cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Loss of pirenzepine regional selectivity following solubilization and partial purification of the putative M1 and M2 muscarinic receptor subtypes.

Abstract Pirenzepine inhibition of [ 3 H ]N- methylscopolamine ([3H]NMS) binding was studied in membranous, digitonin-solubilized, and partially purified muscarinic receptors from bovine cortex, an area of the brain rich in the putative M1 muscarinic receptor subtype, and from pons—medulla, an area rich in the putative M2 subtype. In accord with previous work, we found that pirenzepine bound to membranous receptors from cortex with an IC50 that was over one order of magnitude lower than to receptors from pons—medulla. After digitonin solubilization, however, this regional selectivity was significantly reduced. In receptors from pons—medulla, the IC50 for pirenzepine inhibition of [3H]NMS was reduced from 2.1 ± 0.7 × 10−6 M in membrane-bound receptors, to 4.3 ± 0.3 × 10−7 M after solubilization, whereas in receptors from cortex, the IC50 remained unchanged after solubilization. The solubilized receptors from both brain areas maintained their binding characteristics after partial purification over an ABT-Sepharose affinity column and a hydroxylapetite column. These findings raise the possibility that the different pirenzepine binding characteristics used to define M1 and M2 receptor subtypes are not inherent in the receptor protein itself, but may be due to coupling factors such as effector proteins, phospholipids or cytoskeletal proteins which could be associated with the membranous receptor and become dissociated from the receptor after solubilization.
Discussion: Approximating data

Professor Davies begins his interesting paper with the statement “There are essentially two statistical paradigms,theBayesianandthefrequentist”.Adetachedobserverreviewingthebooksthataretypicallyusedinteachingstatisticsmight well agree. In discussing the paper, I will argue that statistics has been evolving for some time from Bayesianor frequentist philosophy to an infant science discovering its world and possibilities.1. Technology and statisticsUntil the mid-twentieth century, the main tools for most statisticians were probability models for data andmechanicalcalculators. In this environment, where calculationswerelaborious, grandandsimple theoriesofstatisticswere inevitable. The books by Fisher (1956), Savage (1954) and Wald (1950) illustrate this. Historically, such aphilosophical phase is typical of the early stages of a discipline, before technological advances enable relevantexperimentation. Since the 1950’s, statistics has seen impressive mathematical and methodological advances withinthe framework of the pioneers. After decades of proselytizing, statistics has succeeded remarkably in exporting ideasand formulations to what might be called the statistical sciences. By the latter, I mean ﬁelds that now express theirbasic concepts in statistical terms and have names that typically end in “metrics”. But has the 1950’s formulationof statistics reached its limits? Is it constricting the evolution of statistics from a mathematical philosophy into aninformation science?Aristotle’sPhysicsdominatedwesternviewsforcenturiesuntiltechnologicaladvancesinthe13thcenturyfosteredthe discovery of experimental science. Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt, a French scholar and soldier, gave a pioneeringexperimentalstudyofmagnetisminhisworkEpistoladeMagnete(1269).Hewrote,“[Aninvestigator]diligentintheuse of his own hands ... will then in a short time be able to correct an error which he would never do in eternity byhis knowledge of natural philosophy and mathematics alone. [However] there are many things subject to the rule ofreasonthatwecannotcompletelyinvestigatebythehand”.AtOxford,hiscontemporaryRogerBaconwassufﬁcientlyimpressed to write, “What others strive to see dimly and blindly, like bats in twilight, he gazes at in the full light ofday, because he is a master of experiment”. The quotations are from Crombie (1953).A major new technology has two types of consequence: effects that are manifest to many and effects on humanbehavior that are subconscious. Concerning the latter, Mark Twain reputedly said, “To a man with a hammer,everything looks like a nail”. In a detailed analysis of the phenomenon, McLuhan (1964) began, “In a culture likeours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a matter of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock tobe reminded, in operational and practical fact, that the medium is the message”. McLuhan argued that the ways inwhichatechnologyhasshapedhumanbehaviorbecomeapparentonlyafteranewertechnologydisplacesit.Thus,the
Belief and Will Revisited

The relation of will to belief is an issue of perennial philosophical and religious interest. Most of the classical accounts of religious belief, both ancient and modern, have accorded the will an important, if not the decisive, role. In the philosophy of mind, the issue has traditionally been one of the major dividing lines, some philosophers arguing a position near that of Descartes, that the will is a constituent element of belief, others siding with Spinoza and Hume, arguing that it is not. But what really is the issue? Much recent discussion of belief and will has been devoted to the question whether we can believe at will apart from any sort of evidence—what has been called belief by fiat. While it may be that this is the most natural interpretation of the claim that belief is based on will, it is certainly not the only one. What is more, most of those who have argued for the importance of the will in belief have never really asserted it. No doubt, one can glean statements from their writings that seem to suggest it; but with due allowance for rhetorical excess, a careful reading of their positions will, I think, show that they were really dealing with other issues. What I hope to accomplish in raising again the issue of will and belief is to advance and defend a set of claims that gets at these other issues. Throughout, my concern will be primarily with religious beliefs, and this not simply out of personal and professional interest, but because the issues I want to discuss arise more clearly (though by no means exclusively) in relation to beliefs of this sort.
Pseudospectral solutions of laminar heat transfer problems in pipelines

