cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of unique DNA-binding and transcriptional-activation functions in the carboxyl-terminal extension of the zinc finger region in the human vitamin D receptor.

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) binds 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and mediates its actions on gene transcription by heterodimerizing with retinoid X receptors (RXRs) on direct repeat (DR+3) vitamin D responsive elements (VDREs) located in target genes. The VDRE binding function of VDR has been primarily ascribed to the zinc finger region (residues 24-87). To define the minimal VDRE binding domain for human VDR (hVDR), a series of C-terminally truncated hVDR mutants (Delta134, Delta113, Delta102, Delta90, Delta84, Delta80, and Delta60) was generated and expressed in bacteria. Only the Delta134 and Delta113 mutants bound the VDRE (predominantly as monomers), suggesting that, in addition to the conserved zinc finger region of hVDR, as many as 25 amino acids in a C-terminal extension (CTE) participate in DNA binding. Site-directed mutagenesis of conserved charged residues in full-length hVDR was then performed to dissect the functional significance of the CTE (residues 88-112) in the context of the complete hVDR-RXR-VDRE interaction. Functional assays revealed that E98K/E99K, R102A/K103A/R104A, and K109A/R110A/K111A mutant hVDRs possessed dramatically reduced DNA binding and transcriptional activities, whereas distinct point mutants, such as K103A, bound to DNA normally but lacked transcriptional activity. Therefore, the boundary for the minimal DNA-binding domain in hVDR extends C-terminal of the zinc fingers to Lys-111, with clusters of highly conserved charged amino acids playing a crucial role in binding to the DR+3 element. Further, individual residues in this region (e.g., Lys-103) may lie on the opposing face of a DNA-binding alpha-helix, where they could contact transcriptional coactivators or basal transcription factors.
Information-Theoretic Relaying for Multicast in Wireless Networks

A two-sender, two-receiver channel model with one relay node is considered for the case of multicast traffic. We examine two different cooperative approaches: relaying, in which the relay time-shares between helping two senders and employs traditional routing on the network layer, and more general encoding schemes in which the relay simultaneously forwards two data streams. Outer bounds are presented and then specialized to bound the performance of any relaying scheme. Two simple encoding schemes that allow for more general relaying are considered and compared to the relaying outer bound. We also consider the performance of an opportunistic network coding scheme that exploits interference at the receivers by interpreting it as a form of a network code.
Controllable Formation of Pyrene (C16H10) Excimers in Polystyrene/Tetrabutylammonium Hexafluorophosphate Films through Solvent Vapor and Temperature Annealing

Pyrene, because of its wide applications in fluorescence sensors, has been studied extensively. Nevertheless, the formation of pyrene excimers in the solid state has not been well understood compar...
Ethics and Pain: Why and for Whom?

Center, New York, New York This paper gives a historical overview to the development of this special issue of Pain Medicine . A brief synopsis of the articles of this issue is offered followed by a review of characteristics of pain, pain patients, and the system we practice in, that can lead to ethical dilemmas. These issues include the inherent difficulty of “curing” chronic pain, the psychopathology of chronic pain patients, end-of-life issues, the patient-physician relationship, the use of unproven methods, the vulnerability of pain patients, the increasing economic pressures of pain clinics, litigation, and the workers’ compensation system.
Effects of neonatal strychnine administration on active avoidance in rats.

Rat pups received strychnine sulphate or saline injections, handling, or no manipulation on Days 2–5 after birth. An active-avoidance task at 45 days showed no difference between the strychnine, saline, or handled groups, but all manipulated groups made significantly more avoidance responses than the nonhandled group. The present data suggest that the behavioral effect of a central nervous system stimulant administered to neonatal rats may be altered by the physical manipulation involved in the drug administration.
Lymphocyte subset reconstitution patterns in children with small bowel transplantation induced with steroid‐free rabbit anti‐human thymocyte globulin

: Multiple measurements (n = 212) of lymphocyte subsets in 67 children treated with steroid-free Tacrolimus, and rabbit anti-human thymocyte globulin induction demonstrate early reconstitution of T-cytotoxic and NK cells. Reconstitution of CD4+ cells is complete after the second post-transplant year. During the period at risk for rejection, NK and T-cytotoxic cell counts are significantly higher among Rejectors. During periods at increased risk for EBV viral infection, CD4 counts bear a significant inverse relationship to EBV viral load in a subset of at-risk recipients. Rejection-prone children also demonstrate significantly higher counts of total lymphocytes, Tc and NK cells prior to SBTx, and may illustrate one basis for enhanced baseline immunocompetence.
HIV-1 Tat protein variants: critical role for the cysteine region in synaptodendritic injury.

