cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Elementary School Grammar Toolkit: Using Mentor Texts to Teach Standards-Based Language and Grammar in Grades 3–5

Teaching grammar can be overwhelming and is often an overlooked part of effective instruction. The Elementary School Grammar Toolkit to the rescue! Now in its second edition, this comprehensive guide makes grammar instruction fun and meaningful. You will learn how to… • Teach grammar in a practical way to help students grow as readers and writers by presenting each grammar rule as a useful writing tool. • Use mentor texts—excerpts from great literature—to help students understand grammar in action. • Promote metacognition along the way so that students become responsible for their own learning. • Implement innovative instructional strategies and tools aligned with Common Core and other state standards. Throughout the book, you'll find step-by-step recommendations for teaching each of the grammar tools to help students meet the Common Core State Standards and other state language standards for grades three to five, plus classroom snapshots that show you the tools in action, handy templates that you can use in the classroom, and new tips for extra support at the end of every chapter. New! The second edition features revised classroom snapshots and exemplars to showcase successful practices, new visuals, more free charts and activities, and new "Bonus Tips for Support" in each chapter, with extra practices and strategies to use with students who need extra support. The expanded, free annotated bibliography is updated to include contemporary, high-quality children’s and young adult literature and gives examples of key grammatical concepts found in each work. These resources are available as supplemental downloads on our website.
Association of Sustained Blood Pressure Control with Multimorbidity Progression Among Older Adults.

Background/objectives Due to the high costs and excess mortality associated with multimorbidity, there is a need to develop approaches for delaying its progression. High blood pressure (BP) is a common chronic condition and a risk factor for many additional chronic conditions, making it an ideal target for intervention. The purpose of this analysis was to determine the association between the level of sustained BP control and the progression of multimorbidity. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) linked to Medicare claims. Participants A total of 6,591 ALLHAT participants with Medicare who had systolic BP (SBP) measurements at eight or more study visits. Measurements SBP control was categorized as lower than 140 mm Hg at less than 50%, 50% to less than 75%, 75% to less than 100%, and 100% of visits. Multimorbidity progression was defined by the number of incident chronic conditions, including arthritis, asthma, atrial fibrillation, cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, dementia, depression, diabetes mellitus, heart failure, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, and stroke. Recurrent event survival analysis was used to calculate rate ratios (RRs) for the association of sustained SBP control with progression of multimorbidity. Results Rates of incident conditions per 10 person-years (95% CIs) were 5.2 (5.1-5.4), 4.7 (4.5-4.8), 4.4 (4.2-4.5), and 4.0 (3.8-4.2) for participants with SBP control at less than 50%, 50% to less than 75%, 75% to less than 100%, and 100% of visits, respectively, over a median follow-up of 9.0 years. Compared with participants with SBP control at less than 50% of visits, adjusted RRs (95% CIs) for multimorbidity progression were 0.90 (0.86-0.95), 0.85 (0.81-0.89), and 0.77 (0.72-0.82) for those with SBP control at 50% to less than 75%, 75% to less than 100%, and 100% of visits, respectively. Conclusions Sustaining BP control may be an effective approach to slow multimorbidity progression and may reduce the population burden of multimorbidity.
Exploring the functional role of Nlrp12's interaction with Hck

The members of the family of Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-Like Receptor proteins (NLR) are composed of a N-terminal domain, a central nucleotide-binding domain, and a C-terminal ligand...
Computational prediction and analysis of rotor noise generation in a turbulent wake

Large-eddy simulation is combined with the Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings equation to investigate the noise generation by a 10-bladed rotor ingesting the turbulent wake of a circular cylinder in a low-Mach-number flow. Two rotor advance ratios corresponding to zero thrust and a thrusting condition are considered. The computed sound pressure levels agree well with the experimental measurements at Virginia Tech over a wide range of frequencies. The broadband acoustic spectra exhibit a strong tonal peak at the cylinder vortex-shedding frequency, a second peak at the rotor blade passing frequency, and a minor peak at the trailing-edge vortex-shedding frequency. Consistent with experimental results, the rotor at the thrusting advance ratio produces stronger sound than that at zero thrust. The blade acoustic dipole strength increases with the radial distance to the hub until near the blade tip. Fluctuating velocities in the wake are responsible for virtually all the rotor acoustic response except at the blade-passing frequency, where the mean wake velocity defect also makes a strong contribution. Blade-to-blade correlations and coherence of dipole sources are relatively weak. The classical Sears theory is shown to provide a reasonable prediction of the rotor turbulence-ingestion noise at the important mid-frequencies, based on which the appropriate Mach number scaling for the ingestion noise is identified. Distortions of wake turbulence by the rotor are found to be relatively small, and including their effect on the upwash velocity only slightly improves the Sears theory prediction.
Planning Local Container Drayage Operations Given a Port Access Appointment System