Abstract Problems of laminar heat transfer associated with pipeline transport of oil under laminar flow conditions are solved by a relatively new numerical technique. This technique accommodates for the peculiarity of the domain of solution (one dimension, the axial, even when it is non-dimensionalized, is far more extended than the other two) and exhibits remarkable features in terms of computational economy, stability and accuracy. The main interest in this paper is the adaptation of the method to problems with different boundary conditions approximating real pipelines (offshore, insulated, buried).
Estimation of the spatial distribution of fluid permeability from surface and tomographic GPR data and core, with a 2‐D example from the Ferron Sandstone, Utah

Reservoir analogs provide detailed information that is applicable to fluid transport simulations but that cannot be obtained directly from reservoirs because of inaccessibility. The Ferron Sandstone of east‐central Utah is an analog for fluviodeltaic reservoirs; its excellent outcrop exposures are ideal for detailed study. Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) data were collected in and between two cored boreholes and are used to build a 2‐D fluid permeability model in four steps. First, an anisotropic GPR propagation velocity model is obtained from traveltime tomography between two boreholes and between each borehole and the earth's surface. Second, the geometry of the sedimentological features is imaged by prestack Kirchhoff depth migration of constant‐offset GPR data acquired along a line between the two holes at the earth's surface. Third, a background permeability is assigned to each layer by interpolating the geometrical average of the measured permeabilities in each sedimentological element. Finally, the ...
Optimal feedback design for uncertain systems : a time-domain fixed-point approach in L∞

This paper considers an alternative to quantitative feedback theory (QFT), an alternative deriving solely from a time-domain setting in Banach space L ∞ and providing both a precise, amplitude-oriented design formulation and a general, computer-oriented design procedure. System dynamics, stability, and tracking are characterized as fixed-point operator equations and conditions under which tracking errors satisfy explicit bounds. The design formulation and procedure are illustrated by two design examples
DEVELOPMENTAL SELF-CONCEPT AND (SELF-REPORTED) DRUG USE

Authors describe two adjectival, pair-comparisons, self-concept scales (one for males, one for females). Both reflect development in self-concept during adolescence. Both cross-validate. Both predict concurrent, self-reported drug-use behavior: beer and wine, cigarettes, hard liquor, marijuana (males only), and LSD (males only).
The International Workshop on selected topics of magnetospheric physics

The International Magnetospheric Survey (IMS) is an international cooperative venture to study the magnetosphere. It is coordinated by the Scientific Committee for Solar-Terrestrial Physics (Scostep) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). The program consists of many separate efforts by scientific groups and individual scientists to study simultaneously the diverse phenomena of the magnetosphere and then compare their results. This procedure has permitted scientists the freedom to pursue their individual programs and has also stimulated creativity, yet at the same time it has provided coordinated observations and studies of individual events from a wide variety of instrumentation.
Invasive Phenotype of Candida albicans Affects the Host Proinflammatory Response to Infection

Candida albicans is a major opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. Production of proinflammatory cytokines by host cells in response to C. albicans plays a critical role in the activation of immune cells and final clearance of the organism. Invasion of host cells and tissues is considered one of the virulence attributes of this organism. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the ability of C. albicans to invade host cells and tissues affects the proinflammatory cytokine responses by epithelial and endothelial cells. In this study we used the invasion-deficient RIM101 gene knockout strain DAY25, the highly invasive strain SC5314, and highly invasive RIM101-complemented strain DAY44 to compare the proinflammatory cytokine responses by oral epithelial or endothelial cells. Using a high-throughput approach, we found both qualitative and quantitative differences in the overall inflammatory responses to C. albicans strains with different invasive potentials. Overall, the highly invasive strains triggered higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines in host cells than the invasion-deficient mutant triggered. Significant differences compared to the attenuated mutant were noted in interleukin-1α (IL-1α), IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha in epithelial cells and in IL-6, growth-related oncogene, IL-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), MCP-2, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in endothelial cells. Our results indicate that invasion of host cells and tissues by C. albicans enhances the host proinflammatory response to infection.
Intrasession and Intersession Reliability of Hand-held Dynamometer Measurements Taken on Brain-damaged Patients