Abstract HIV-1 enters the central nervous system early in infection; although HIV-1 does not directly infect neurons, HIV-1 may cause a variety of neurological disorders. Neuronal loss has been found in HIV-1, but synaptodendritic injury is more closely associated with the neurocognitive disorders of HIV-1. The HIV-1 transactivator of transcription (Tat) protein causes direct and indirect damage to neurons. The cysteine rich domain (residues 22–37) of Tat is important for producing neuronal death; however, little is known about the effects of the Tat protein functional domains on the dendritic network. The ability of HIV-1 Tat 1–101 Clades B and C, Tat 1–86 and Tat 1–72 proteins, as well as novel peptides (truncated 47–57, 1–72δ31–61, and 1–86 with a mutation at Cys22) to produce early synaptodendritic injury (24 h), relative to later cell death (48 h), was examined using cell culture. Treatment of primary hippocampal neurons with Tat proteins 1–72, 1–86 and 1–101B produced a significant early reduction in F-actin labeled puncta, implicating that these peptides play a role in synaptodendritic injury. Variants with a mutation, deletion, or lack of a cysteine rich region (1–86[Cys22], 1–101C, 1–72δ31–61, or 47–57) did not cause a significant reduction in F-actin rich puncta. Tat 1–72, 1–86, and 1–101B proteins did not significantly differ from one another, indicating that the second exon (73–86 or 73–101) does not play a significant role in the reduction of F-actin puncta. Conversely, peptides with a mutation, deletion, or lack of the cysteine rich domain (22–37) failed to produce a loss of F-actin puncta, indicating that the cysteine rich domain plays a key role in synaptodendritic injury. Collectively, these results suggest that for Tat proteins, 1) synaptodendritic injury occurs early, relative to cell death, and 2) the cysteine rich domain of the first exon is key for synaptic loss. Preventing such early synaptic loss may attenuate HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders.
Preliminary use of differential scanning calorimetry of cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme

Thermal stability signatures of complex molecule interaction in biological fluids can be measured using a new approach called differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermal stability of plasma proteome has been described previously as a method of producing a disease-specific “signature,” termed thermogram, in several neoplastic and autoimmune diseases. We describe the preliminary use of DSC performed on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as a diagnostic tool for the identification of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Samples of CSF from nine patients with confirmed GBM were evaluated using DSC, and the thermogram signatures evaluated. These thermograms were compared with thermograms of CSF taken from patients with non-neoplastic conditions such as head trauma, hydrocephalus, or CSF leak. Further analysis was also performed on CSF from patients who had non-GBM neoplastic conditions such as carcinomatosis meningitis or central nervous system lymphoma or leukemia. The DSC thermograms of CSF of the patients with GBM were significantly different when compared with other neoplastic and non-neoplastic cases. The melting temperature of the major transition was shifted by 5°C, which makes it easily distinguishable from control cases. Our results are very preliminary, but it appears that the DSC of CSF has potential utility in diagnostics and monitoring disease progression in GBM patients.
Trypanosoma cruzi: roles for perforin-dependent and perforin-independent immune mechanisms in acute resistance.

Abstract Nickell, S. P., and Sharma, D. 2000. Trypanosoma cruzi: Roles for perforin-dependent and perforin-independent immune mechanisms in acute resistance. Experimental Parasitology 94, 207–216. CD8+ T cells have been shown to be required for acute resistance to infection with the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi , the causative agent of Chagas' disease. However, to date, the mechanism by which CD8+ T cells mediate protection in vivo has not been determined. While CD8+ T cells can exhibit cytolytic function, they also secrete cytokines such as IFN-γ, which is known to mediate protection against T. cruzi infections. To determine whether cytolysis is an important effector function in vivo , we have compared outcomes of T. cruzi infection in normal and perforin-deficient mice. Our results indicate that while perforin-dependent cytolytic mechanisms clearly make a major contribution to acute resistance to T. cruzi infection, this contribution may be strain and challenge dose-dependent, since perforin-deficient mice challenged with lower doses of a less virulent strain survived and were subsequently resistant to challenge with virulent organisms. In vivo depletion studies demonstrated that survival of perforin-deficient mice challenged with low doses of T. cruzi requires both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and is dependent on IFN-γ secretion. These studies document the participation of both perforin-dependent cytotoxic and perforin-independent, IFN-γ-dependent immune mechanisms in acute resistance to T. cruzi infection.
Global bifurcation and chaos in parametrically forced systems with one-one resonance

Global bifurcations of a fourth-order Hamiltonian system with Z2 ⨭ Z2 symmetry are studied. The system represents normal-form equations that arise in a variety of problems which have one-one internal resonance and which are forced sinusoidally at the natural frequencies. Four qualitatively different types of global behaviours are shown to occur. Using a generalization of the Melnikov method, three different heteroclinic cycles are shown to break, generating Smale horseshoes and resulting in chaotic phenomena. The theoretical results are verified by numerical simulations. The main conclusion of the analysis is that chaotic phenomena are very common in this class of system
Assembly of bacteriophage P2 and P4 procapsids with internal scaffolding protein.