This paper studies the management of a fleet of trucks providing container pickup and delivery service (drayage) to a port with an appointment-based access control system. Responding to growing access congestion and its resultant impacts, many U.S. port terminals have implemented appointment systems, but little is known about the potential impact of such systems on drayage fleet efficiency. To address this knowledge gap, we develop a drayage operations planning approach based on an integer programming heuristic that explicitly models a port access control system. The approach determines pickup and delivery sequences for daily drayage operations with minimum transportation cost. We use the framework to develop an understanding of the potential productivity impacts of access control systems on drayage firms. Most importantly, we find that it is critical for terminal operators to provide enough access capacity for drayage, since vehicle productivity can be increased by 10 to 24 percent when total access capacity is increased by 30 percent. Furthermore, poor (but not unreasonable) selection of access appointment time slots by drayage firms may result in substantial customer service deficiencies, reducing the number of customers that can be served by up to 4 percent for a fixed level of total access capacity.
An Evaluation of the Levels of Entrepreneurship and Competitive Advantages in Small Midwestern Agritourism Businesses

Agritourism is a business concept that merges two areas (e.g., agricultural and travel/tourism) to open up new profitable markets and provide travel experiences for the purpose of enjoyment, education, or active involvement in the activities of a farm or operation (e.g., Aronoff & Ward, 1995; Hegarty & Przezborska, 2005). Bock (2004) stated that agritourism plays a significant support role for many agricultural enterprises, while Kunwar (2004) suggested that agritourism experiences are becoming a desirable option in today’s leisure society. With an explicit need to generate tangible benefits (e.g., diversified income sources and increased public appreciation), farmers are expected to become increasingly entrepreneurial in their business approaches, including adopting business plans for agritourism; seeking professional advice; becoming involved in regional and larger-scale tourism marketing initiatives; and increasing profitability through diversification (Getz & Carlsen, 2000). However, a number of previous studies have indicated that many farmers are unsuccessful in running agritourism businesses due to their lack of understanding of entrepreneurship concepts and strategies (Colton & Bissix, 2005; McGehee & Kim, 2004; Kunwar, 2004). In addition to entrepreneurial motivations, some studies have addressed the characteristics and performance of the farm and agritourism entrepreneur (Gilmore, Carson, & Cummins, 2002; Russell & Faulkner, 2004). The framework of this study is a modification of two business strategy concepts (e.g., defender and analyzer) that attempts to investigate the perceptions of business owners by combining six factors of entrepreneurship (e.g., locus of control, firm profitability, market-driven propensity, family connection, personal pursuits, and innovation/creativity) to decision making. The model is also designed
Forms of they with singular noun phrase antecedents: evidence from current educated english usage

AbstractA number of twentieth century English usage scholars and grammarians have examined use of the usually plural pronoun they with singular antecedents, particularly with indefinite pronouns. Though recent treatments have observed its use with singular noun phrases headed by sex-neutral nouns as well and have judged it acceptable, resistance to the form remains strong. This paper offers current evidence of this use of they in the speech and writing of cultured English speakers and writers and comments on its properties.
United States Investment in Latin America

The subject of United States investment in Latin America is a dominant theme in inter-American affairs. Conferences, symposia, institutes and congressional hearings have probed at depth the problems of the United States investor in Latin America and yet, the subject continues to present a perplexing economic problem with significant social and political overtones. If not resolved it can precipitate another hemispheric crisis and leave in its wake a negative and lasting impact on the economic, social and political future of this hemisphere.
Stream Sockets on SHRIMP

This paper describes an implementation of stream sockets for the SHRIMP multicomputer. SHRIMP supports protected, user-level data transfer, allows user-level code to perform its own buffer management, and separates data transfers from control transfers so that data transfers can be done without the interrupting the receiving node's CPU. Our sockets implementation exploits all of these features to provide high performance. End-to-end latency for 8 byte transfers is 11 microseconds, which is considerably lower than all previous implementations of the sockets interface. For large transfers, we obtain a bandwidth of 13.5 MBytes/sec, which is close to the hardware limit when the receiver must perform a copy. Further experiments with the public-domain benchmarks ttcp and netperf confirm the performance of our implementation.
Crowd-Funding for Inspiring Graduate Students to Educate K12 Students About STEM

Often when people who are not in the field hear about electronic packaging, they immediately presume that it is exclusive to electrical engineering; however, electronic packaging has opportunities for many different Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas. Many projects in micro- and nanotechnology are interdisciplinary in nature, and thus, a broad background of various disciplines is needed to conduct research and development in these areas. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, an initiative called the Meindl Legacy project has been created to use crowd funding to help graduate students in the nanotechnology area to create “teachable moments.” The intention of the teachable moment is to broaden the research to younger audiences, so that they are inspired to take the necessary background classes needed to pursue a STEM career path. The use of crowd-funding allows for industry partners and the general public to become involved with research that is currently ongoing at the Georgia Institute of Technology and to educate K-12 students. The “teachable moment” outlined in this paper was created to demonstrate how different materials’ coefficients of thermal expansion can affect the interfaces and potentially lead to cracking damage in an electronic package.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Isolation of genes predominantly expressed in guard cells and epidermal cells of Nicotiana glauca

