cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Supersymmetric standard models, flux compactification and moduli stabilization

Abstract Based on the T-dual constructions of supersymmetric intersecting D6-models on Z 2 × Z 2 orientifolds, whose electroweak sector is parallel with the orientifold planes with Sp ( 2 f ) L × Sp ( 2 f ) R gauge symmetry [ hep-th/0407178 ], we derive and classify standard model-like vacua with RR and NSNS fluxes, which stabilize toroidal complex structure moduli and the dilaton. We find consistent four-family ( f = 4 ) and two-family ( f = 2 ) models with one- and two-units of the quantized flux, respectively. Such models typically possess additional gauge group factors with negative beta functions and may lead, via gaugino condensation, to stabilization of toroidal Kahler moduli. These models have chiral exotics.
Vibrational energy flow across heme–cytochrome c and cytochrome c –water interfaces

We examine vibrational energy transfer across the heme–protein and protein–solvent interfaces of cytochrome c, using, as appropriate, classical, semiclassical, and quantum approaches. To characterize energy flow across the interface between the heme and the rest of cytochrome c, we calculate communication maps for the protein in its native structure as well as two structures with Met80 dissociated from the heme at 300 K. The response to excess energy in the heme is mediated by covalent and hydrogen bonds to the heme, as well as several through-space interactions, including those involving the dissociated Met80. This observation suggests no energy flow bottleneck between the heme and Met80 that would impede rebinding kinetics at 300 K. We examine the possibility of additional bottlenecks to energy flow by calculating the temperature dependence of the ergodicity threshold in an imidazole-ligated Fe-porphyrin system that constitutes the core of the heme–histidine complex. The ergodic threshold, which we calculate quantum mechanically, corresponds to a temperature of about 140 K. We also address the flow of excess vibrational energy from the protein to the solvent. We calculate the thermal boundary conductance between cytochrome c and water semiclassically over a range of temperatures and find that the protein–water interface poses no greater resistance to thermal flow than the protein itself.
Neural measures of social attention across the first years of life: characterizing typical development and markers of autism risk.

Few studies employing event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine infant perception/cognition have systematically characterized age-related changes over the first few years of life. Establishing a ‘normative’ template of development is important in its own right, and doing so may also better highlight points of divergence for high-risk populations of infants, such as those at elevated genetic risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present investigation explores the developmental progression of the P1, N290, P400 and Nc components for a large sample of young children between 6 and 36 months of age, addressing age-related changes in amplitude, sensitivity to familiar and unfamiliar stimuli and hemispheric lateralization. Two samples of infants are included: those at low- and high-risk for ASD. The four components of interest show differential patterns of change over time and hemispheric lateralization; however, infants at low- and high-risk for ASD do not show significant differences in patterns of neural response to faces. These results will provide a useful point of reference for future developmental cognitive neuroscience research targeting both typical development and vulnerable populations.
Elution of benzo[a]pyrene from carbon blacks into biomembranes in vitro.

Elution of benzo [a] pyrene (BaP) from carbon blacks into phospholipid vesicles composed of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) or dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) was investigated. Samples of rubber‐grade carbon blacks designated N‐234, N‐339, N‐351, and N‐375 containing exogenously adsorbed BaP were prepared by solvent extracting endogenous compounds from the carbon blacks and then readsorbing BaP at the desired concentrations. Concentrations of exogenous BaP on the carbon blacks were approximately 100‐fold higher than normally occur on commercial carbon blacks, but the higher levels were used to improve the ability to detect elution of BaP into membranes. Elution of BaP from carbon blacks was studied using a fluorescence spectroscopic technique that allowed continuous monitoring of the elution process. Elution from N‐234 was below detection limits of our system. Elution of BaP from N‐339, N‐351, and N‐375 into DMPC and DPPC vesicles occurred in a biphasic manner. Elution occurred within 60 min...
Leupaxin is similar to paxillin in focal adhesion targeting and tyrosine phosphorylation but has distinct roles in cell adhesion and spreading

Focal adhesion (FA) formation is induced by extracellular matrix-stimulated integrin clustering and activation of receptors for diffusible factors. Leupaxin (LPXN) is a member of the paxillin family of FA proteins expressed in many cancer cell lines. We found activation of gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPr) by bombesin (BN) stimulated LPXN translocation from cytoplasm to FAs. Using mutagenesis, we identified LIM3 as the primary FA targeting domain for LPXN and showed BN-induced LPXN tyrosine phosphorylation on residues 22, 62 and 72. A LIM3 point mutant of LPXN failed to target to FAs and had no BN-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation. Conversely, a non-phosphorylatable mutant (Y22/62/72F) translocated to FAs after BN addition. Stimulation of FA formation using vinblastine also induced LPXN translocation and tyrosine phosphorylation. Therefore, dynamic LPXN tyrosine phosphorylation requires translocation to FAs. LPXN and paxillin had opposite roles in adhesion to collagen I (CNI) in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. LPXN siRNA stimulated whereas paxillin siRNA inhibited cell adhesion. Knockdown of both LPXN and paxillin behaved similarly to paxillin knockdown alone, suggesting LPXN’s function in adhesion might depend on paxillin. Additionally, LPXN regulated cell spreading on CNI but not on fibronectin whereas paxillin knockdown suppressed spreading on both substrates. These results demonstrate that although LPXN and paxillin’s FA targeting and tyrosine phosphorylation are similar, each protein has distinct functions.
The Most Recent Dreams of 12–13 Year-Old Boys and Girls: A Methodological Contribution to the Study of Dream Content in Teenagers

