cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Weight change predicts college adjustment and depressive symptoms among first-year college students.

OBJECTIVE Weight change is common during the first year of college and may be related to different outcomes for men and women. This study examined the moderating effects of gender on the association between weight change and college adjustment and depressive symptoms. Participants: One-hundred and eighty-one 18-19-year-old college freshmen (56.9% female; 84.5% Caucasian). Methods: Students completed a one-time survey about demographics, weight, college adjustment, and depressive symptoms during their second semester of college. Results: Increased weight change was associated with fewer depressive symptoms for both men and women (p < .04). For men, increased weight change was associated with better overall college adjustment, more positivity about college, less negativity about college, and less homesickness (all p < .02). Conclusions: Universities could target men and women differently in regard to weight, college adjustment, and mental health to promote a positive college experience and optimal mental health.
CIDER: An Expressive, Non-local Feature Set for Machine Learning Density Functionals with Exact Constraints

Machine learning (ML) has recently gained attention as a means to develop more accurate exchange-correlation (XC) functionals for density functional theory, but functionals developed thus far need to be improved on several metrics, including accuracy, numerical stability, and transferability across chemical space. In this work, we introduce a set of nonlocal features of the density called the CIDER formalism, which we use to train a Gaussian process model for the exchange energy that obeys the critical uniform scaling rule for exchange. The resulting CIDER exchange functional is significantly more accurate than any semi-local functional tested here, and it has good transferability across main-group molecules. This work therefore serves as an initial step toward more accurate exchange functionals, and it also introduces useful techniques for developing robust, physics-informed XC models via ML.
Strong Saturation and the Foundations of Stability Theory

Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the notion of non-forking, which is one of the principal tools of stability theory. An operational definition of non-forking is introduced as a relation satisfying certain axioms. The axioms are another approach to the problem of assigning a dimension to a mathematical structure. The chapter presents the systematic usage of the terminology: the type p almost bears a certain relationfor example, definable over—to a set A if p bears that relation to every model M containing A . A key consequence of stability theory is the ability to define such a structure theory for a wide class of structures. A stable theory can be defined as one for which if p is over A then p is definable over A . The free extensions of arbitrary types are discussed. There are a number of ways of defining independence in stable theories, and if they meet a few limited criteria they are equivalent.
Human Factors in Smart Data Pricing

This chapter discusses some of the basic principles and methodologies of human‐computer interaction (HCI) research. It provides a detailed overview of findings from previous HCI works that have studied user psychology in energy markets, home network management, and bandwidth pricing. The chapter explains how day‐ahead dynamic time‐dependent pricing (DDTDP) has the potential to account for the lessons learned from previous HCI research and meet the design goals of creating a “win‐win” for both consumers and operators. It talks about the perspectives of various stakeholders of the Internet ecosystem on the feasibility and promise of DDTDP. The system implementation and the graphical user interface (GUI) features are presented, followed by a discussion on the results from the trial using both HCI‐based qualitative findings and quantitative validation. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the results learned from this trial and past HCI works.
Specific Effects of Heating of Transformable Streptococci on Their Ability to Discriminate Between Homospecific, Heterospecific, and Hybrid Deoxyribonucleic Acid

Heating competent bacteria of the Challis strain of Streptococcus at a temperature of 48 C causes them to lose their transformability and mainfest a slight retardation of growth rate without loss of viability. The heat-induced loss of transformability is due to diminution in the ability of the bacteria to bind deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) irreversibly. Another effect of heat is upon a step in the transformation process subsequent to binding, a step in which DNA molecules will compete if they multiply infect an unheated cell. Despite the reduction in irreversible binding exhibited by heated cells, competition between DNA molecules to transform these cells is decreased. Neither of these sites affected by heat exhibits any specificity with regard to origin of DNA. Since heat treatment causes a relative stimulation of transformation by heterospecific DNA, a third effect of heat must be envisaged. The amount of heat-induced stimulation is dependent upon the amount of heterospecific material in the transforming DNA. Linkage of heterospecific markers is increased as a consequence of heating the recipients. Transformation by markers of different transforming efficiency in homospecific DNA is also affected by heat treatment in a differential manner. Taken together, these results point to a heat-sensitive intracellular mechanism that recognizes DNA base sequences during transformation. The effect of heat upon discrimination against heterospecific DNA has been found to occur also in the pneumococcus and in Bacillus subtilis.
‘Her Influence Great, Her Merit beyond Measure’: A translation and initial investigation of the epitaph of Shangguan Wan’er

