cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Responses of hardwood regeneration to fire in mesic forest openings. III. Whole-plant growth, biomass distribution, and nitrogen and carbohydrate relations

Les effets du feu sur le bilan du carbone et de l'azote chez la regeneration de chene rouge (Quercus rubra L.), de frene d'Amerique (Fraxinus americana L.) et d'erable a sucre (Acer saccharum Marsh.) ont ete etudies dans des ouvertures mesiques dans une foret feuillue. Dans chacune des quatre ouvertures, une parcelle a ete brulee aux printemps en 1989 et 1990. Le taux relatif de croissance, le ratio du poids du feuillage et la concentration des hydrates de carbone non structuraux et de N ont ete suivis chez la regeneration artificielle et existante dans des parcelles brulees et temoins. En l'absence de feu, la regeneration existante de chene se developpait aussi rapidement que celle du frene et de l'erable mais le taux relatif de croissance des chenes qui avaient ete plantes etait le plus faible de toutes les especes et de tous les types de regeneration. Le brulage repete avait peu d'effet sur la croissance nette du chene mais il diminuait la croissance du frene et de l'erable de 24 a 85%. Les effets du feu sur le taux relatif de croissance etaient dus principalement aux changements dans le ratio du poids du feuillage mais les causes a l'origine de ces changements n'ont pas ete totalement eclaircies. Ils n'etaient pas consistents avec les tendances dans la concentration des hydrates de carbone non structuraux et de N dans les plants. En general, le chene possede plusieurs caracteristiques, telles une forte concentration en amidon dans les racines et un grand nombre de bourgeons dormants souterrains, qui semblent contribuer a sa vigueur apres feu.
Regulation of the activity of Escherichia coli quinolinate synthase by reversible disulfide-bond formation.

Quinolinate synthase (NadA) catalyzes a unique condensation reaction between dihydroxyacetone phosphate and iminoaspartate, yielding inorganic phosphate, 2 mol of water, and quinolinic acid, a central intermediate in the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and its derivatives. The enzyme from Escherichia coli contains a C291XXC294XXC297 motif in its primary structure. Bioinformatics analysis indicates that only Cys297 serves as a ligand to a [4Fe-4S] cluster that is required for turnover. In this report, we show that the two remaining cysteines, Cys291 and Cys294, undergo reversible disulfide-bond formation, which regulates the activity of the enzyme. This mode of redox regulation of NadA appears physiologically relevant, since disulfide-bond formation and reduction are effected by oxidized and reduced forms of E. coli thioredoxin. A midpoint potential of −264 ± 1.77 mV is approximated for the redox couple.
Dissolution of the Native Oxide Film on Polycrystalline and Single-Crystal Aluminum in NaCl Solutions

The rate of dissolution, R dis , of the native Al 2 O 3 film on electrochemically polished, single-crystal [(100), (110), and (111) orientations] and polycrystalline Al electrodes is reported. Measurements were made in 50 mM H 3 BO 3 /0.3 mM Na 2 B 4 O 7 .10 H 2 O solutions (pH ∼ 6.7) containing between 0 and 75 mM NaCl. R dis is determined by analysis of voltammetric curves recorded during film growth, using a model in which oxide growth is governed by high-field transport of ions within the film, while oxide dissolution at the oxide/electrolyte interface occurs by a potential-independent mechanism. R dis is observed to be dependent upon the surface orientation in the order: polycrystalline Al > Al(111) ∼ Al(110) > Al(100). Small enhancements in both the rate of ion transport within the oxide film and R dis at polycrystalline Al are attributed to lowering of activation barriers at grain boundaries. R dis is also shown to increase with increasing Cl - concentration, reaching a limiting value at ∼40 mM, regardless of electrode crystallinity or orientation. The dependence of R dis on Cl - concentration is consistent with adsorption of Cl - at the oxide/electrolyte interface, followed by desorption of an AlCl x complex.
Advanced Technology Imaging Sounder Testbed for Future Environmental Satellite Missions

This paper describes a ground-based testbed being developed by Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing for evaluating suitability of new Fourier transform spectrometer technology in future environmental satellite missions. The testbed includes a passively-aligned, double-pass cube corner Michelson interferometer that has flexibility to simulate a wide range of possible missions, including moderate spectral resolution imaging, trace chemical detection, and atmospheric sounding. Early testbed results are presented along with initial operational instruments performance assessments that are derived from testbed measurements.
Neonatal lactic acidosis and renal failure: the role of peritoneal dialysis.