Guard cells are specialized and metabolically active cells which arise during the differentiation of the epidermis. Using Nicotiana glauca epidermal peels as a source of purified guard cells, we have constructed a cDNA library from guard cell RNA. In order to isolate genes that are predominantly expressed in guard cells, we performed a differential screen of this library, comparing the hybridization of a radiolabeled cDNA probe synthesized from guard cell RNA to that from a mesophyll cell cDNA probe. Sixteen clones were isolated based on their greater level of hybridization with the guard cell probe. Of these, eight had high homology to lipid transfer protein (LTP), two were similar to glycine-rich protein (GRP), and one displayed high homology to proline-rich proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtPRP2, AtPRP4) and from potato guard cells (GPP). Northern analysis confirmed that one or more NgLTP genes, NgGRP1, and NgGPP1 are all differentially expressed, with highest levels in guard cells, and low or undetectable levels in mesophyll cells and in roots. In addition, all are induced to some degree in drought-stressed guard cells. NgLTP and NgGRP1 expression was localized by in situ hybridization to the guard cells and pavement cells in the epidermis. NgGRP1 expression was also detected in cells of the vasculature. Genomic Southern analysis indicated that LTP is encoded by a family of highly similar genes in N. glauca. This work has identified members of a subset of epidermis- and guard cell-predominant genes, whose protein products are likely to contribute to the unique properties acquired by guard cells and pavement cells during differentiation.
SAP-less chromatin triggers systemic lupus erythematosus.

Serum amyloid protein, highly conserved in both vertebrates and invertebrates, seems to exert a protective effect against autoimmune disease (pages 694–697).
Hitachi zeeman graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer as a selenium-specific detector for ion chromatography

Abstract A Dionex ion chromatograph was interfaced with a Hitachi Zeeman graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAA) which functioned as a selenium specific detector. Samples of distilled water, a synthetic river water and a Texas river water sample spiked with selenite and selenate were chromatographed and selenium detected by GFAA. The detection limit is 20 ng Se for each selenium compound. Pre-concentration from a maximum of 4 ml of an anion-rich water sample extends the detection limit to 5 ng Se. The selenate peak broadens with increasing sulfate concentration.
The Binding of Phytohemagglutinins to Human Platelet Plasma Membranes

Abstract The binding of phytohemagglutinins from Phaseolus vulgaris (erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (E-PHA) and leukoagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (L-PHA)) and from Lens culinaris (lentil-PHA) to human platelet cell surfaces has been demonstrated. Each platelet binds on an average 500,000 to 600,000 molecules of E-PHA with an apparent dissociation constant of 0.5 x 10-7 m. These values were 250,000 to 350,000 molecules bound for L-PHA and 300,000 to 400,000 molecules bound for lentil-PHA with dissociation constants of 4 x 10-7 m and 1.4 x 10-7 m, respectively. Both E-PHA and lentil-PHA can be released from the platelet surface using appropriate oligosaccharide haptene inhibitors, indicating that the phytohemagglutinins do not enter the cells. When E-PHA and L-PHA bind to platelets the cells are aggregated, adenylate cyclase is inhibited, and a protein designated as thrombin-sensitive protein is released from the particulate fraction of the cell. Thus, binding of these compounds to the platelet surface mimics thrombin-induced aggregation and the release reaction. Lentil-PHA binds tightly to platelets but the cells do not aggregate and there is no inhibition of adenylate cyclase or release of thrombin-sensitive protein. Thrombin induces platelet aggregation, adenylate cyclase inhibition, and thrombin-sensitive protein release even when platelets are saturated with lentil-PHA. After incubation of platelets with either thrombin or L-PHA, there is an apparent 2-fold increase in the number of receptor sites for lentil-PHA, suggesting that these compounds produce a conformational change in the platelet surface exposing increased numbers of lentil-PHA receptor sites.
To Die in This Way: Nicaraguan Indians and the Myth of Mestizaje, 1880‐1965

To Die in This Way: Nicaraguan Indians and the Myth of Mestizaje, 1880-1965. Jeffrey L. Gould. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998. 305 pp.
DNA ligase IV suppresses medulloblastoma formation.

Substantial neural defects are often present in mice with targeted inactivation of DNA repair factors such as DNA ligase IV (Lig4). Whereas Lig4−/− mice undergo widespread neural apoptosis and die during development, p53 deficiency rescues this death. We found that all Lig4−/−p53−/− mice developed medulloblastoma, but did not develop other tumors of the nervous system. Lig4−/−p53−/− medulloblastoma occurred as early as 21 days of age, originated in the external granule layer of the developing cerebellum, and was synaptophysin immunoreactive. These data reveal a pronounced susceptibility of the cerebellum to the effects of chronic DNA damage and provide a direct link between genotoxic stress and medulloblastoma formation.
Migrant labour and agricultural output in Ghana.

