cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The composition of proteins of chemically evoked mutants of TMV RNA.

The amino acid composition of the protein of 29 chemically evoked strains of tobacco mosaic virus is reported as a basis for a preliminary understanding of the specific mechanism of information transfer from viral ribonucleic acid to viral coat protein. About half of these mutants showed the same protein composition as the wild type. Twelve of them showed 1, 2 or 3 amino acid replacements and 3 showed 16 to 17 replacements. In a few instances the exchanges have been located in the sequential position. The same exchanges were observed to recur frequently, thus 6 strains showed replacement of one proline by a leucine, and in two strains the identical serine was replaced by phenylalanine. The 3 strains showing 16 to 17 exchanges were almost identical in composition. The number of total amino acids of all strains studied were identical with the wild type. The nature of the chemical mutagen did not noticeably affect the protein changes in qualitative or quantitative terms. The only definite correlation observed was that a certain major biological change was almost always accompanied by protein alterations.
Maximum ratio Combining performance with imperfect channel estimates

In this paper, we examine the impact of channel estimation errors on Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) in receive diversity systems, in the presence of co-channel interferers. The channel is modelled as flat Rayleigh fading, slowly varying and spatially independent. It is assumed that the spatial combiner weights are imperfect estimates of the desired user's fading coefficients and complex Gaussian distributed. Closed form expressions for signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) distribution and outage probability is obtained. Using these expressions, the effect of channel estimation quality on performance is investigated.
Creation operator for spinons in one dimension

We propose a definition for a creation operator for the spinon, the fractional statistics elementary excitation of the Haldane-Shastry model, and give numerical and analytical evidence that our operator creates a single spinon with nearly unit amplitude in the Heisenberg model with inverse squared exchange. We then discuss how the operator is useful in more general contexts such as studying the underlying spinons of other spin-chain models, like the XXX and XY model, and of the one-dimensional Hubbard model. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
The Roles of Firm Stategy and Intangible Organizational Elements as Determinants of Performance

This paper examines the roles of firm strategy and intangible organizational elements in determining performance. It does this by developing two orthogonal but additive models. The first is a model...
Temperature and Habituation in a Protozoan

THE effect of temperature on learning (acquisition of a response) and memory (retention of a response) in annelids has been studied by subjecting them to an extreme temperature during learning and then measuring memory at normal temperatures. Earthworms classically conditioned at 10–12° C showed a lower level of conditioning compared with controls trained at room temperature1,2. There was no difference between the two groups in their memory.
Development and characterization of thirty novel microsatellite markers for the critically endangered Myanmar Roofed Turtle, Batagur trivittata, and cross-amplification in the Painted River Terrapin, B. borneoensis, and the Southern River Terrapin, B. affinis, using paired-end Illumina shotgun sequencing

We isolated and characterized 30 microsatellite loci from the critically endangered Myanmar Roofed Turtle, Batagur trivittata. Loci were screened in 9 B. trivittata samples and in the congeners the Painted River Terrapin, Batagur borneoensis, with 22 of 30 amplifying, and the Southern River Terrapin, B. affinis, with 15 of 30 amplifying. In the B. trivittata samples, the number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 10 and the probability of identity values ranged from 0.031 to 0.354. These new loci will provide tools for captive management and reintroduction programs for B. trivittata and the other five species of Batagur, particularly B. affinis in Cambodia.
Temperature effects on the radiative recombination in self-assembled quantum dots

Abstract Several ensembles of self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) based on the AlInAsAl/GaAs and InGaAs/GaAs material systems have been investigated using photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation (PLE) and time-resolved PL (TRPL). The influence of the temperature is measured by monitoring sharp spectral features (as narrow as ∼ 90 μeV) obtained when probing the PL of small QD ensembles (few hundreds QDs). Thermionic emission of the photocarriers out of the QD potential is found to be the dominant mechanism leading to the thermal quenching of the PL and temperature-independent linewidths are observed up to the onset of the PL quenching.
Time-dependent changes in glucose and insulin regulation during intermittent hypoxia and continuous hypoxia

Hypoxia manifests in many forms including the short repetitive intermittent hypoxia (IH) of sleep apnoea and the continuous hypoxia (CH) of altitude, both of which may impact metabolic function. Based on our own previous studies and the available literature, we hypothesized that whereas acute exposure to IH and CH would lead to comparable metabolic dysfunction, with longer-term exposure, metabolism would normalize to a greater extent with CH than IH. Studies were conducted in lean C57BL/6J mice exposed to either IH or CH for 1 day or 4 weeks and compared to either intermittent air (IA) or unhandled (UN) controls, respectively. We utilized the frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test and minimal model analyses to determine insulin-dependent (insulin sensitivity; SI) and insulin-independent (glucose effectiveness; Sg) glucose disposal, as well as the insulin response to glucose (acute insulin response to glucose; AIRg). Our data show that 1-day exposure impaired the glucose tolerance and caused reductions in Sg and AIRg in both the IH and CH groups, but only IH caused a significant decrease in SI (7.5 ± 2.7 vs. 17.0 ± 5.3 μU ml−1 min−1; p < 0.05). After 4-week exposure, there was evidence of metabolic adaptation in both hypoxic groups, however, in the CH group, there was a supranormal increase in SI relative to both UN and IH groups. We conclude that in lean mice, the marked metabolic dysfunction that occurs with acute exposure to hypoxia is reversed to a greater extent with chronic CH exposure than chronic IH exposure.
Neuronal MHC-I expression and its implications in synaptic function, axonal regeneration and Parkinson's and other brain diseases.

