cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A coumarin derivative (RKS262) inhibits cell-cycle progression, causes pro-apoptotic signaling and cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer cells

Coumarin derivative RKS262 belongs to a new class of potential anti-tumor agents. RKS262 was identified by structural optimization of Nifurtimox which is currently undergoing phase II clinical trials to treat high-risk neuroblastoma. In a NCI60 cell-line assay RKS262 exhibited significant cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer cells and a variety of other cell lines exceeding effects of commercial drugs such as cisplatin, 5-FU, cyclophosphamide or sapacitabine. Various leukemia cell-lines were most sensitive (GI50: ~ 10 nM) while several non-small cell lung cancer cell lines and few cell lines from other tissues were relatively resistant (GI50 > 1 µM) to RKS262 treatment. The mechanism of cytotoxicity was examined using ovarian cancer cell-line OVCAR-3 as a model. RKS262 treatment resulted in a reduced mitochondria-transmembrane-depolarization potential. RKS262 effects included up-regulation of apoptotic markers and were not correlated with activation of pro-apoptotic MAP-Kinases (p38, SAP/JNK). RKS262 exerted strong inhibitory effects on oncogene ras, down-regulated DNA-pk KU-80 subunit expression and caused activation of Akt. A signature effect of RKS262 is the regulation of the mitochondrial Bcl2-family pathway. Pro-apoptotic factors Bid, Bad and Bok were up-regulated while expression of pro-survival factors Bcl-xl and Mcl-1 was inhibited. Moreover, at sub-cytotoxic doses RKS262 delayed OVCAR-3 cell-cycle progression through G2 phase and up-regulated p27 while cyclin-D1 and Cdk-6 were down-regulated, indicating that RKS262 is a specific cyclin/CDK inhibitor. In summary, RKS262 has been identified as a molecule belonging to a new class of potential chemotherapeutic agents affecting the viability of multiple cancer cell-lines and causing selective adverse effects on the viability of ovarian cancer cells.
ALEGRA : an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian multimaterial, multiphysics code.

ALEGRA is an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (multiphysics) computer code developed at Sandia National Laboratories since 1990. The code contains a variety of physics options including magnetics, radiation, and multimaterial flow. The code has been developed for nearly two decades, but recent work has dramatically improved the code’s accuracy and robustness. These improvements include techniques applied to the basic Lagrangian differencing, artificial viscosity and the remap step of the method including an important improvement in the basic conservation of energy in the scheme. We will discuss the various algorithmic improvements and their impact on the results for important applications. Included in these applications are magnetic implosions, ceramic fracture modeling, and electromagnetic launch.
Scaling and systems biology for integrating multiple organs-on-a-chip

Coupled systems of in vitro microfabricated organs-on-a-chip containing small populations of human cells are being developed to address the formidable pharmacological and physiological gaps between monolayer cell cultures, animal models, and humans that severely limit the speed and efficiency of drug development. These gaps present challenges not only in tissue and microfluidic engineering, but also in systems biology: how does one model, test, and learn about the communication and control of biological systems with individual organs-on-chips that are one-thousandth or one-millionth of the size of adult organs, or even smaller, i.e., organs for a milliHuman (mHu) or microHuman (μHu)? Allometric scaling that describes inter-species variation of organ size and properties provides some guidance, but given the desire to utilize these systems to extend and validate human pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) models in support of drug discovery and development, it is more appropriate to scale each organ functionally to ensure that it makes the suitable physiological contribution to the coupled system. The desire to recapitulate the complex organ–organ interactions that result from factors in the blood and lymph places a severe constraint on the total circulating fluid (∼5 mL for a mHu and ∼5 μL for a μHu) and hence on the pumps, valves, and analytical instruments required to maintain and study these systems. Scaling arguments also provide guidance on the design of a universal cell-culture medium, typically without red blood cells. This review presents several examples of scaling arguments and discusses steps that should ensure the success of this endeavour.
Studies on the interaction of tritium-labeled aminopterin with dihydrofolic reductase.

Abstract The inhibition of leucocyte dihydrofolic reductase by aminopterin, amethopterin, and dichloroamethopterin was measured at inhibitor concentrations ranging from 10 −6 to 10 −9 M . Tritium-labeled aminopterin was used to prepare the enzyme-inhibitor (E-I) complex of both the leucocyte and chicken liver dihydrofolic reductases. Dialysis of the leucocyte E-I complex resulted in a loss of radioactivity which corresponded to the reappearance of enzyme activity. The chicken liver E-I complex, however, was not dissociated by dialysis. The leucocyte E-I complex was readily dissociated by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose using stepwise desorption with KCl. The reactivated enzyme and the free inhibitor appeared in the 0.05 and 0.15 M fractions, respectively. The chicken liver and leucocyte E-I complexes were readily dissociated by fractionation with ammonium sulfate. A turnover number of 50–100 at pH 8.5 was determined for the chicken liver reductase from data on the amount of inhibitor bound to the enzyme in various ammonium sulfate fractions.
Texture of River and Beach Sediments Seaward from Active Volcanic Highlands, Southwestern Guatemala: ABSTRACT