POPULATION migration has had immense social, political, and economic significance for countries in West Africa. In recent years, as transport and communications have improved and employment and output have expanded, migratory movements have increased greatly in volume. This paper uses an interregional programming model to investigate the relation between labour migration and agricultural production in Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast), where migration has been described as one of the primary factors in the country's life [9, p. 1]. In Ghana, as elsewhere in West Africa, the principal form of labour mobility is temporary migration. The central thesis of this study is that temporary migration improves the allocation of resources and has contributed significantly to growth of output in Ghana. In particular, because of regional variations in the seasonality of agricultural production, temporary migration is more efficient than permanent migration. Increased labour mobility is seen as having contributed to growth of agricultural output in both the subsistence and export sectors. Much of the literature on African development has ignored the former impact. Indeed, it is frequently claimed that migration is socially disruptive, encourages inefficient use of resources, and has no lasting beneficial effects on the poorer regions of a country [cf. 13, 14]. We acknowledge that migration may have social costs in terms of family and tribal disintegration. But the claims of inefficiency and instability of temporary migrant labour imply costs other than effects on tribal institutions and cultural variables. Walter Elkan [3], for example, has argued that 'labor migration is correctly regarded as wasteful', but that the land tenure system forces continued inefficient migration. 'Hardly anywhere in Africa can a man obtain real compensation for vacating a farm', so men are forced to till their land and seek seasonal employment elsewhere in order to maximize income. The view that temporary migration is inefficient is not substantiated by the results of this study. While imperfect land markets may be the cause of
Review: The interleukin-23/interleukin-17 axis in spondyloarthritis pathogenesis: Th17 and beyond.

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) represents a group of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases that exhibit overlapping clinical features, genetic predisposition, and pathogenic mechanisms (1), and affect 0.5–1.5% of the population (2). Disease can be undifferentiated, or manifest as reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA), arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Enthesitis is an important pathologic feature of SpA, and contributes to both axial and peripheral arthritis, although synovitis also occurs. Structural damage in AS is dominated by new bone formation that can result in spinal fusion and marked functional limitation. Trabecular bone loss is also prominent, and paradoxically, occurs in close proximity to vertebral osteoproliferation. It can take years from the onset of symptoms to fulfill modified New York criteria for AS. Consequently, newer classification systems have been developed to identify individuals with early axial SpA (3,4) who may benefit from aggressive treatment. Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) have had a major impact on the treatment of SpA (5). Their ability to reduce new bone formation in AS continues to be debated (6), although recent results are encouraging (7). TNFi are not beneficial in all patients, and thus there is a need for greater understanding of pathogenic mechanisms and translation of this knowledge into more effective therapies. Over the last decade our knowledge of the role of IL-23 and IL-17 cytokine pathways in immunity and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, from multiple sclerosis (MS) to IBD, arthritis, and psoriasis has grown exponentially (8–11). For SpA, there has been a striking convergence of evidence from genetic studies (12–15), animal models (16–19), translational studies (20–23), and now a therapeutic trial (24) firmly implicating the IL-23/IL-17 axis in pathogenesis (25). In this review we outline key evidence accumulated over the last several years that forms the basis for this conclusion, and provides a background on which to build and refine models of pathogenesis, from inflammation to dysregulated bone formation. These developments, together with the availability of biologics and small molecules that target the IL-23/IL-17 axis, provide an unprecedented opportunity for advances in the treatment of SpA.
Static Analysis of Vulnerability and Security Margin of the Power System

This paper introduces new concepts for evaluation of the power system steady state operations, namely the vulnerability index (VI) and margin index (MI). They provide quantitative vulnerability and security margin information about generation, transmission, load conditions and then the whole system. System operators can assess the system security and vulnerability information using the margin and vulnerability indices. Therefore, they can take some preventive and emergency control steps to keep the system operating at the secure level
Construction of a multi-cell resonator for a 94 GHz extended interaction klystron

Summary form only given, as follows. Microwave generation at 94 GHz allows high resolution radar, using small antennas and taking advantage of the transmission window of air at that frequency. In communications the higher frequency will allow a larger bandwidth. In an extended interaction klystron a theoretical conversion efficiency of electron beam energy into microwave energy of about 50% is indicated. The available microwave power could be about 30% of the beam power. The intermediate goal is to generated 1 kW available microwave power from a 50 keV, 100 mA electron beam in 16 cells. The construction of the resonator is a critical aspect of the klystron. The cavities are built using a silver soldered sandwich of copper and iron layers which are then turned to a cylinder of about 2.5 mm diameter. The cylinder is copper plated and brazed into a copper tube. A central hole is then drilled and the iron removed using sulfuric acid. A 4-cell resonator will have an outer diameter and an overall, length of about 3.2 mm. Several 4-cell resonators have been built. The surface quality of the resonators has to be improved and the low melting solder has to be replaced with a higher conductivity silver alloy.
Decision making in radiographic imaging.