The present study shows that the Most Recent Dream Method developed for the efficient and economical collection of dream reports from adults can be extended to suburban Caucasian 12–13 year-old boys and girls. A content analysis of 162 Most Recent Dreams from girls and 110 Most Recent Dreams from boys using the Hall and Van de Castle (1996) coding system revealed the same general pattern of gender similarities and differences found in the dream content of young adults. A comparison of the present results with those from participants between the ages of 11–13 and with a similar social background in two longitudinal studies showed several similarities in dream content. The overall findings thus suggest that the Most Recent Dream Method may provide a reasonably representative sample of dream reports from teenagers if at least 100 to 125 Most Recent Dreams are collected for each age group, making cross-sectional developmental studies of teenagers' dreams feasible if the cooperation of a school system can be enlisted. Suggestions for other kinds of studies using Most Recent Dreams from teenagers are also discussed.
Replication of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Depends on the γ134.5 Functions That Facilitate Virus Response to Interferon and Egress in the Different Stages of Productive Infection

The ability of the gamma(1)34.5 protein to suppress the PKR response plays a crucial role in herpes simplex virus pathogenesis. In this process, the gamma(1)34.5 protein associates with protein phosphatase 1 to form a large complex that dephosphorylates eIF-2alpha and thereby prevents translation shutoff mediated by PKR. Accordingly, gamma(1)34.5 null mutants are virulent in PKR-knockout mice but not in wild-type mice. However, gamma(1)34.5 deletion mutants, with an extragenic compensatory mutation, inhibit PKR activity but remain avirulent, suggesting that the gamma(1)34.5 protein has additional functions. Here, we show that a substitution of the gamma(1)34.5 gene with the NS1 gene from influenza A virus renders viral resistance to interferon involving PKR. The virus replicates as efficiently as wild-type virus in SK-N-SH and CV-1 cells. However, in mouse 3T6 cells, the virus expressing the NS1 protein grows at an intermediate level between the wild-type virus and the gamma(1)34.5 deletion mutant. This decrease in growth, compared to that of the wild-type virus, is due not to an inhibition of viral protein synthesis but rather to a block in virus release or egress. Virus particles are predominantly present in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Notably, deletions in the amino terminus of the gamma(1)34.5 protein lead to a significant decrease in virus growth in mouse 3T6 cells, which is independent of eIF-2alpha dephosphorylation. In correlation, a series of deletions in the amino-terminal domain impair nuclear as well as cytoplasmic egress. These results indicate that efficient viral replication depends on the gamma(1)34.5 functions required to prevent the PKR response and to facilitate virus egress in the different stages during virus infection.
Transmembrane potential and amino acid transport in rat hepatocytes in primary monolaver culture

Transmembrane potential (Em) and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) transport were measured in primary monolayer cultures of rat hepatocytes obtained from unoperated control rats and from rats 12 hr following partial hepatectomy. Measurements were performed 20-24 hr after plating the cells. The capacity of both kinds of cells to concentrate AIB depended upon extracellular sodium: however, the steady-state accumulation in regenerating cells was twice that of control cells. Transmembrane potentials, recorded with glass microelectrodes, were -13 +/- 0.6 mV and -27 +/- 1.6 mV in control and regenerating cells, respectively. Ouabain (1 mM) depolarized regenerating cell to -18 +/- 1.0 mV, but it had no effect on control cells. The initial rates of 1 mM AIB transport into control and regenerating cells were 1.2 +/- 0.1 and 3.1 +/- 0.1 nanomoles/mg protein x 4 min, respectively. Ouabain (1 mM) reduced the initial rate of AIB transport into regenerating cells to 2.7 +/- 0.1 nanomoles/mg protein x 4 min, but it had no effect on AIB transport into control cells. Glucagon (10(-7) M) added to control cells 12 hr before measurements hyperpolarized Em to -31 +/- 1.3 mV and increased AIB transport rate to 3.1 nanomoles/mg protein x 4 min. The results suggest a relationship between increases in Em and increases in AIB transport in rat hepatocytes. An electrogenic Na-K pump may be involved in both of these events.
A passion for the science of the human genome.