Recent reports have characterized force measurements obtained with hand-held dynamometers from brain-damaged patients as being highly reliable. The purposes of this two-part study were to replicate essential parts of those studies and to further examine the reliability of these measurements in a clinical context. Repeated force measurements were taken from the nonparetic and paretic limbs of brain-damaged patients during the same testing session (Part 1) and during two testing sessions separated by two days (Part 2). The intratester intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for all measurements taken during a single session ranged from .88 to .98. The ICCs for repeated measurements taken two days apart from the paretic limbs ranged from .90 to .98. The ICCs for repeated measurements taken two days apart from the nonparetic limbs ranged from .31 to .93. The ICCs for repeated measurements taken two days apart from the combined data for all limbs ranged from .79 to .97. Hand-held dynamometer measurements taken on brain-damaged patients appear to be highly reliable when taken during the same testing session. When repeated measurements are separated by a longer time interval, the measurements taken from the paretic limbs continue to be highly reliable, whereas most measurements taken on the nonparetic limbs exhibit poor reliability.
Toward a Radical Sport Journalism An Interview With Dave Zirin

This interview opens two dialogues with sport journalist Dave Zirin. On one hand, it poses questions to Zirin about his work, its evolution, and its significance. On the other hand, it places his r...
Quality Assessment of Acute Inpatient Pain Management in an Academic Health Center

The quality of acute inpatient pain management remains suboptimal and poorly understood. In this retrospective study, we analyze acute pain management practice in a large academic health center using several quality indicators. Not surprisingly, despite high rate of pain assessment, many patients still have frequent, prolonged, and unrelieved severe pain episodes. Upon examination of naloxone administration, we identify potential inappropriate opioid prescription practices such as the use of wrong opioids in hepatic and renal failure and simultaneous use of multiple short-acting opioids. Most importantly, we find that chronic opioid users appear to suffer the most in terms of undertreatment of pain as well as opioid overdose, highlighting the urgent need to target this underserved population of patients.
THE DIVERSIFIED CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL PICTURES OF FAILING OVARIAN FUNCTION1

The object of this paper is to emphasize the clinical entities resulting from ovarian hypofunction. We have observed a group of cases presenting diversified clinical pictures, in which the underlying factor was considered to be one of failure of ovarian function. This contention was verified not only by bioassays, endometrial biopsies (1, 2, 3), and histological studies of ovaries, but also by the response to therapy (estrin administration, or small-dose x-ray therapy for stimulation purposes). The cases have been considered under the following sub-groups: uterine bleeding (excessive and diminished), compensatory pituitary hyperfunction, and adreno-genital syndrome. Distinct and clear-cut cases of primary and secondary amenorrhea are not included in this paper.
Study of the chiral transition in a U(1) gauge-higgs-fermion theory with yukawa couplings

Abstract We study the (zero-temperature) chiral transition in a U(1) gauge-Higgs-fermion theory with Yukawa couplings involving fermions of two different charges. Using analytic methods in the strong coupling limit, we find that for a range of sufficiently weak Yukawa couplings, this transition continues to exist and be of second-order, but is removed as the strength of the Yukawa coupling increases through a critical value. Some implications for the continuum limit of this model, and for electroweak interactions, are noted.
Barrier Crossing Coupled to a Small Set of Oscillators

This paper presents a study of the behavior of a one-dimensional system, with two potential minima separated by a barrier, coupled to a small set of harmonic oscillators. The time correlation function of equilibrium fluctuations in particle number (number correlation function) is found by computer simulation. An analogue of Kramers turnover in the barrier crossing rate is observed. The Grote-Hynes theory of non-Markovian rate processes provides a reasonable estimate for the rate constant at intermediate frictions. However, at high friction, the number correlation function becomes nonexponential, and the decay is much slower than expected from the Grote-Hynes theory. The model shows that close coupling to a small heat bath provides a mechanism for “internal friction”. We report numerical experiments on the barrier crossing of a one-dimensional system interacting with a small harmonic oscillator heat bath. The experiments had two quite different motivations. We were curious to see how well a small harmonic oscillator heat bath could effectively imitate the friction and noise of conventional Brownian motion. And we were curious to see if it could provide an “internal friction” that might affect the rates of unimolecular rearrangements of a group of atoms inside a protein. The experiments used molecular dynamics to follow the time dependent decay of a number correlation function. We found that in the particular system studied here, a small heat bath (10, 20, or 30 oscillators) leads to a decaying number correlation function. In some instances, the decay is approximately exponential, but in others it is more complex. The results do not follow the conventional Kramers-Grote-Hynes picture. Kramers’ classic theory of Brownian motion over a potential barrier is often used to account for the rate of rearrangement of a molecule in a viscous medium. The surrounding fluid provides friction and random noise. Conventionally, the friction is assumed to be Markovian and the noise is Gaussian and white. In an extension of Kramers’ theory, Grote and Hynes 1 showed how to deal with non-Markovian friction. Hanggi et al. 2 give a
Scale Fitting in the Psychometric Model of Judicial Decision Making

