cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Membrane Fusion Induced by Neuronal SNAREs Transits through Hemifusion

Synaptic transmission requires the controlled release of neurotransmitter from synaptic vesicles by membrane fusion with the presynaptic plasma membrane. SNAREs are the core constituents of the protein machinery responsible for synaptic membrane fusion. The mechanism by which SNAREs drive membrane fusion is thought to involve a hemifusion intermediate, a condition in which the outer leaflets of two bilayers are combined and the inner leaflets remain intact; however, hemifusion has been observed only as an end point rather than as an intermediate. Here, we examined the kinetics of membrane fusion of liposomes mediated by recombinant neuronal SNAREs using fluorescence assays that monitor both total lipid mixing and inner leaflet mixing. Our results demonstrate that hemifusion is dominant at the early stage of the fusion reaction. Over time, hemifusion transitioned to complete fusion, showing that hemifusion is a true intermediate. We also show that hemifusion intermediates can be trapped, likely as unproductive outcomes, by modulating the surface concentration of the SNARE proteins.
Thermal Transport Measurements of Bilayer and Few-Layer Graphene Supported on Silicon Dioxide

The thermal conductivity of bilayer graphene (BLG) and few-layer graphene (FLG) samples supported on a silicon dioxide (SiO2 ) bridge has been measured in the temperature range between 80 K and 375 K. In the experiments, resistance heater and thermometer lines at the two ends of the bridge were used to implement steady-state thermal conductance measurements of the sample before and after the graphene on the bridge was etched away. The obtained thermal conductivity of the supported graphene increases and the temperature for the peak thermal conductivity decreases with increasing layer thickness. Compared to the reported thermal conductivity of suspended FLG samples, the opposite behavior observed here for the supported FLG reveals that interaction with the SiO2 support and also possibly polymer residue on top of the FLG sample suppresses the thermal conductivity of the supported FLG more than interlayer interaction within the FLG. The linear rise of thermal conductivity with layer number up to 8 layers suggests that the scattering effects due to substrate and polymer residue penetrates much more than 4 layers into a multilayer flake.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Growth during pattern regulation in imaginal discs

Abstract Fragments of imaginal discs of Drosophila regenerate or duplicate when they are cultured in vivo . This pattern regulation is generally believed to occur by epimorphosis. That is, cells at the wound edge proliferate and fill in the missing positional values by intercalation. It is suggested that no respecification of the positional values of cells away from the wound edge occurs. I report here data on fragment growth during culture that are incompatible with the epimorphic model. I argue that both respecification of existing cells and the generation of new cells by growth are involved in pattern regulation.
Long-term quercetin supplementation reduces lipid peroxidation but does not improve performance in endurance runners

Purpose To evaluate the effects of chronic quercetin supplementation on endurance performance and antioxidant status in long distance runners. We hypothesized that an improved antioxidant status can be associated with enhanced performance.
Measurement of aerosol loading profiles and mixing heights in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1992 SORP-ONA field study

The Southern Oxidants Research Program on Ozone Non-Attainment (SORP-ONA) field study was held in Atlanta, Georgia, during the summer of 1992. SORP-ONA was the first in a series of intensive studies to characterize urban ozone in the South as a part of the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS). The University of Michigan Doppler Lidar was stationed on the Georgia Tech Campus during the study and measured aerosol profiles with approximately 15-minute temporal resolution. A study of mixing in the urban boundary layer determined that aerosol and presumably chemical constituents are not always well-mixed as expected and that some structure does exist. A technique for separation of aerosol and molecular scattered signal for retrieval of aerosol profiles is described. Additionally, a technique is introduced to estimate boundary layer mixing height which shows excellent correlation with rawinsonde potential temperature profile estimates of mixing height.
Modeling of Phonon Thermal Conductivity of Two Dimensional Nano and Micro Composites in the Longitudinal Direction

The three important length scales in composites made from nano/micro wires and fibers are: 1) the ratio of inter fiber distance and mean free path of the phonons in the host medium 2) the ratio of the diameter of the fiber or the wire and the mean free path of the phonons in the host medium and 3) the ratio of the diameter of the fiber and the mean free path of phonons in the fiber. Modeling of longitudinal thermal conductivity of two-dimensional nano and micro composites has not been attempted in the literature. This paper develops analytical modeling for the longitudinal thermal conductivity of nano and micro composites by solving the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) for phonons. The paper shows the scattering of phonons in the host medium by the fiber boundaries play a very important role in deciding the thermal conductivity of nano and micro composites. The model is in good agreement with data on thermal diffusivity of Bismuth Telluride nanowire/ Alumina composite.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE PINTO MOUNTAINS, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, CHONDRITE (CN = 1161,337:)*