Assembly of the E. coli bacteriophage P2 into an icosahedral capsid with T = 7 symmetry is dependent on the gpN capsid protein, the gpQ connector protein and the gpO internal scaffolding protein. In the presence of the P4-encoded protein Sid, the same proteins are assembled into a smaller capsid with T = 4 symmetry. Although gpO has long been expected to act as an internal scaffolding protein, it has not been possible to produce P2 procapsids efficiently in vitro or in vivo due to a failure to express gpO at high levels. In this study, we find that full-length gpO undergoes proteolytic degradation within 1 h of induction of expression. However, a truncated version of gpO lacking the N-terminal 25 amino acids (OΔ25) is stably expressed at high levels and is able to direct the formation of P2 size procapsids. In the presence of Sid, OΔ25 is incorporated into P4 procapsids, showing that Sid overrides the effect of gpO on capsid size determination.
Effects of morphine on luteinizing hormone secretion and catecholamine turnover in the hypothalamus of estrogen-treated rats

Abstract This study examined the effects of morphine sulfate and naloxone alone or in combination on phasic luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in estrogen-treated ovariectomized rats. Thereafter, the effects of morphine on initial concentrations, rate constants and rates of turnovers of norepinephrine and dopamine were evaluated in untreated or morphine-injected, estrogen-primed rats. Morphine, when given at 12.30 h, completely suppressed the spontaneous LH surges which occur in steroid-treated rats. The opiate antagonist, naloxone, (12.15 h) markedly amplified and advanced the time of LH release and a combination of morphine and naloxone produced peak afternoon LH values which were intermediate between those obtained in controls and in rats receiving only naloxone. Norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) turnover were calculated from data obtained in groups of rats sacrificed 0,45 or 90 min after administering 300 mg/kg b. wt. i.p. ofα-methyl-p-tyrosine (α-MPT) at 10.00 or 15.00 h. In these experiments, the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) and the median eminence (ME) were microdissected and analyzed for changes in NE and DA concentrations by a radioenzymatic procedure. In estrogen-treated rats, NE rate constants and turnover significantly increased at 15.00 vs 10.00 h in MPN and ME concomitant with increases in serum LH. Morphine blocked both increases in rate constants and turnover in the MPN and ME and also significantly reduced initial concentrations of NE in the MPN. None of the DA parameters measured in MPN or ME changed in estrogen-treated controls between morning and afternoon. Further, while morphine did not affect DA turnover in the MPN, DA turnover declined in the ME. These data add to accumulating evidence which demonstrates an important modulatory role for hypothalamic opiate neurons in regulating catecholamine activity and gonadotropin secretion.
Blood Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts Survival in Patients with Colorectal Liver Metastases Treated with Systemic Chemotherapy

Background Whether neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) predicts survival of patients with colorectal liver metastases (CLM) treated with systemic chemotherapy remains unclear.
3.1.3 Complex System Classification

The use of terms such as “Engineering Systems”, “System of systems” and others have been coming into greater use over the past decade to denote systems of importance but with implied higher complexity than for the term systems alone. This paper searches for a useful taxonomy or classification scheme for complex Systems. There are two aspects to this problem: 1) distinguishing between Engineering Systems (the term we use) and other Systems, and 2) differentiating among Engineering Systems. Engineering Systems are found to be differentiated from other complex systems by being human-designed and having both significant human complexity as well as significant technical complexity. As far as differentiating among various engineering systems, it is suggested that functional type is the most useful attribute for classification differentiation. Information, energy, value and mass acted upon by various processes are the foundation concepts underlying the technical types.
Metal concentrations in muscle of fish from aquatic systems in east Tennessee, U.S.A.

Heavy metal residues (i.e., As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, and Zn) were determined in striated muscle of 268 fish specimens harvested during a 5-yr period (1980–1984) from several aquatic systems in east Tennessee (U.S.A.). Elevated concentrations of Hg, Mn, and Cd were found in the muscle of fish from several of the aquatic systems studied; concentrations of Hg exceeded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration action level of 1.0 ppm for food intended for human consumption. In general, the concentrations of the other metals in fish muscle were low. Moreover, muscle metal content did not vary among the three fish groups (i.e., game fish, catfish, and rough fish) investigated at any one of the nine sampling stations established. The results of this study are in agreement with the 1978–1979 pilot survey of Young and Blevins (1981) conducted at the same sampling stations. It appears that, in this region of Tennessee, heavy metal contamination of fish tissues has neither improved nor deteriorated during the last 5 yr.
Identification of putative endogenous retroviruses actively transcribed in the brain.