The discovery of a 982-character epitaph for Shangguan Wan’er 上官婉儿 (664–710) – drafter of imperial edicts, tattooed criminal, prodigious poet, master of political intrigue, literary talent nonpareil, and concubine to two rulers – during the excavation of her tomb in September 2013, has prompted scholars to re-assess the nature of her personal and political character. In the Confucian historiographic narrative, Shangguan Wan’er is often lumped together with Empress Wei, the Taiping Princess, and the Anle Princess as part of a notorious quartet of women at the nexus of a seven-year period of misrule, intrigue and havoc. Not only does epitaph contain new evidence that complicates this facile narrative, it offers further insight into her family background and into the murky politics of the early eighth century court of the restored Tang dynasty.
Why Some Heaps Support Constant-Amortized-Time Decrease-Key Operations, and Others Do Not

A lower bound is presented which shows that a class of heap algorithms in the pointer model with only heap pointers must spend \(\Omega \left( \frac{\log \log n}{\log \log \log n} \right)\) amortized time on the Decrease-Key operation (given O(logn) amortized-time Extract-Min). Intuitively, this bound shows the key to having O(1)-time Decrease-Key is the ability to sort O(logn) items in O(logn) time; Fibonacci heaps [M. .L. Fredman and R. E. Tarjan. J. ACM 34(3):596-615 (1987)] do this through the use of bucket sort. Our lower bound also holds no matter how much data is augmented; this is in contrast to the lower bound of Fredman [J. ACM 46(4):473-501 (1999)] who showed a tradeoff between the number of augmented bits and the amortized cost of Decrease-Key. A new heap data structure, the sort heap, is presented. This heap is a simplification of the heap of Elmasry [SODA 2009: 471-476] and shares with it a O(loglogn) amortized-time Decrease-Key, but with a straightforward implementation such that our lower bound holds. Thus a natural model is presented for a pointer-based heap such that the amortized runtime of a self-adjusting structure and amortized lower asymptotic bounds for Decrease-Key differ by but a O(logloglogn) factor.
A note on the international transmission of inflation

Abstract This paper investigates the relative impact of U.S. inflation and domestic monetary factors on the joint determination of inflation and the balance of payments of Mexico between 1950 and 1979. It also tests the hypothesis that the U.S. money supply has an additional, direct impact on Mexico's balance of payments.
Reclaiming network-wide visibility using ubiquitous endsystem monitors

Network-centric tools like NetFlow and security systems like IDSes provide essential data about the availability, reliability, and security of network devices and applications. However, the increased use of encryption and tunnelling has reduced the visibility of monitoring applications into packet headers and payloads (e.g. 93% of traffic on our enterprise network is IPSec encapsulated). The result is the inability to collect the required information using network-only measurements. To regain the lost visibility we propose that measurement systems must themselves apply the end-to-end principle: only endsystems can correctly attach semantics to traffic they send and receive. We present such an end-to-end monitoring platform that ubiquitously records per-flow data and then we show that this approach is feasible and practical using data from our enterprise network.
OPTIMAL POLITICAL CONTROL OF THE BUREAUCRACY