Neuronal expression of major histocompatibility complex I (MHC-I) has been implicated in developmental synaptic plasticity and axonal regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS), but recent findings demonstrate that constitutive neuronal MHC-I can also be involved in neurodegenerative diseases by playing a neuroinflammtory role. Recent reports demonstrate its expression in vitro and in human postmortem samples and support a role in neurodegeneration involving proinflammatory cytokines, activated microglia and increased cytosolic oxidative stress. Major histocompatibility complex I may be important for both normal development and pathogenesis of some CNS diseases including Parkinson’s.
Down syndrome mouse models Ts65Dn, Ts1Cje, and Ms1Cje/Ts65Dn exhibit variable severity of cerebellar phenotypes

Two mouse models are widely used for Down syndrome (DS) research. The Ts65Dn mouse carries a small chromosome derived primarily from mouse chromosome 16, causing dosage imbalance for approximately half of human chromosome 21 orthologs. These mice have cerebellar pathology with direct parallels to DS. The Ts1Cje mouse, containing a translocated chromosome 16, is at dosage imbalance for 67% of the genes triplicated in Ts65Dn. We quantified cerebellar volume and granule cell and Purkinje cell density in Ts1Cje. Cerebellar volume was significantly affected to the same degree in Ts1Cje and Ts65Dn, despite that Ts1Cje has fewer triplicated genes. However, dosage imbalance in Ts1Cje had little effect on granule cell and Purkinje cell density. Several mice with dosage imbalance for the segment of the Ts65Dn chromosome not triplicated in Ts1Cje had phenotypes that contrasted with those in Ts1Cje. These observations do not readily differentiate between two prevalent hypotheses for gene action in DS. Developmental Dynamics 230:581–589, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
SOME REACTION PRODUCTS FROM NONENZYMATIC BROWNING OF GLUCOSE AND METHIONINE

Column and thin-layer chromatographic analysis revealed that acetone, butanal, ethanal, methanal, methional, furfural and 2-propenal were in the monocarbonyl fraction from heat induced glucose and methionine nonenzymatic browning reaction mixtures. Methional was found to be responsible for the characteristic boiled potato-like aroma of the reaction mixture. 2-Propenal was identified as the 3-carbon aldehyde degradation product of methionine.
Normalizing Hip Muscle Strength: Establishing Body-Size-Independent Measurements

Abstract Bazett-Jones DM, Cobb SC, Joshi MN, Cashin SE, Earl JE. Normalizing hip muscle strength: establishing body-size-independent measurements. Objective To investigate the effectiveness of computing body-size-independent hip strength measures using muscle-specific allometric scaling and ratio standard normalization methods. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting University laboratory. Participants A convenience sample of healthy participants (N=113; 42 men, 71 women). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Anthropometric measurements of the leg and thigh were obtained, and maximal hip strength was tested (medial and lateral rotation, abduction, adduction, flexion, extension). Strength was measured isometrically as force (kg) and then converted to torque (Nm). Results The allometric scaling analysis resulted in exponents for normalizing body mass (BM) in each muscle group assessed. In addition, a 6-muscle average exponent was also computed (bavg) for force (men, .554; women, .335) and torque (men, .792; women, .482). The nonsignificant results of the linear regression analysis revealed that normalizing hip strength to BM bavg (hip strength/BM bavg ) effectively removed the influence of BM on force and torque. However, sex should be factored into analyses of allometric scaling because men have higher b-values than women for both force and torque. The linear regression analyses also demonstrated that force normalized to BM ( P =.162–.895) and torque normalized to BM × Height ( P =.146–.889) were body-size-independent measures. Force normalized to BM 0.67 ( P =.001–.191) and body mass index (BMI) ( P = P =.004–.415) and BMI ( P Conclusions Normalizing force and torque to BM bavg is the most effective method of removing body-size dependence and allowing comparisons of persons with differing body sizes.
School’s in! Predicting teen cannabis use by conventionality, cultural disposition and social context