This report relates to the finding and identification of the Pinto Mountains, Riverside County, California, chondrite (CN = 1161,337:), the 14th meteorite found in California, and the largest aerolite so far recovered in that state and preserved. A description is given of the surface features of the Pinto Mountains stone and also of the fault-surfaces and the rich chondritic structure characterizing the interior of this meteorite. On the basis of the features described, it is concluded that Pinto Mountains is a crystalline spherulitic chondrite C(ck).
The Keynesian Aggregate Supply Function for Labor

Abstract This article formulates a class of aggregate supply functions of labor which is an approximation to the backward “L” shaped supply curve originally proposed by J.M. Keynes. Forty-eight members of this class are estimated using first British and then U.S. data. We then test the hypothesis that the Keynesian “L” shaped supply function is an acceptable description of the behavior of each of these economies and find that it is. This result has fairly obvious implications both for Phillips Curve and incomes policy research.
Factors affecting sulfate adsorption, organic sulfur formation, and mobilization in forest and grassland spodosols

Forest and grassland soils that contained vary- ing amounts of Fe and Al were collected from England and Wales. Fractionation of free Fe and Al was accom- plished to determine which components affected sulfate adsorption. Organic Fe and Al were the dominant frac- tions in most soil horizons and high amounts of these or- ganically bound metals and, to some extent, crystalline Fe oxide were associated with high sulfate adsorption poten- tials. These adsorption potentials reflected naturally oc- curring amounts of adsorbed sulfate and ester sulfate. Overall, the C content exhibited a positive relationship with sulfate adsorption potentials. Soils with a high C content also exhibited high rates of organic S formation. The rate of organic S mobilization was greater in soils with higher amounts of soluble sulfate. Organic S was the largest pool and, typically, sulfonate S was the most abundant constituent of the organic pool.
Binding of pyrene to aquatic and commercial humic substances: The role of molecular weight and aromaticity

The binding of pyrene to a number of humic substances isolated from various aquatic sources and a commercial humic acid was measured using the solubility enhancement method. The humic materials used in this study were characterized by various spectroscopic and liquid chroma tography methods. A strong correlation was observed between the pyrene binding coefficient, Kdoc, and the molecular weights, molar absorptivities at 280 nm, and aromaticity of the aquatic humic substances. Binding of pyrene to the commercial humic acid, however, was significantly stronger and did not obey the relationships observed between Kdoc and the chemical properties of the aquatic humic substrates. These results suggest that the molecular weight and the aromatic content of the humic substrates exert influences on the binding of nonpolar and planar aromatic molecules and that the physicochemical properties of both humic materials and organic solutes are important in controlling the speciation of nonpolar organic contaminants in na...
SU‐E‐T‐719: Multi‐Energetic, GPU‐Accelerated Superposition/Convolution

Purpose: To develop a novel superposition/convolution based algorithm which eliminates the poly‐energetic transport approximation. Methods: We leveraged the hardware functionality of the GPU texture unit to allow our modern dual‐source superposition/convolution based dose calculation engine to efficiently perform multiple transports simultaneously. We experimented with dividing the spectrum in half (dual‐energetic), quarters (quad‐energetic) or N energy bins (multi‐energetic). These divisions were applied after the TERMA was computed using the exact, full‐spectrum attenuation. We have benchmarked the dosimetric properties of poly‐, dual‐, quad‐ and multi‐energetic superposition against a series of Monte Carlo dose accuracy benchmarks based on the ICCR 2000 benchmark and have performed a manual commissioning for an Elekta Infinity operating at 6MV. Results: The performance cost of dual‐energetic superposition was 11%–50%. The performance cost of quad‐energetic superposition was 39%–151%. Performance varied depending on GPU architecture and cache effects. The slower performance of quad‐energetic superposition was due to a smaller CUDA block size and the use of a separate density texture: we normally pack TERMA and density into a single texture. TERMA performance costs were 1% and 10%, respectively. The traditional, poly‐energetic superposition overestimated dose, particularly within the first 10 cm and in bone/aluminum. Dual‐energetic superposition greatly reduced this overestimation. Quad‐energetic and multi‐energetic superposition produced nearly identical results. Good agreement was achieved in air, water, bone and aluminum; all methods had trouble matching the fall off in lung due to the small treatment field. We based our manual commissioning of our Elekta Infinity linear accelerator on a published spectrum. We modeled the extra‐focal source as being very soft, which necessitated a slight hardening of the primary source. Conclusions: We have completed a multi‐energetic, GPU‐accelerated superposition/convolution based algorithm, which improves accuracy over the traditional, poly‐energetic approach and allows the use of physically accurate spectrums.
Tight stable surfaces, II

Kuiper has proved that there is no tight topological immersion of RP 2 into E 3 . Thus any continuous tight map RP 2 → E 3 has to have singular points. In this note we consider tight C ∞ -stable maps of RP 2 and the torus into E 3 ; i.e. maps with the simplest possible singularities (Whitney pinchpoints) and transversal crossings. We classify the forms that the outer part of such maps can take; we prove also some facts about the inner part. The result about the outer part of C ℞ -stable tight maps RP 2 → E 3 establishes the first half of Banchoff's conjectured classification of such mappings.
Resistive drift-wave plasma turbulence and the realizable Markovian closure