Sedimentologists have investigated grain-size distributions of sediments from various environments in an attempt to gain uniformitarian insight for reconstruction of ancient environments. However, modern river and beach sediments occurring seaward from active volcanic highlands have been little studied even though ancient analogues may be common locally. The Pacific coastal plain in Central America is widest in Guatemala where it is abruptly terminated 10-30 mi inland by the steep slopes of a row of active Quaternary volcanoes. The slopes are locally bare of vegetation, and the strongly seasonal, torrential rainfall provides abundant bed load to low-sinuosity streams that discharge onto the coastal plain and flow seaward in a roughly parallel pattern. Guatemala river and beach-face sands are mostly moderately to moderately well sorted (river average ^sgrI = 0.87^phgr units; beach average ^sgrI = 0.54^phgr units), near symmetrical, mesokurtic, medium-grained (river average Mz = 1.44^phgr; beach average Mz = 1.45^phgr) volcanic arenites, composed predominantly of unweathered grains of angular volcanic rock fragments, plagioclase, and ferromagnesian and opaque minerals. River sands can be distinguished from beach sands by plotting mean size versus sorting, by coarsest percentile (C) versus median percentile (M), and by inspection of cumulative probability curves. Curves for river sands commonly show subpopulations inferred to reflect sliding and/or suspension populations. Saltation populations, in both river and each sands, are usually polymodal because of mixing of grain populations differing in specific gravity and shape. Published bivariant plots and other techniques are assessed in terms of the Guatemalan sands. End_of_Article - Last_Page 634------------
Bounded and inhomogeneous Ising models. II. Specific-heat scaling function for a strip

The specific heat, energy, and free energy of an infinitely long, square-lattice ferromagnetic Ising strip consisting of $n$ parallel layers with free boundary conditions and a surface magnetic field ${H}_{1}={k}_{B}{\mathrm{Th}}_{1}$ imposed on the last layer, is analyzed for large $n$ in the light of finite-size scaling theory. It is shown rigorously that the free energy (and, similarly, the energy and specific heat) can be written asymptotically in the scaling form $\ensuremath{\Delta}f(n,t,{h}_{1})\ensuremath{\approx}{n}^{\ensuremath{-}2}(\mathrm{ln}n){W}_{1}(nt,{n}^{\frac{1}{2}}{h}_{1})+{n}^{\ensuremath{-}2}{W}_{2}(nt,{n}^{\frac{1}{2}}{h}_{1})$, where $t=\frac{(T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c})}{{T}_{c}}$. The scaling functions ${W}_{i}(x,y)$ are computed in explicit closed form and shown to verify all the analyticity and asymptotic requirements anticipated by scaling theory. Furthermore, in the limit $n\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$ at fixed $t\ensuremath{\ne}0$, the bulk and surface contributions to the thermodynamic properties are found to account for all except a correction of order ${e}^{\frac{\mathrm{pna}}{\ensuremath{\xi}(T)}}$, where $a$ is the lattice spacing and $\ensuremath{\xi}(T)$ is the bulk correlation length; the value of the small rational constant $p$ is interpreted in terms of interference effects between the two opposite boundaries (or "surfaces").
The Effects of Freezing, Frozen Storage Conditions and Degree of Doneness on Lamb Palatability Characteristics

SUMMARY— Comparisons involving fresh versus frozen chops and roasts from 190 lamb carcasses indicated significant though nonconformable treatment effects on cooked-sample palatability characteristics. Freezing resulted in a highly significant increase in shear force values for loin chops and highly significant decreases in flavor, tenderness and overall satisfaction scores for leg roasts. Freezing rib chops, in contrast to the results for loin chops and leg roasts, resulted in a highly significant decrease in shear force values indicating an increase in tenderness as the result of freezing. Several possible explanations concerning these contradictory findings are suggested and discussed. In other paired-chop comparisons, higher final cooking temperatures resulted in increased shear force values for rib chops; wrapping samples prior to freezing appeared to have little effect on chop tenderness comparisons. In all comparisons, variance ratios between chops treated differently were not significantly altered.
Effects of generation on immediate memory span and delayed unexpected free recall

We investigated the effects of generating words from fragments on pronunciation time, on immediate memory span, and on delayed free recall. Subjects read long words and short words aloud or generated them from strings with missing letters. Word-length and generation condition had multiplicative effects on speaking rate, as expected if each affected a separate process regulating the rate. We replicated the standard finding that span is smaller for longer words. Generation improved delayed free recall, indicating that relatively brief presentation times are adequate to produce a generation effect. Although generation improved long-term memory for the words, memory span was shorter for the words that were generated. The harmful effect of generation on span appears to be due to its slowing of speaking rate.
Equilibrium transcytolemmal water-exchange kinetics in skeletal muscle in vivo