In 1987, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued guidelines for prescription of dental radiographic examinations, and although these recommendations have been reprinted in several widely circulated publications, it seems that the adoption of these guidelines is far from common, even among U.S. dental schools. The recommended criteria are founded on the existing knowledge of prevalence and progression of the most common dental diseases and on the fact that occult diseases within the jaws are uncommon. There are, however, other factors that may influence the decision on the time and extent of a radiographic examination, which may lead to deviations from the suggested guidelines. These factors include: education, peer influence, patient9s preference, legal considerations, the dentist9s field of interest or specialty, the training of the staff, and practice routine. The diagnostic interpretation of radiographs is far from a completely objective process, even if it is a question as simple as the presence and/or extent of a carious lesion. Numerous studies have shown a large variation among observers, both with regard to the occurrence and extent of carious lesions, in bite-wing radiographs. Caries diagnosis is only one example of many situations where significant observer variation is found. The more complex the diagnostic task, the more variation can be expected. The effect of observer variation on treatment decisions regarding carious lesions is used as an example of the problems encountered daily in the dental practice.
Upper and lower bounds on norms of functions of matrices

Abstract Given an n by n matrix A, we look for a set S in the complex plane and positive scalars m and M such that for all functions p bounded and analytic on S and throughout a neighborhood of each eigenvalue of A, the inequalities m · inf { ‖ f ‖ L ∞ ( S ) : f ( A ) = p ( A ) } ⩽ ‖ p ( A ) ‖ ⩽ M · inf { ‖ f ‖ L ∞ ( S ) : f ( A ) = p ( A ) } hold. We show that for 2 by 2 matrices, if S is the field of values, then one can take m = 1 and M = 2 . We show that for a perturbed Jordan block – a matrix A that is an n by n Jordan block with eigenvalue 0 except that its ( n , 1 ) -entry is ν , with | ν | ∈ ( 0 , 1 ) – if S is the unit disk, then m = M = 1 . We argue, however, that, in general, due to the behavior of minimal-norm interpolating functions, it may be very difficult or impossible to find such a set S for which the ratio M / m is of moderate size.
At the Crossroads of Gender and Culture: Where Feminism and Sexism Intersect

The controversy over the alleged sexism of French in Action (Capretz, 1987, 1994) is analyzed within the context of key differences between French and AmeTIcan feminist thought. AmeTIcan students and professors tend to impose their own culturally informed beliefs about gender stereotypes and literary realism on the foreign language textbook. Read within a French cultural context and from a perspective that emphasizes the important role played by the video component of French in Action, this text can be more accurately perceived as a postmodernist, feminist cTItique of Hollywood's heterosexual romance narrative and of conventional discourses of masculinity. The debate over French in Action provides an opportunity to include foreign language study and pedagogies in current discussions of curTIcular transformation in the academy.
Trichomonas vaginalis: treatment questions and challenges.

Trichomoniasis is the most prevalent nonviral sexually transmitted disease worldwide and affects an estimated 170 million people [1]. The manifestations of infection with Trichomonas vaginalis, the...
Photon-counting statistics of the subthreshold transient degenerate parametric oscillator

Transient photoelectron-counting statistics of a degenerate parametric oscillator (DPO) operating below threshold are studied. A generating-function technique has been used and analytical expressions for photon-counting distribution, factorial moments, and waiting-time distribution have been derived. These results are compared with the steady-state results for the DPO and thermal light.
Design Philosophy for High-Resolution Rate and Throughput Spectroscopy Systems

The paper describes the philosophy behind the design of a pulse processing system used in a semiconductor detector x-ray spectrometer to be used for plasma diagnostics at the Princeton TFTR facility. This application presents the unusual problems of very high counting rates and a high-energy neutron background while still requiring excellent resolution. To meet these requirements three specific new advances are included in the design: (i) A symmetrical triangular pulse shape is employed in the main pulse-processing channel. A new simple method of generating a close approximation to the symmetrical triangle has been developed. (ii) To cope with the very wide dynamic range of signals while maintaining a constant fast resolving time, approximately symmetrical triangular pulse shaping is also used in the fast pulse pile-up inspection channel. (iii) The demand for high throughput has resulted in a re-examination of the operation of pile-up rejectors and pulse stretchers. As a result a technique has been developed that, for a given total pulse shaping time, permits approximately a 40% increase in throughput in the system. Performance results obtained using the new techniques are presented.
Reactive oxygen species mediate microRNA-302 regulation of AT-rich interacting domain 4a and C-C motif ligand 5 expression during transitions between quiescence and proliferation