Lactic acidosis accompanied by acute renal failure in the newborn period was studied in two infants with circulatory insufficiency and hypoxia. Peritoneal dialysis was necessitated by anuria and serum potassium concentrations of 12.0 and 8.9 mEq/l. Plasma lactate concentration was 35 and 50 mM/l and blood pH 7.23 and 7.18, respectively, at the time dialysis was instituted. Because of the uncontrollable anaerobic metabolism in these two patients, and the attendant inability to metabolize lactate, the use of commercial lactate-containing dialysates as a source of base was shown to be ineffective in correcting the acidosis and hypothesized to cause a worsening of metabolic acidosis due to a loss of bicarbonate from extracellular fluid into dialysate. Stabilization or improvement in the metabolic acidosis occurred with the utilization of a dialysate containing bicarbonate with a gradient favoring movement of bicarbonate into, and lactate out of, extracellular fluid.
Structural characterization of thin film photonic crystals

We quantitatively analyze the structure of thin film inverse-opal photonic crystals composed of ordered arrays of air pores in a background of titania. Ordering of the sphere template and introduction of the titania background were performed simultaneously in the thin film photonic crystals. Nondestructive optical measurements of backfilling with high refractive index liquids, angle-resolved reflectivity, and optical spectroscopy were combined with band-structure calculations. The analysis reveals a thin film photonic crystal structure with a very high filling fraction (92\char21{}94 %) of air and a substantial compression along the c axis $(\ensuremath{\sim}22\char21{}25%).$
Which diagnostic tests for common allergies? Where to start when you face an allergy puzzle.

PREVIEWThe picture is all too common. In fact, you probably see it in about 1 of every 10 patients who come through your door. The runny nose, scratchy throat, itchy eyes, recurrent sneezing, and annoying cough all point to an allergy. But where do you start and how far do you go in your search for the cause? In this article, Dr Volcheck describes the most commonly used tests for detecting sensitivity to specific IgE allergens and discusses the clinical usefulness and practicality of the various diagnostic procedures.
Note on Concurrent Validity of Structure of Intellect Gifted Screener with Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised

A primary problem in identification of gifted children is the time required for indiv~dual intelligence testing to establish eligibility. An effective screening instrument could eliminate such expensive testing time. The Structure of Intellect Gifted Screener (2, 3) might fill this need if scores on subtests or the full battery correlate highly with the primary placement tool, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (5). The.Screener has 12 subtests from the Structure of Intellect Learning Abilities Test. The test can be administered to groups of children, although the authors note that some portions of the rest may require individual administration for non-readers. Administration time ranges from about 40 min. at the beginning level to about 50 min. for advanced level students. No special training is required for administration. No information is given in the manual concerning the reliability or validity of the instrument, although consmct validity is indirectly addressed through reference to the fact that the test is based on Guilford's Structure of Intellect Factors (1). The present study was done to obtain evidence regarding the concurrent validity of the Gifted Screener in relation to the WISC-R battery. The Gifted Screener was administered in grade-lwel group sessions to 339 pupils, Grades 1 through G in the fall of 1978. The subjects were 163 boys and 176 girls. Following administration, each student was individually given the WISC-R full battery by a qualified psychological examiner. Stepwise multiple regression analysis (4) provided results of parrial or simple regression of each subtest for the Gifted Screener against each subtest of the WISC-R and against the WISC-R composite indicator. When all Gifted Screener scores were employed as predictor variables, all coefficients were significant. The multiple correlation of ,337 (P < .05) between the WISC-R Full Scale IQ and the weighted combination of all Gifted Screener subtests explained only about 11% of the total variance. About 89% of the variance in the WISC-R scores was lefr unexplained by the Gifted Screener. No predictor variable contributed to a significant multiple correlation coefficient when the Full Scale IQ or any combination of WISC-R subtests were used as the criterion variable. Identification of gifted students could be handled better were there a screening instrument which has a high correlation wirh the full WISC-R. The present study produced correlations between the Gifted Screener and the WISC-R too small to consider this test satisfactory. As the intent in development was not screening gifted children, one would nor expect to find a strong relationship between the two tests. Both the screener and the learning sub-scale idenrify areas of strength and weakness in children's intellectual performance and may add to total assessment of gifted children. However, where the WISC-R is ordinarily used as the final identification and placement instrument, use of the Gifted Screener appears inappropriate.
Identification of Strong DNA Binding Motifs for Bleomycin

The bleomycins (BLMs) are clinically used antitumor antibiotics. Their mechanism of action is believed to involve oxidative cleavage of DNA and possibly also RNA degradation. DNA degradation has been studied extensively and shown to involve binding of an activated metallobleomycin to DNA, followed by abstraction of C4′-H from deoxyribose in the rate-limiting step for DNA degradation. It is interesting that while DNA and RNA degradation by activated Fe•BLM has been studied extensively, much less is known about the actual binding selectivity of BLM, that is, the obligatory step that precedes cleavage. Thus it is unclear whether cleavage specificity is defined by the binding event or whether cleavage occurs at a subset of preferred binding sites. With only a few exceptions, NMR binding studies have employed metalloBLMs such as Co•BLM and Zn•BLM whose therapeutic relevance is uncertain. A single biochemical study that compared DNA binding and cleavage directly also employed Co•BLM. It is logical to anticipate...
Automatic apparatus for α-γ angular correlation measurements