Abstract The realizable Markovian closure (RMC) developed by Bowman et al. [Phys. Fluids B 5 (1993) 3558] is employed to study the Hasegawa-Wakatani model, a paradigm for resistive drift-wave turbulence. Turbulent transport, spectral properties, and energy-transfer directions are discussed. For second-order statistics, the closure predictions are in excellent agreement with direct numerical simulations. A marked depression of the hydrodynamic flux from its quasilinear value is well predicted by the RMC and is explained without reference to “coherent structures”.
Mechanistic investigation of SN2 dominated gas phase alkyl iodide reactions

Abstract The competition between substitution (S N 2) and elimination (E2) has been studied for the reactions of methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, and tert- butyl iodide with Cl − , CN − , and HS − in the gas phase. Previous studies have shown a dominance of the S N 2 mechanism for sulfur anions and for some cyanide–alkyl iodide reactions. Although our results support this conclusion for the reactions studied, they reveal that competition between the S N 2 and E2 pathways exists for the isopropyl reactions. Steric and electronic effects, upon alkyl group substitution, produce looser and less stable S N 2 transition states, however, they can favor the E2 process. These opposing effects on barrier heights produce E2/S N 2 competition as steric hindrance increases around the α-carbon, however the relative differences in intrinsic barrier heights lead to significantly different branching ratios. This interpretation is discussed in terms of reaction efficiencies, kinetic isotope effects, linear basicity–reactivity relationships, electrostatic models, and transition state looseness parameters.
Neutron activation analysis and provenance research in archaeology

Neutron activation analysis is a powerful quantitative analytical technique with application in a broad range of disciplines such as agriculture, archaeology, geochemistry, health and human nutrition, environmental monitoring and semiconductor technology. Due to its excellent sensitivity, great accuracy and precision, and versatility, the technique is a suitable method for analysing many different types of samples. Archaeologists, in particular, have made extensive use of neutron activation analysis for the purpose of characterizing archaeological materials and determining their provenance. This paper presents a brief history of the technique and its application to archaeology, describes the physics behind the analytical method, and explains how the method is generally employed to determine the sources of archaeological materials.
Abstract 326: Overexpression of the carboxyl-terminus of MUC16 can accelerate the occurrence of phenotypes in p53 heterozygous mouse model.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. Cancer antigen 125 (CA125), also known as MUC16, is a high molecular weight glycoprotein overexpressed in sera of women with epithelial ovarian cancer, but not in normal epithelial ovarian tissue. As a biomarker, CA125 is widely used to screen, diagnose and monitor the epithelial ovarian cancer. To further understand the roles of MUC16 in tumorigenesis, recently, some mouse models related Muc16 and MUC16 were created. There is no phenotype for the Muc16 knockout mice (Cheon et al., PLoS ONE, 2009). We built a MUC16 carboxyl-terminus transgenic mouse (MUC16ΔC354) and found out that the transgenic mice appear to be viable, fertile, and develop normally through the more than two years of life. In order to investigate the relationship of p53 mutation and MUC16 overexpression in tumorigensis, we generated mice in which MUC16ΔC354 can be overxepressed with p53 heterozygote. Like the MUC16ΔC354 transgenic mice, the MUC16ΔC354; p53+/- mice develop normally. Both mouse strains are susceptible to spontaneous tumors, including sarcoma and lymphoma. However, comparing p53+/- mice, overexpression of MUC16ΔC354 significantly accelerates the occurrence of phenotypes in MUC16ΔC354; p53+/- mice. Out of a study population of 94 MUC16ΔC354; p53+/- mice, 22 (23.4%) developed obvious neoplasms by 18 months of age, 13 (11.9%) out of 109 for p53+/- mice (ρ Citation Format: Huasong Tian, Qin Zhou, Alexia Iasonos, Spriggs David. Overexpression of the carboxyl-terminus of MUC16 can accelerate the occurrence of phenotypes in p53 heterozygous mouse model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 326. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-326
Baseball-Related Injuries to Children Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments in the United States, 1994–2006

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of baseball-related injuries among children in the United States. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of data for children younger than 18 years of age from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) of the Consumer Product Safety Commission from 1994 through 2006. Sample weights provided by the NEISS were used to calculate national estimates of baseball-related injuries. Injury rates were calculated according to age group by using both population and baseball-participation data. RESULTS: An estimated 1 596 000 (95% confidence interval: 1 330 100-1 861 800) children younger than 18 years were treated in US hospital emergency departments for baseball-related injuries during the 13-year period from 1994 through 2006. During the study period, the annual number of injuries declined by 24.9%, and the annual injury rate for children younger than 18 years decreased significantly (P Language: en
Further characterization of mouse hepatitis virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerases

Abstract Two temporally and enzymatically distinct RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activities associated with membranes of the mouse hepatitis virus (MHV)-infected cells have been identified previously [Brayton et al., J. Virol. 42 , 847–853 (1982)]. In this paper, the subcellular distribution and functions of these two polymerases were examined. Fractionation of the postnuclear membranes by sucrose gradient sedimentation showed that the early polymerase activity (detected at 1 hr p.i.) was homogeneous, while the late polymeras e (6 hr p.i.) was associated with two distinct membrane fractions. The early polymerase synthesized a single RNA species of viral genomic size and negative sense. In contrast, the light peak of the late polymerase synthesized genomic-sized RNA of positive sense, while the heavy peak of the activity synthesized positive-sensed genomic and subgenomic mRNAs. These findings suggest that the light peak of the late polymerase represents a replication complex while the heavy peak represents a transcription complex. They also establish the essential features of the mode of replication of MHV.
The Role of the Map and Geographic Information Library in Medical Geographic Research

Map and geography libraries play an important role in supporting the work of medical geographers conducting research in the U.S. and other countries. Libraries provide access to three key types of information needed in medical geographic research: geographic data on places including their locations and environmental contexts, spatially-referenced data on population, and spatially-referenced data on health events. There is an important ongoing role for map and geography libraries and librarians in acquiring, cataloging, and making accessible information needed to advance medical geographic research.
Predicting Savings for White and Black Young Adults: An Early Look at Racial Disparities in Savings and the Potential Role of Children’s Development Accounts (CDAs)

This paper explores predictors of young adults’ savings using propensity score analysis and logistic regression with separate, longitudinal samples of whites and blacks aged 17–23 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We ask who saves among adolescents and young adults and whether the likelihood of having a savings account and the amount saved in young adulthood can be predicted by two factors: (1) having a savings account during adolescence and (2) having families who own assets. The majority of white (90%) and black (64%) young adults had savings; however, blacks saved about 3% the amount saved by whites, suggesting that young adults’ savings may be patterned after disparities in the distribution of assets and families may transfer a financial advantage to young adults. Logistic regression results find that among whites, future orientation was a significant predictor of having a savings account in young adulthood. A notable trend level finding was that white young adults were more likely to have a savings account when they had a savings account as adolescents. Among blacks, academic achievement and household size were significant predictors of having a savings account in young adulthood. If confirmed in future research, findings suggest that Children’s Development Accounts may be one way to reduce racial disparities in savings by intervening at a young age and providing universal accounts to improve savings across the life course.
Nicotine and caffeine effects on the task-elicited blood pressure response☆

Nine subjects participated in four daily sessions during which a psychomotor task was performed prior to and following drug administration. Blood pressure was reliably increased by task performance, cigarette smoking, and caffeine administration. The effect of the combination of task performance, cigarette smoking and caffeine administration was additive, resulting in a markedly increased blood pressure during task performance for subjects smoking cigarettes and receiving caffeine.
1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptors in the seminiferous tubules of the rat testis increase at puberty.

Whether 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25-(OH)2D3] receptor levels correlate with the rapid in vivo growth rate of the testes in the prepubertal rat was examined. Low salt chromatin-localized 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptors were compared in the testes and intestinal mucosa (control) of prepubertal, peripubertal, and mature rats (37, 49, and 90 days old, respectively). The number of 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptors per g wet wt was significantly (P < 0.02) reduced in the testes of the prepubertal rats compared to those in the peripubertal and mature groups. Conversely, no changes were observed in the 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptor levels in the control tissue intestinal mucosa among these age groups. Further experiments confirmed the identity of the testicular 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptors. The specific [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3-binding component was predominantly localized in the nuclei/chromatin fraction in hypotonic buffers. Scatchard analysis of [3H]1,25-(OH)2D3 binding to the testicular chromatin of adult rats yielded a single specific binding com...
Characteristics of Ephemeral Hydrographs in the Southwestern United States

AbstractA collection of archived hydrographs for 28 ephemeral streams provided a unique opportunity to quantify hydrograph characteristics for channels of the arid/semiarid Southwestern United States. Recurrence of flow and volume calculated using annual maxima converge with those of the complete series by 7 years, suggesting that records of annual maxima are sufficient for estimates of extreme event recurrence. The relationship between peak discharge and volume for a flow event cannot be tightly constrained without consideration of event duration. As a result, volumes V(T), for recurrence intervals T, cannot be estimated from corresponding peaks Qp(T). Instead, volume recurrence should be estimated based on the joint distribution of peak discharge and duration. Although the density governing event duration in these semiarid study regions decays as a power law with time, the authors could not identify a probability density that provides a good fit to volume magnitude. Deterministic relationships exist bet...
Bacterial Acetone Carboxylase Is a Manganese-dependent Metalloenzyme