The complete sequencing of the human genome introduced a new knowledge base for decoding information structured in DNA sequence variation. My research is predicated on the supposition that the genome is the most sophisticated knowledge system known, as evidenced by the exquisite information it encodes on biochemical pathways and molecular processes underlying the biology of health and disease. Also, as a living legacy of human origins, migrations, adaptations, and identity, the genome communicates through the complexity of sequence variation expressed in population diversity. As a biomedical research scientist and academician, a question I am often asked is: “How is it that a black woman like you went to the University of Michigan for a PhD in Human Genetics?” As the ASCB 2012 E. E. Just Lecturer, I am honored and privileged to respond to this question in this essay on the science of the human genome and my career perspectives.
Solar transmittance analysis of different types of sunshades in the Florida climate

Solar shading devices are an integral part of any building enclosure that impacts the building efficiency and indoor environment especially in the hot and humid climates like Florida. In order to design an energy efficient structure, the solar transmittance of the window-shade system needs to be determined in order to calculate how much total solar radiation they transmit. This paper presents the findings of a comparative study for evaluating the effects of different solar shading devices on the solar transmittance properties of windows with different orientations in the city of Miami, Florida. A rectangular office block was modeled and rotated clockwise in 60° interval from North to South to study the variations in the transmission properties of windows. Commercially available shading products were analyzed under three broad categories, i.e. external, interpane and internal and each type was simulated with six different orientations: North (N), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), South (S), Southwest (SW), Northwest (NW). The climatic data file was produced by the software METEONORM. The simulation results were compared to determine a performance metric for the primary and the total solar transmittance of each window-shade system. After selecting the most efficient solar devices, a thermal analysis was performed to estimate the reduction in cooling loads generated by improving the internal operative environment.
Amplitude-Limiting Feedback Control of Combustion Instability With a High-Momentum Air Jet

A new strategy that integrates low-frequency modulation of a high-momentum air-jet with amplitude feedback is presented for control of combustion oscillations in a swirl-stabilized spray combustor. The oscillations in the combustor of interest are dominated by an acoustic mode (235 Hz) with a low frequency (13 Hz) bulk-mode (of the upstream cavity) superimposed. An effective strategy for control is shown to be achieved through the use of a concept which utilizes low bandwidth modulation of a high-momentum air-jet that penetrates into the regions of positive Rayleigh index. It is shown that with a low frequency modulation (5 Hz) of the high momentum air-jet, the pressure oscillations can be reduced significantly (by a factor of nearly 6). Further improvement in control is achieved with an amplitude-limiting feedback strategy, in which, the valve opening and closing of the control air-jet is driven by the pressure amplitude relative to a specified threshold. The goal of the controller is to maintain pressure oscillations below the pre-set threshold level. With this strategy, the valve frequency and duty cycle are automatically adjusted based on the amplitude of the pressure signal. It is observed that modulation frequencies are typically in the range of 5–30 Hz (although higher frequencies, as high as 130 Hz, are needed occasionally). Duty cycles less than 50% are required for effective control. The amplitude-limiting feedback controller is shown to combine the benefits of low-bandwidth actuation, low-duty cycles, and greater reductions in pressure oscillations.© 2004 ASME
Low-Temperature Copper Ordering in the Layered Thiophosphate CuVP2S6: A Time-of-Flight Neutron Powder Diffraction Study

Abstract CuVP 2 S 6 at room temperature is a layered structure with a statistical distribution of copper cations, Cu 1 , on three different kinds of sites: triangular, tetrahedral, and octahedral. Upon cooling to 20 K, an ordering of the copper has been observed, whereas the low-temperature structure frame remains the same. The tetrahedral and octahedral sites are emptied, with the copper ions located entirely within the sulfur triangles at the edge of the structure slabs. The characteristics of the CuS 3 , groups are the same as those of the least filled room-temperature sites.
Analysis of RDX Monopropellant Combustion with Two-Phase Subsurface Reactions

A comprehensive numerical analysis has been developed to study the key physicochemical processes involved in the self-sustained combustion of 1,3,5-trinitr ohexahydro-s-triazine (RDX) monopropellant. The model takes into account detailed chemical kinetics and transport phenomena in the gas phase, and thermal decomposition and subsequent reactions in the condensed phase. The formation of gas bubbles in the subsurface layer due to molecular degradation and evaporation is also included to provide a complete simulation. Various important aspects of RDX burning characteristics are systematically examined over a broad range of pressure, with special attention given to the effect of the subsurface two-phase flow on propellant deflagration. Good agreement between calculated and measured burning rates as well as their pressure and temperature sensitivities is achieved. Results of species concentrations reveal a multistage reaction mechanism in the gas phase. The temperature profile, however, exhibits a monotonic increase from the surface to the final flame zone. No evidence is obtained of the existence of a temperature plateau in the dark zone, consistent with some experimental observations of selfdeflagrating RDX flames using microthermocouple techniques. Further investigation into the gas-phase chemical kinetics is required to establish a unified understanding of RDX combustion under different operating conditions.
Atmospheric Hydrology of the Anomalous 2002 Indian Summer Monsoon