Abstract Automatic equipment for the measurement of α-γ angular correlations is described. The circuitry for automatic operation is given in detail. Detectors used in the system are coaxial Ge(Li) crystal for γ-rays and a silicon surface barrier detector for α-particles. A simple method of determining the relative efficiency of the Ge(Li) detector as a function of energy is outlined. The electronics used for coincidence has a resolving time of ∼ 5nsec.
A VLA H92α Recombination Line Study of the Arched Filament H II Complex Near the Galactic Center

The Very Large Array has been used at 8.3 GHz in the DnC and CnB array configurations to carry out an H92??recombination line study of the ionized gas in the Arched Filaments H II complex, which defines the western edge of the Galactic center Radio Arc. The Arched Filaments consist of a series of curved filamentary ridges which extend over 9' ? 6' (22 ? 16 pc) and are intersected in two places by linear, nonthermal, magnetic filaments. The H92??observations cover the entire Arched Filaments region using a four-field mosaic, with an angular resolution of 128 ? 810; an additional higher resolution (36 ? 27) field was imaged in the SW portion of the H II complex. High-resolution continuum images are also presented. The H92??line properties of the ionized gas (line-to-continuum ratio, FWHM line width, T) are consistent with photoionization from hot stars and consistent with the physical properties of other Galactic center H II regions. The LTE electron temperatures vary only slightly across the entire extent of the source and have an average value of 6200 K. The velocity field is very complex, with velocities ranging from +15 to -70 km s-1?and the majority of velocities having negative values. Large velocity gradients (2?7 km s-1?pc-1, with gradients in some regions larger than 10 km s-1?pc-1) occur along each of the filaments, with the velocities becoming increasingly negative with decreasing distance from the Galactic center. The negative velocities and the sense of the velocity gradients can be understood in terms of the orbital path of the underlying molecular cloud about the Galactic center. The magnitudes of the velocity gradient are consistent with the cloud residing on an inner, elongated orbit which is due to the Galaxy's stellar bar, or with a radially infalling cloud. The ionization of the Arched Filaments can be accounted for completely by the massive Arches stellar cluster, which consists of more than 150 O stars and produces a few ?1051 photons s-1. This cluster is likely to be located 10?20 pc from the Arched Filaments, which can explain the uniformity of ionization conditions in the ionized gas.
Site-specific amide hydrogen exchange in melittin probed by electron capture dissociation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) has been proposed to be a non-ergodic process, i.e. to provide backbone dissociation of gas-phase peptides faster than randomization of the imparted energy. One potential consequence could be that ECD can fragment deuterated peptides without causing hydrogen scrambling and thereby provide amino acid residue-specific amide hydrogen exchange rates. Such a feature would improve the resolution of approaches involving solution-phase amide hydrogen exchange combined with mass spectrometry for protein structural characterization. Here, we explore this hypothesis using melittin, a haemolytic polypeptide from bee venom, as our model system. Exchange rates in methanol calculated from consecutive c-type ion pairs show some correlation with previous NMR data: the amide hydrogens of leucine 13 and alanine 15, located at the unstructured kink surrounding proline 14 in the melittin structure adopted in methanol, appear as fast exchangers and the amide hydrogens of leucine 16 and lysine 23, buried within the helical regions of melittin, appear as slow exchangers. However, calculations based on c-type ions for other amide hydrogens do not correlate well with NMR data, and evidence for deuterium scrambling in ECD was obtained from z˙-type ions.
Itinerant electron magnetism in two dimensions

Abstract A two-dimensional electron system is shown to be ferromagnetic for densities corresponding to r s 4, with states of fractional magnetization being metastable. When some of the effects correlations are included, the system may be ferromagnetic for r s 10.8.
Reflective Essay and E-Portfolio to Promote and Assess Student Learning in a Capstone Marketing Course

Schools of business are increasingly focused on efforts aimed at measuring, documenting, and improving student learning. E-portfolios have been introduced by a number of schools for purposes of ass...
Reconstruction of submerged targets from multiple airborne images: II. Algorithms and simulation results

Reconstruction of submerged targets from multiple views (called multi-look imaging or MLI) is a technology adapted from machine vision and tomographic imaging whose utility is emerging in airborne battlefield surveillance applications. In summary, MLI integrates a sufficient number of views that may have different portions of a target or scene visible. The integration process is designed to support semi- automatic derivation of a solid model that portrays an imaged target or scene. This approach is advantageous for target and feature location, especially in the presence of partial obscuration due to turbid optical media, overlying cover, or occlusion by other target objects.
Dimensions of Charter School Choice

ABSTRACT In this paper I develop indices capturing business/market and nonprofit/mission characteristics of charter schools that can be used to explain many of their observed operational and political choices. This improves on earlier research using only a binary variable classifying charter schools as market or mission rather than letting them take on characteristics of both. Using data from a survey of charter schools, I construct market and mission orientation indices which I then use to reestimate a series of multivariate models published in earlier charter school research that used only the binary distinction between schools. These nuanced, nonmutually exclusive indices reveal aspects of school choices in terms of targeting student populations, recruiting staff, and engaging in political advocacy not uncovered with the original binary distinction. This demonstrates the importance of increasing the sophistication of our empirical measures in the study of charter schools.
Thin-Disk Test for Adhesion-Bond Strength in Solvent Environments