Remnant proviral sequences in the genome resulting from the ancient germline infection of exogenous retroviruses are called endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). The transcriptional activation of human ERVs (HERVs) in the brain of patients with some neurologic diseases suggests that ERVs may participate in certain disease processes in the central nervous system. In this study, we identified putative murine ERVs (MuERVs) which are transcriptionally active in the brain and characterized their biological properties to better understand the ERVs’ roles in the brain pathophysiology. The brain and selective non-nervous tissues (heart, muscle, adrenal gland, and salivary gland) of female C57BL/6J mice were subjected to RT-PCR analyses of MuERV expression by amplifying the 3′-end U3 regions and full-length/subgenomic transcripts. The expression patterns of the U3 regions and subgenomic transcripts in the brain were unique compared to the other tissues as well as the genomic MuERV profile. Two putative MuERVs (8,027 and 5,668 bp) were mapped on the mouse genome (chromosome 10, and chromosomes 4 and 8, respectively) using the MuERV U3 sequences, which were evidently expressed in the brain, as probes. Biological properties of these putative MuERVs, such as transcription potential, primer binding site, coding potential, integration age, recombination, and flanking host genes, were characterized. In particular, one of the two putative MuERV isolates had coding potentials for intact group specific antigen (gag), and truncated polymerase (pol) and envelope (env) polypeptides, while the other was defective for all three polypeptides. The findings from this study suggest that a specific group of MuERVs are constitutively expressed in the brain and they may participate in normal and pathogenic events pertaining to the brain through their replication gene products (e.g., gag and env polypeptides) as well as interactions with flanking host genes.
Surface coordination chemistry of 2,5-dihydroxythiophenol at well-defined Pd(111) electrodes: Studies by LEED, AES, HREELS and electrochemistry

Abstract The coordination chemistry and electrochemical reactivity of 2,5-dihydroxythiophenol (DHT) adsorbed from aqueous solutions onto a well-defined Pd(111) electrode surface has been studied by a combination of low-energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy and electrochemistry. The results indicate that DHT is chemisorbed in two discrete non-random orientations that depend upon the concentration of the adsorbate in solution. At high concentrations, DHT is oxidatively chemisorbed through the -SH group in a vertical S-η 1 orientation with the loss of a sulfhydryl hydrogen. In this mode of surface coordination, the pendant diphenol group exhibits reversible quinone/diphenol redox activity similar to that for the solution-borne (unadsorbed) species; however, the width of the voltammetric peak is much broader for the surface species due to substrate-mediated adsorbate–adsorbate interactions. At low concentrations, DHT functions as a bidentate ligand in which the diphenol and -SH groups are both oxidatively coordinated as quinonoid and S moieties at the surface. In this orientation, the organic group is no longer pendant and no quinone/diphenol redox is displayed. No LEED patterns were discernible which indicated that, regardless of orientation, the molecular adlayers did not have long-range order.
Mass spectra of 6-ketononanolides and related ketolactones

The mass spectral fragmentation of 6-ketononanolides, 6- and 7- ketodecanolides, 7-ketoundecanolides and 9-ketotridecanolide has been partially correlated via high resolution measurements and the use of methyl substituted derivatives. Moities characteristic of the “lactone side” and the “non-lactone side” of the ketolactones can be described. Metastable transitions and decoupled measurements are offered as additional evidence for some of these pathways.
Hybrid Power/Energy Generation Through Multidisciplinary and Multilevel Design Optimization With Complementarity Constraints

The optimal design of hybrid power generation systems (HPGSs) can significantly improve the technical and economic performance of power supply. However, the discrete-time simulation with logical disjunctions involved in HPGS design usually leads to a nonsmooth optimization model, to which well-established techniques for smooth nonlinear optimization cannot be directly applied. This paper casts the HPGS design optimization problem as a multidisciplinary design optimization problem with complementarity constraints, a formulation that introduces a complementarity formulation of the nonsmooth logical disjunction, as well as a time horizon decomposition framework, to ensure a fast local solution. A numerical study of a stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic/wind power generation system is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Does the 14C method estimate net photosynthesis? Implications from batch and continuous culture studies of marine phytoplankton

We carried out batch culture studies with seven species of marine phytoplankton and chemostat studies with two of the seven species to determine whether and to what extent 14 Cu ptake approximated net photosynthesis. In two of seven cases, Isochrysis galbana and Dunaliella tertiolecta ,c ells uniformly labeled with 14 C lost no activity when they were transferred to a 14 C-free medium and allowed to grow in the light. In similar experiments with four other species, uniformly labeled cells lost activity when incubated in the light, but the loss rates were only a few percent per day. Thus these six species appear to respire primarily recently ! xed carbon. In the case of the remaining species, Chlorella kessleri ,l oss rates of 14 Ci n the light from uniformly labeled cells were about 29% per day, the apparent ratio of respiration to net photosynthesis being 0.4. Follow-up chemostat studies with I. galbana and C. kessleri grown under both light- and nitrate-limited conditions produced results consistent with the implications of the batch culture work: uptake of 14 Cb yI. galbana after incubations of 24 h yielded estimates of photosynthetic carbon ! xation equal to the product of the chemostat dilution rate and the concentratio no f organic carbon in the growth chamber. Similar experiments with C. kessleri produced 14 C-based estimates of photosynthetic carbon ! xation that exceeded the net rates of organic carbon production in the growth chamber by roughly 55%. Time-course studies with both species indicated that at high growth rates recently ! xed carbon began to enter the respiratory substrate pool after a time lag of several hours, a result consistent with previous work with D. tertiolecta .T he lag time appeared to be much shorter at low growth rates. The results with C. kessleri are similar to results previously reported for Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Amphidium carteri. Collectively these results suggest that 14 Cu ptake by species with relatively high ratios of respiration to photosynthesis may tend to substantially overestimate net photosynthesis, perhaps because a substantial percentage of the carbon respired by such species is old carbon.
The Negotiation of Intelligibility in an Aphasic Dyad.