The psychometric model, developed by Glendon Schubert, is a widely accepted way of conceptualizing judicial decision making. It entails the representation of justices' ideal points in a multidimensional space. A vector (representing the ordering of the justices derived from scalogram analysis) is projected through this space to aid in interpreting the underlying attitudinal dimensions of interagreement. Despite the apparent rigor of this model it contains certain indeterminacies, as no mathematical procedure has been used to determine the location of the scale vectors. Consequently ad hoc, hand procedures which may yield suboptimal solutions have been developed. This article provides solutions for the problem of fitting scale vectors to multidimensional configurations. These solutions are developed for the problem where the scale analogue is treated at the measurement level of interval or ordinal values. In order to demonstrate the advantages of using these procedures, we undertake a reanalysis of Schubert's results (for which he used ad hoc procedures). In one-half of the cases analyzed, the results reported by Schubert are suboptimal when evaluated in terms of the coefficient he sought to maximize. The mathematical solutions and the associated computer programs give greater rigor to the psychometric model and provide a response to the criticism that scale fitting in the psychometric model is subjective and inconsistent with the premises of the behavioral approach to judicial decision making.
Effects of above- and belowground herbivory on growth, pollination, and reproduction in cucumber

Plants experience unique challenges due to simultaneous life in two spheres, above- and belowground. Interactions with other organisms on one side of the soil surface may have impacts that extend across this boundary. Although our understanding of plant–herbivore interactions is derived largely from studies of leaf herbivory, belowground root herbivores may affect plant fitness directly or by altering interactions with other organisms, such as pollinators. In this study, we investigated the effects of leaf herbivory, root herbivory, and pollination on plant growth, subsequent leaf herbivory, flower production, pollinator attraction, and reproduction in cucumber (Cucumis sativus). We manipulated leaf and root herbivory with striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum) adults and larvae, respectively, and manipulated pollination with supplemental pollen. Both enhanced leaf and root herbivory reduced plant growth, and leaf herbivory reduced subsequent leaf damage. Plants with enhanced root herbivory produced 35% fewer female flowers, while leaf herbivory had no effect on flower production. While leaf herbivory reduced the time that honey bees spent probing flowers by 29%, probing times on root-damaged plants were over twice as long as those on control plants. Root herbivory increased pollen limitation for seed production in spite of increased honey bee preference for plants with root damage. Leaf damage and hand-pollination treatments had no effect on fruit production, but plants with enhanced root damage produced 38% fewer fruits that were 25% lighter than those on control plants. Despite the positive effect of belowground damage on honey bee visitation, root herbivory had a stronger negative effect on plant reproduction than leaf herbivory. These results demonstrate that the often-overlooked effects of belowground herbivores may have profound effects on plant performance.
Textbook Satisfaction: A Preliminary Examination of the Student Perspective

An understanding of the role of textbooks in the higher education marketing mix can assist educators and administrators in increasing student satisfaction with the textbook itself, the course offering, and the overall university experience. This article reports recent research in this area.
Depression, heart rate related variables and cardiovascular disease

Depression is a risk factor for both onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and increased morbidity and mortality for those with CVD. Many, but not all studies, have found that depressed patients have alterations in heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV). This variability is thought to reflect autonomic dysfunction. HR tends to be higher in depressed patients and HRV lower. Both higher heart rates and lower HRV increase CVD risk. Beta-blockers reduce HR and increase HRV and should be considered for depressed patients with CVD, elevated HR and/or reduced HRV. Exercise has similar, but smaller effects. Few studies have examined the effects of psychological interventions on HRV and the results have either been modest or examined only short term. Future research should focus on well-characterized subgroups of depressed patients at risk for CVD with assessment of other important factors that may affect HRV and CVD risk. Studies of high frequency HRV need to account for the effects of respiration.
The Quantitative Genetics of Maximal and Basal Rates of Oxygen Consumption in Mice

A positive genetic correlation between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and maximal (VO(2)max) rate of oxygen consumption is a key assumption of the aerobic capacity model for the evolution of endothermy. We estimated the genetic (V(A), additive, and V(D), dominance), prenatal (V(N)), and postnatal common environmental (V(C)) contributions to individual differences in metabolic rates and body mass for a genetically heterogeneous laboratory strain of house mice (Mus domesticus). Our breeding design did not allow the simultaneous estimation of V(D) and V(N). Regardless of whether V(D) or V(N) was assumed, estimates of V(A) were negative under the full models. Hence, we fitted reduced models (e.g., V(A) + V(N) + V(E) or V(A) + V(E)) and obtained new variance estimates. For reduced models, narrow-sense heritability (h(2)(N)) for BMR was <0.1, but estimates of h(2)(N) for VO(2)max were higher. When estimated with the V(A) + V(E) model, the additive genetic covariance between VO(2)max and BMR was positive and statistically different from zero. This result offers tentative support for the aerobic capacity model for the evolution of vertebrate energetics. However, constraints imposed on the genetic model may cause our estimates of additive variance and covariance to be biased, so our results should be interpreted with caution and tested via selection experiments.
Kinetic Analysis of Glycoprotein C of Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2 Binding to Heparin, Heparan Sulfate, and Complement Component C3b