ABSTRACT A number of the popular tests for adhesive strength are difficult to apply to the study of adhesion under solvent environments. Complex applications, in which two different substrate materials need to be bonded and for which the substrates are thin sections, can be particularly difficult to study. The thin-disk test described here uses a thin annular disk of adhesive to bond two dissimilar materials while exposing the bond line to a circulating solvent. The new test was evaluated for a typical inkjet print-head application using surrogates for inkjet water-based inks. The joint is an epoxy adhesive joining a silicon wafer to a thermoplastic part (Rynite®), in which the silicon substrate, the thermoplastic, or the various adhesive interfaces might fail. A conventional lap-shear test was compared with the thin-disk test for samples exposed to four different solvent systems plus water at two different temperatures. Lap-shear test failures occurred mostly in the thermoplastic part, with the exception...
Odious Comparisons: Incommensurability, the Case Study, and “Small N's” in Sociology

Case studies and “small-N comparisons” have been attacked from two directions, positivist and incommensurabilist. At the same time, some authors have defended small-N comparisons as allowing qualit...
Study of the Biological Destructive Separation of Hazardous Contaminants from Town Gas Soils

Abstract Soil contamination from hazardous materials has existed since the beginning of the industrial age. At that time, unwanted liquid products were disposed of by dumping into unlined pits. Today, the chemical industry is faced with cleaning up these old hazardous waste sites as well as any new site. The hardest part associated with successful soil remediation is the separation of the adsorbed contaminant from the soil. Current research has demonstrated promising results for the destructive separation of hazardous contaminants using bioremediation. This paper addresses the process and results for biological destruction of contaminants from a town gas soil using Mycobacterium sp.
Susceptibility and pathogenesis of little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) to heterologous and homologous rabies viruses

Rabies virus (RABV) maintenance in bats is not well understood. Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), and Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) are the most common bats species in the United States. These colonial bat species also have the most frequent contact with humans and domestic animals. However, the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) RABV is associated with the majority of human rabies virus infections in the United States and Canada. This is of interest because silver-haired bats are more solitary bats with infrequent human interaction. Our goal was to determine the likelihood of a colonial bat species becoming infected with and transmitting a heterologous RABV. To ascertain the potential of heterologous RABV infection in colonial bat species, little brown bats were inoculated with a homologous RABV or one of two heterologous RABVs. Additionally, to determine if the route of exposure influenced the disease process, bats were inoculated either intramuscularly (i.m.) or subcutaneously (s.c.) with a homologous or heterologous RABV. Our results demonstrate that intramuscular inoculation results in a more rapid progression of disease onset, whereas the incubation time in bats inoculated s.c. is significantly longer. Additionally, cross protection was not consistently achieved in bats previously inoculated with a heterologous RABV following a challenge with a homologous RABV 6 months later. Finally, bats that developed rabies following s.c. inoculation were significantly more likely to shed virus in their saliva and demonstrated increased viral dissemination. In summary, bats inoculated via the s.c. route are more likely to shed virus, thus increasing the likelihood of transmission.
Why Evolutionary Issues are Reviving Interest in Proximate Behavioral Mechanisms

Information about proximate behavioral mechanisms is required to answer a variety of important questions about the evolution of behavioral and other traits. For instance, theoretical studies of maternal effects indicate that the behavior of parents may have profound effects on the evolution of phenotypic traits in their offspring, and that maternal effects may provide nongenetic pathways for the inheritance of both behavioral and nonbehavioral traits. Similarly, the recent emphasis on genetic correlations among traits cautions that correlations among behavioral traits may have surprising effects on behavioral evolution, and provides further impetus for studies of the proximate bases of behavioral trait syndromes. Finally, the literature on information acquisition suggests that the behavioral processes used in assessment may affect the evolution of behavioral and other traits. For instance, if information is costly to obtain, individuals may prefer familiar to unfamiliar situations. In a social context, a preference for familiar individuals could have a variety of effects on the evolution of social and nonsocial behavior patterns. These and other examples suggest that interest in behavioral processes will continue to grow during the next decade, and that proximate and ultimate approaches to behavioral problems will be more closely integrated than was true in the past.
Update on VUV and soft X-ray facilities at SSRL

Abstract The number of experimental stations at SSRL devoted to the VUV and soft X-ray region is increasing rapidly. In 1986 there were five VUV/soft X-ray beam lines in regular operation. These consisted of two grasshopper lines, a Seya-Namioka line, a white light lithography line, and the UHV double crystal line, Jumbo. By 1988 ten beam lines, including two with insertion devices, covering the spectral range 5–4000 eV in five overlapping ranges will be operational. With the addition of these new stations, SSRL will have increased dramatically its facilities for performing VUV and soft X-ray research.
International prospects for cooperation in crop research