Abstract The 2002 Indian summer monsoon season is unique because of its exceptional weakness, its association with a relatively weak El Nino, and its precedence by over a decade in which ENSO events fail to be associated with significant monsoon anomalies. In this study, atmospheric hydrology during the 2002 summer monsoon and its relationship to monsoon seasons accompanying El Nino events since 1948 are assessed using reanalysis and satellite fields. Strong hydrologic deficits are identified for July and September 2002. During July, the impact of the disturbed Hadley and Walker circulations in the African and Indian Ocean region on vertically integrated moisture transport (VIMT) in the Arabian Sea and India is found to be key to the Indian drought. Interhemispheric coherence in satellite-derived surface wind anomalies is also identified. During September, VIMT and surface wind anomalies, both to the east and west of India, contribute to anomalous moisture divergence in India. Bay of Bengal SST and Indian...
Marital Status and Personal Well-Being: A Literature Review.

Do unmarried individuals experience more emotional and health problems than their married counterparts? According to more than 130 empirical studies on a number of well-being indices, married men and women are generally happier and less stressed than the unmarried. Marriage is particularly rewarding for men. This review finds little support for the selection hypothesis which asserts that the relationship between marital status and well-being is spurious since emotional maturity explains both conditions. However, the evidence is consistent with the protection/support hypothesis that a marital partner who provides companionship and psychic aid buffers individuals against physical and emotional pathology.
Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory

Investigations of the role of competition, predation and abiotic stress in shaping natural communities were a staple for previous generations of ecologists and are still popular themes. However, more recent experimental research has uncovered the largely unanticipated, yet striking influence of facilitation (i.e. positive species interactions) on the organization of terrestrial and aquatic communities. Modern ecological concepts and theories were well established a decade before the current renaissance of interest in facilitation began, and thus do not consider the importance of a wide variety of facilitative interactions. It is time to bring ecological theory up to date by including facilitation. This process will not be painless because it will fundamentally change many basic predictions and will challenge some of our most cherished paradigms. But, ultimately, revising ecological theory will lead to a more accurate and inclusive understanding of natural communities.
Effects of sex hormones on photically evoked potentials in frog brain

Abstract Sites in the frog's optic tectum, diencephalon, and telencephalon were found to yield evoked patterns of electrical response to light flashes. In frogs treated with estradiol, testosterone, or progesterone in different doses, the amplitudes and latencies of these electrical responses were altered, each hormone having a particular and different action in different parts of the brain. It was concluded that the loci of hormonal responsiveness for each hormone are, at least in part, different and characteristic for the type of hormone. Furthermore, the optically evoked forebrain potentials varied greatly during the year, arguing for a natural cycle of humoral control over this phenomenon.
Anomalous Scattering and Structure of Light Nuclei

THE method of analysing the anomalous scattering which has recently been developed by Wenzel1 leads to a more detailed interpretation of the scattering phenomena, and furnishes results which so far are in excellent agreement with the other evidence available for the energy level system for light nuclei.
Seamless Connectivity Scheme for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

The demand for the wireless Internet requiring broadband is expected to increase in a dramatic way due to popularity of tri player applications including voice, video, and data transmission. The existing wireless technologies UMTS, WiFi, WiMax, may not satisfy the customer requirements, for many reasons including availability, coverage, cost and most importantly mobility. Each technologies has it is own limitations related to the above characteristics. We present a seamless connectivity scheme for a mobile user, by aggregating different wireless technologies, to make the network transparent for the running applications on the mobile devices and satisfy wide range of services including voice, data, multimedia, and Web browsing.
2007 Special Issue: Online design of an echo state network based wide area monitor for a multimachine power system

With deregulation and growth of the power industry, many power system elements such as generators, transmission lines, are driven to operate near their maximum capacity, especially those serving heavy load centres. Wide Area Controllers (WACs) using wide area or global signals can provide remote auxiliary control signals to local controllers such as automatic voltage regulators, power system stabilizers, etc. to damp out system oscillations. However, since the power system is highly nonlinear with fast changing dynamics, it is a challenging problem to design an online system monitor/estimator, which can provide dynamic intra-area and inter-area information such speed deviations of generators to an adaptive WAC continuously. This paper presents a new kind of recurrent neural networks, called the Echo State Network (ESN), for the online design of a Wide Area Monitor (WAM) for a multimachine power system. A single ESN is used to predict the speed deviations of four generators in two different areas. The performance of this ESN WAM is evaluated for small and large disturbances on the power system. Results for an ESN based WAM and a Time-Delayed Neural Network (TDNN)-based WAM are presented and compared. The advantages of the ESN WAM are that it learns the dynamics of the power system in a shorter training time with a higher accuracy and with considerably fewer weights to be adapted compared to the design-based on a TDNN.
A simulation study of replication control protocols using volatile witnesses