It is commonly assumed that equilibrium transcytolemmal water exchange in tissue is sufficiently frequent as to be fast on any NMR time scale achievable with an extracellular contrast agent (CR) in vivo. A survey of literature values for cell membrane diffusional permeability coefficients (P) and cell sizes suggests that this should not really be so. To evaluate this issue experimentally, we used a programmed intravenous CR infusion protocol for the rat with several rate plateaus, each of which achieved an increased steady-state concentration of GdDTPA(2-) in the blood plasma. Interleaved rigorous measurements of (1)H(2)O inversion recoveries were made from arterial blood and from a region of homogeneous thigh muscle tissue throughout the CR infusion. We made careful relaxographic analyses for the blood and muscle (1)H(2)O longitudinal relaxation times. The combined data from several animals were evaluated with a two-site model for equilibrium transcytolemmal water exchange. An excellent fitting was achieved, with parameters that agreed very well with the relevant physiological properties available in the literature. The fraction of water in the extracellular space, 0.11, is quite consistent with published values, as well as with reported tissue CR concentrations when one accounts for the restriction of CR to this space. The derived average lifetime for a water molecule in the thigh muscle sarcoplasm, 1.1 +/- 0.4 sec, implies a sarcolemmal P of 13 x 10(-4) cm/sec, which is well within the range of literature values determined in vitro. Moreover, we find that because of the exchange, the (1)H(2)O longitudinal relaxation rate constant exhibits a decided nonlinear dependence on the tissue or thermodynamic (extracellular) concentration of GdDTPA(2-). The muscle system departs the fast-exchange limit at a [CR] value of <100 micromol/L. This has significant implications for the quantitative use of CRs as MRI tracers. Magn Reson Med 42:467-478, 1999. Published 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Application of Electric Propulsion to Double-Ended Ferry-Boats

The double-ended ferry-boat propelled by means of a, bow and stern propeller has become the recognized standard type, due to its maneuvering possibilities and general handiness in congested harbors. In all cases in which the prime mover is directly coupled to the two propeller shafts which must necessarily turn at the same revolutions per minute, the over-all propulsive efficiency is lowered due to the performance of the bow propeller. The electric drive system permits of applying power when and where required and to any degree desired. Tests on the double-ended ferry-boat, W. R. HEARST, show a material gain in propulsive efficiency when driving the bow propeller electrically at a speed which gives neutral thrust. Later tests indicate, however, that there is no substantial difference in the propulsive efficiency whether the bow propeller is driven electrically at neutral thrust or is electrically disconnected and driven by the water. Sufficient tests have not been made, however, to show that this is true in all cases. The reciprocating steam-engine or Diesel-engine type of drive, in which both shafts are direct connected, requires approximately 19 per cent more horse power at the propeller shafts than the electric system, due to the difference in propulsive efficiency. The calculated fuel consumption of a typical reciprocating steamengine drive with the direct-connected system shows that it requires approximately 40 per cent more fuel than the steam turbine electric system, due to the difference in propulsive and thermal efficiencies.
Yellow Sugarcane Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae): Detection and Mechanisms of Resistance Among Ethiopian Sorghum Lines

More than 5,000 Ethiopian lines of sorghum were evaluated for yellow sugarcane aphid, Sipha flava (Forbes), resistance. Three lines (PI 453951, PI 457709, and PI 457715) were moderately resistant as determined by visual damage ratings of seedlings in greenhouse flat tests. These lines were then subjected to additional tests to determine the components or mechanisms of resistance. All three lines exhibited antibiosis, with an average of 19.0, 22.3, and 25.0 nymphs per adult on PI 453951, PI 457715, and PI 457709, respectively, compared with 62.3 nymphs per adult on PI 264453, a widely used source of resistance to green bug ( Schizaphis graminum (Rondani)). Antixenosis (nonpreference) did not appear to be a resistance mechanism of these lines. In the tolerance test, growth of plants infested with yellow sugarcane aphid ranged from 77% of the uninfested plants of PI 457715 to 36% in PI 264453. Although the level of yellow sugarcane aphid resistance is not as high as the green bug resistance that has been incorporated into many sorghum hybrids, these lines appear to be the best sources currently available. Thus, field tests and inheritance studies with the three lines are justified.
Experimental and Practical Diet Evaluations with Juvenile Hybrid Striped Bass1