Abstract Bacterial acetone carboxylase catalyzes the ATP-dependent carboxylation of acetone to acetoacetate with the concomitant production of AMP and two inorganic phosphates. The importance of manganese in Rhodobacter capsulatus acetone carboxylase has been established through a combination of physiological, biochemical, and spectroscopic studies. Depletion of manganese from the R. capsulatus growth medium resulted in inhibition of acetone-dependent but not malate-dependent cell growth. Under normal growth conditions (0.5 μm Mn2+ in medium), growth with acetone as the carbon source resulted in a 4-fold increase in intracellular protein-bound manganese over malate-grown cells and the appearance of a Mn2+ EPR signal centered at g = 2 that was absent in malate-grown cells. Acetone carboxylase purified from cells grown with 50 μm Mn2+ had a 1.6-fold higher specific activity and 1.9-fold higher manganese content than cells grown with 0.5 μm Mn2+, consistently yielding a stoichiometry of 1.9 manganese/α2β2γ2 multimer, or 0.95 manganese/αβγ protomer. Manganese in acetone carboxylase was tightly bound and not removed upon dialysis against various metal ion chelators. The addition of acetone to malate-grown cells grown in medium depleted of manganese resulted in the high level synthesis of acetone carboxylase (15–20% soluble protein), which, upon purification, exhibited 7% of the activity and 6% of the manganese content of the enzyme purified from acetone-grown cells. EPR analysis of purified acetone carboxylase indicates the presence of a mononuclear Mn2+ center, with possible spin coupling of two mononuclear sites. The addition of Mg·ATP or Mg·AMP resulted in EPR spectral changes, whereas the addition of acetone, CO2, inorganic phosphate, and acetoacetate did not perturb the EPR. These studies demonstrate that manganese is essential for acetone carboxylation and suggest a role for manganese in nucleotide binding and activation.
Technical news feature

Hull-free kernels from confectionary-type sunflower seed were prepressed with two levels of heat treatment and two levels of severity of pressing. Cakes were solvent extracted, desolventized in a continuous, pilot size extractor, and ground into flour. For comparison, kernels were also pressed into flour using direct solvent extraction and desolventizing at room temperature. Qualities of oil and of flour from different treatments were compared. Oils were all of good quality with no differences among treatments. Flours showed no distinct differences in dispersible nitrogen at pH values between 2 and 12, indicating that processing conditions did not damage the solubility of the protein. All cake and flour samples were high in residual hexane, showing the need for a deodorizer in the pilot plant. Treatments did not affect particle size distribution in flours. The flour samples all fell within the range for satisfactory microbiological quality, although bacteria count increased considerably during grinding of cake into flour. Treatments affected dry color but not wetted color of flour, with the more intense heating and pressing producing slightly darker flours. Amino acid compositions were not affected by process treatments.
A Possible Role of Acrolein in Diabetic Retinopathy: Involvement of a VEGF/TGFβ Signaling Pathway of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium in Hyperglycemia

Purpose: Acrolein has been implicated in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell death, and has been associated with diabetic retinopathy. Our purpose was to investigate the potential effect of high glucose in influencing acrolein-mediated RPE cytokine production and cell death. We investigated the influence of the acrolein effect on ARPE-19 cells in high glucose conditions and quantified the release of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ1 and 2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We assessed the ability of N-benzylhydroxylamine(NBHA) as well as TGFβ pathway inhibitors SIS3 and SB431542 to prevent this effect of acrolein on ARPE-19 cells.Materials and methods: Confluent ARPE-19 cells were treated with acrolein and/or NBHA in both 5.5 and 18.8 mM glucose conditions. Cells were also pretreated with SIS3, a specific inhibitor of the SMAD3 pathway, and SB431542, a specific inhibitor of TGFβ signaling pathway, before treating them with acrolein. Viable cells were counted and ELISAs were performed to m...
Methods for developing time-series climate surfaces to drive topographically distributed energy- and water-balance models

Topographically distributed energy- and water-balance models can accurately simulate both the development and melting of a seasonal snowcover in the mountain basins. To do this they require time-series climate surfaces of air temperature, humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and solar and thermal radiation. If data are available, these parameters can be adequately estimated at time steps of one to three hours. Unfortunately, climate monitoring in mountain basins is very limited, and the full range of elevations and exposures that affect climate conditions, snow deposition, and melt is seldom sampled, Detailed time-series climate surfaces have been successfully developed using limited data and relatively simple methods. We present a synopsis of the tools and methods used to combine limited data with simple corrections for the topographic controls to generate high temporal resolution time-series images of these climate parameters. Methods used include simulations, elevational gradients, and detrended kriging. The generated climate surfaces are evaluated at points and spatially to determine if they are reasonable approximations of actual conditions, Recommendations are made for the addition of critical parameters and measurement sites into routine monitoring systems in mountain basins.
Historical Land Use and Plant-Community Variability in a Wisconsin Calcareous Fen