AbstractAims: We aimed to study a latent social structure behind the variables associated with teenagers’ cannabis use at the individual level and, in a social context, formed by school class. Methods: The data used come from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), conducted in Finland in 2011 (N = 3744, response rate 89.6%). Methods used were Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and Multilevel Logistic Regression. The differences observed between pupil groups were interpreted through the concepts of social norms (conventionality of behaviour) and cultural dispositions. Findings: Four different latent classes of pupils were found: the Conventionalists, the Alco-rebels, the Sub-cultural conventionalists and the Sub-cultural rebels. Although Sub-cultural conventionalists were aware of the cannabis culture, only a small proportion of them had ever tried cannabis. The risk for cannabis use was pronounced in all pupil groups compared to Conventionalists, the risk being the highest among S...
Multiple anomalies in a fetus exposed to low-dose methotrexate in the first trimester.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Methotrexate has multiple therapeutic uses in women of reproductive age including treatment for ectopic pregnancy, neoplastic disease, autoimmune disorders, and inflammatory conditions. More frequent use of methotrexate may result in an increased number of exposures in pregnant women and their fetuses. CASE: A 16-year-old gravida 1, para 0 used oral methotrexate treatment of 7.5 mg per day for psoriasis for 2 days at 3.5 weeks postconception. Multiple anomalies were noted on an 18-week ultrasound. Fetopsy revealed craniofacial, axial skeletal, cardiopulmonary, and gastrointestinal abnormalities. CONCLUSION: A minimal, low-dose, brief exposure to methotrexate in the first trimester resulted in a fetus with multiple internal and external malformations. Some of the anomalies (craniofacial and skeletal) have been previously reported with first- trimester methotrexate exposure. This case depicts the association of cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal abnormalities with methotrexate exposure.
Computer-assisted diagnostic decision support: History, challenges, and possible paths forward

This paper presents a brief history of computer-assisted diagnosis, including challenges and future directions. Some ideas presented in this article on computer-assisted diagnostic decision support systems (CDDSS) derive from prior work by the author and his colleagues (see list in Acknowledgments) on the INTERNIST-1 and QMR projects. References indicate the original sources of many of these ideas.
PHOTO ACTIVATION OF UROCANASE IN PSEUDOMONAS PUTIDA: FACTORS INFLUENCING ACTIVATION

— –When washed cells of histidine-grown Pseudomonas putida were incubated at 8°C in darkness, urocanase activity diminished after several days; most of this lost activity could be restored by treatment of cell extracts with near-u.v. light. Sunlight and daylight were also effective for activation. Non-irradiated extract, when added to the active preparation, did not inhibit the enzyme activity. Heated and boiled extracts with or without irradiation did not catalyze the urocanase reaction nor did they change the activity of an activated extract when added to it. Photoactivation of cell extracts did not require oxygen, was not dependent on temperature and was not prevented by dialysis. Urocanase purified by gel electrophoresis was capable of light activation. It is suggested that the photoreceptor is closely associated with urocanase since it is not separated from the enzyme by dialysis or electrophoresis.
Associations between periconceptional alcohol consumption and craniosynostosis, omphalocele, and gastroschisis

BACKGROUND Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is known to be associated with certain birth defects, but the risk of other birth defects is less certain. The authors examined associations between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and craniosynostosis, omphalocele, and gastroschisis among participants in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a large, multicenter case-control study. METHODS A total of 6622 control infants and 1768 infants with birth defects delivered from 1997-2005 were included in the present analysis. Maternal alcohol consumption was assessed as any periconceptional consumption (1 month prepregnancy through the third pregnancy month), and by quantity-frequency, duration, and beverage type. Alcohol consumption throughout pregnancy was explored for craniosynostosis since the period of development may extend beyond the first trimester. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression analysis. OR were adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, and state of residence at time of infant's birth. Gastroschisis OR were also adjusted for periconceptional smoking. RESULTS Periconceptional alcohol consumption and craniosynostosis showed little evidence of an association (OR = 0.92; CI: 0.78-1.08), but alcohol consumption in the second (OR = 0.65; CI: 0.47-0.92) and third trimesters (OR = 0.68; CI: 0.49-0.95) was inversely associated with craniosynostosis. Periconceptional alcohol consumption was associated with omphalocele (OR = 1.50; CI: 1.15-1.96) and gastroschisis (OR = 1.40; CI: 1.17-1.67). CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that maternal periconceptional alcohol consumption is associated with omphalocele and gastroschisis, and second and third trimester alcohol consumption are inversely associated with craniosynostosis.
On Being the Right Sex: Discrimination by Design in the Built and the Product Environment

The field study reported here investigated the various ways in which women are handicapped and constrained in their behavior, or socially discomforted by the design of common objects and places. The survey showed that most "discrimination by design" was due to failures of ergonomics, environmental interaction effects with feminine dress and biology, or being placed on unwanted display. Women evidenced a remarkable variety of ingenious and casual adaptations to these circumstances -- most of which are avoidable through sensitive human factors design. The ubiquity of objects and settings that place women at a disadvantage and the relative lack of awareness of these effects suggest that such conditions will persist for a long time. Language: en
Categorization of parameters in the dynamic robot model

The author addresses the problem of generating persistently exciting trajectories for parameter estimation. To achieve this, he proposes an algorithm that categorizes the dynamics parameters of a manipulator into three classes: uniquely identifiable, identifiable in linear combinations only, and unidentifiable. Since the proposed algorithm categorizes the parameters only on the basis of the kinematic configuration of the manipulator, it makes it possible to determine if a chosen trajectory (for estimation) is persistently exciting. The categorization procedure also helps in making the estimation procedure more robust. Based on the proposed algorithm, the parameters of the CMU DD (Carnegie-Mellon University Direct-Drive) Arm II were categorized. >
Mid-Infrared Electroluminescence of Cr2+ Ions in ZnSe Crystals

We report the first observation of the room-temperature middle-infrared electroluminescence of n-type Cr doped bulk ZnSe crystals in the spectral range of 1800-2800 nm.
Characterization of polyacrylate membrane-coated fibers used in chemical absorption studies with programmed thermal treatment and FT-IR microscopy.