Glycoprotein C (gC) from herpes simplex virus (HSV) facilitates virus entry by attaching the virion to host cell-surface heparan sulfate (HS). Although gC from HSV-1 (gC1) and from HSV-2 (gC2) bind to heparin, gC2 is believed to play a less significant role than gC1 in attachment of virus to cells. This attachment step is followed by the binding of gD to one of several cellular receptors. gC also plays an important role in immune evasion by binding to the C3b fragment of the third component of the host complement system. Yet, although both gC1 and gC2 protect HSV against complement-mediated neutralization, only gC on HSV-1-infected cells acts as a receptor for C3b. We used optical biosensor technology to quantitate the affinities (K(D)) and the stabilities (k(off)) between both serotypes of gC with heparin, HS, and C3b to address three questions concerning gC interactions. First, can differences in affinity or stability account for differences between the contributions of HSV-1 and HSV-2 gC in attachment? Our data show that the gC2-HS complex is highly unstable (k(off) = 0.2 s(-1)) compared to the gC1-HS complex (k(off) = 0.003 s(-1)), suggesting why gC2 may not play an important role in attachment of virus to cells as does gC1. Second, does gC2 have a lower affinity for C3b than does gC1, thereby explaining the lack of C3b-receptor activity on HSV-2 infected cells? Surprisingly, gC2 had a 10-fold higher affinity for C3b compared to gC1, so this functional difference in serotypes cannot be accounted for by affinity. Third, do differences in gC-HS and gD-receptor affinities support a model of HSV entry in which the gC-HS interaction is of lower affinity than the gD-receptor interaction? Our biosensor results indicate that gC has a higher affinity for HS than gD does for cellular receptors HveA (HVEM) and HveC (nectin-1).
Indoor automation with many mobile robots

The goal of the GOFER project is to control the operations of many mobile robots (several dozens) in an indoor environment. This project raises many research issues: implementation of nonconflicting sensor systems, man-robot and robot-robot communication systems and protocols, contingency-tolerant motion control, multi-robot motion planning, multi-robot task planning and scheduling. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the project and present the current solutions to these problems. >
Approach, method, technique a clarification

(1983). Approach, method, technique a clarification. Reading World: Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 71-72.
Extreme specificity in epiparasitic Monotropoideae (Ericaceae): widespread phylogenetic and geographical structure

The Monotropoideae (Ericaceae) are nonphotosynthetic plants that obtain fixed carbon from their fungal mycorrhizal associates. To infer the evolutionary history of this symbiosis we identified both the plant and fungal lineages involved using a molecular phylogenetic approach to screen 331 plants, representing 10 of the 12 described species. For five species no prior molecular data were available; for three species we confirmed prior studies which used limited samples; for five species all previous reports are in conflict with our results, which are supported by sequence analysis of multiple samples and are consistent with the phylogenetic patterns of host plants. The phylogenetic patterns observed indicate that: (i) each of the 13 plant phylogenetic lineages identified is specialized to a different genus or species group within five families of ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycetes; (ii) mycorrhizal specificity is correlated with phylogeny; (iii) in sympatry, there is no overlap in mature plant fungal symbionts even if the fungi and the plants are closely related; and (iv) there are geographical patterns to specificity.
Vaucanson’s Automata as Devices of Enlightenment

Residing at the interstices of high and low culture, pleasure and utility, wonder and technique, Vaucanson's automata belonged to what historian Michael R. Lynn refers to as ‘a growing web of interconnections between Enlightenment, science, and commerce in Parisian urban culture'. While the wider public attraction to automata during the eighteenth-century has been noted, it is also necessary to address the nature of this appeal, which is derived from the automata's simulation of the workings of human and animal bodies. Vaucanson was one of a number of astonishingly brilliant eighteenth-century mechanicians, who attempted to design material bodies capable of artificially replicating life. Their ingenious machines were indeed devices of Enlightenment, that is, philosophically animated experimental objects. The aim of these devices was to approximate what contemporaries like Diderot referred to as a ‘sentient being' with a particular spatial and dynamic organization. Over time, then, automata makers were challenged to imitate not just the body's mechanics but also the workings of the senses, to capture emotion as well as motion.
In vivo dose-response of insects to Hz-2V infection

Background: Hz-2V infection of female Helicoverpa zea moths is manifested as insects that are either sterile "agonadal" individuals with malformed reproductive tissues or fertile asymptomatic carriers which are capable of transmitting virus on to their progeny. Virus infected progeny arising from eggs laid by asymptomatic carrier females may themselves be either sterile agonadals or asymptomatic carriers. Results: By injecting virus into female moths, a correlation was established between virus doses administered to the females and the levels of resulting asymptomatic and sterile progeny. Conclusions: The results of these experiments indicate that high virus doses produced a higher level of agonadal progeny and lower doses produced higher levels of asymptomatic carriers.
Driver choice compared to controlled diversion for a freeway double on-ramp in the framework of three-phase traffic theory