Culture of hybrid striped bass has been expanding in the United States and further growth has been predicted, however, several problem areas exist, including a lack of nutritional information. This series of studies offered reciprocal cross juvenile hybrids several of the commercially available feeds and several different types of purified experimental diets. Weight gain and feed efficiency of fish fed the commercially available feeds formulated to meet the general requirements of salmonids were better than fish fed feeds formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of catfish. Experimental diets containing casein as the primary protein source were unpalatable regardless of the level of fish oil added (6 or 12%) but were accepted if 10% menhaden fish meal was added. Addition of lower levels of fish meal resulted in decreasing degrees of acceptance. Thus, the minimum level of fish meal that elicited a feeding response appeared to be between 510% of the dry diet. A crystalline amino acid test diet was palatable, and weight gain of fish fed that diet was 65–91% of the weight gain recorded for fish fed the positive control diets. Addition of L-arginine, L-methionine or L-cystine to a purified diet containing casein did not result in dietary acceptance. Whole-body proximate composition offish revealed a general trend toward increased lipid levels with increasing levels of dietary lipid. All fish exhibited microvessicular hepatopathy, regardless of diet fed. Hepatocytes contained both glycogen and lipid in the cytoplasm.
Systematic means for identifying and justifying key assignments for effective rules-based program evaluation

This paper presents an innovative practice which enhances previous well-tested processes for identifying key assignments and minimum passing criteria to include a rules-based performance vector for embedded course assessment. The modified process provides a common framework for faculty members to follow when justifying their selected key assignments as objective evidence to support meeting course outcomes and student outcomes. The modified framework has resulted in the use of consistent language for justifying key assignments which has proven to eliminate a lot of unnecessary discussion during the evaluation process, in turn streamlining the evaluation process.
Multiplexing of optical channels as a function of orbital angular momentum of photons

Presence of orbital angular momentum is experimentally verified in channels of spatially multiplexed fiber optic systems. A novel multiplexing scheme based on orbital angular momentum of photons is also presented.
Roles of Genes 44, 50, and 51 in Regulating Gene Expression and Host Takeover during Infection of Bacillus subtilis by Bacteriophage SPO1

We show that the products of SPO1 genes 44, 50, and 51 are required for the normal transition from early to middle gene expression during infection of Bacillus subtilis by bacteriophage SPO1; that they are also required for control of the shutoff of host DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis; and that their effects on host shutoff could be accounted for by their effects on the regulation of gene expression. These three gene products had four distinguishable effects in regulating SPO1 gene expression: (i) gp44-50-51 acted to restrain expression of all SPO1 genes tested, (ii) gp44 and/or gp50-51 caused additional specific repression of immediate-early genes, (iii) gp44 and/or gp50-51 stimulated expression of middle genes, and (iv) gp44 and/or gp50-51 stimulated expression of some delayed-early genes. Shutoff of immediate-early gene expression also required the activity of gp28, the middle-gene-specific sigma factor. Shutoff of host RNA and protein synthesis was accelerated by either the 44 − single mutant or the 50 − 51 − double mutant and more so by the 44 − 50 − 51 − triple mutant. Shutoff of host DNA synthesis was accelerated by the mutants early in infection but delayed by the 44 − 50 − 51 − triple mutant at later times. Although gp50 is a very small protein, consisting almost entirely of an apparent membrane-spanning domain, it contributed significantly to each activity tested. We identify SPO1 genes 41 to 51 and 53 to 60 as immediate-early genes; genes 27, 28, and 37 to 40 as delayed-early genes; and gene 52 as a middle gene.
Toward the development of a biocatalytic system for oxidation of p-xylene to terephthalic acid: oxidation of 1,4-benzenedimethanol

Abstract The oxidation of hydrocarbons is an important value-enhancing chemical transformation. Current inorganic catalysts often operate under harsh conditions and produce large amounts of heavy-metal waste. Enzymatic oxidations, on the other hand, operate under relatively mild conditions and produce little if any waste. In the present work, we describe several steps in the oxidative pathway leading from p -xylene to terephthalic acid that are catalyzed by enzymes. Chloroperoxidase (CPO) from Caldariomyces fumago was used to oxidize p -xylene. However, only one of the two aromatic methyl groups was oxidized. To examine the route from 1,4-benzenedimethanol (1,4-BDM) to terephthalic acid, we investigated numerous peroxidase and oxidase enzyme systems. A combination of two enzymes, CPO and xanthine oxidase (XO), was found to produce the highest yield of terephthalic acid from 1,4-BDM. Oxidation of 1,4-BDM to a mixture of predominantly terepthaldicarboxaldehyde, 4-carboxybenzaldehyde, and 4-hydroxymethylbenzaldehyde was carried out by CPO with the continuous addition of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant. Subsequent addition of XO resulted in a 65% yield of terephthalic acid. A tandem system in which both CPO and XO were present enabled the initial H 2 O 2 to be enzymatically regenerated an average of 1.6 times. However, much lower final yields (ca. 2%) of terephthalic acid were obtained.
Nitrate reductase assay in intact plant tissues.