Abstract In 2008 a calcareous mound fen not listed in the state Natural Heritage Inventory was discovered in south-central Wisconsin. Air photo interpretations and interviews with land users indicated two distinct major historical alterations to this fen: (1) drainage tiling without widespread soil disturbance and (2) plowing with or without direct drainage. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination of survey plots revealed that an assemblage of calciphiles, fen indicators, and wetland generalists persisted in the mound's center, while invasive herbaceous and woody vegetation reached highest cover along the disturbed flanks. Cluster analyses revealed three distinct communities: (1) a fen meadow in the center of the fen, (2) invading shrub-carr in tiled areas, and (3) a weedy/invasive herbaceous community where soil disturbance was widespread. This study lends support to past assertions that drainage can lead to shrub-carr invasion and suggests that widespread soil disturbance can lead to domination by...
Phase II trial of CoQ10 for ALS finds insufficient evidence to justify phase III

Objective Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating, and currently incurable, neuromuscular disease in which oxidative stress and mitochondrial impairment are contributing to neuronal loss. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an antioxidant and mitochondrial cofactor, has shown promise in ALS transgenic mice, and in clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases other than ALS. Our aims were to choose between two high doses of CoQ10 for ALS, and to determine if it merits testing in a Phase III clinical trial.
Estimation of measles vaccine coverage needed to prevent transmission in schools.

Background The aim of the present study was to produce the first estimation in Japan of the basic reproduction number (R(0)) and the minimum level of vaccine coverage needed to prevent measles outbreaks (P(c)). Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted during two measles outbreaks among 12-15-year-old middle school students in one prefecture in spring, from the end of February to the beginning of May 2002, and a stochastic mathematical model was constructed to calculate vaccine effectiveness (VE) and the basic reproduction number (R(0)). P(c) was calculated from R(0) and VE. Results In outbreak 1 (school A), 62 (94%) of 66 patients responded to the questionnaire. Of a total of 601 students, 534 (88.9%) responded. Of these, 82.6% (441/534) had previously received measles vaccine. In outbreak 2 (school B), 20 (99%) of 21 patients responded. Of a total of 375 students, 373 (99.5%) responded. Of these, 317 (85.0%) received measles immunization. Mathematical analysis was as follows: in outbreak 1 R(0) was 7.40 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.36-7.44) and VE was 76.55% (95%CI: 53.24-87.54). In outbreak 2, R(0) was 18.89 (95%CI: 18.88-18.90) and VE was 98.54% (95%CI: 94.89-99.73). Consequently, P(c) was 112.97% (95%CI: 92.29-145.52) in outbreak 1 and 96.11% (95%CI: 93.81-98.53) in outbreak 2. Conclusion Because of the lower VE in outbreak 1, measles virus transmission could not have been stopped even if all students received a single dose of vaccine. In outbreak 2, with higher VE, the outbreak could have been prevented by increasing the proportion of students who had been vaccinated.
Genetics Leads the Way to the Accomplices of Presenilins

Abstract Presenilins mediate the γ-secretase cleavage of Notch transmembrane receptors as well as the transmembrane β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP), but they are not thought to accomplish this alone. Recent genetic screens in C. elegans , presented in this issue of Developmental Cell , identify two genes that are essential to γ-secretase activity and may interact with presenilins.
High-Power Brayton Rotating Unit for Reactor and Solar Dynamic Power Systems

The University of New Mexico Brayton Rotating Unit-3 (UNM-BRU-3), designed for 40 g/mole He-Xe working fluid, is optimized for shaft speed of 45 krpm, turbine and compressor inlet temperatures of 1149 and 400 K, and thermal power input of 157 k W th . At these conditions, the electrical power and thermal efficiency are 54.2 k W e and 34.5%, the compressor exit pressure is 1.044 MPa, the He-Xe flow rate is 1.54 kg/s, and the corresponding specific mass is 0.98 kg/kW e . Investigated are the effects of decreasing the turbine inlet temperature to 900 K and the thermal power input to 40 k W th and varying the shaft speed from 30 to 55 krpm. At 900 K turbine inlet temperature, thermal power input of 157 k W th , and shaft rotation speed of 45 krpm, the UNM-BRU-3 has a thermal efficiency of 22.8% and generates 34.2 k W e at a compressor exit pressure of 1.3 MPa and He-Xe flow rate of 2.07 k g/s; but the specific mass of the unit increases to ∼1.55 kg/k W e . The unit performance at 900 K is attractive for early deployment of space reactor and solar dynamics power systems with stainless steel structure, thus minimizing development cost and enhancing operation reliability and life. The low specific mass of UNM-BRU-3 will reduce the total mass and launch cost of these systems.
Optimal design method for series LCLC resonant converter based on analytical solutions for voltage gain resonant peaks