A polyacrylate (PA) film was coated onto a fused-silica fiber as a permeation membrane in a membrane-coated fiber (MCF) technique and a solid-phase microextraction technique. The molecular changes of the PA membrane after different temperature treatments were studied with FT-IR microscopy. The absorption bands of the PA aliphatic backbone at 2902, 2795, and 2740 cm-1 remained unchanged over the elevated thermal treatments, indicating that the polymer backbone was stable over these conditions. The spectra of the PA membrane remained unchanged when the thermal treatment temperature was under 150 °C. When the temperature was 250 °C, the O−H stretching band in the −COOH groups of the poly(acrylic acid) at 3315 cm-1 was significantly reduced. When the temperature was higher than 280 °C, this O−H band disappeared. These evidences suggested that the PA membrane underwent dehydroxyl reaction to form an anhydride when the thermal treatments were higher than 250 °C. Thermal treatments of a deuterated PA MCF confirm...
Effect of insoluble-low fermentable fiber from corn-ethanol distillation origin on energy, fiber, and amino acid digestibility, hindgut degradability of fiber, and growth performance of pigs

Extensive use of corn coproducts in swine diets increases the concentration of dietary fiber, raising concerns on energy and nutrient digestibility and, ultimately, pig performance. A digestion trial was conducted to determine the effect of increasing levels of insoluble-low fermentable fiber from corn in the diet, using corn bran with solubles (CBS) from the corn-ethanol distillation industry, on digestibility of energy, fiber, and AA, and hindgut fermentation of fiber in diets fed to growing pigs. Fifteen growing pigs (BW=28.7 kg) arranged in a 3-period incomplete block design and fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum were provided 5 diets (n=9) containing either a corn-casein basal or the basal diet with 10, 20, 30, or 40% CBS. Fecal and ileal digesta samples were collected. Two subsequent 28-d growth trials determined the effects of increasing dietary fiber from CBS in 2 sets of 7 diets formulated either with declining (growing phase: 2,387 to 2,133 kcal NE/kg; finishing phase: 2,499 to 2,209 kcal NE/kg) or constant dietary NE (growing phase≈2,390 kcal NE/kg; finishing phase≈2,500 kcal NE/kg) on growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy in 70 growing (BW=48.9 kg; n=10 per diet) and 70 finishing (BW=102.0 kg; n=10) pigs. Results indicated that increasing fiber from corn lowered (P<0.01) the apparent ileal digestibility of all indispensable amino acids except Arg, GE, DM, and CP but not NDF or total dietary fiber (TDF). Increased fiber from corn also reduced ATTD of GE, DM, CP, NDF, and TDF (P<0.01). Increasing fiber with declining diet NE lowered BW, ADG, and G:F (P<0.05) in growing and in finishing pigs. When NE was held constant, as fiber increased, BW and ADG were unaffected in growing and finishing pigs, and G:F was unaffected in finishing pigs but improved in growing pigs (P<0.05) with increasing dietary fiber. In both growing and finishing pigs, ADFI was unaffected by the increased fiber from corn, regardless of the NE content of diets. In conclusion, the dietary level of insoluble-low fermentable dietary fiber from corn origin decreased the digestibility of dietary AA, and the ability of the growing pig to ferment corn dietary fiber. In spite of the reduction in digestibility of energy and nutrients with insoluble-low fermentable fiber level from corn, growth performance was not impaired when the energy supply is adequately balanced in the diet using the NE system.
On optimal reversible-variable-length codes

In honor of the sixtieth anniversary of the Kraft inequality, we present variations motivated by the study of reversible-variable-length codes. Reversible-variable-length codes or fix-free codes are prefix condition codes that are instantaneous when decoded in either the forward and backward direction. They have been investigated for joint source-channel coding and have been applied within the video standards H.263+ and MPEG-4. They are also interesting for problems in information retrieval such as searching for patterns directly in compressed text. We provide a low-complexity heuristic to produce fix-free codes. The design of optimal or minimum-redundancy reversible-variable-length codes has been a longstanding open problem. We offer the first solution both to this problem and to a variation in which all codewords are also required to be palindromes.
Occurrence and Fate of Organic Contaminants during Onsite Wastewater Treatment

