichomes were considerably greater than those of the other three cultivars) served as food for larvae of cereal leaf beetle, Oulema melanopus (L.). However, on CI 8519 wheat, developmental time was longer, larvae consumed less food, and fewer insects survived. Thus, CI 8519 wheat appears to act as a physical deterrent to the larvae. An analysis of the fecal material of the first and fourth instars feeding on CI 8519 showed that trichomes, though ingested, were not digested and that first instars had to bite through most of the trichomes about three times before they could feed on the nutritious adaxial cells; fourth instars ate 72.5% of the trichomes whole, so they reached adaxial surface with the first bite. Since undigested trichomes are not flexible, some larvae may die from trichomes that penetrate the midgut epithelium. The mean percentage of all food consumed by each instar was: (1) 3.9; (2) 12.0; (3) 32.4; and (4) 51.7. When first-stadium feeding equivalents were designated as 1.00 and used as a basis for comparing feeding by fourth instars on each host, fourth instars consumed 10.8× (Hudson barley), 12.5× (Clintland 64 oats or Genesee wheat) and 16.5× (CI 8519) more than the respective first instars. Correlations between feeding of males or females and the length of the adult elytra or the adult weight were poor, but insects that consumed most food had a tendency to weigh more.
Energetics of neutral Si dopants in InGaAs: An ab initio and semiempirical Tersoff model study

A roadblock in utilizing III-V semiconductors for scaled-down electronic devices is their poor dopant activation. As a first step to unravel the dopant behavior in InGaAs, we studied the tendency for dopant formation computationally using two approaches: ab initio and semiempirical methods. We studied a number of structural possibilities, such as the impact of local sites and local and global environments. We will show that the dopant we considered here, Si, has discrete preferences for certain sites and the nature of its surroundings. Substitutional defects are clearly preferred over interstitial locations. We shall show that cation ordering has an impact on dopant energetics. Critically, for large-scale simulations of dopant diffusion in InGaAs alloys, we also present a parameterization of the Abell-Tersoff semiempirical potential for pairwise interactions between silicon atoms and each of the elements constituting InGaAs. In the absence of experimental data, reference parameters for estimating the Tersoff values were obtained using ab initio pseudopotential calculations (density functional theory and generalized gradient approximations). These sets of Tersoff parameters were optimized to describe the bulk structural properties of the mostly theoretical alloys Si-As, Si-Ga, and Si-In. We demonstrate the transferability of these parameters by predicting formation energies of extrinsic point ``defects'' of Si on a variety of sites in ternary InGaAs alloys with different local compositional configurations, both random and ordered. Tersoff model predictions of the extrinsic ``substitution energy'' of a Si dopant on a cationic lattice site were found to be independent of the composition of the dopant's second nearest neighbors, but were affected by the strain induced by a local arrangement of In and Ga cationic atoms. This finding is important since common deposition processes used to create InGaAs may lead to specifically ordered patterns within the cation sublattice.
A phase-field/ALE method for simulating fluid–structure interactions in two-phase flow

Abstract We present a phase-field/ALE method for simulating fluid–structure interactions (FSI) in two-phase flow. We solve the Navier–Stokes equation coupled with the Cahn–Hilliard equation and the structure equation in an arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) framework. For the fluid solver, a spectral/hp element method is employed for spatial discretization and backward differentiation for time discretization. For the structure solver, a Galerkin method is used in Lagrangian coordinates for spatial discretization and the Newmark- β scheme for time discretization. The mesh is updated from the initial configuration by a harmonic mapping constructed from the velocity of the interface between the fluid and the structure subdomains. To test the accuracy of the phase-field approach of this multi-physics method, we first simulate two-phase co-annular laminar flow in a stationary pipe and compare the results with the analytical solution. To test the accuracy of the FSI solver, we simulate a pipe conveying single-phase flow and compare the results with an existing validated code (Newman and Karniadakis, 1997). Finally, we present two numerical simulations of FSI in two-phase flow, specifically, in a flexible pipe conveying two fluids that induce self-sustained oscillations, and in external cross flow past a circular cylinder that modifies the classical vortex street due to a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. These three-dimensional simulations demonstrate the capability of the method in dealing with FSI problems in two-phase flow with moving grids as well as its robustness and efficiency in handling different fluids with large contrast in physical properties.
Preclinical and Clinical Evaluation of a Monoclonal Antibody to a Human Melanoma-Associated Antigen

Abstract A murine monoclonal antibody to a human melanoma-associated antigen has been evaluated at the molecular, cellular, preclinical, and clinical levels. Our systematic assessment of antibody 9.2.27 and its conjugates ricin A, abrin A, and gelonin has indicated that the antibody forms highly potent and specific immunotoxins which can inhibit growth of established human melanoma in nude mice. Clinical evaluation has indicated that unconjugated 9.2.27 can be given in cumulative doses up to one gram, with dose-dependent localization in cutaneous lesions eliciting only weak, antiglobulin responses. Both preclinical and clinical evaluation of 9.2.27 is directed to optimizing immunoconjugate trials in the near future.
Solving the pharaoh's golden staircase problem through dynamic programming

The Pharaoh's Golden Staircase problem is an excellent example of a puzzle that is easily solved through dynamic programming. Puzzles that have dynamic programming solutions and are also interesting to students are very rare. This paper describes the problem, illustrates a solution, and analyzes the efficiency of that solution. This analysis uses discrete mathematics. Therefore, this puzzle not only is useful in the classroom as dynamic programming application but also provides the opportunity to apply mathematics from the course which is a standard in most computer science curricula.
NiIICl(1-Naphthyl)(PCy3)2, An Air-Stable σ-NiII Precatalyst for Quantitative Cross-Coupling of Aryl C–O Electrophiles with Aryl Neopentylglycolboronates

Advances in nickel catalysis have enabled the employment of the widely available and environmentally benign phenol derivatives as aryl electrophiles in Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. NiII-phosphine complexes such as NiIICl2(PPh3)2, NiIICl2(dppf), NiIICl2(dppe), NiIICl2(dppp), NiIICl2(PCy3)2 and π-Ni0 complexes, the classic being Ni(COD)2/PCy3, both classes mostly in the presence of a mixed ligand, are some of the most successful precatalysts employed in the cross-coupling of aryl mesylates, sulfamates, carboxylic esters, carbonates, carbamates and methyl ethers with aryl boronic acids, boroxines and neopentylglycolboronates. Here we report that the highly reactive but bench-stable σ-NiII complex, NiIICl(1-naphthyl)(PCy3)2 (where σ refers to the Ni–C bond), exhibits higher efficiency than all previously reported precatalysts and facilitates the quantitative cross-coupling of all six C–O electrophiles mentioned above in reaction times of 0.5 to 24 hours.
Skin Wound Healing: Skin Regeneration With Pharmacological Mobilized Stem Cells

Abstract The involvement of bone marrow stem cells in the formation of granulation tissue and epidermis has long been known. However, most studies have shown results that have proved the principle but have limited clinical use because of expense and marginal improvement in healing times and scarring. We discovered in our transplantation studies that the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) binding agent AMD-3100, combined with subimmunosuppressive doses of FK506, worked synergistically to liberate essential stem cells from the bone marrow, rescuing grafts from rejection and producing a chimeric graft. Applying this technique to excisional wounds in rats and mice resulted in 25% faster epithelialization. The dermis was well organized and thinner, and skin appendages were present. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of multiple growth factors and angiogenic cytokines was identified in the wounds. Similar good outcomes were achieved with burns. Stem cells bearing the CD133 marker were the principle contributors to new blood vessels, epidermis, and hair follicles.