Employing conversation analysis as a research technique, this study investigates the ways that unintelligibility is accounted for and overcome within a therapeutic encounter between an individual with aphasia and dysarthria and his clinician. The results emphasize the collaborative nature of intelligibility negotiation and demonstrate how both the individual with the impairment and his clinician employ various interactional strategies and knowledge resources to turn unintelligibility into intelligibility so that the therapeutic encounter may continue.
Lessons learned from the failure of a Minnesota's major e-business healthcare project

Despite substantial progress in project management in the past decades, management of outsourced system development projects remains a major challenge for project managers and sponsors. The rapid growth of e-business in the past decades has created a surge of new development projects to replace the old legacy systems. However, while there are many published studies about in-house development projects, few studies explore outsourced projects, especially those that failed. This paper presents a case study of the failure of the HealthMatch project at the State of Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) from the qualitative systems view. The paper ends with success/failure factors and lessons learned.
Representing elevation uncertainty in runoff modelling and flowpath mapping

Vertical inaccuracies in terrain data propagate through dispersal area subroutines to create uncertainties in runoff flowpath predictions. This study documented how terrain error sensitivities in the D8, Multiple Flow (MF), DEMON, D-Infinity and two hybrid dispersal area algorithms, responded to changes in terrain slope and error magnitude. Runoff dispersal areas were generated from convergent and divergent sections of low, medium, and high gradient 64-ha parcels using a 30 m pixel scale control digital elevation model (DEM) and an ensemble of alternative realizations of the control DEM. The ensemble of alternative DEM realizations was generated randomly to represent root mean square error (RMSE) values ranging from 0·5 to 6 m and spatial correlations of 0 to 0·999 across 180 m lag distances. Dispersal area residuals, derived by differencing output from control and ensemble simulations, were used to quantify the spatial consistency of algorithm dispersal area predictions. A maximum average algorithm consistency of 85% was obtained in steep sloping convergent terrain, and two map analysis techniques are recommended in maintaining high spatial consistencies under less optimum terrain conditions. A stochastic procedure was developed to translate DEM error into dispersal area probability maps, and thereby better represent uncertainties in runoff modelling and management. Two uses for these runoff probability maps include watershed management indices that identify the optimal areas for intercepting polluted runoff as well as Monte-Carlo-ready probability distributions that report the cumulative pollution impact of each pixel's downslope dispersal area. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The risks and impacts of space weather: Policy recommendations and initiatives

Abstract Space weather affects global technological systems and societies. Space weather, or the dynamic conditions on the Sun and in the space environment and their impacts on technological systems, can produce coronal mass ejections, solar energetic particles, and geomagnetic disturbances. These space weather events can cause extreme currents in the electric grid, widespread blackouts, and phone and internet communication failures both in space and within the Earth's atmosphere. Severe space weather can damage satellites used for global positioning, communications, and weather forecasting. It also creates a risk of radiation exposure to astronauts and commercial airline crews and passengers. Accurate forecast knowledge of the space weather threat and timing of events is critical to planning and preparation to minimize socioeconomic impacts. This paper reviews the scope of the space weather threat on the global community today. It describes current international and US public policy initiatives to mitigate risk to infrastructure, public safety, and human life. It examines recent international reports and US federal disaster reduction plans to meet these challenges and provides recommendations to increase public awareness and implement public policies to prepare, prevent, and recover from possible catastrophic failures of commercial and government infrastructures caused by a major space weather event.
Failure of amphetamine isomers to decrease hyperactivity in developing rats.