Agricultural research is increasingly a global effort. No country can remain isolated in agricultural research without damaging its capacity to respond to challenges to agricultural productivity. In this paper, we explore the role of botany in the international effort to raise and stabilize farm yields. Given the importance of wild species in crop breeding and the increasing use of wild species to upgrade crops, the value of systematics is underlined. The contribution of plant physiology is also discussed, particularly with reference to mechanisms of resistance to pests and diseases and tolerance to adverse soils and climates. The crucial role of ecological studies based on field work is also underscored, particularly as it applies to wild plants and natural genepools, as well as crop protection. The necessity for continued support of botanical studies and gardens is emphasized in the light of the global effort to conserve and utilize crop genetic diversity. Finally, we examine some developments in mycology and biotechnology that have implications for agriculture and pinpoint opportunities for increased collaboration between botanists and agricultural scientists.
Spinal cord neuron death in methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6 tetrahydropyridine induced Parkinsonism

Parkinsonism is a movement disorder characterized by rigidity, tremor, and bradykinesia, originating from abnormalities in and death of monoaminergic neurons (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) in the substantia niagra, retrorubral area, and locus ceoruleus. Calpain has been implicated in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimers and Parkinsons Disease (PD)). Since the spinal cord (SC) and brain are integrally connected and calpain is involved in cell death, we hypothesized that SC neurons are also affected in PD. To test this hypothesis, we examined SC from 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6 tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced PD in mice. To identify cells expressing calpain, double immunofluorescent staining with calpain and cell marker antibodies (NeuN, OX42, and GFAP for neuron, microglia, and astrocytes, respectively) was used to observe changes in the SC. Double TUNEL staining was used to identify apoptotic cells. There was an increase in calpain expression in neurons, microglia, and astrocytes in brain and SC of MPTP-treated animals at 1 and 7 days compared to controls. TUNEL positive neurons in the SC showed morphological apoptotic signs. The NeuN stain was less concentrated around the nuclear membrane at 1 day post exposure, while at 1 week calpain content in NeuN+ cells was greatly increased in substantia niagra and SC. Also, MPTP-exposure up-regulated calpain activity and expression in the SC. These results demonstrated neuron death in the SC of MPTP-treated mice, and has provided evidence for a possible calpain-mediated neuron death in SC of MPTP-induced PD in mice. Acknowledgements: Supported in part by NIH and MUSC Summer Student Research Program.
Oesophageal carcinoma : past and present studies

Surgery is a crucial part of therapy of oesophageal cancer. The many trials which are described focus on variations in surgical technique. A trend is found that results are better with more extensive procedures. Local control evidently is improved, but an effect on survival is not yet sufficiently shown. Combinations of neoadjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy with surgery are effective by downstaging offering seemingly better survival in responding patients. Interpretation of trial data, however, is difficult because of the relatively small numbers in individual studies; the differences of the used treatment modalities make an overview approach less reasonable. Great attention should be given in the future trial work to better standardization (interpretation of definitions). Directives for optimal staging should be described in all study protocols.
Observation of Magnetic Resonances in Electron Clouds in a Positron Storage Ring

The first experimental observation of magnetic resonances in electron clouds is reported. The resonance was observed as a modulation in cloud intensity for uncoated as well as TiN-coated aluminum surfaces in the positron storage ring of the PEP-II collider at SLAC. Electron clouds frequently arise in accelerators of positively charged particles, and severely impact the machines performance. The TiN coating was found to be an effective remedy, reducing the cloud intensity by three orders of magnitude.
Efficacy and tolerability of high-dose prednisone in Chinese children with infantile spasms

Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study is to preliminarily evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of high-dose prednisone in the treatment of infantile spasms (IS) in China, and to provide additional choice of the therapy of IS. Methods: Twenty patients aged 3–53 months with IS were collected in the Department of Neurology of Jiangxi Children’s Hospital from May in 2011 to December in 2012, who were placed on high-dose prednisone (took prednisone tablet of 10 mg four times a day) for 2 weeks during admission to our hospital. The assessment of spasms seizure and video-EEG monitoring were preformed before treatment and after 2 weeks and the end of treatment of the regimen (7 weeks), respectively. All of the children were followed-up for 2–14 months. Results: Among 20 cases, there were 16 cases (80.0%) with complete cessation of spasms after 2 weeks and 13 cases (65.0%) after 7 weeks. There were 19 cases with typical or modified hypsarrhythmia in 20 cases. No matter after 2 or 7 weeks, there were 12 cases showed complete resolution of hypsarrhythmia and 7 cases with only a partial remission of hypsarrhythmia. After a follow-up of 2–14 months, the longest spasm-free interval was 14 months and the shortest one was 11 days. Six cases relapsed in different periods, and the relapse rate was 35.3%. Amongst the main adverse events, there were Cushing’s symptoms in 15 cases (75.0%), irritability in 8 cases (40.0%), drosiness in 3 cases (15.0%), high blood pressure in 3 cases (15.0%), and infections in 8 cases (40.0%), but no one stopped the treatment because of the adverse reactions. Conclusion: In total, high-dose prednisone was effective and well-tolerated in children with IS in China. Maybe the regimen will become a new choice in the treatment of IS.
Simultaneous Quantification and Identification of Individual Chemicals in Metabolite Mixtures by Two-Dimensional Extrapolated Time-Zero 1H−13C HSQC (HSQC0)