Voting protocols guarantee the consistency of replicated data objects by disallowing all access requests that cannot gather a sufficient quorum of replicas. The performance of voting protocols can be greatly enhanced by adding to the replicas small independent entities that hold no data but can attest to the state of the replicated data object. It has been recently proposed to store these witnesses in volatile storage. Volatile witnesses respond faster to write requests than those stored in stable storage. They can also be more easily regenerated as many local area networks contain a majority of diskless sites. The authors present a simulation study of the availability afforded by two voting protocols using volatile witnesses and investigate the impact of access rates, network topology and witness placement on the availability of the replicated data. >
Safe Speech: Public Space as a Medium of Democracy

The “Medium is the Message” is an environmental art installation project intended to explore the interrelationship of art and democracy upon the platform of public space. The various attempts at instigating dialogue and public engagement have served to demonstrate Michael Sorkin’s premise that “the accommodation of differences is the key project of contemporary democracy.” This active engagement in contemporary social issues provides a framework for deeper understanding of academic knowledge in the design professions and opens up potential for its future application, unveiling public space as the critical stage upon which positions of identity are established and negotiated.
New evidence on the link between exchange rates and asset-seeking acquisition FDI

Abstract Blonigen (1997) proposes a link between exchange rates and foreign direct investment (FDI) motivated to acquire complementary assets (i.e., asset-seeking acquisition FDI). However, previous studies have only examined this hypothesis with acquisition FDI data from a country source that are mostly U.S. inbound. In this paper I examine the hypothesis using the acquisition FDI data from multiple country sources that are inbound for various countries. I find evidence in support of this hypothesis for U.S. inbound acquisition FDI from multiple country sources, but not inbound acquisition FDI for other various developed countries.
Critical role of the transient activation of p38 MAPK in the etiology of skeletal muscle insulin resistance induced by low-level in vitro oxidant stress

Increased cellular exposure to oxidants may contribute to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Skeletal muscle is the primary site of insulin-dependent glucose disposal in the body; however, the effects of oxidative stress on insulin signaling and glucose transport activity in mammalian skeletal muscle are not well understood. We therefore studied the effects of a low-level in vitro oxidant stress (30-40 μM H2O2) on basal and insulin-stimulated (5 mU/ml) glucose transport activity and insulin signaling at 2, 4, and 6 h in isolated rat soleus muscle. H2O2 increased basal glucose transport activity at 2 and 4 h, but not at 6 h. This low-level oxidant stress significantly impaired insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity at all time points, and was associated with inhibition of insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt Ser473 and GSK-3β Ser9. In the presence of insulin, H2O2 decreased total protein expression of IRS-1 at 6 h and IRS-2 at 4 and 6 h. Phosphorylation of p38 MAPK Thr180/Tyr182 was transiently increased by H2O2 in the presence and absence of insulin at 2 and 4 h, but not at 6 h. Selective inhibition of p38 MAPK with A304000 partially rescued the H2O2-induced reduction in insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity. These results indicate that direct in vitro exposure of isolated mammalian skeletal muscle to a low-level oxidant stress impairs distal insulin signaling and insulin-stimulated glucose transport activity, at least in part, due to a p38 MAPK-dependent mechanism.
Coupling effects at the νz = 34 resonance in a three-sector superconducting cyclotron☆

Abstract The fourth-order resonance ν z = 3 4 often occurs in the pre-extraction region of three-sector superconducting cyclotrons, and acceleration through this resonance can deform the vertical (and radial) phase space of the beam. The phase-space properties near the resonance have been explored using an improved version of the Z 4 Orbit Code and magnetic field data from the K1200 superconducting cyclotron at this laboratory. The orbit code results have been compared with those obtained from a standard theoretical analysis based on an expansion of the Hamiltonian. This comparison shows that relatively good agreement can be obtained if and only if certain third-order coupling effects are included in the theory. These effects are associated with particular coupling resonances that are not very far from the operating point.
Intercomparison of MSX/UVISI‐derived ozone and temperature profiles with ground‐based, SAGE II, HALOE, and POAM III data

[1] Recently, we demonstrated a combined extinctive and refractive stellar occultation technique on a proof-of-concept basis using data from the Ultraviolet and Visible Imagers and Spectrographic Imagers (UVISI) on the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) satellite. Beyond this initial presentation of the technique, we also used MSX/UVISI data obtained during the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment (SOLVE) campaign in 2000 to demonstrate the utility of stellar occultation data in scientific analyses. In the present work, we compare the retrieved ozone and temperature profiles from numerous MSX/UVISI stellar occultations to ground-based, SAGE II, Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE), and Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement III (POAM III) data. The MSX/UVISI results derived using the combined occultation method are shown to compare favorably with all these data. Small biases in the comparisons hint at interesting differences in the nature of the various ozone measurement techniques, but the overall agreement in the comparisons clearly illustrates the utility of the combined technique as a complementary means of long-term ozone monitoring.
Galactic Neutrinos and UV Astronomy