Summary The measurement of nitrate reductase activity in intact plant tissue based on reduction of nitrate to nitrite is facilitated by the use of propanol and other organic solvents added to the incubation medium. Optimum conditions for the assay are defined for use with soybean leaf tissue.
Comparative degradation of cellulose and sugar formation by three newly isolated mesophilic anaerobes and Clostridium thermocellum

To develop a coculture for a single step conversion of cellulose to fuels and chemicals, the cellulose degradation by three newly isolated mesophilic anaerobes was compared with that of Clostridium thermocellum. Degradation of cellulose obtained from cotton linters, and delignified ball-milled pulp and steam-exploded aspen wood by mesophilic anaerobes was comparable to that by Cl. thermocellum. However mesophilic anaerobes produced larger amounts of sugars. In media containing 50 g/l of cellulose suspensions, the sugars produced by mesophilic anaerobes were 10.5 to 14.5 g/l, about 50% of the cellulose used.
Evaluation of Seven Different Atmospheric Reanalysis Products in the Arctic

AbstractAtmospheric reanalyses depend on a mix of observations and model forecasts. In data-sparse regions such as the Arctic, the reanalysis solution is more dependent on the model structure, assumptions, and data assimilation methods than in data-rich regions. Applications such as the forcing of ice–ocean models are sensitive to the errors in reanalyses. Seven reanalysis datasets for the Arctic region are compared over the 30-yr period 1981–2010: National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)–National Center for Atmospheric Research Reanalysis 1 (NCEP-R1) and NCEP–U.S. Department of Energy Reanalysis 2 (NCEP-R2), Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), Twentieth-Century Reanalysis (20CR), Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA), ECMWF Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim), and Japanese 25-year Reanalysis Project (JRA-25). Emphasis is placed on variables not observed directly including surface fluxes and precipitation and their trends. The monthly averaged surface tem...
Earth science: A new mechanical model for Tibet

A three-dimensional mechanical model of the Tibetan crust explains both the first-order features of GPS surface velocities and the contrast in the types of earthquake between northern and southern Tibet. See Letter p.79 The Tibetan Plateau, the largest area of high topography on the planet, has been central to the study of the processes governing continental deformation, and has inspired a wide range of tectonic models. Based on numerical experiments, Copley et al. now show that the difference in the style of faulting between the northern and southern parts of the plateau requires the upper crust of southern Tibet to be mechanically coupled to the underthrusting Indian crust, contrary to recent models. The study suggests that the Indian crust retains its strength as it underthrusts the plateau.
The effects of burn injury on vasoactivity in hamster peripheral microcirculation

Abstract The effects of mild thermal shock on the vasoactivity of microvessels were studied in the hamster skin flap window preparations. Diameter fluctuations in arterioles and venules, varying in size from 10 to 50 μm and at different branching order sites, were measured prior and subsequent to a local surface skin burn. The experimental vasomotion data were characterized in terms of mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis, and by the Prony spectral line estimator (PSLE), fast Fourier transform (FFT), and auto regression (AR) methods of spectral analysis. Following a mild burn the A1 (37–50μm), A2 (30–50 μm), and A3 (25–41 μm) arterioles relaxed to a larger diameter by an average of 58, 20, and 13%, respectively. Dispersion statistics postburn showed a skewness close to normal while the kurtosis became more negative, indicating that the transient diameter curves were flatter. Both FFT and PSLE analyses indicate less energy in the signals postburn accompanied by a shift toward lower frequencies with decreased amplitude. In addition, there was a loss of certain frequencies from the spectrum and an increase in the interval for rhythmic activity. FFT analysis gave an idea of the trend while PSLE analysis was found to be highly unstable and dependent on the window size. AR results indicate that the process is stable and definite trends exist in the data, however, the data are not purely periodic.
Fabrication of graphene p-n-p junctions with contactless top gates

We developed a multilevel lithography process to fabricate graphene p-n-p junctions with contactless, suspended top gates. This fabrication procedure minimizes damage or doping to the single atomic layer, which is only exposed to conventional resists and developers. The process does not require special equipment for depositing gate dielectrics or releasing sacrificial layers, and is compatible with annealing procedures that improve device mobility. Using this technique, we fabricate graphene devices with suspended local top gates, where the creation of high quality graphene p-n-p junctions is confirmed by transport data at zero and high magnetic fields.
Species differences in the albumin binding of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzaldehyde, chlorophenoxyacetic acids, 2-(4′-hydroxybenzeneazo)benzoic acid and some other acidic drugs—the unique behavior of rat plasma albumin

Abstract Binding of chlorophenoxyacetic acids and other drugs to albumins from different species was studied by equilibrium dialysis and by two optical probes, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzaldehyde (TNBal) and 2-(4′-hydroxybenzeneazo)benzoic acid (HBABA). Rat plasma albumin behaves abnormally, compared with plasma albumin fraction V preparations from ten other species, in its interaction with HBABA in the presence of certain drugs (thyroxine, indolacetates and chlorophenoxy acids). HBABA may be a useful tool for determining the binding of anionic drugs to various albumins (other than pig and horse albumins). No relationship was discovered between albumin binding and hypocholesterolemic activity in vivo in a series of phenoxyacetic acids related to clofibrate (Atromid-S).
Poly (ADP-ribosylation) in N, N-diethylnitrosamine-treated mice.