Quantitative one-dimensional (1D) 1H NMR spectroscopy is a useful tool for determining metabolite concentrations because of the direct proportionality of signal intensity to the quantity of analyte. However, severe signal overlap in 1D 1H NMR spectra of complex metabolite mixtures hinders accurate quantification. Extension of 1D 1H to 2D 1H−13C HSQC leads to the dispersion of peaks along the 13C dimension and greatly alleviates peak overlapping. Although peaks are better resolved in 2D 1H−13C HSQC than in 1D 1H NMR spectra, the simple proportionality of cross peaks to the quantity of individual metabolites is lost by resonance-specific signal attenuation during the coherence transfer periods. As a result, peaks for individual metabolites usually are quantified by reference to calibration data collected from samples of known concentration. We show here that data from a series of HSQC spectra acquired with incremented repetition times (the time between the end of the first 1H excitation pulse to the beginni...
Of folding and function: understanding active-site context through metalloenzyme design.

In the emerging field of biomolecular design, the introduction of metal-binding sites into loop or turn regions of known protein scaffolds has been utilized to create unique metalloprotein and metallopeptide systems for study. This Forum Article highlights examples of the modular-turn-substitution approach to design and the range of structural and mechanistic questions to which this tool can be applied. Examples from the authors' laboratory are given to show that lanthanide-binding metallopeptides, and now a full metallohomeodomain, can be generated by modular substitution of a Ca-binding EF-hand loop into the unrelated scaffold, the engrailed helix−turn−helix motif. We have previously shown that these peptides bind trivalent Ln(III) ions and promote DNA and phosphate hydrolysis, the targeted function. Here, a series of chimeric peptides are presented that differ only in the ninth loop position [given in parentheses; Peptides P3N (Asn), P3E (Glu), P3A (Ala), and P3W(D) (Asp)]. This residue, a putative sec...
The effects of whole bile and bile salts on the innervated and the denervated heart

Abstract The effects of the intravenous administration of whole bile and bile salts on the blood pressure and the electrocardiogram were studied in a series of acute experiments, under pentobarbital sodium (nembutal) anesthesia, on normal dogs and on dogs with denervated hearts; the same methods and technical procedures were employed in both cases. Similar observations were made over a period of several weeks on normal, trained dogs, and on one trained dog with a denervated heart; this permitted us to make repeated observations which could not have been influenced by anesthesia, operative trauma, or an accumulative effect of successive injections of bile. There were no detectable electrocardiographic differences between the effects of whole bile and bile salts on the innervated and the denervated heart; the irregularities and slowing of the rate of the heart were similar. During the period of gradual recovery from the hypotensive effect brought about by the first injections of bile constituents, the blood pressure of the dogs with denervated hearts usually did not return to its previous level, but the blood pressure of the dogs with innervated hearts, usually tended to do so. In both the normal animals and those with denervated hearts, approximately the same, gradual, hypotensive effect was produced by the intravenous administration of repeated doses of whole bile or bile salts. The injections finally led to failure of the heart, fall of blood pressure, and death of the animal. Our observations on the innervated heart differed so slightly from those on the denervated hearts of otherwise intact dogs to which whole bile or bile salts were administered intravenously, that it appears justifiable to conclude that whole bile and bile salts can produce practically the same hypotensive effect and cardiac changes, such as bradycardia and disturbances in rhythm, in the absence, as well as in the presence, of the cardiac autonomic nerves.
Heavy ion emission from light nuclei

Abstract Reactions involving the emission of heavy ions leading to low-lying states of the residual nucleus have been studied using 42 MeV α-particles incident on light target nuclei. The heavy ions resulting from these reactions were identified by mass number using the time-of-flight technique. With this method, products with a mass number as high as A = 14 could generally be separated from neighbouring isobars. Reactions leading to different particle masses from a particular target were studied simultaneously. Angular distributions and total cross sections were obtained for the reactions 12 C( 4 He, 6 Li) 10 B, 12 C( 4 He, 7 Be) 9 Be, 16 O( 4 He, 6 Li) 14 N, 16 O( 4 He, 7 Li) 13 N, 16 O( 4 He, 7 Be) 13 C and 16 O( 4 He, 9 Be) 11 C. A comparison of the experimental angular distributions and cross sections with statistical model calculations was carried out. We show that as the mass of the emitted heavy ion increases for a particular reaction, the fractional contribution of compound-nuclear processes increases. Considerable compound nuclear contributions to all the reactions studied are indicated. Comparison of the calculated and experimental results for the 16 O( 4 He, 7 Be) and 16 O( 4 He, 7 Li) reactions with those for the reaction 16 O( 4 He, 8 Be) 12 C indicate that there is no enhancement of the latter reaction due to α-clustering. Evidence is given for the conservation of isotopic spin in complex reactions proceeding through a short-lived compound nucleus. The possible astrophysical significance of low-energy α-particle-induced reactions in the nucleosynthesis of Li, Be and B is discussed.
Desensitization of the Chick Oviduct to Estrogen: Mediation at Different Levels of Gene Expression*