Onsite wastewater treatment systems serve approximately 25% of the U.S. population. However, little is known regarding the occurrence and fate of organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs), including endocrine disrupting compounds, during onsite treatment. A range of OWCs including surfactant metabolites, steroids, stimulants, metal-chelating agents, disinfectants, antimicrobial agents, and pharmaceutical compounds was quantified in wastewater from 30 onsite treatment systems in Summit and Jefferson Counties, CO. The onsite systems represent a range of residential and nonresidential sources. Eighty eight percent of the 24 target compounds were detected in one or more samples, and several compounds were detected in every wastewater sampled. The wastewater matrices were complex and showed unique differences between source types due to differences in water and consumer product use. Nonresidential sources generally had more OWCs at higher concentrations than residential sources. Additional aerobic biofilter-based...
Electrolytic initiation of polymerization

Two new principles are discussed by which polymerization may be initiated electrolytically. One of these methods, the continuous electrolytic formation of the activator in a redox activation polymerization system, under various conditions, has been used successfully in the polymerization of acrylonitrile, but not of isoprene or styrene. The second method, based on the formation of free radicals in the electrolytic reduction of perdioxy compounds, has been tested under a limited number of conditions without significant success. Emulsion systems also have been employed in this research and the results are discussed.
Sex and age effects on the inheritance of alcohol problems: a twin study.

Male monozygotic cotwins of probands with Alcohol Abuse-Dependence (n = 85) were more likely than male same-sex dizygotic cotwins (n = 96) to report alcohol, drug, and conduct disorder problems. For women, rates of problem behavior did not differ between monozygotic (n = 44) and same-sex dizygotic (n = 43) cotwins. Opposite-sex dizygotic twin data (n = 88) revealed significant cross-sex transmission; alcohol problems were greatest among male cotwins of female probands. For men, proportion of liability variance associated with additive genetic factors was significantly greater when proband had an early (h2 = .73 +/- .18) rather than late (h2 = .30 +/- .26) age of onset. For women, heritability did not vary as a function of proband's age of onset, and the pooled estimate suggested little genetic influence (h2 = .00, SE not computable). Findings suggest that genetic influences may be substantial only in the etiology of early-onset male alcoholism.
Goals for space exploration based on stakeholder value network considerations

Abstract We present a methodology that provides traceable analysis from stakeholders’ needs to prioritized goals for human space exploration. We first construct a network to represent the stakeholder environment of NASA’s human exploration efforts, then assess the intensity of these stakeholder needs, and build a numerical model to represent the flow of value in the network. The underlying principle is that as a rational actor, NASA should invest its resources in creating outputs that provide the greatest return of support to it. We showcase this methodology, seeded with test data, the results of which suggests that the most important outputs of the exploration endeavor are human and robotic exploration firsts and science data, but also include funding to the science community, providing interesting NASA mission event content directly to the public and to the media, and commercial contracts. We propose that goals should be structured to ensure these value outputs, and be written in such as way as to convey the subsequent creation of value in the network. The goals derived in this manner suggest that the majority of the value created by human space exploration derives from campaign level design, rather than from operation of transportation elements. There would be higher assurance that these value outputs would be delivered if a responsible official or entity within the exploration function was specifically tasked with ensuring stakeholder value creation.
Indications for heart transplantation in children

Abstract The indications for heart transplantation in children generally include heart failure refractory to medical therapy, unreconstructible congenital heart disease, and arrhythmias refractory to medical therapy. Whereas medical therapy for heart failure has evolved to some degree over the past two decades the mortality for cardiomyopathy has not improved much. Surgical therapy for congenital heart disease continues to improve such that unreconstructible congenital heart disease is seldom an indication. Failed surgical palliation and heart failure following repair of congenital heart disease, however, remain prominent reasons to pursue transplantation. Arrhythmias refractory to medical or device therapy are extremely unusual. The contraindications to heart transplantation have changed over the years also to include higher risk candidates. This paper reviews these issues as applied to children.
The Miracle of Gerald the Pilgrim: Hagiographic Visions of Castration in the Liber Sancti Jacobi and Milagros de Nuestra Señora

One of the most popular tales of the De miraculis Sancti Jacobi section of the twelfth-century Codex Calixtinus recounts how a devil impersonated St. James and persuaded an unchaste pilgrim to castrate himself. The following essay shows how this exemplum draws on a hagiographic portrayals of mutilation and purification, and is later adapted in Gonzalo de Berceo’s thirteenth-century Milagros de Nuestra Senora to express preoccupations over the enforcement of vows of celibacy during a time of clerical reform. In his “Romero enganado por el enemigo malo,” the Castilian poet deepens the meaning of eunuchism in the tale, beyond castration anxieties surrounding the ideal of clerical celibacy and mystical visions of emasculation. For Berceo, the significance of the miracle extends beyond one pilgrim’s resurrection from the dead, to symbolize the Marian deliverance of Adam and the bodily renewal and spiritual homecoming of all of his corrupt and feckless progeny.
DEADSouth is a germ plasm specific DEAD-box RNA helicase in Xenopus related to eIF4A.