It is widely believed that insulating an administrative agency from the influence of elected officials, whatever its other benefits or justifications, reduces the agency’s responsiveness to the preferences of political majorities. This Article argues, to the contrary, that a moderate degree of bureaucratic insulation from political control alleviates rather than exacerbates the countermajoritarian problems inherent in bureaucratic policymaking. An elected politician, though responsive to majoritarian preferences, will almost always deviate from the majority in one direction or the other. Therefore, even if the average policy position of a given elected official tends to track the policy views of the median voter in the electorate, the average divergence between the preferences of that official and the median voter in the electorate is generally greater than zero. Forcing the politically responsive official to share power with a partially insulated bureaucracy can reduce the variance in policy outcomes, because bureaucratic insulation creates a kind of compensatory inertia that mutes the significance of variation in the elected official’s policy preferences. Up to a point, the median voter’s benefit from this reduction in outcome variance outweighs the costs associated with biasing the expected outcome away from the median voter’s ideal policy.
Effect of antagonists selective for mu, delta and kappa opioid receptors on the reinforcing effects of heroin in rats.

Antagonists selective for mu, delta and kappa-opioid receptors were evaluated for their effects on responding maintained by i.v. injections of heroin (60.0 micrograms/kg/injection) in rats during daily 3-hr sessions. Under base-line conditions, rats self-administered 10 to 20 heroin injections during each session, and injections were separated by relatively constant interinjection intervals of about 10 to 20 min. The mu-selective antagonist beta-funaltrexamine (beta-FNA; 5.0-20.0 mg/kg, s.c.) produced a dose-dependent increase in responding for heroin, with some doses of beta-FNA producing an extinction-like pattern of responding. These results were qualitatively similar to the effect obtained by lowering the unit dose per injection of heroin. The mu 1-selective antagonist naloxonazine (NXZ; 7.5-30.0 mg/kg, i.v.) and the delta-selective antagonist naltrindole (1.0-17.0 mg/kg) also produced dose-dependent increases in heroin self-administration, but neither naloxonazine nor naltrindole produced extinction-like patterns of responding. The kappa-selective antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI; 5.0-10.0 mg/kg, s.c.) had no effect on heroin self-administration. These results indicate that mu receptors play an important role in mediating the reinforcing effects of heroin in the rat. Delta and mu 1 receptors, but not kappa receptors, may also be involved.
Activation of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat by transforming mutants of human p53.

Abstract We have studied the effects of human wild-type and mutant p53s on the long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV). HeLa cells were cotransfected with a wild-type or mutant p53 expression plasmid and a plasmid containing a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene under HIV LTR promoter control. As expected, expression of wild-type p53 inhibited promoter function. Expression of a p53 mutated at any one of the four amino acid positions 175, 248, 273, and 281 correlated with a significant increase of the HIV promoter activity. The HIV LTR was also significantly activated in Saos-2 cells that do not express endogenous p53. This finding suggests a gain-of-transactivation function by mutation of the p53 gene. Cotransfection of wild-type and mutant p53-281G expression plasmids indicated that either the wild type or the mutant was dominant in inhibiting or enhancing promoter activity, respectively, when transfected in excess of the other. Transfection experiments showed transactivation even when the Sp1, NF-kappa B, and TATA sites in the LTR were individually mutated. Synthetic minimal promoter constructs containing two Sp1 sites or two NF-kappa B sites or an ATF site are also significantly activated by the mutant p53-281G. Thus, the mutant protein may activate transcription through interaction with either a general transcription factor or a common factor that bridges the basal transcription machinery and the transcription factors Sp1, NF-kappa B, and ATF.
Interferometric recording of volume computer-generated hologram on polymer material

A method for recording volume computer-generated holograms on photopolymer layers is described. The method provides high diffraction efficiency, fabrication simplicity and flexibility. In addition, this technique makes it possible to introduce spatial filtering during the recording process, thus providing the ability to combine into the volume hologram additional functions not originally existing in the CGH.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Fractal analysis and synthesis of fracture surface roughness and related forms of complexity and disorder