Slowly moving massive neutrinos may be responsible for the invisible mass in galactic halos and the missing mass of the universe. Massive neutrinos are expected to decay into lighter neutrinos and uv photons, with lifetimes long on the Hubble scale. The possible detection of these neutrino-decay photons is discussed.
Dental development of known-age chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes (primates, pongidae)

Interpretation of dental development of fossil hominids requires understanding of and comparison with the pattern and timing of dental development among living humans and pongids. We report the first study of crown and root calcification in the lower permanent molar teeth among chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of known chronological age. A series of 99 lateral head radiographs of 16 captive-born chimpanzees were analyzed. Radiographs were taken at irregular intervals throughout the entire postnatal period of dental development from birth to 13 years of age. Permanent mandibular molars were rated on an eight-point maturation scale from initial radiographic appearance through crown and root calcification and apical closure of the root canals. In addition, we were able to document initial crown calcification and completion, as well as root completion and apical closure in incisors, canines, and premolars. Our results show several differences from the widely cited developmental schedule for pongid dentitions of Dean and Wood (Folia Primatol. 36:111–127, 1981). We found a much greater degree of temporal overlap in calcification of the crowns of adjacent molars, a pattern very unlike that usually seen in human dental development, which is characterized by delays between the onset of crown calcification in the molar series. Also, the ages and durations of crown and root formation in our chimp sample differ from the estimates proposed by Dean and Wood. By more clearly establishing the nature of developmental schedules and the timing of major events in the pongid dentition, these results should aid in the ongoing controversies concerning the human or pongid nature of dental development among Plio-Pleistocene hominids.
Human Gut Microbes Use Multiple Transporters to Distinguish Vitamin B12 Analogs and Compete in the Gut

Genomic and metagenomic sequencing efforts, including human microbiome projects, reveal that microbes often encode multiple systems that appear to accomplish the same task. Whether these predictions reflect actual functional redundancies is unclear. We report that the prominent human gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron employs three functional, homologous vitamin B₁₂ transporters that in at least two cases confer a competitive advantage in the presence of distinct B₁₂ analogs (corrinoids). In the mammalian gut, microbial fitness can be determined by the presence or absence of a single transporter. The total number of distinct corrinoid transporter families in the human gut microbiome likely exceeds those observed in B. thetaiotaomicron by an order of magnitude. These results demonstrate that human gut microbes use elaborate mechanisms to capture and differentiate corrinoids in vivo and that apparent redundancies observed in these genomes can instead reflect hidden specificities that determine whether a microbe will colonize its host.
Image reconstruction from coded data: I. Reconstruction algorithms and experimental results

Two algorithms have been developed for reconstructing objects from their coded images and a priori knowledge of the object class. Reconstructions from both algorithms are presented, but the results appear to be largely independent of the algorithm used. One of the algorithms, a Monte Carlo approach, is used to investigate the quality of the reconstruction of two- and three-dimensional objects from simulated coded-image data with respect to viewing geometry and multiplexing (mixing) of the data. The cases examined include reconstructions from data with and without signal-dependent photon noise. It is found that reconstructing from multiplexed data is not so serious a problem as reconstructing from data obtained with a limited viewing angle. Also, when photon noise is included in the data, reconstructions obtained from multiplexed data are better than those obtained from unmultiplexed data because of the higher photon count made available by multiplexing. It appears that the fidelity of a reconstruction depends much more strongly on the design of the data-taking system (the coded apertures) than on the reconstruction algorithm.
Resurrecting the conservation movement

Conservationists are losing the battle to protect nature because they are failing to connect with the hearts, anxieties, and minds of a large segment of the American public. If conservationists are to move beyond their current base of support, they must reach out and connect to new audiences across the political, economic, and social spectra. Here, we present data from two national surveys examining attitudes about the protection of nature. These surveys show that the public does not believe a tradeoff necessarily exists between the health of the economy and the health of the environment. Moreover, certain groups, including those who do not identify themselves as environmentalists, find benefits to people to be a convincing rationale for protecting nature, and a better rationale than the intrinsic value of nature. Based on these findings, we recommend conservationists vigorously challenge claims that environmental protection will damage the economy. We also recommend a new message frame that emphasizes the value of protecting nature in terms of benefits to people, and to highlight the connection between protecting land and water and preserving their immediate quality of life and their children’s quality of life.
Examining Performance of U.S. Multinationals in Foreign Markets