Series LCLC resonant tank (SS topology), LLC resonant tank, and series-parallel LCLC resonant tank (SP topology) are commonly used for wireless power transfer applications. However, conventional resonant tank design methods are exceedingly tedious and/or complex and are mostly based on a trial-and-error approach. This is due to the complexity in resonant characteristics of the SS topology. As a result, in the literature no design method has been proposed that allows rapid calculation of resonant tank parameters. In this paper, such a design method is introduced: a rapid parameter calculation method for designing the SS topology having identical magnetic core geometry on primary and secondary sides with arbitrary turns ratio. Deriving the proposed design equations requires determining various resonant frequencies of interest of the SS topology. Interpretation of the meaning of these frequencies and discussion of their importance for resonant tank design are included. Also, it is shown that some of these frequencies have important roles for the LLC and SP topologies as well. The accuracy of proposed design equations is evaluated in both simulation and experiment.
Skin and soft tissue infections: the new surgical infection society guidelines.

Abstract Background: The Surgical Infection Society Guidelines for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) were published in October 2009 in Surgical Infections, and an overview of these guidelines was provided at the Thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Society. A summary of this overview is provided. Methods: Review of relevant papers related to complicated SSTIs published between 1966 and 2008 with graded recommendations and summations of general epidemiology and recommendations. Results: The frequency of SSTI has increased over the past decade, predominately because of an increase in infections caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Drug resistance is increasing among all pathogens. A total of 61 graded recommendations were made in the complete guidelines, 28 of which are presented here, separated into those for non-necrotizing and necrotizing infections. Conclusions: Appropriate antibiotic therapy should be provided in complicated SSTIs. Earl...
TIME LIMITS FOR COMPLETING FIXED RATIOS. III. STIMULUS VARIABLES1

Pigeons received food only if they took longer than a specified time to begin and complete a fixed ratio. In Experiment 1, ratios with shorter durations had no stimulus consequence; in Experiment 2, these ratios ended with a stimulus change. In both studies, the mean time to complete the ratio exceeded requirements of less than 30 sec, approximately matched requirements of 30 sec, and fell progressively short of matching thereafter. Variability increased together with the means. The various effects resembled those of temporal differentiation experiments involving single responses. Although both number of ratios and time separating successive food presentations increased along with ratio duration, control experiments showed that differential reinforcement of duration, rather than either form or reinforcer intermittency, accounted for the performance. Experiment 2 also studied the effects of adding a stimulus that signalled when the required time had elapsed. The stimulus produced durations that matched even the most stringent requirements. This precision was not maintained when the stimulus was removed. Temporal differentiation schedules seem to have similar effects regardless of the response class and temporal property involved.
Role of Nausea in the development of aversions to a beverage paired with chemotherapy treatment in cancer patients

Previous experimental research has demonstrated that patients can develop conditioned aversions to foods and beverages after a single pairing with chemotherapy administration for cancer. The present study used a prospective longitudinal design to examine the role of posttreatment nausea in the development of learned food aversions in these patients. Chemotherapy patients sampled a distinctive beverage immediately prior to their first and second chemotherapy infusions. We assessed nausea, and other chemotherapy side effects, for the 24-h period following chemotherapy administration. Food aversion, at the second infusion, was assessed in terms of behavior (decreased consumption) and affect (decreased hedonic rating). Consistent with previous research, patients showed both decreased consumption and decreased hedonic rating after a single chemotherapy infusion. Nausea was found to be related to decreases in hedonic rating, but not to decreases in consumption. No other treatment side effects predicted either decreased consumption or hedonic rating. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that there is a special link between nausea and changes in affective response to food items. These results also highlight the unique opportunities for studying food aversion formation in the oncology setting.
On the effect of prior austenite grain size on near-threshold fatigue crack growth

It is generally accepted that the fatigue or endurance strength of planar slip materials, such as steel and brass, is increased by refining the grain size, whereas in wavy slip materials, such as pure copper and pure aluminum, the fatigue strength is unaffected. However, there is little similar evidence of an effect of grain size on fatigue crack propagation. In both wavy and planar slip metals, growth rates appear independent of grain size. For example, variations in grain size from 10 to 200{micro}m in 70/30 brass (6), and from 45 to 480{micro}m in austenitic stainless steel produce no measurable change in fatigue crack propagation rates over a range of growth rates from 10{sup -5} to 10{sup -2} mm/cycle. Recently, however, there have been indications in the literature that grain size may indeed influence crack propagation behavior at growth rates less than 10{sup -5} to 10{sup -6} mm/cycle approaching the threshold for crack propagation, {Delta}K{sub 0}. Robinson and Beevers report an order of magnitude decrease in near-threshold growth rates in {alpha}-titanium after coarsening the grain size from 20 to 200{micro}m. Similar effects have been seen in Ti-6Al-4V. Furthermore, Masounave and BaIlon have observed a marked increase in threshold {Delta}K{sub 0} valuesmore » in a range of low strength steels by increasing ferrite grain size. In all the above studies however, no attempt was made to control strength; and the effect of coarsening the grain size may well have been caused by a concurrent decrease in material strength, particularly since it is known that, in steels at least, near-threshold fatigue crack growth is markedly decreased by reducing the yield strength. A comparison at constant yield strength between coarse and fine-grained materials has been made in ultra-high strength steel (300-M) where it was found that, on enlarging the (prior austenite) grain size from 20 to l60{micro}m, a small reduction in near-threshold propagation rates below 10{sup -4} to 10{sup -5} mm/cycle resulted with no change in the threshold {Delta}K{sub 0}. The object of the present note is to examine further the effect of prior austenite grain size on near-threshold fatigue crack growth behavior in a high strength steel (Fe-Cr-C) where grain size can be varied considerably without significant change in monotonic and cyclic strength.« less
In search of value: how price and store name information influence buyers′ product perceptions