Abstract Possible amphetamine-induced changes in locomotor activity were investigated in developing rats administered intracisternal injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) or its vehicle at 5 days of age. Administration of the dopamine neurotoxin resulted in a significant depletion of whole-brain dopamine to 44% of control levels, whereas norepinephrine levels were not significantly reduced. In normal and 6-OHDA-treated pups activity increased from moderately low levels at 15 days of age to moderately high levels at 25 days of age. However, 6-OHDA-treated rats were hyperactive at 20 days of age. At 25 days, activity in both groups was equal and declined to levels typical for adults. Administration of graded doses of d- and l-amphetamine generally increased activity in both groups of rats, with d-Amphetamine being more potent than l-Amphetamine. Furthermore, no dose of either amphetamine isomer decreased activity in 6-OHDA-treated, hyperactive rats. Hence, no convincing evidence was found for a “paradoxical calming” effect of amphetamine in hyperactive rats, supporting other recent reports. These results suggest that the neonatal DA-depleted rat does not provide an accurate model system for pre-clinical investigation of the human hyperkinetic syndrome.
Existence of solutions to a new model of biological pattern formation

Abstract In this paper we study the existence of classical solutions to a new model of skeletal development in the vertebrate limb. The model incorporates a general term describing adhesion interaction between cells and fibronectin, an extracellular matrix molecule secreted by the cells, as well as two secreted, diffusible regulators of fibronectin production, the positively-acting differentiation factor (“activator”) TGF-β, and a negatively-acting factor (“inhibitor”). Together, these terms constitute a pattern forming system of equations. We analyze the conditions guaranteeing that smooth solutions exist globally in time. We prove that these conditions can be significantly relaxed if we add a diffusion term to the equation describing the evolution of fibronectin.
A Dual-Intein Autoprocessing Domain that Directs Synchronized Protein Co-Expression in Both Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

Being able to coordinate co-expression of multiple proteins is necessary for a variety of important applications such as assembly of protein complexes, trait stacking, and metabolic engineering. Currently only few options are available for multiple recombinant protein co-expression, and most of them are not applicable to both prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. Here, we report a new polyprotein vector system that is based on a pair of self-excising mini-inteins fused in tandem, termed the dual-intein (DI) domain, to achieve synchronized co-expression of multiple proteins. The DI domain comprises an Ssp DnaE mini-intein N159A mutant and an Ssp DnaB mini-intein C1A mutant connected in tandem by a peptide linker to mediate efficient release of the flanking proteins via autocatalytic cleavage. Essentially complete release of constituent proteins, GFP and RFP (mCherry), from a polyprotein precursor, in bacterial, mammalian, and plant hosts was demonstrated. In addition, successful co-expression of GFP with chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, and thioredoxin with RFP, respectively, further substantiates the general applicability of the DI polyprotein system. Collectively, our results demonstrate the DI-based polyprotein technology as a highly valuable addition to the molecular toolbox for multi-protein co-expression which finds vast applications in biotechnology, biosciences, and biomedicine.
Randomized phase II studies of cisplatin and a combination of cyclophosphamide-doxorubicin-cisplatin (CAP) in patients with progestin-refractory advanced endometrial carcinoma.

Between May 1980 and September 1983, 30 progestin-refractory patients with metastatic endometrial carcinoma were assigned at random to treatment groups receiving either cisplatin (CDDP) 60 mg/m 2 every 3 weeks or a combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin every 4 weeks in doses of 400, 40, and 40 mg/m 2 , respectively. Those who failed cisplatin were then offered cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m 2 plus doxorubicin 40 mg/m 2 every 3 weeks. Reduced doses were utilized in both of the combination regimens for patients who had received extensive pelvic radiation. Of the 14 patients initially receiving cisplatin alone, 3 experienced objective tumor regression. One of these three and one other who failed primary cisplatin therapy later responded favorably to cyclophosphamide plus doxorubicin as secondary treatment. Among the 16 patients who took all three drugs simultaneously (CAP) 5 experienced objective partial tumor regression. Survival experience for these relatively late-stage patients has been uniformly poor, with only 7 and 12% surviving at 2 years after beginning CDDP and CAP, respectively. Thus, while cisplatin is clearly an active agent against endometrial carcinoma, its therapeutic index as a single drug or in combination (CAP) is not adequate to preclude new-agent Phase II studies early in patients with advanced disease.
Land‐erosion—Normal and accelerated—In the semiarid west

Successful control of erosion and floods requires an accurate problem analysis. It is essential, first, to know the relation of the current flood- and erosion-phenomena to the geologic norm and, secondly, to determine the relative importance of each of the many factors that contribute to the problem. These considerations are especially important in the semiarid West where conditions of climate, topography, and the plant-and-soi1 mantle are highly varied and significantly influential in determining the character of erosion and runoff. Here, the norm in one drainage may mean imperceptible erosion and relatively uniform stream-flow. In an adjacent area the normal may be characterized by unstable slopes and channels and greatly fluctuating streams, frequently in flood-stage. Here, also, it is not uncommon for the degree of soil-stability and the regimen of stream-flow in one watershed to be due primarily to some dominant factor such as climate, topography, or condition of the plant-and-soil mantle, while in another the forces of several factors may compensate to establish a delicately balanced combination.
Design and Application of a General-purpose E-learning Platform

In this paper, a general-purpose framework for e-learning platform is designed based on B/S structure. The development steps are put forward. Moreover, the key technologies of the platform are introduced, and then the applications of the e-learning platform are discussed.
Addressing surface leakage in type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice materials using novel approaches to surface passivation