Abstract DEADSouth was selected in a screen for localized RNAs in Xenopus oocytes. In situ hybridization analysis shows that DEADSouth localizes to the vegetal cortex via the mitochondrial cloud early in oogenesis and segregates with germ plasm during early embryogenesis. These results lend further support for the general concept that the role of the early RNA localization pathway in Xenopus is to localize germ cell components (reviewed in King, M.L., Zhou, Y., Bubunenko, M., 1999 . BioEssays 21, 546–557). Further analysis shows that DEADSouth is a germline specific RNA, found exclusively within the germ plasm of oocytes and PGCs, as well as in male germ cells. Sequence comparisons with DEADSouth show it to be a member of a small sub-family of the DEAD-box RNA-dependent helicases related to eIF4A.
Photothermal spectroscopy of scattering media

We present a general unified theoretical analysis of the role of scattering in photothermal spectroscopy, e.g., photoacoustic and photothermal deflection. We show that while the photothermal signal is significantly affected in the case of highly scattering media, it is independent of scattering for optically thin samples. Numerical estimates of the scattering contribution and comparison with experimental results are given. We also elucidate the relationship between photothermal and diffuse reflectance spectroscopies.
Endogenously produced peroxynitrite induces the oxidation of mitochondrial and nuclear proteins in immunostimulated macrophages

Here we investigated the role of endogenous nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite in the process of protein oxidation (as measured by the detection of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine-reactive carbonyls) in immunostimulated macrophages. Immunostimulation of the macrophages by bacterial lipopolysaccharide and gamma-interferon (LPS/IFNγ) resulted in a marked increase in the oxidation of a large number of mitochondrial and nuclear proteins. The inhibitor of NO synthase, NG-methyl-l-arginine (3 mM), and the cell-permeable superoxide dismutase mimetic Mn(III)tetrakis(4-benzoic acid)porphyrin (300 μM) both reduced the extent of protein oxidation in response to LPS/IFNγ. These results support the view that endogenously produced peroxynitrite induces protein oxidation in the mitochondria and nucleus of immunostimulated macrophages.
ON THE EMBRYOGENY OF SCHIZAEA DICHOTOMA

The zygote of Schizaea dichotoma divides transversely and the outer cell thus produced divides longitudinally. The three cells probably establish the organs: root, stem, and foot. The first leaf is not embryonic in origin but forms on the relatively old sporeling. Some general comments on gametophyte and embryo phylogeny are presented. THE KNOWN VARIABILITY in the patterns of embryological development within the Schiz
A Field Test of Efficacy of Cognitive Style in Predicting Accuracy of Volleyball Serve

The effect of using selected cognitive strategies that are compatible with a person's cognitive style on performance accuracy of the overhand volleyball serve was examined. Moderate R2s between cognitive style and strategy use showed that learning this sport skill may be influenced by preferences for processing information during motor skill acquisition.
Competition among herbivores of Solanum carolinense as a constraint on the evolution of host-plant resistance

Interspecific competition (or facilitation) between herbivores sharing a host plant species can result in negative (or positive) correlations in damage levels, independent of a plant’s genetic covariance in resistance to the herbivores. Just like genetic correlations in resistance to herbivory, these “environmental correlations” in damage may affect the evolution of resistance in the host plant. In a field study of 960 ramets and 40 genets of the herbaceous plant Solanum carolinense, I looked for evidence of such environmental correlations in damage caused by 11 species of herbivores, including 10 insects and 1 mammal. There were 28 significant correlations in damage levels between species (21 negative and 7 positive) after plant genetic influences on resistance were statistically removed. Negative environmental correlations were more likely between species that fed upon the same type of plant organs than between those that fed on different types of organs, and the magnitudes of the correlations were inversely proportional to the abundance of the organ types. Taken together, these results offer strong evidence that competition is largely responsible for the pattern of environmental correlations in damage. Environmental correlations were just as common as genetic correlations in resistance, but the environmental correlations tended to be lower in magnitude, were more likely to be negative, and were more evenly spread out among the herbivore community than the genetic correlations. Damage levels by all 11 species were negatively correlated with damage by at least one other species. Thus the selective advantage a plant would receive from increased resistance any of these herbivores would be partially negated by increased damage by competing herbivores. As a result, competition has the potential to be an important constraint on the evolution of resistance in S. carolinense.
Development and application of perfectly matched layer for numerical boundary treatment

This master’s-level thesis work had focused on the boundary treatments for computational fluid dynamics problems, especially those with unbounded domains. Therefore, it involved a rigorous literature survey on boundary treatment techniques. The primary interest in this effort was on one of the emerging concepts of boundary treatment for numerical schemes, namely the perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing technique. PML equations were constructed in both Cartesian and generalized coordinate systems to widen its application in uniform and non-uniform grid structures. Throughout the study, Euler equations for perturbation equations linearized about a uniform mean flow were utilized, and flow that is parallel to an axis and flow that is at an arbitrary direction were considered. The PML formulation was validated and PML cases were simulated for a combination of absorbing coefficients and layer thickness in order to find the optimum performance of the technique. The results were analyzed, and the issues were documented. Furthermore, PML equations were constructed by splitting the velocity into three components. Discussion is provided on the need for a proper spacetime transformation, based on the literature study.
Conjugate addition of alcohols to acrylic compounds catalyzed by a bifunctional ruthenium-acetamido complex