Abstract Two diversion schemes that apportion demand between two on-ramps to reduce congestion and improve throughput on a freeway are analyzed. In the first scheme, drivers choose to merge or to divert to a downstream on-ramp based on information about average travel times for the two routes: (1) merge and travel on the freeway or (2) divert and travel on a surface street with merging downstream. The flow, rate of merging at the ramps, and the travel times oscillate strongly, but irregularly, due to delayed feedback. In the second scheme, diversion is controlled by the average mainline velocities just upstream of the on-ramps. Driver choice is not involved. If the average upstream velocity on the mainline drops below a predetermined value (20 m/s) vehicles are diverted to the downstream ramp. When the average mainline velocity downstream becomes too low, diversion is no longer permitted. The resultant oscillations in this scheme are nearly periodic. The period is dominated by the response time of the mainline to interruption of merging rather than delayed feedback, which contributes only a minor component linear in the distance separating the on-ramps. In general the second scheme produces more effective congestion reduction and greater throughput. Also the travel times for on-ramp drivers are less than that obtained by drivers who attempt to minimize their own travel times (first scheme). The simulations are done using the Kerner–Klenov stochastic three-phase theory of traffic [B.S. Kerner, S.L. Klenov, Phys. Rev. E 68 (2003) 036130].
Sector Analysis of Protein Based on Molecular Dynamics Simulations: Role of Atomic Fluctuations in Single Domain Allosterism

The "sectors" of a protein are defined as networks of amino acid residues that act cooperatively in support of diverse functional and structural activities, including intramolecular communication and allosterism. "Statistical coupling analysis" (SCA) is method developed by the Ranganathan Laboratory for the elucidation of sector residues based on evolutionary covariance. SCA is based on a multivariate method for scoring covariance, and obtains sectors from the spectral decomposition of a conservation weighted positional correlation matrix from a multiple sequence alignment (MSA). Sector analysis has now been has been applied to a number of systems, with considerable success in associating sector residues with the activities of multifunctional proteins, including allosterism. A hypothesis that cooperativity and sector architecture may be accounted for the dynamical structure of a protein, in particular correlations of atomic fluctuations. Such fluctuations cannot be measured directly but can be calculated using molecular simulation, and validation of the fluctuation hypothesis has not been straightforward. The issues of interest in this project are a) how sectors are differentiated at the submolecular level and b) the implications of this on the mechanism of allosteric signal transmission. We have investigated the relationship between atomic fluctuations, cooperative networks and protein sectors based on all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations. PDZ domains, important for scaffolding as well as allosterism in signal transduction systems, serves as our test case. In the course of this study, we have developed the concept of "MD sectors" based on spectral decomposition of MD calculated correlation matrices. A direct comparison of the calculated MD sectors with the empirically derived SCA sectors forms a basis for evaluation of the fluctuation hypothesis the role of atomic fluctuations on the sector architecture of proteins.
Folding LacZ in the Periplasm of Escherichia coli

Targeted, translational LacZ fusions provided the initial support for the signal sequence hypothesis in prokaryotes and allowed for selection of the mutations that identified the Sec translocon. Many of these selections relied on the fact that expression of targeted, translational lacZ fusions like malE-lacZ and lamB-lacZ42-1 causes lethal toxicity as folded LacZ jams the translocation pore. However, there is another class of targeted LacZ fusions that do not jam the translocon. These targeted, nonjamming fusions also show toxic phenotypes that may be useful for selecting mutations in genes involved in posttranslocational protein folding and targeting; however, they have not been investigated to the same extent as their jamming counterparts. In fact, it is still unclear whether LacZ can be fully translocated in these fusions. It may be that they simply partition into the inner membrane where they can no longer participate in folding or assembly. In the present study, we systematically characterize the nonjamming fusions and determine their ultimate localization. We report that LacZ can be fully translocated into the periplasm, where it is toxic. We show that this toxicity is likely due to LacZ misfolding and that, in the absence of the periplasmic disulfide bond catalyst DsbA, LacZ folds in the periplasm. Using the novel phenotype of periplasmic β-galactosidase activity, we show that the periplasmic chaperone FkpA contributes to LacZ folding in this nonnative compartment. We propose that targeted, nonjamming LacZ fusions may be used to further study folding and targeting in the periplasm of Escherichia coli.
Breathhold three-dimensional coronary magnetic resonance angiography using real-time navigator technology.