Normal cell growth consists of two distinct phases, quiescence and proliferation. Quiescence, or G(0), is a reversible growth arrest in which cells retain the ability to reenter the proliferative cycle (G(1), S, G(2), and M). Although not actively dividing, quiescent cells are metabolically active and quiescence is actively maintained. Our results from microRNA PCR arrays and Taqman PCR assays showed a significant decrease (4-fold) in miR-302 levels during quiescence compared to proliferating normal human fibroblasts, suggesting that miR-302 could regulate cellular proliferation. Results from a Q-RT-PCR and dual-luciferase-3'-UTR reporter assays identified ARID4a (AT-rich interacting domain 4a, also known as RBP1) and CCL5 (C-C motif ligand 5) as targets for miR-302. Ionizing radiation decreased miR-302 levels, which was associated with an increase in its target mRNA levels, ARID4a and CCL5. Such an inverse correlation was also observed in cells treated with hydrogen peroxide as well as SOD2-overexpressing cells. Overexpression of miR-302 suppresses ARID4a and CCL5 mRNA levels, and increased the percentage of S-phase cells. These results identified miR-302 as an ROS-sensitive regulator of ARID4a and CCL5 mRNAs as well as demonstrate a regulatory role of miR-302 during quiescence and proliferation.
Genomics and crop response to global change: what have we learned?

Abstract Global change poses major challenges for research in fields ranging from crop improvement to water and fertilizer management. Plant genomics is often promoted as a likely source of breakthroughs in understanding plant response to temperature and water stress. This special issue includes papers that range from consideration of gene-to-phenotype associations to papers at the system scale that examine successes and problems with linking physiology and genomics for global change research. Key themes covered include “How genomics can contribute to global change research,” “Genomics and basic understanding of crop responses to the environment,” and “What can field-level physiology bring to genomic research?”. Extrapolation from the model species arabidopsis [Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.] has proven more problematic than anticipated, but new techniques and advances in gene sequencing of crop species helps compensate for such difficulties. Physiological research complements genomics by bringing an understanding of the response of the whole plant or crop to differing environments. Physiology also leads to an appreciation of how macro-scale processes such as photosynthesis and partitioning add biological meaning to genotype-by-environment interactions that are significant statistically but otherwise are not meaningful. Furthermore, physiologists have traditionally measured phenotypes in careful detail, and they have a clear role in adding precision to research on gene-to-phenotype associations. Research on crop response to global change has much to gain from strengthened collaboration between genomics and field-level crop physiology.
Rootkit detection on virtual machines through deep information extraction at hypervisor-level

As a special type of stealth attacks, a rootkit hides its existence from malware detection and maintains continued privileged access to a computer system. The proliferation of virtualization creates a new technique for the detection of such attacks. In this paper, we propose to design a rootkit detection mechanism for virtual machines through deep information extracting and reconstruction at the hypervisor level. Through accessing the important components of a VM such as the kernel symbol table, the hypervisor can reconstruct the VM's execution states and learn the essential information such as the running processes, active network connections, and opened files. Through cross-verification among the different components of the reconstructed execution states of the VM, we can detect both the hidden information and the anomaly connections among them. We implement our approach in Xen 4.1 with Linux VMs. Our experiments show that the hypervisor can efficiently reconstruct the semantic view of a VM's memory and identify the rootkits. Since the hypervisor accesses only the high level data structures, it has very limited impacts on the performance of VM.
Phytoplankton cages for the measurementin situ of the growth rates of mixed natural populations

We have designed and tested phytoplankton “cages” in which captured natural populations can be re-suspendedin situ at their original site or at different sites. The “bars” of the cage consist of a membrane whose pores are sufficiently large to permit relatively rapid exchange of “inside” and “outside” nutrient-containing waters which ensures that the contained phytoplankton are always subjected to the “outside” (in situ) nutrient regime. The pores are sufficiently small to retain the captured phytoplankton. In order to measure growth rates precisely the cages are incubatedin situ for times greater than the doubling times of the population (ca. 3 days). The population changes within the cages reflect the integral net primary production. Therefore the technique can be used to characterize geographical locations in terms of their potential for supporting the growth of natural phytoplankton populations. A possible specific application of this technique is the comparative study of the effects on the growth of phytoplankton of near field and far field water masses adjoining power plants or sewage treatment plants.
Person and system effects in performance appraisal: Ratings as a function of the degree of performance responsibility and errorfulness

Abstract Performance ratings were examined as a function of person and system effects on ratee performance. Degree of responsibility for production of various parts, as well as levels of productivity, system produced error, and person produced error were manipulated in two studies. Findings were substantially similar across the two studies. In each study, ratings were found to be lower when the ratee had greater responsibility for production than did the system. The responsibility effect in each study depended on the level of productivity, with system responsibility yielding higher ratings than person responsibility under the low productivity condition, but not under the high productivity condition. Implications of the findings for appraisal and performance management are considered. Possible future research directions and the importance of understanding person and system effects on ratees and raters are discussed.
On the Social Law of Effect