We have investigated the effects of changing the dosage or kind of estrogen administered to immature chicks on the synthesis of two egg white proteins, ovalbumin and conalbumin, and the accumulation of their mRNAs. The results suggest that the oviduct can become desensitized to estrogen. Ovalbumin accounted for 25% of oviduct protein synthesis in chicks treated with low dose of diethylstilbestrol (DES; 0.5 mg/day) for 14 days. Within several days after the dosage of estrogen had been increased 10-fold, ovalbumin synthesis fell to undetectable levels. The synthesis of conalbumin also became undetectable when the dosage of estrogen was increased. Throughout the above experiment both ovalbumin and conalbumin mRNA activity, as measured by cell-free translation, remained elevated. This implies that expression of the ovalbumin and conalbumin genes may be regulated at the level of translation. In a separate experiment, ovalbumin and conalbumin synthesis also decreased when chicks primed with DES pellets were given an increased dosage of estrogen. Ovalbumin synthesis fluctuated, but overall decreased from 25% of oviduct protein synthesis after priming with DES pellets to 16% of oviduct protein synthesis after 7-12 days of injections of estradiol benzoate (1 mg/day). At the same time, conalbumin synthesis decreased from 10% to 6% of oviduct protein synthesis. In contrast with the previous results, changes in ovalbumin and conalbumin mRNA activity paralleled changes in ovalbumin and conalbumin synthesis. Thus, not only can the oviduct become desensitized to estrogen, desensitization can be mediated at different levels of gene expression.
Density-controlled growth of aligned ZnO nanowires sharing a common contact : A simple, low-cost, and mask-free technique for large-scale applications

An effective, low cost, simple, and mask-free pathway is demonstrated for achieving density control of the aligned ZnO nanowires grown for large-scale applications. By a slight variation of the thickness of the thermally evaporated gold catalyst film, a significant change in the density of aligned ZnO nanowires has been controlled. The growth processes of the nanowires on an Al0.5Ga0.5N substrate has been studied based on the wetting behavior of gold catalyst with or without source vapor, and the results classify the growth processes into three categories: separated dots initiated growth, continuous layer initiated growth, and scattered particle initiated growth. This study presents an approach for growing aligned nanowire arrays on a ceramic substrate with the simultaneous formation of a continuous conducting electrode at the roots, which is important for device applications, such as field emission.
Gender issues in the measurement of physical and psychological safety

Summary Traditional methods of analyzing the physical and psychological demands of the job have been criticized as potentially biased against female sex‐typed jobs. This poses a potential problem when information about the job is used to develop safety training programs or injury prevention programs. In this paper, the problem of measuring safety‐related aspects of jobs is explored from a perspective which incorporates attention to gender issues. Potential problems are identified in the measurement of characteristics such as physical safety, responsibility for the physical safety of others, and psychological safety. A shortcoming in the literature deserving of further research is also identified in terms of the relative paucity of measures of responsibility for psychological safety. The failure to pay attention to gender issues may lead to problems in safety training, due to deficiencies in assessment, evaluation, and design.
Deep-Tow magnetics near 20°S on the East Pacific Rise: A study of short wavelength anomalies at a very fast spreading center

Six Deep-Tow magnetic profiles across the axis of the East Pacific Rise [EPR] in two small areas between 19°25′ and 20°10′S were collected during the 1983 Protea 1 cruise of the R/V Melville. These near-bottom profiles are of extremely high resolution allowing the interpretation of very short wavelength features. We have inverted the magnetic field data to determine the rock magnetization distribution near the axis of this ultrafast speading center (162 mm yr-1). The solutions reveal large amplitude (up to 35 A m-1) short wavelength (1–3 km) variations in magnetization. Specifically all crossings show a narrow (0.5 to 1.5 km) low in magnetization superimposed on a broader (2.5 to 4 km) high directly over the ridge axis. Four profiles in the northern area (19°25′ to 19°33′S) also show symmetrical near-axis (within 4 km) lows which are remarkably continuous along strike. Explanations for the short-wavelength variations are discussed which fall into the following categories: (1) variations in the thickness of the magnetized layer, (2) variations in rock chemistry (e.g. alteration due to hydrothermal activity), and (3) paleofield intensity variations. None of the mechanisms discussed alone adequately explain the observed phenomena in the study area or on a world-wide scale. Further sampling and high resolution surveying will be required in order to accurately determine the relative importance of the mechanisms discussed.
AttachMate: highlight extraction from email attachments