Roughness is, among human sensations, just as fundamental as color or pitch, or as heaviness or hotness. But its study had remained in a more primitive state, by far. The reason was that both geometry and science were first drawn to smooth shapes. Thus, color and pitch came to be measured in cycles per seconds, that is, were reduced to sinusoids, in other words to uniform motions around a circle – the epitome of a smooth shape. A study of roughness had necessarily to wait until specific mathematical tools had been discovered and, much later, suitably interpreted. Fractal geometry began when I reinterpreted the flight from nature that had led mathematicians to conceive of notions like the Holder exponent, the Cantor set, or the Hausdorff dimension. They boasted of these notions being ‘monstrous’ but in fact I turned them over into everyday tools of science. I also added further tools that – taken together – made roughness quantitatively measurable for the first time. Acquiring a quantitative measure is the step that moves a field into maturity. And this move instantly led to a striking conjecture. In 1984, ‘Nature’ published an article I wrote with D. A. Passoja and A. J. Paullay on metal fractures. We found that the traditional measures of their roughness range all over. To the contrary, their fractal roughness varies very little not only between samples but also between materials. Last time I checked the “universality” had been extended but not explained. The new intrinsic measure created a major intellectual mystery. The first major new tool that I added to those contributed by the likes of Holder, Cantor, and Hausdorff was multifractality, for both measures and functions. I was motivated by the urge to model the intermittence of turbulence but my first full paper (in 1972) also noted that the same techniques ought to apply to the intermittence in the variation of financial prices. An ancient adage claimed that the City of London is as unpredictable as the weather. I found unexpectedly quantitative truth to this adage by showing that both phenomena can be tackled with essentially the same tools. Roughness is everywhere therefore fractal geometry has little fear of running out of problems. This address will sketch the fractal geometry of roughness and explore some new developments relevant to this Congress.
On the Lagrange gamma distribution

Statistical inference on the Lagrange gamma distribution is considered in this paper. The method of moments, the maximum-likelihood estimation technique, and the estimation of the scale parameter by order statistics are discussed. A linear rank test statistic is proposed for the distribution. A numerical example on the application of the Lagrange gamma distribution is given. In the numerical example, the Lagrange gamma distribution provided a better fit than the gamma distribution.
Improved microstructure and properties of 6061 aluminum alloy weldments using a double-sided arc welding process

Due to its popularity and high crack sensitivity, 6061 aluminum alloy was selected as a test material for the newly developed double-sided arc welding (DSAW) process. The microstructure, crack sensitivity, and porosity of DSAW weldments, were studied systematically. The percentage of fine equiaxed grains in the fully penetrated welds is greatly increased. Residual stresses are reduced. Porosity in the welds is reduced and individual pores are smaller. It was also found that the shape and size of porosity is related to solidification substructure. In particular, a weld metal zone with equiaxed grains tends to form small and dispersed porosity, whereas elongated porosity tends to occur in columnar grains.
ECTOCELLULAR GLUCOSIDASE AND PEPTIDASE ACTIVITY OF THE MIXOTROPHIC DINOFLAGELLATE PROROCENTRUM MINIMUM (DINOPHYCEAE)(1).

The activities of the enzymes α- and β-glucosidase, and leucine aminopeptidase were measured in cultures of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum (Pavill.) J. Schiller and in field samples collected during dinoflagellate blooms occurring in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA. Activities were measured using fluorogenic artificial substrates and partitioned among the >5 μm size fraction, small microbes fraction (0.1-5 μm), and dissolved phase ( 5 μm in size and thus can be separated from the small microbes fraction, which contains most bacteria. Little to no glucosidase activity was detected associated with the >5 μm size fraction in cultures or in field samples, with most of the activity (67% to 93% in cultures, 54% to 100% in field samples) in the small microbes size fraction for both α and β glucosidase. In contrast, 67% to 90% of the total leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) activity in cultures was measured in the >5 μm fraction. Within a culture, LAP activity in the size fraction containing P. minimum decreased in response to ammonium and urea additions, but not in response to nitrate. In field samples, LAP activity was positively correlated with dinoflagellate abundance and chl a, and negatively correlated with ammonium concentration. During blooms, up to 34% of LAP activity was associated with the >5 μm fraction, indicating that when abundant, dinoflagellates may make a substantial contribution to ectocellular LAP activity in the water column.
Recombinant Human 92-kDa Type IV Collagenase/Gelatinase from Baculovirus-Infected Insect Cells: Expression, Purification, and Characterization