The acquisition duration of most three-dimensional (3D) coronary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) techniques is considerably prolonged, thereby precluding breathholding as a mechanism to suppress respiratory motion artifacts. Splitting the acquired 3D volume into multiple subvolumes or slabs serves to shorten individual breathhold duration. Still, problems associated with misregistration due to inconsistent depths of expiration and diaphragmatic drift during sustained respiration remain to be resolved. We propose the combination of an ultrafast 3D coronary MRA imaging sequence with prospective real-time navigator technology, which allows correction of the measured volume position. 3D volume splitting using prospective real-time navigator technology, was successfully applied for 3D coronary MRA in five healthy individuals. An ultrafast 3D interleaved hybrid gradient-echo-planar imaging sequence, including T2Prep for contrast enhancement, was used with the navigator localized at the basal anterior wall ...
Teachers' Unions on the Defensive?: How Recent Collective Bargaining Laws Reformed the Rights of Teachers.

Between 2011 and 2013 lawmakers in every state proposed, and often enacted, laws intended to impact codified state provisions related to teachers and teachers’ unions (author calculation). These new laws either worked against union interests (e.g., by prohibiting collective bargaining) or they aligned with union positions (e.g. by providing enhanced compensation benefits to teachers). In recent years scholars have paid more attention to the impact of teachers’ unions and collective bargaining. Few researchers have made an effort to understand state-level attempts to legislatively modify traditional union-protected rights. This paper is the first to explore these changes in detail. Using a self-collected dataset, I track the proposal and enactment of legislation related to teachers’ unions and their collective bargaining agreements in state legislatures between 2011 and 2013. I find that while large-scale attacks on public sector bargaining rights dwindled after 2011, smaller, more focused legislative prop...
Outcomes in Patients Bridged With Univentricular and Biventricular Devices in the Modern Era of Heart Transplantation

Background Biventricular support before orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) has been shown to adversely affect short- and long-term outcomes, but the comparative effect of support type is largely unknown. This study determined the comparative effect of univentricular and biventricular support on survival in bridged patients after OHT. Methods The United Network of Organ Sharing database was queried for adult patients bridged to OHT with a univentricular (left ventricular assist device [LVAD]), biventricular (biventricular assist device [BiVAD]), or total artificial heart ([TAH]) device between 2004 and 2012. Unconditional and conditional survivals were compared with the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazards regression models were constructed to determine the risk-adjusted influence of support type on death. Results Of the 4,177 patients identified, 3,457 (20.4%), 575 (3.4%), and 145 (0.9%) were bridged with an LVAD, BiVAD, and TAH, respectively. Unadjusted 30-day, 1-year, and 5-year estimated survival was greater in LVAD patients than in the BiVAD and TAH cohorts. After risk-adjustment, BiVAD and TAH were associated with an increased risk of death at all time points. Unadjusted and adjusted 5-year survival, conditional on 1-year survival, was worse, however, in only TAH patients. Conclusions Patients with biventricular failure bridged to OHT with a TAH or BiVAD experience worse short- and long-term survival comparison with those with an LVAD. This difference is most likely due to an increase in early death and depends on the type of BiVAD device implanted.
Statistical Similarity and Cross-spectral Purity of Optical Beams

It was shown that the concept of statistical similarity can elucidate the phenomenon of complete spatial coherence. In this presentation we discuss its connection with the cross-spectral purity of statistically stationary stochastic optical beams.
Broadband Scatter Spectroscopy Imager for Breast Tumor Margin Delineation

A broadband scanning scatter spectroscopy imaging system has been developed to allow intra-operative assessment of lumpectomy tumor margins based on localized tissue scatter measures. Results from preliminary phantom measurements are discussed.
Parenthood Residency Status and Criminal Desistance across Neighborhood Contexts

Research on desistance and parenthood has yielded mixed results bringing into question whether, and for whom, parenthood matters. Scholarship has not fully explored the importance of residency status or patterns of desistance across a full range of neighborhood contexts, nor examined distinctions between temporary and long-term desistance. Our study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the association between parenthood residence and criminal desistance across levels of adolescent neighborhood poverty. Our findings demonstrate that parenthood has different meanings for desistance, depending on its duration, residency status, and neighborhood context.
Effects of Cold Temperature on the Skin

The response of skin to the application of surface cooling is manifested primarily as a local vasoconstriction and reduced blood flow. Major functions of skin blood flow (SBF) are to sustain the metabolic process of the skin cells and to facilitate heat transfer between the body core and the environment via the cutaneous circulation. One consequence of surface cooling is to insulate the body core from the environment by reducing the magnitude of SBF. The magnitude of vasoconstriction has a nonlinear dose response to the applied temperature so that even mild cooling can cause the loss of a significant fraction of SBF. Other thermally sensitive processes are also influenced, in particular metabolism, which decreases with falling temperature. So long as a cold state is maintained, both the blood flow and metabolism remain depressed. When the skin is rewarmed, metabolism will likewise increase proportionately. However, in the absence of an externally applied stimulation, the SBF will remain at depressed levels for many hours, presumably due to the action of locally expressed humoral vasomotive agents that block the vasodilation process. The consequences may be prolonged exposure to an ischemic state in conjunction with a high metabolic rate, which may exacerbate the potential for nonfreezing cold injury (NFCI) expressed as tissue necrosis and neuropathy. The decoupling of temperature and SBF during rewarming gives rise to a hysteresis effect that is independent of the speed of the cooling and warming processes.
Effect of local stress fields on twin characteristics in HCP metals