While email is a major conduit for information sharing in enterprise, there has been little work on exploring the files sent along with these messages -- attachments. These accompanying documents can be large (multiple megabytes), lengthy (multiple pages), and not optimized for the smaller screen sizes, limited reading time, and expensive bandwidth of mobile users. Thus, attachments can increase data storage costs (for both end users and email servers), drain users' time when irrelevant, cause important information to be missed when ignored, and pose a serious access issue for mobile users. To address these problems we created AttachMate, a novel email attachment summarization system. AttachMate can summarize the content of email attachments and automatically insert the summary into the text of the email. AttachMate also stores all files in the cloud, reducing file storage costs and bandwidth consumption. In this paper, the primary contribution is the AttachMate client/server architecture. To ground, support and validate the AttachMate system we present two upfront studies (813 participants) to understand the state and limitations of attachments, a novel algorithm to extract representative concept sentences (tested through two validation studies), and a user study of AttachMate within an enterprise.
The calculation of turbulent boundary layers with foreign gas injection

Abstract Numerical solutions have been obtained for flat plate compressible turbulent boundary layers of air with foreign gas injection, on the hypothesis that the momentum equation is coupled to the species and energy equations only through spatial variations of the mean density and viscosity. The finite difference calculation procedure incorporates the “ω2” transformation with central differencing. The injected species include H2, He, CH4, H2O, CO, Air, CO2, Freon 12, Xe and CCl4; temperature ratios Ts/Te range from 0.2 to 2.0 while the Mach numbers range from 0 to 6. Thermodynamic properties are estimated allowing for variable specific heats; for the transport properties, kinetic theory with the Lennard-Jones potential is used. Thermal diffusion and diffusional conduction are ignored. Eddy viscosity models for the inner region were evaluated by comparison with experimental data for blown constant property flows, and a “best” model selected for the parametric calculations. The turbulent Schmidt and Prandtl numbers were taken as constants, respectively 0.8 and 0.9. The results show the important role played by density variations across the boundary layer; the mass and heat transfer Stanton numbers for the heaviest injectants actually increase with injection, and the light injectants are found to be more effective in reducing skin friction and heat transfer than experimental data indicate. Agreement with experiment for low speed flows is shown to be generally satisfactory; also, the predicted influence of Mach number on skin friction is found to be consistent with experiment.
Universal quantification of structurally diverse natural products using an evaporative light scattering detector.

A lack of good methods for absolute quantification of natural products has limited the accuracy of high-throughput screening. Many currently used methods for quantification are either too slow or not amenable to the structural diversity of natural products. Recent developments in low-temperature evaporative light scattering detectors (ELSD-LT) have overcome several historical limitations of ELSDs, including analyte decomposition and low sensitivity. Primarily, ELSDs have been used for relative quantification and detection of compounds that lack a UV chromophore. In this study, we employ an ELSD-LT for absolute quantification of natural products. Calibration curves were constructed using a weighted least-squares analysis for a diverse set of natural products and other compounds. An average calibration curve was evaluated for the “universal” quantification of natural products. Optimization of ELSD-LT hardware and parameters improved sensitivity and throughput and established the utility of ELSD-LT for quantification of large natural product libraries.
Surface electric fields and spatial derivatives of Green's function of layered media based on half-space extraction

We consider the case when both source and field points are located on the same interface separating two different dielectric media. The electric fields and spatial derivatives of an electric-field Green's function in the spatial domain are calculated numerically without using potentials. For the electric field and its spatial derivatives, the integrand of the Sommerfeld integral grows with kρ for large kρ. For the fourth derivative, the integrand grows as the k power. To evaluate the integrals, we use a half-space extraction technique. After the half-space extraction, the integrand of the Sommerfeld integral of layered media decays exponentially, and the integral is calculated along the Sommerfeld integration path. The half-space extraction part is calculated by numerical integration along the verticalbranch cuts. Numerical results of the surface electric fields and spatial derivatives up to the fourth order for multilayered media are illustrated for distances from 0.02 to 20 free-space wavelengths. Results are illustrated for various layer thicknesses. ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 24: 247–253, 2000.
Respecting metrical structure

The paper argues that in order to locate stress in languages such as Macedonian, Latin and Cairene Arabic, where words have one stressed syllable, it is necessary to assign metrical structure to the entire word even though most of it is subsequently erased. In a discussion of Latin enclitic stress it is shown that this erasure of metrical structure must be combined with stages in the derivation where previously assigned metrical structure is scrupulously respected. This leads to a digression concerning the similar enclitic stress in the Austronesian language Manam. Attention is then focussed on the fact that in some languages — e.g., in Winnebago — foot boundaries may occur inside syllables that have more than one stress-bearing element, whereas in other languages — e.g., in Cairene Arabic and Yupik Eskimo — syllable-internal foot bound-aries are not allowed. To deal with this type of variability it is proposed that in addition to idiosyncratic stresses the theoretical framework must admit also idiosyncratic constituent boundaries. The effects of these theoretical innovations are illustrated by an examination of stress assignment in different Yupik dialects.