Abstract 1. 1. Liver nuclei isolated from male mice treated with the carcinogen N , N -diethylnitrosamine were examined for the homopolymer poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) and for the activity of the conjugate polymerase. 2. 2. At all levels of the carcinogen tested, a concomitant increase in both poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) content and activity of the enzyme were found. 3. 3. Both responses were transitory and dose dependent.
Sensitivity of the optimal preliminary design of a transport to operational constraints and performance index

Constrained parameter optimization was used to perform the optimal preliminary design of a medium range transport configuration. The impact of choosing a performance index was studied and the required fare for a 15 percent return-on-investment was proposed as a figure-of-merit. A number of design constants and constraint functions were systematically varied to document the sensitivities of the optimal design to a variety of economic and technological assumptions. Additionally, a comparison is made for each of the parameter variations between the baseline configuration and the optimally redesigned configuration.
Laser power beaming to extend lives of GSO NiCd satellites

It is proposed that a ground-based laser can beam power to commercial communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit and reduce battery depth-of-discharge during eclipses. Two laser system designs are presented which have the capability of reducing battery discharge by 100%. Both utilize a steerable beam director, with a mirror diameter of 4 meters in one case and 8 meters in the other. Both also use an adaptive optics unit within the beam train to provide real-time corrections for wavefront distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence. The required system power output is in the range of 100 to 200 kW for a transmitted wavelength just under 900 nm. Laser power beaming can nearly double the remaining lifetime of a satellite that uses NiCd batteries. However, by the time such lasers become available, nearly all NiCd satellites will be replaced by NiH2 satellites, which stand to benefit much less from power beaming.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Fair watermarking using combinatorial isolation lemmas

Watermarking is one of the most effective mechanisms for intellectual property protection (IPP) of hardware and software artifacts. Numerous watermarking-based IPP techniques have been proposed that satisfy a spectrum of IPP desiderata, including full preservation of functionality, low timing, area and power overhead, transparency to the synthesis and compilation process, and resilience against attacks. Two objectives that are very important, but, until now have not yet been properly addressed, are credibility and fairness. We present a new watermarking technique that specifically targets credibility and fairness. Using a combinatorial result by Valiant and Vazirani, we demonstrate how these two desiderata can be achieved during the watermarking of a satisfiability (SAT) instance. The effectiveness of the technique is demonstrated on both specially created examples, where the number of solutions is known, as well as on common computer-aided design and operational research SAT benchmark instances.
Exact Solution for Multidimensional Compressible Reactive Flow for Verifying Numerical Algorithms

A new exact solution of an oblique detonation is developed for the supersonic irrotational flow of an inviscid calorically perfect ideal gas, which undergoes a one-step, irreversible, exothermic, zero activation energy reaction as it passes through a straight shock over a curved wedge. The solution gives expressions for the velocity, pressure, density, temperature, and position as parametric functions of a variable characterizing the extent of reaction. For Chapman-Jouguet solutions, an explicit form with dependency on distance is obtained in terms of the Lambert W function. As the simple model employed is a rational limit of models used in the computational simulation of complex supersonic reactive flows, the solution can serve as a benchmark for mathematical verification of general computational algorithms. An example of such a verification is given by comparing the predictions a modern shock-capturing code to those of the full exact solution. The realized spatial convergence rate is 0.779, far less than the fifth-order accuracy that the chosen algorithm would exhibit for smooth flows, but consistent with the predictions of all shock-capturing codes, which never converge with greater than first-order accuracy for flows with embedded discontinuities.
Interphase phosphorylation of the Drosophila nuclear lamin: site-mapping using a monoclonal antibody

The Drosophila nuclear lamin is highly phosphorylated during interphase. Two interphase isoforms, differing in degree of phosphorylation, can be distinguished by one-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. One migrates with an apparent mass of 74 kDa (lamin Dm1); the other is more highly phosphorylated and migrates as a 76 kDa protein (lamin Dm2). We generated a monoclonal antibody, ADL84 which binds to lamin Dm1 but not lamin Dm2. Binding of ADL84 to lamin Dm2 was restored by phosphatase treatment of immunoblots containing lamins. Immunoprecipitation with ADL84 demonstrated that purified Drosophila nuclear lamins Dm1 and Dm2 are present as a random mixture of homo- and heterodimers. Indirect immunofluorescence experiments suggest that lamin Dm1 is present in all Drosophila cell types. The epitope for ADL84 was mapped by analyzing binding to bacterially expressed lamin deletion mutants and subsequently by screening for point mutants (randomly generated by polymerase chain reaction) which were not recognized by ADL84. The ADL84-epitope encompasses amino acids R22PPSAGP (arginine 22-proline 28). Peptide competition experiments demonstrated directly that phosphorylation of serine 25 impedes lamin binding by ADL84. This suggests that serine 25 is the lamin Dm2-specific phosphorylation site.
Managing higher ed web sites: balancing the need for timely updates, the requirements of institutional marketing, and the development of content