The ruthenium−acetamido complex [(PCy3)2(CO)(CH3CONH)(i-PrOH)RuH] (1) was found to be an effective catalyst for the conjugate addition of alcohols to acrylic compounds under mild reaction conditions to form β-alkoxynitrile compounds. The bifunctional activity of 1 from the Lewis acid ruthenium center for facilitating N-coordination of acrylonitrile and the basic amido ligand for mediating heterolytic alcohol O−H bond cleavage have been proposed for the catalytic reaction.
Extraction of motor activity from the cervical spinal cord of behaving rats

Injury at the cervical region of the spinal cord results in the loss of the skeletal muscle control from below the shoulders and hence causes quadriplegia. The brain–computer interface technique is one way of generating a substitute for the lost command signals in these severely paralyzed individuals using the neural signals from the brain. In this study, we are investigating the feasibility of an alternative method where the volitional signals are extracted from the cervical spinal cord above the point of injury. A microelectrode array assembly was implanted chronically at the C5–C6 level of the spinal cord in rats. Neural recordings were made during the face cleaning behavior with forelimbs as this task involves cyclic forelimb movements and does not require any training. The correlation between the volitional motor signals and the elbow movements was studied. Linear regression technique was used to reconstruct the arm movement from the rectified–integrated version of the principal neural components. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of extracting the motor signals from the cervical spinal cord and using them for reconstruction of the elbow movements.
A hybrid collision avoidance scheme for ad hoc networks

A novel hybrid collision avoidance scheme that combines both sender-initiated and receiver-initiated collision-avoidance handshake is proposed for multi-hop ad hoc networks. The new scheme is compatible with the popular IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol and involves only some additional queue management and book-keeping work. Simulations of both UDP- and TCP-based applications are conducted with the IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol, a measurement-based fair scheme and the new scheme. It is shown that the new scheme can alleviate the fairness problem with almost no degradation in throughput. More importantly, it is shown that without explicit information exchange among nodes, the fairness problem cannot be solved conclusively if reasonable throughput is to be maintained. Hence it calls for further work to integrate the new collision avoidance scheme with other schemes that approximate fair queueing and use more contention information in channel access to achieve some QoS assurances in ad hoc networks.
Fair division under interval uncertainty

It is often necessary to divide a certain amount of money between n participants, i.e., to assign, to each participant, a certain portionwi≥0 of the whole sum (so that w1+⋯+ wn=1). In some situations, from the fairness requirements, we can uniquely determine these "weights" wi. However, in some other situations, general considerations do not allow us to uniquely determine these weights, we only know the intervals of possible fair weights. We show that natural fairness requirements enable us to choose unique weights from these intervals; as a result, we present an algorithm for fair division under interval uncertainty.
COMPUTER ANALYSIS OF DRUG EFFECTS ON THE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAMS OF NORMAL AND PSYCHOTIC SUBJECTS.

Abstract Integration of the electrical energy of the electroencephalogram (EEG) affords a quantitative method for studying in humans individual differences of both spontaneous and drug-induced origins. This kind of analysis has shown a difference between the EEGs of normals and those of male chronic schizophrenics. Objectives of the studies described in this progress report are to determine whether significant alterations in the EEGs of schizophrenics measured by this technique are produced by antipsychotic drugs, whether the EEG changes, if any, are in a direction toward normal, and whether any concomitant behavioural changes occur. This was undertaken by means of the electronic integrator of Drohocki. The schizophrenic patients initially had significantly smaller mean energies and variances than normal. The drug therapy produced correlated shifts toward normal values in the EEGs and improvements in the psychiatric ratings. Also, a newer method is repotted here in which the EEGs are recorded on magnetic tape which is then analyzed by automated operationalamplifier integrators. The integral of the EEG is read and recorded every 20 sec by an analog to digital converter. A digital computer is programmed to perform a number of statistical operations on the data. Preliminary results are presented.
Randomised trials of HIV prevention.