In the U.S., a basic tenet of business philosophy is that profitability is related to market share. The generality of this finding in markets outside the U.S. is examined based on a sample of product businesses drawn from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy) data base. All businesses belong to firms whose corporate headquarters are located in the U.S. The relation between 7 marketing mix variables and market share and ROI (return on investment) is compared. In general, the relationship between market share and ROI appears to hold in European and other foreign markets. The marketing mix variables associated with these measures of performance, however, as well as the strength of the relationship, vary by market area.
Using Online and Paper Surveys: The Effectiveness of Mixed-Mode Methodology for Populations Over 50

To examine the effectiveness of mixed-mode methodology, this article draws on a study that used both online and paper surveys to collect data on a sample of the over 50 population in a small New En...
Rickets Secondary to Phosphate Depletion: A Sequela of Antacid Use in Infancy

Two infants presented with growth failure and were found to have generalized osteomalacia (rickets) due to phosphate depletion from prolonged administration of an aluminum-containing antacid given for the symptoms of colic. One of the infants developed bilateral proptosis due to craniosynostosis related to the underlying metabolic bone disease. The chronic use of aluminum-containing antacids in infants has potential risk for the growing skeleton and is not innocuous. Therefore, antacid therapy should be used in low doses and very cautiously, with routine monitoring of serum calcium and phosphorus in children taking medications which reduce gastrointestinal phosphate absorption.
On the invertibility of linear systems

Sain and Massey [1] have obtained necessary and sufficient conditions for the invertibility of continuous and discrete time linear systems and have also found bounds for what they termed the "inherent integration" (continuous time) or the "inherent delay" (discrete time) of an invertible linear system. In this note, we tighten these bounds by modifying an argument used to prove the Sain-Massey result.
Farewell to the "Party Period": Political Economy in Nineteenth-Century America

Historians of the United States have long contended that the study of governmental institutions, including the history of public policy, is no longer central to the teaching and writing of American history. Some lament this development; others hail it as a sign that other worthy topics are finally getting the attention they deserve. Yet is it true? The recent outpouring of scholarship on the relationship between the state and the market, or what an earlier generation would have called political economy, raises questions about this venerable conceit. Indeed, if one were to pick a single word to characterize the state of the field in the history of American political economy, it might well be “robust.”
Contributions of organic peroxides to secondary aerosol formed from reactions of monoterpenes with O3.

The role of organic peroxides in secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from reactions of monoterpenes with O3 was investigated in a series of environmental chamber experiments. Reactions were performed with endocyclic (α-pinene and Δ3-carene) and exocyclic (β-pinene and sabinene) alkenes in dry and humid air and in the presence of the OH radical scavengers: cyclohexane, 1-propanol, and formaldehyde. A thermal desorption particle beam mass spectrometer was used to probe the identity and volatility of SOA components, and an iodometric−spectrophotometric method was used to quantify organic peroxides. Thermal desorption profiles and mass spectra showed that the most volatile SOA components had vapor pressures similar to pinic acid and that much of the SOA consisted of less volatile species that were probably oligomeric compounds. Peroxide analyses indicated that the SOA was predominantly organic peroxides, providing evidence that the oligomers were mostly peroxyhemiacetals formed by heterogeneous reactio...
Cloning, sequencing, and expression of the gene encoding amylopullulanase from Pyrococcus furiosus and biochemical characterization of the recombinant enzyme.

The gene encoding the hyperthermophilic extracellular alpha-amylase from Pyrococcus furiosus was cloned by activity screening in Escherichia coli. The gene encoded a single 460-residue polypeptide chain. The polypeptide contained a 26-residue signal peptide, indicating that this Pyrococcus alpha-amylase was an extracellular enzyme. Unlike the P. furiosus intracellular alpha-amylase, this extracellular enzyme showed 45 to 56% similarity and 20 to 35% identity to other amylolytic enzymes of the alpha-amylase family and contained the four consensus regions characteristic of that enzyme family. The recombinant protein was a homodimer with a molecular weight of 100,000, as estimated by gel filtration. Both the dimer and monomer retained starch-degrading activity after extensive denaturation and migration on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. The P. furiosus alpha-amylase was a liquefying enzyme with a specific activity of 3,900 U mg-1 at 98 degrees C. It was optimally active at 100 degrees C and pH 5.5 to 6.0 and did not require Ca2+ for activity or thermostability. With a half-life of 13 h at 98 degrees C, the P. furiosus enzyme was significantly more thermostable than the commercially available Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase (Taka-therm).
Crossing the threshold of lymphocyte activation.