Summary This paper suggests that exposure to task related stimuli prior to task interaction should result in greater discrimination in making task related decisions. This is explained in terms of a social version of the law of effect, and reflected in the value of the slope in a regression equation. Ss were college freshmen and sophomores enrolled in sociology classes. Ss formed a total of 40 dyads, controlled for sex. Twenty dyads (10 dyads of males and 10 of females) formed the experimental groups. The remaining 20 dyads (10 male and 10 female) formed the control group. Ss engaged in a simple task consisting of a word game which allowed the investigators to measure response and reinforcement rates. Results from the experiment were found to support the hypothesis at the .0001 level of significance. These results indicate that a social law of effect may be applied to relatively unstructured social situations, and that exposure to different types of environmental stimuli alters the slope of the regression ...
Chemical speciation of PM emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles equipped with diesel particulate filter (DPF) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) retrofits

Abstract Four heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs) in six retrofitted configurations (CRT ® , V-SCRT ® , Z-SCRT ® , Horizon, DPX and CCRT ® ) and a baseline vehicle operating without after--treatment were tested under cruise (50 mph), transient UDDS and idle driving modes. As a continuation of the work by Biswas et al. [Biswas, S., Hu, S., Verma, V., Herner, J., Robertson, W.J., Ayala, A., Sioutas, C., 2008. Physical properties of particulate matter (PM) from late model heavy-duty diesel vehicles operating with advanced emission control technologies. Atmospheric Environment 42, 5622–5634.] on particle physical parameters, this paper focuses on PM chemical characteristics (Total carbon [TC], Elemental carbon [EC], Organic Carbon [OC], ions and water-soluble organic carbon [WSOC]) for cruise and UDDS cycles only. Size-resolved PM collected by MOUDI–Nano-MOUDI was analyzed for TC, EC and OC and ions (such as sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, potassium, sodium and phosphate), while Teflon coated glass fiber filters from a high volume sampler were extracted to determine WSOC. The introduction of retrofits reduced PM mass emissions over 90% in cruise and 95% in UDDS. Similarly, significant reductions in the emission of major chemical constituents (TC, OC and EC) were achieved. Sulfate dominated PM composition in vehicle configurations (V-SCRT ® -UDDS, Z-SCRT ® -Cruise, CRT ® and DPX) with considerable nucleation mode and TC was predominant for configurations with less (Z-SCRT ® -UDDS) or insignificant (CCRT ® , Horizon) nucleation. The transient operation increases EC emissions, consistent with its higher accumulation PM mode content. In general, solubility of organic carbon is higher (average ∼5 times) for retrofitted vehicles than the baseline vehicle. The retrofitted vehicles with catalyzed filters (DPX, CCRT ® ) had decreased OC solubility (WSOC/OC: 8–25%) unlike those with uncatalyzed filters (SCRT ® s, Horizon; WSOC/OC ∼ 60–100%). Ammonium was present predominantly in the nucleation mode, indicating that ternary nucleation may be the responsible mechanism for formation of these particles.
Validation of gene regulatory networks: scientific and inferential

Gene regulatory network models are a major area of study in systems and computational biology and the construction of network models is among the most important problems in these disciplines. The critical epistemological issue concerns validation. Validity can be approached from two different perspectives (i) given a hypothesized network model, its scientific validity relates to the ability to make predictions from the model that can be checked against experimental observations; and (ii) the validity of a network inference procedure must be evaluated relative to its ability to infer a network from sample points generated by the network. This article examines both perspectives in the framework of a distance function between two networks. It considers some of the obstacles to validation and provides examples of both validation paradigms.
The maize mutant polymitotic affects cell cycle events during microspore development

The maize (Zea mays L.) male-sterile mutant polymitotic (po) was analyzed utilizing in-vitro cell culture and immunocytochemistry methods to better understand the relationship between the mutant phenotype and cell cycle events during microspore development. Using a live meiocyte culture system, initiation and progression through abnormal post-meiotic cell cycles at the end of meiosis II was documented in the po mutant with a CCD camera and a computer image analysis system. Our results showed that premature chromosomal condensation precedes abnormal post-meiotic cell cycle progression in the po mutant at the end of meiosis II. Temporal analysis of the po mutant in-vitro revealed that unsynchronized post-meiotic divisions occurred immediately following the end of meiosis II and did not require interaction with the surrounding somatic tissue. Furthermore, the altered distribution of p34cdc2 protein kinase from a nuclear to a cytoplasmic location was identified in tetrads during onset of the unsynchronized divisions in the po mutant. In contrast, a predominantly nuclear location of p34cdc2 was observed during interphase of the wild-type tetrads at the same stage.
Coming to Get and Needing to Keep: Participation Within a Membership Association for Black Scholars

Membership associations for African-centered scholars, activists, and practitioners are viewed as relational communities that respond to the dynamic interplay of the needs and talents of its member...
Identification of amino acids in the tetratricopeptide repeat and C-terminal domains of protein phosphatase 5 involved in autoinhibition and lipid activation.

Protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) exhibits low basal activity due to the autoinhibitory properties of its N-terminal and C-terminal domains but can be activated approximately 40-fold in vitro by polyunsaturated fatty acids. To identify residues involved in regulating PP5 activity, we performed scanning mutagenesis of its N-terminal tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain and deletion mutagenesis of its C-terminal domain. Mutating residues in a groove of the TPR domain that binds to heat shock protein 90 had no effect on basal phosphatase activity. Mutation of Glu-76, however, whose side chain projects away from this groove, resulted in a 10-fold elevation of basal activity without affecting arachidonic acid-stimulated activity. Thus, the interface of the TPR domain involved in PP5 autoinhibition appears to be different from that involved in heat shock protein 90 binding. We also observed a 10-fold elevation of basal phosphatase activity upon removing the C-terminal 13 amino acids of PP5, with a concomitant 50% de...
Voltammetric characterization of complexes in low concentrations of ligand

Abstract Digital simulation has been applied to the solution of diffusion problems associated with the reversible reduction of complexes, with emphasis on systems in which the ligand concentration is low. Both single complexes and mixtures are considered. Forms of predicted single-sweep and cyclic voltammograms are given and changes in potential and curve shape with concentration have been investigated. Various diagnostic tests for characterizing complexes at low ligand concentration are proposed.
Prenatal ultrasonography: Implications for pediatric urology

Prenatal ultrasonography has become a critical and integral component of the obstetric care of women worldwide. As a result, a number of congenital anomalies are now routinely being detected prior to birth. Anomalies affecting the genitourinary system are among those most commonly detected, and thus pediatric urologists are increasingly being asked to provide parental counseling in such situations. However, much of the data needed to enhance these discussions and provide informed consent are absent from the literature. In this review, we hope to address the published literature describing the rapidly expanding role of ultrasound in prenatal care. More importantly, however, we hope to provide some insight into the manner in which prenatal ultrasound and subsequent urologic anomaly diagnosis has affected the practice of pediatric urology.
Functional significance of the conserved residues in the flexible hinge region of the myosin motor domain.

Abstract Analysis of the three-dimensional crystal structure of the Dictyostelium myosin motor domain revealed that the myosin head is required to bend at residues Ile-455 and Gly-457 to produce the conformation changes observed in the ternary complexes that resemble the pre- and post-hydrolysis states (Fisher, A. J., Smith, C. A., Thoden, J. B., Smith, R., Sutoh, K., Holden, H. M., and Rayment, I. (1995) Biochemistry34, 8960–8972). Asp-454, Ile-455, and Gly-457 of smooth muscle myosin were substituted by Ala, Met, and Ala, respectively, and the mechano-enzymatic activities were determined to study the role of these residues in myosin motor function. Whereas the basal steady-state Mg2+-ATPase activity of D454A was higher than that of the wild type, the rate of the hydrolytic step is reduced ∼2,000-fold and becomes rate-limiting. M-ATP rather than M-ADP-P is the predominant steady-state intermediate, and the initial Pi burst and the ATP-induced enhancement of intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence are absent in D454A. D454A binds actin in the absence of ATP but is not dissociated from actin by ATP. Moreover, actin inhibits rather than activates the ATPase activity; consequently, D454A does not support actin translocating activity. I455M has normal actin-activated ATPase activity, Pi burst, and ATP-induced enhancement of intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, suggesting that the enzymatic properties are normal. However, the actin translocating activity was completely inhibited. This suggests that the side chain at Ile-455 is critical for myosin motor activity but not for relatively normal enzymatic function, which indicates an apparent uncoupling between enzymatic activity and motile function. Although G457A has normal ATP-dependent actin dissociation, ATP hydrolytic step is reduced by ∼105-fold in the presence or absence of actin; consequently, G457A does not have actin translocating activity. These results indicate the importance of these conserved residues at the hinge region for normal myosin motor function.
Enhancement of the thermoelectric efficiency of PbTe by selective site doping: Effect of group VA impurities

Abstract The electronic structure of group VA impurities in PbTe is investigated by first principles calculations. Our findings show that these impurities can act as either donors or acceptors, depending on whether they occupy Pb or Te lattice sites. The impurities introduce a defect state at ∼0.3 eV above the conduction band minimum if they stay at Pb sites, whereas they introduce a state at the edge of the PbTe valence band if they stay at Te sites. The implications of our calculations on the thermoelectric efficiency of PbTe are also discussed.