Abstract We study the effect of nearest neighboring grains on the propensity for {1012} twin growth in Mg and Zr. Twin lamellae lying within one grain flanked by two neighboring grains with several orientations are considered. The fields of resolved shear stress on the twin system are calculated in the multicrystal using a three-dimensional full-field crystal plasticity Fast Fourier Transform approach. The calculations were carried out for Mg and Zr using slip threshold stresses corresponding to 300 K and 76 K, respectively, where twin activity is important. We show that the neighboring grain constraint tends to oppose further growth and that the critical applied stress needed to overcome this resistance depends on neighboring grain orientation, more strongly in Zr than in Mg. We also present results for a pair of adjacent and parallel twins at various spacings. It is found that their paired interaction increases the resistive forces for twin growth above that for an isolated twin. The critical spacing above which this enhanced resistance is removed is smaller for Zr than Mg. Our analysis reveals that these two disparate responses of Zr and Mg are both a consequence of the fact that Zr is elastically and plastically more anisotropic than Mg. Additional calculations carried out on Ti support this conclusion. These findings can help explain why, for the same grain size, more twins per grain form in Zr than in Mg, twins in Zr tend to be thinner than those in Mg, and the relationship between the thickness of the twin and its Schmid factor in Zr is not as strong as in Mg.
Against Strong Copyright in E-Business

As digital media give increasing power to users—power to reproduce, share, remix, and otherwise make use of content—businesses based on content provision are forced to either turn to technological and legal means of disempowering users, or to change their business models. By looking at Lockean and Kantian theories as applied to intellectual property rights, we see that business is not justified in disempowering users in this way, and that these theories obligate ebusiness to find new business models. Utilitarian considerations support disempowering users in this way in some circumstances and for the time being, but also show that there is a general obligation to move to new business models. On these moral bases, as well as on practical bases, e-business ought to refrain from using the legally permitted strong copyright protections, and should instead find ways of doing business which support, value, and respect the technical capabilities that users have gained.
ION CHANNELS | Post-Translational Modification of Ion Channels in Epilepsy

Status epilepticus (SE) is characterized by prolonged, continuous seizure activity. Traumatic brain injury and stroke are associated with SE, and genetic factors can influence its occurrence. It can be a life-threatening event, with mortality ranging from 9% to 39% in adults and as high as 36% in children. Individuals who have had SE once have an increased risk of having another seizure and becoming epileptic. In this review, we examine the effects of acute SE on the ERK pathway and one of the downstream effector molecules, Kv4.2, in order to examine the cellular and molecular events that occur during SE that may contribute to epileptogenesis. We describe the changes in the phosphorylation and total levels of Kv4.2. Kv4.2 is a critical modulator of dendritic excitability and appears to be altered during SE through direct modulation by the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Furthermore, we examine whether the SE-induced changes in Kv4.2 are maintained in epileptic animals.
P177 Risk factors for injury frequency and severity experienced by school district faculty and staff in minnesota, united states

Background The educational services industry sector employs a large percentage of United States workers. Risk of injury to teachers has been documented; risk to non-licensed and support staff such as educational aids, transportation employees, custodial, and food service workers needs further investigation. In addition to direct effect of injury to employees, injuries can have indirect negative effects on students and impact district budgets. Objectives Identify rates, consequences, and risk factors among all employee groups in school districts. Methods This study utilised workers’ compensation data to identify incidence, severity, and potential risk factors to employees in 138 school districts in Minnesota over a seven-year period. School district and employee demographics, injury characteristics, and potential risk factors were extracted from the data. Employee jobs were grouped into faculty, custodial, food service, educational assistant, transportation, and clerical. Adjusted injury rates and multivariate analysis for identification of risk factors were conducted using negative binomial regression, rate ratios (RR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results The population had an adjusted injury rate of 6.6 per 100 full-time-equivalents (FTE) and 17.3 percent resulted in lost work time. Faculty had the lowest rate of injury (2.57 per 100 FTE). Transportation, food service, and custodial employees had the highest rates of injury and significantly elevated risk compared to faculty (RR = 12.24, CI = 8.91–16.78; RR = 9.72, CI = 7.76–12.18; RR = 8.68, CI = 6.84–10.99). Other significant risk factors for injuries in the population included male gender and older age groups- 41–50, 51–60, and 61+ (compared to 31–40). Younger employees (21–30) were at reduced risk of severe injury compared to 31–40 year olds. Conclusion Many jobs within a school district entail high physical demands that may increase risk of injury and severity. The information can be utilised to understand risk of employment in school districts and direct injury prevention efforts.