In 1972, Neils K. Jerne stated in the First Annual Report of the Basel Institute for Immunology, “For bursa cells and B lymphocytes, it is relatively easy to demonstrate that receptors are antibody-like molecules which enable the cell to recognize antigens. Membrane fluidity permits the receptors
Modeling, simulation, analysis and control of freeway traffic corridors

Vehicular traffic congestion remains one of the major world-wide sources of productivity and efficiency loss, wasteful energy consumption, and avoidable air pollution. For example it is estimated that in 2007, congestion caused urban Americans to travel an additional 4.2 billion hours and to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel. In this talk I will describe a set of modeling and simulation Tools for Operational Planning (TOPL) developed to provide quick and quantitative assessments of the benefits that Transportation Management Center (TMC) control policies can provide on freeway corridors, in order to decrease congestion. A freeway corridor typically comprises a 40 kilometer freeway segment on a highly populated urban area, together with its adjoining major urban streets or arterials. The movement of vehicles in a corridor is regulated by programmable field control elements including arterial intersection signals, ramp-metering signals, and message signs that announce emergency conditions, set speed limits and tolls, and provide driver information. Traffic data is primarily collected through inductive loop detectors buried roughly every kilometer along the freeways' payment, as well as detectors located in some of the major corridor arterials. TOPL contains a self-calibrated Cell Transmission Model (CTM) traffic macroscopic simulator. This simulator relies on a well-accepted theoretical model of traffic flow; it is parsimonious and does not require parameters that cannot be estimated from traffic data; and has been tested for reliability on several freeways. Moreover, it is fast, running several hundred times faster than real time, which can be used with real-time measurements and statistically predicted short term future traffic demands to keep track of the current freeway traffic state, as well as make short-term predictions. I will also discuss the qualitative behavior of a single freeway based on the CTM, and will focus on several results regarding the structure and stability of the set of equilibrium states in single freeway, including the fact that the freeway decomposes into disjoint contiguous segments demarcated by bottleneck links, with each segment having qualitatively the same behavior. These properties will be further explored in the formulation of traffic responsive and coordinated ramp-metering policies, including a coordinated policy that minimizes travel time, model calibration and missing on-ramp imputation techniques, and congestion and state estimation techniques.
The Lyapunov-Malkin Theorem and Stabilization of the Unicycle with Rider

This paper analyzes stabilization of a nonholonomic system consisting of a unicycle with rider. It is shown that one can achieve stability of slow steady vertical motions by imposing a feedback control force on the rider’s limb.
Initial observations of reduced uroflow in transgenic adenocarcinoma of murine prostate

Abstract Objectives To characterize the voiding function in a transgenic adenocarcinoma of murine prostate (TRAMP) mouse of advanced age, because it might provide a useful model of slow-onset bladder outlet obstruction. Spontaneous death from urinary outlet obstruction occurs in the TRAMP mouse. Methods A metabolic cage without a fecal separation screen was placed above a precision balance that reported the mass of the excreta pan every 100 ms. A computational algorithm identified voids suitable for uroflow assessment from other excretory events. A series of images were obtained automatically before and during the excretory events. Results The TRAMP mouse displayed a pulsatile voiding pattern characterized by a reduction in uroflow, prolongation of voiding, and droplet formation at the tip of the prepuce. Postmortem histologic examination revealed gross enlargement of the prostate, a suburethral tumor, dilation of the lumen of the urethra, and proteinaceous debris in the urethra and bladder. Conclusions The observed changes were consistent with urethral obstruction induced by prostate enlargement and/or suburethral tumor. Additional studies are required to ascertain whether prostate enlargement per se is sufficient to produce urethral obstruction in the TRAMP mouse. This transgenic mouse strain may provide a model of slow-onset outlet obstruction that is more representative of bladder outlet obstruction caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia than is the obstruction produced by urethral ligation.
Diagnosing model inadequacy in human respiratory CO/sub 2/ controller

Ventilatory noise in human CO/sub 2/ controller identification is considered, and a test procedure that helps to provide a solution to it is proposed. Noise sources are examined and a new procedure developed to test model inadequacy. The procedure is capable of checking the nature of ventilatory noise and its interaction with chemical drive, as well as detecting any possible nonlinearity in the controller. A table of test results of residuals with different noise and system models is presented and has been used to guide controller identification. Test results of human experimental data suggest that (a) the linear assumption of the controller is valid, (b) noise is additive, and (c) noise is either white or colored. >
Coordinating recharging of large scale robotic teams

Robotic teams are often proposed for solving a number of problems, ranging from exploring unknown environments to monitoring areas for security or environmental contamination. These teams are composed of individual robots which may lack the capabilities to complete a task on their own. One critical capability required by teams regardless of the mission is the ability to have sufficient battery life to remain active for the duration of the mission. We present an approach for maintaining battery life by developing a hierarchical team composed of deployable robots and docking stations. Unlike other approaches, the approach presented here focuses on docking stations supporting multiple deployed robots simultaneously. In order to do so the docking stations must continually optimize their locations with respect to the robots in need of service. Discussion of the optimization is presented, along with simulation in multiple environments to illustrate the scalability of the approach to large robotic teams. The on-going transition of this algorithm to actual hardware is also discussed.
Functional Assessment and Treatment of Challenging Behavior A Review with Implications for Early Childhood

Considerable research has focused on challenging behaviors (e.g., aggressive/disruptive, self-injurious) in children and adults with developmental disabilities over the past 25 years. Numerous beha...