Diminished performance due to poor chemical and electrical surface stability of InAs/GaSb SL photodetectors continues to be a major hurdle to the realization of the theoretically predicted high performance of this material system. Improved epitaxial growth conditions have yielded improvements in material quality over the past several years. However, surface instability resulting in electrical shunt pathways across the junction, and diminished device performance over time is still a major limiting factor for application of InAs/GaSb SL in long-wavelength infrared detectors. This study focuses on a two-step approach towards the successful surface passivation of long-wavelength InAs/GaSb superlattice structures. Two distinct sulfide chemical surface treatments were applied to inhibit the formation of native surface oxides and satisfy dangling bonds. This was followed by the application of a robust SU8-2 dielectric treatment on the mesa sidewalls to inhibit sulfide layer degradation and oxidation of the surface over time. A variable area diode analysis (VADA) technique employing diodes of variable diameter (40-400um) enabled the investigation of surface resistivity as a result of different passivation treatments. Temperature dependent studies of the dark current were used to understand the dominating current mechanisms.
Extraordinary effects of mortar-and-pestle grinding on microstructure of sintered alumina gel

The use of the mortar and pestle in the laboratory dates back to the earliest attempts to understand and use the materials around us. Even now, it is difficult to imagine an alternative to crushing and grinding for the preparation of many samples. Traditionally, mortar-and-pestle mixing or grinding has been held to be a relatively mild and controlled process, although it was recognized that the grinding of materials harder than the material of the mortar and pestle would result in some contamination. Thus, good practice forbade grinding of, for example, mullite and alumina in agate mortars. That this technique is not so innocuous was demonstrated by Dachille and Roy1 with respect to the stresses generated. They showed that phases usually obtained only at 10–20 kbar can be obtained metastably by simple grinding in a laboratory mortar. There are numerous examples of solid–state phase transformations being produced by prolonged or intense comminution2, two of the best–documented cases of stress/shear–induced transformation being the conversion of calcite to aragonite1, and of quartz to amorphous silica3,4, both by prolonged grinding in a laboratory mortar and pestle. Here we show that the very small amounts of material generated by the wear of mortar and pestle surfaces by even mild grinding can also have substantial effects on the micro-structure and transformation kinetics of certain ceramic systems so treated.
Observations of PKiKP/PcP amplitude ratios and implications for Earth structure at the boundaries of the liquid core

[1] Mining of the database produced by seismic array stations of the International Monitoring System has resulted in hundreds of new observations of precritical reflections from Earth's inner core. Here we present short-period amplitude ratios between these PKiKP phases and corresponding reflections (PcP) from the core-mantle boundary (CMB). PKiKP/PcP amplitude ratios are one of the few seismic observations that directly constrain the change in S velocity and density across the inner core-outer core boundary. We measure the amplitude ratios from optimally tuned array beams and use a bootstrap technique to estimate observational uncertainties. We also use a model resampling technique to estimate uncertainties associated with the background reference model. The optimal models have S velocities at the top of the inner core less than about 2.5 km/s and density jumps across the inner core-outer core boundary of less than about 0.45 g/cm3. These values can be reconciled with the higher estimates from normal mode constraints if strong radial gradients are present in the top of the inner core or if the outermost inner core has material properties distinct from the bulk of the inner core. We also find evidence for an ultralow-velocity zone in the lowermost mantle beneath the eastern coast of Australia. A unique, best fitting model cannot be determined, but an example that is consistent with the data has a reduction in P velocity of 10%, a reduction in S velocity of 35%, and an increase in density of 20%. This type of structure could be explained by the presence of partial melt and increased iron content just above the CMB.
Negative refraction gives rise to the Klein paradox

Electromagnetic negative refraction in metamaterials has attracted increasingly great interest since its first experimental verification in 2001. It potentially leads to the applications superior to conventional devices including compact antennas for mobile stations, imaging beyond the diffraction limit, and high-resolution radars, not to mention the anomalous wave propagation in fundamental optics. Here, we report how metamaterials could be used to simulate the ``negative refraction of spin-zero particles interacting with a strong potential barrier,'' which gives rise to the Klein paradox\char22{}a counterintuitive relativistic process. We address the underlying physics of analogous wave propagation behaviors in those two entirely different domains of quantum and classical.
Light collection optimization in scintillator-based gamma-ray spectrometers

Scintillator-based gamma-ray detectors are being actively pursued for homeland security applications. A key property of such detectors is their energy resolution which enables faster detection and more precise identification of gamma-ray sources. In order to obtain the best energy resolution with a given scintillator material, it is crucial to collect the largest fraction possible of the light emitted after gamma-ray absorption. Different techniques to maximize the light collection efficiency were investigated and tested experimentally. In particular, the effect of the scintillator geometry has been simulated with Detect2000. Also, a number of wrapping materials have been tested for their reflectivity and their performance in terms of improving the energy resolution in a BGO-based gamma-ray detector. The best results were obtained with a tapered cylinder geometry and the GORE DRP tape.
Fatty Acids of the Mosquito Anopheles freeborni