A variety of models exists for managing college and university web sites and it is common for these models to evolve over time. The need for timely web updates, consistent look-and-feel, web-enabled applications, and institutional branding have resulted in major web management changes for Central Missouri State University (Central) over the past 5 years. This paper addresses the need for content management, examines the past models Central has used, and its current practices.Prior to 1999, all content to be displayed on Central's public web site was first sent to the web editor, an employee of the Public Relations department. After reviewing and editing the information sent to him by the content providers from the various offices and departments, the web editor then used Microsoft FrontPage to publish the material to Central's web. Information Services, and particularly the webmaster, acted solely in a technical support role. See Figure 1.As the demand to put more information on the web increased, the web editor was no longer able to keep up with the flow of new information, and also to develop all the new sites required. The backlog of site development and content became quite severe. In late 1999, the President and his cabinet mandated a change of policy. From that point, each department or office was responsible for posting and maintaining its own web presence, including content and design. Neither content nor new sites were required to be approved by a web editor. This model is illustrated in Figure 2.This shift required that a number of users be trained to use HTML editing software, primarily Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver, and for Information Services to step up its role in supporting these users. In addition, Information Services employees, including the webmaster, a web designer, and a technical documentation specialist, became responsible for the university's home page and a number of other university-wide sites.In late 2002, there was a realization that this dispersed method of managing web sites was not providing a unified "brand" for the university web presence nor was it enhancing the university's marketing efforts. In addition, no processes existed for monitoring content, checking for outdated information, providing consistent navigation, or designing high quality graphics. At that point Central contracted with a web consulting company to redesign its web site and to make recommendations on its web management structure.
Estimation of the spatio-temporal correlations of biological electrical sources from their magnetic fields

A general formulation linking the spatial and temporal coherence of measurable magnetic fields with the corresponding spatial and temporal coherence of the inaccessible current sources is derived in the quasi-static model. A method for reconstructing the spatial and temporal coherence of the source distribution is presented. Such coherence maps would be useful descriptors of physiological processes occurring over time and space, and would represent more information than an image of the current sources frozen in time, or even a temporal sequence of such images. >
Identification of human cytomegalovirus genes important for biogenesis of the cytoplasmic virion assembly complex

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has many effects on cells, including remodeling the cytoplasm to form the cytoplasmic virion assembly complex (cVAC), the site of final virion assembly. Viral tegument, envelope, and some nonstructural proteins localize to the cVAC, and cytoskeletal filaments radiate from a microtubule organizing center in the cVAC. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi intermediate compartment, Golgi apparatus, and trans-Golgi network form a ring that outlines the cVAC. The center of the cVAC ring is occupied by numerous vesicles that share properties with recycling endosomes. In prior studies, we described the three-dimensional structure and the extensive remodeling of the cytoplasm and shifts in organelle identity that occur during development of the cVAC. The objective of this work was to identify HCMV proteins that regulate cVAC biogenesis. Because the cVAC does not form in the absence of viral DNA synthesis, we employed HCMV-infected cells transfected with synthetic small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that targeted 26 candidate early-late and late protein-coding genes required for efficient virus replication. We identified three HCMV genes (UL48, UL94, and UL103) whose silencing had major effects on cVAC development, including failure to form the Golgi ring and dispersal of markers of early and recycling endosomes. To confirm and extend the siRNA results, we constructed recombinant viruses in which pUL48 and pUL103 are fused with a regulatable protein destabilization domain (dd-FKBP). In the presence of a stabilizing ligand (Shield-1), the cVAC appeared to develop normally. In its absence, cVAC development was abrogated, verifying roles for pUL48 and pUL103 in cVAC biogenesis. IMPORTANCE Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an important human pathogen that causes disease and disability in immunocompromised individuals and in children infected before birth. Few drugs are available for treatment of HCMV infections. HCMV remodels the interior of infected cells to build a factory for assembling new infectious particles (virions), the cytoplasmic virion assembly complex (cVAC). Here, we identified three HCMV genes (UL48, UL94, and UL103) as important contributors to cVAC development. In addition, we found that mutant viruses that express an unstable form of the UL103 protein have defects in cVAC development and production of infectious virions and produce small plaques and intracellular virions with aberrant appearances. Of these, only the reduced production of infectious virions is not eliminated by chemically stabilizing the protein. In addition to identifying new functions for these HCMV genes, this work is a necessary prelude to developing novel antivirals that would block cVAC development.
Natal nest discrimination in the paper wasp, Polistes dominulus