Discusses a conceptual model of consumers′ product evaluation that should help marketers′ understanding of price setting. Provides a conceptual model that incorporates acceptable value range and that examines the influence of price and store name information on quality, monetary sacrifice, value, and willingness to buy. Argues that unlike brand name image, which takes considerable time, money and managerial talent to develop, price and retail outlet are two distinct marketing tools for making quick position movements in a competitive market. Concludes that understanding the effects of price and store name information should lead to more effective and efficient behaviour in the marketplace by both buyers and sellers.
Complementation of aprataxin deficiency by base excision repair enzymes

Abortive ligation during base excision repair (BER) leads to blocked repair intermediates containing a 5-adenylated-deoxyribose phosphate (5-AMP-dRP) group. Aprataxin (APTX) is able to remove the AMP group allowing repair to proceed. Earlier results had indicated that purified DNA polymerase (pol )r emoves the entire 5-AMP-dRP group through its lyase activity and flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) excises the 5-AMP-dRP groupalong withone or twonucleotides. Here, using cell extracts from APTX-deficient cell lines, human Ataxia with Oculomotor Apraxia Type 1 (AOA1) and DT40 chicken B cell, we found that pol and FEN1 enzymatic activities were prominent and strong enough to complement APTX deficiency. In addition, pol , APTX and FEN1 coordinate with each other in processing of the 5-adenylated dRP-containing BER intermediate. Finally, other DNA polymerases and a repair factor with dRP lyase activity (pol , pol , pol and Ku70) were found to remove the 5-adenylated-dRP group from the BER intermediate. However, the activities of these enzymes were weak compared with those of pol and FEN1.
Quantitative changes in cytoskeletal β- and γ-actin mRNAs and apparent absence of sarcomeric actin gene transcripts in early mouse embryos.

Actin is known to be synthesized both during oogenesis and in cleavage-stage embryos in mice. Cytoskeletal beta-actin appears to be the major component, followed by gamma-actin, but the synthesis of alpha-actin has also been inferred from protein electrophoretic patterns. We have studied the expression of cytoskeletal (beta- and gamma-) and sarcomeric (alpha-cardiac and alpha-skeletal) actin genes at the level of the individual mRNAs in blot hybridization experiments using isoform-specific RNA probes. The results show that there are about 2 x 10(4) beta-actin mRNA molecules in the fully grown oocyte; this number drops to about one-half in the egg and less than one-tenth in the late two-cell embryo but increases rapidly during cleavage to about 3 x 10(5) molecules in the late blastocyst. The amount of gamma-actin mRNA is similar to that of beta-actin in oocytes and eggs but only about 40% as much in late blastocysts, indicating a differential accumulation of these mRNAs during cleavage. The developmental pattern of beta- and gamma-actin mRNA provides a striking example of the transition from maternal to embryonic control that occurs at the two-cell stage and involves the elimination of most or all of the maternal actin mRNA. There was no detectable alpha-cardiac or alpha-skeletal mRNA (i.e., less than 1,000 molecules per embryo) at any stage from oocyte to late blastocyst, suggesting that the sarcomeric actin genes are silent during preimplantation development.
Methods to Develop an Electronic Medical Record Phenotype Algorithm to Compare the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease across 3 Chronic Disease Cohorts.

Background Typically, algorithms to classify phenotypes using electronic medical record (EMR) data were developed to perform well in a specific patient population. There is increasing interest in analyses which can allow study of a specific outcome across different diseases. Such a study in the EMR would require an algorithm that can be applied across different patient populations. Our objectives were: (1) to develop an algorithm that would enable the study of coronary artery disease (CAD) across diverse patient populations; (2) to study the impact of adding narrative data extracted using natural language processing (NLP) in the algorithm. Additionally, we demonstrate how to implement CAD algorithm to compare risk across 3 chronic diseases in a preliminary study.