Fatty acid composition was determined in various developmental stages of two strains of Anopheles freeborni Aitken, one from the State of Washington (47° N lat.) and one from California (37° N). Tentative identification was based on similar emission peaks from gas chromatograms of test materials and authentic samples. Palmitic, palmitoleic, and oleic acids collectively comprised at least 70% of total fatty acid. In both strains, aged females with identical temperature experience on short photoperiod had 11%–15% greater levels of principal unsaturated fatty acids than did females on long photoperiod conditions. Though differences in level were noted between sexes and various growth stages of the 2 strains, there was marked similarity between short photoperiod females of both strains maintained on sucrose for 10 days.
Introduction to the Special Issue on the Environment

Human population growth and increasing consumption per capita are causing environmental impacts that threaten the survival and well-being of humans and other species on Earth. To sustain natural ecosystems and human populations with a high standard of living, humanity must now reinvent our systems for the production and delivery of goods and services to dramatically reduce the environmental impacts associated with consumption. The operations management community can contribute critical know-how to do so, as demonstrated by the papers in this special issue.
Environmental Law and Native American Law

This review seeks to engage two bodies of scholarship that have typically been analyzed as discrete areas of enquiry—environmental law and American Indian law. In the twenty-first century, native peoples' involvement in environmental politics is becoming more assertive. In this context it is necessary to think about the impact indigenous involvement may have in shaping future U.S. environmental agendas and regulations. After briefly discussing the rise of environmental movements and environmental law in the United States, I turn to the historical treatment of native peoples and in particular the treatment of their natural resources. This historical backdrop is essential to understanding tribal status today under the Environmental Protection Agency, and the challenges some tribal governments now present to environmental exploitation and degradation by states and corporations. The review concludes by reflecting on the future of U.S. environmental law in the context of increasing pressure being exerted by in...
Chemical engineering in the electronics industry: progress towards the rational design of organic semiconductor heterojunctions

We review the current status of heterojunction design for combinations of organic semiconductor materials, given its central role in affecting the device performance for electronic devices and solar cell applications. We provide an emphasis on recent progress towards the rational design of heterojunctions that may lead to higher performance of charge separation and mobility. We also play particular attention to the role played by computational approaches and its potential to help define the best choice of materials for solar cell development in the future. We report the current status of the field with respect to such goals.
The Close Magnetic/Nonmagnetic Double-degenerate Binary LB 11146*

Spacecraft imaging of the remarkable strongly magnetic/nonmagnetic white dwarf binary system LB 11146 establishes an upper limit to the component separation of 0025, corresponding to a 90% likelihood that the orbital separation is a < 500 R⊙. The large and nearly identical inferred masses for the two components make it very likely that some amount of material was exchanged in the past; however, a true common envelope is not required. It is difficult to conceive of scenarios that could have produced the current combination of remnants from initially very different component masses, suggesting that the production of this (and other) strongly magnetic/nonmagnetic pairs may be more a result of unusual initial conditions in the protostellar cloud than of ensuing stellar evolution. While a mass merger will apparently not occur on a timescale relevant to the production of Type I supernovae, the super-Chandrasekhar total mass of LB 11146 and its relatively short orbital period suggest that binary evolution can produce the requisite progenitors.
Destruction of Chlorinated Phenols by Dioxygen Activation under Aqueous Room Temperature and Pressure Conditions

The complete destruction of separate mixtures of 1.1 mM 4-chlorophenol (aqueous) and 0.61 mM pentachlorophenol (aqueous slurry) take place in the presence of 0.5 g of iron particles in 10 mL of 0.32 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) under ambient air under room temperature conditions. Under this reaction condition, the time required to reach complete disappearance to the detection limit of GC-FID for each compound was 4 h for 4-chlorophenol and 70 h for pentachlorophenol. Electrospray ionization mass spectral (ESI-MS) analysis of the 4-chlorophenol reaction mixture after its complete disappearance indicated non-chlorinated, primarily low molecular weight products; however, Cl- from 4-chlorophenol was not detected due to adsorption onto the iron or its corrosion products. Radical trap and control experiments suggest that the mechanism for destruction initiates with dioxygen activation, leading to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and ultimately ring opening of the phenolic compounds. T...
Scintillation observations of satellite signals.

Scintillation observations of satellite signals noting latitude, diurnal, seasonal and sunspot cycle variations
Technologies to reliably transduce the topographical details of pigeons' pecks

Pigeons’ pecking has long been a subject of interest in behavioral research, with the response typically being viewed as unitary. Recent experiments done with computer-controlled devices have revealed that this response is at least bipartite in character, with beak opening and response location (head transport) as its components. In addition, experimental work has demonstrated that these response components may be separately influenced and controlled by respondent and operant conditioning procedures. The detailed topographic analysis and technology that have emerged may provide a background for similar work with other behavioral systems.