I present data indicating that Polistes dominulus females overwinter in multi-colony groups, recognize natal nest fragments after overwintering, and select nesting cavities based on cavity volume. In a seminatural environment, seven field-captured P. dominulus colonies completed the colony cycle, and the resulting reproductive females were observed in hibernacula groups, on natal nest fragments prior to colony initiation, and in nest boxes after initiating colonies. Given the choice of three nest box sizes in which to initiate colonies, P. dominulus preferred medium nest boxes and avoided large nest boxes. This site preference may indicate a balance between the cost of detection by predators and the benefit of space for colony growth. Even though natal nests were cut into small fragments and distributed into nest boxes, spring foundresses recognized and preferentially perched upon fragments from their natal nest. Individuals whose natal nest contained multiple queens were significantly more likely to perch upon natal nest fragments than were individuals whose natal nest contained a single queen. Returning to and recognizing the natal nest may be an adaptive mechanism to (A) locate nestmates with whom to initiate multiple foundress colonies and (B) reduce the cost of finding these nestmates.
Heat injury in youth sport

Heat injury is a potentially lethal condition that is considered to be completely preventable. Fatal heat injury is relatively rare (0.20 per 100 000 player-seasons in US high school football) and there are very limited data on non-fatal incidence. Expert recommendations for prevention include gradual acclimatisation of youth athletes to hot conditions, reductions in activity in hot and humid conditions, wearing light and light-coloured clothing, careful monitoring of athletes for signs of heat injury to facilitate immediate detection, having the resources to immediately and rapidly cool affected athletes, and education of athletes, care givers, and coaches about heat injury. Although a base of observational case data, physiological information, and expert opinion exists, the science surrounding this field is devoid of health communication and health behaviour research, and there is a pressing need for analytical studies to evaluate intervention programmes and/or identify new risk factors. There is also a need for ongoing data collection on heat injury incidence and on the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards heat injury among youth athletes, their care givers and their coaches.
Flexible OLED displays using plastic substrates

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) displays using plastic substrate have many attractive features. They are ultrathin and light, in addition, it will be realized the flexible display to utilize the flexibility of the substrate. The key issue in achieving such displays is how to protect OLEDs from moisture and oxygen. We developed a barrier film on a plastic substrate and a passivation film on the OLED device itself. As a result, the device showed good emission characteristics after storage, and its characteristics were almost the same as those of a device fabricated on a glass substrate. We also developed a 3-in full-color flexible OLED display.
Influence of oral contraceptive use on endothelial t-PA release in healthy premenopausal women.

We determined the influence of oral contraceptives (OC) on the capacity of the endothelium to release tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA). Twenty-three healthy premenopausal women were studied...
Leveling the Playing Field: Perspectives of People with Disabilities on Reasonable Accommodations Received to Engage in Public Recreation

According to the ADA, people with disabilities have the right to participate in public park and recreation services. Important gains in their access to activities of their choosing since the ADA was written into law, in part due to individuals being able to request reasonable accommodations. The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of people with disabilities who participate in public park and recreation services on whether their accommodation needs are met and if they are effective in facilitating meaningful recreation experiences. Participants reported requesting reasonable accommodations was a way to exercise civil rights and gain access to meaningful recreation activities. They also reported a duality in requesting accommodations in that they were met with confusion, lack of understanding, and reluctance. It is recommended that the park and recreation profession undergo a paradigm shift and embrace making reasonable accommodations as an important professional skill.
Study of the HF chemical laser by pulse-delay measurements

A simple analytical model is presented to describe the delay τ c between flashlamp initiation and laser-pulse onset in the flash-photolysis HF chemical laser. The predictions of the model agree well with experiments concerning the functional dependence of τ c on pressure, flashlamp intensity, optical cavity loss, and the absolute magnitude of τ c . This detailed agreement between theory and laser performance has not been achieved in previous chemical laser work. The pulse-delay measurements demonstrate the presence of complete vibrational inversion at the time of laser-pulse initiation. In the Appendixes, the fractional photodissociation of MoF 6 is calculated for the experimental geometry used, the effects of flashlamp heating are considered, and a general expression for the temperature dependence of HF laser gain is derived and plotted. A complete bibliography of laser transitions in HF and DF is included.
Collective Identity Formation and the International State

The neorealist-neoliberal debate about the possibilities for collective action in international relations has been based on a shared commitment to Mancur Olson's rationalist definition of the problem as one of getting exogenously given egoists to cooperate. Treating this assumption as a de facto hypothesis about world politics, I articulate the rival claim that interaction at the systemic level changes state identities and interests. The causes of state egoism do not justify always treating it as given. Insights from critical international relations and integration theories suggest how collective identity among states could emerge endogenously at the systemic level. Such a process would generate cooperation that neither neorealists nor neoliberals expect and help transform systemic anarchy into an “international state”—a transnational structure of political authority that might undermine territorial democracy. I show how broadening systemic theory beyond rationalist concerns can help it to explain structural change in world politics.
Overcoming a Longstanding Challenge: X-Ray Structure of a [Co2(CO)6]-Complexed Propargyl Cation

After two decades of thwarted efforts, the first X-ray structure analysis of a [Co2(CO)6]-complexed propagyl cation, the BF4 salt of 1, has been reported. The carbocationic center is almost ideally sp2-hydbridized, while the metal clusters exhibit substantial structural inequivalency.