Randomised trials of HIV prevention are difficult to do and nearly all such trials have failed to show protection from HIV infection and a few have shown increases in risk. In todays Lancet Nancy Padian and colleagues for the MIRA (Methods for Improving Reproductive Health in Africa) team report that a trial of a diaphragm and lubricant gel with condoms failed to show lower HIV incidence in the intervention group than in the controls (condoms alone).The MIRA trial was carefully designed well done and appropriately analysed. With 4948 participants the study was adequately powered to detect efficacy. However despite the investigators efforts to promote safe sex in all participants self-reported condom use at last intercourse was substantially higher in the controls (85%) than in the intervention group (54%) possibly because women using a diaphragm were less motivated to use an additional barrier method. (excerpt)
Ventriculoperitoneal shunting: Laparoscopically assisted versus conventional open surgical approaches

Objectives: Ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) is a mainstay of hydrocephalus therapy, but carries a significant risk of device malfunctioning. This study aims to compare the outcomes of laparoscopic ventriculoperitoneal shunting versus open ventriculoperitoneal shunting (OVPS) VPS-placement and reviews our findings in the pertinent context of the literature from 1993 to 2012. Materials and Methods: Between 2003 and 2012, a total of 232 patients underwent first time VPS placement at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Of those, 155 were laparoscopically guided and 77 were done conventionally. We analyzed independent variables (age, gender, medical history, clinical presentation, indication for surgery and surgical technique) and dependent variables (operative time, post-operative complications, length of stay in the hospital) and occurrence of shunt failure. Results: Mean operative time was 43.7 min (18.0-102.0) in the laparoscopic group versus 63.0 min (30.0-151.0) in the open group, (P Conclusion: According to our study, LVPS-placement results compare similarly to OVPS placement in most aspects. Since laparoscopic placement is not routinely indicated, we suggest a prospective study to assess its value as an alternate technique especially suitable in obese patients and patients with previous abdominal operations.
South Asian Consumer Health on the Web : A Review of UK Sites

ABSTRACT In 2007, 7.5% of all persons becoming Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) of the United States were born in India or Pakistan. Immigrants from South Asia represent a diversity of cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups. Roughly one-third of individuals who speak a South Asian language at home also reported speaking English less than “very well.” Individuals seeking South Asian language health information created and/or translated in the United States will find that online resources are limited. Historically and currently, India and Pakistan have been among the top countries of origin of immigrants to Britain and the rest of the United Kingdom. This article is a review of select U.K. Web sites that provide health information in South Asian languages. It includes Web sites created by U.K. governmental agencies as well as registered charities.
The mode of origin of pulmonary acini and respiratory bronchioles in the fetal lung

Between the 50th day of embryonic life and the 30th week of gestation no reconstructions of the developing parenchyma of the human lung seem to have been attempted. To bridge this long gap, only two techniques have been utilized hitherto: counting the generations of branches in the growing segments of the lung and analyzing the changing cytology with the aid of the electron microscope. At least two important objectives remain: a knowledge of when the respiratory units known as pulmonary acini appear and the order in which capillary invasion of its component parts takes place. At the 16th week of gestation, peripheral units have not attained their full complement of branches and their boundaries are not delimited. At 17 weeks, acini of varying sizes can be recognized as discrete terminal units at the periphery of the segmental trees, having attained their full, though underdeveloped, complement of fetal branches, as gauged by later counts of generations made at 30 weeks of age (Boyden, '69). The 17th is also the week in which capillaries first invade the peripheral branches of the acinus. Although significantly later stages have not yet been obtained, the evidence available (including that from unpublished work on monkey fetuses) strongly suggests that canalization (before birth), like alveolization (after birth)proceeds mainly in a centripetal direction.
Thermal Aquaculture Design1

This paper presents a conceptual design for intensive aquaculture in flowing warm water. Shrimp biology and technology were used as the model, but the concept is applicable to any culturable aquatic species. A culture channel was divided into pens, each successively larger in bottom surface area than the last. Each pen area was proportional to the area of a segment of a typical S-shaped shrimp growth curve. Heated water was blended with ambient water to maintain a constant water inlet temperature of 27 C. The stream of uniform depth flowed through the channel at a constant rate. Shrimp in culture were allowed to remain in one pen until they attained a density, g per m2, which was constant for all pens. They were moved successively to larger and larger pens until they reached a specified marketable size. Once the system reaches steady-state, it should be possible to harvest continually, say week after week, the year-round.
Theoretical underpinnings for maximal clique enumeration on perturbed graphs

The problem of enumerating the maximal cliques of a graph is a computationally expensive problem with applications in a number of different domains. Sometimes the benefit of knowing the maximal clique enumeration (MCE) of a single graph is worth investing the initial computation time. However, when graphs are abstractions of noisy or uncertain data, the MCE of several closely related graphs may need to be found, and the computational cost of doing so becomes prohibitively expensive. Here, we present a method by which the cost of enumerating the set of maximal cliques for related graphs can be reduced. By using the MCE for some baseline graph, the MCE for a modified, or perturbed, graph may be obtained by enumerating only the maximal cliques that are created or destroyed by the perturbation. When the baseline and perturbed graphs are relatively similar, the difference set between the two MCEs can be overshadowed by the maximal cliques common to both. Thus, by enumerating only the difference set between the baseline and perturbed graphs' MCEs, the computational cost of enumerating the maximal cliques of the perturbed graph can be reduced. We present necessary and sufficient conditions for enumerating difference sets when the perturbed graph is formed by several different types of perturbations. We also present results of an algorithm based on these conditions that demonstrate a speedup over traditional calculations of the MCE of perturbed, real biological networks.