Abstract Human 92-kDa type IV collagenase/gelatinase (MMP9) has been expressed in insect cells and secreted into the cell medium via a baculovirus expression system. The expression level of the proenzyme from Trichoplusia ni cells was estimated to be ≥300 mg/L of cell medium. The recombinant protein was purified in a single step using heparin-affinity chromatography with an overall yield of ca. 70%. The purified zymogen could be activated in vitro using 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate to yield an active protease. Kinetic analysis of the activated recombinant enzyme demonstrates that this material is comparable to activated MMP9 from natural human sources. The recombinant enzyme provides a useful source of protein for a variety of biochemical and biophysical studies aimed at elucidating the structure and function of human MMP9.
Evidence for the existence of anisotropy of the superconducting energy gap in gallium

Abstract I–V curves of Ga-Ag tunnel junctions, made on oriented single crystal gallium substrates, were used to evaluate the anisotropy of the superconducting energy gap in gallium using a curve fitting procedure. Gap anisotropy is estimated to lie between 4 to 7%. Special emphasis was placed on the reproducibility of the data; typical reproducibility was found to be ⩽1%.
Standing biomass and production in water drainages of the foothills of the Philip Smith Mountains, Alaska

In the foothills of the Philip Smith Mountains, Brooks Range, Alaska, tussock tundra is the most widely distributed vegetation, and it occurs on rolling hills and in valleys that were shaped by a sequence of Pleistocene glaciations. In this study, aboveground standing biomass and production were compared in “intertrack tundra” areas that were relatively homogenous with respect to downslope drainage and adjacent “water tracks” that acted to channel water flow to the valley bottom stream. Comparisons of biomass, leaf area index, and specific leaf weight were also made between upper and lower slope positions. Similarities and differences of vegetation structure are examined with respect to graminoid, deciduous shrub, evergreen shrub, herbaceous, and bryophyte components. Water tracks were found to have 1.5–1.7 times the biomass of intertrack tundra, and production (excluding secondary growth) in water tracks was 40% greater than in intertrack tundra. The aboveground biomass for all areas studied and the annual production values were similar to those found in other studies of tussock tundra. While only slight differences in depth of thaw occurred in water tracks and intertrack tundra during June and early July, water tracks thawed more deeply with the onset of summer rains. Warmer temperatures at 40 cm depth in July and August may have increased nutrient availability, whereas greater rooting depth and movement of water may have increased nutrient capture in water tracks as compared with the intertrack areas. Greater biomass and a deeper thaw depth occurred at upper slope locations.
Electron-phonon renormalization in cuprate superconductors.

Electron-phonon ($e\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}\mathrm{ph}$) renormalization effects in a model cuprate system ${\mathrm{CaCuO}}_{2}$ are studied by employing density functional theory based methods. Whereas calculations based on the local spin-density approximation (LSDA) predicts negligible $e\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}\mathrm{ph}$ coupling effects of the half-breathing Cu-O bond stretching mode, the inclusion of a screened on-site Coulomb interaction ($U$) in the $\mathrm{LSDA}+U$ calculations greatly enhances the $e\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}\mathrm{ph}$ coupling strength of this mode. The full-breathing mode, on the other hand, shows a much weaker $e\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}\mathrm{ph}$ renormalization effect.
Validation of CT dose-reduction simulation.

The objective of this research was to develop and validate a custom computed tomography dose-reduction simulation technique for producing images that have an appearance consistent with the same scan performed at a lower mAs (with fixed kVp, rotation time, and collimation). Synthetic noise is added to projection (sinogram) data, incorporating a stochastic noise model that includes energy-integrating detectors, tube-current modulation, bowtie beam filtering, and electronic system noise. Experimental methods were developed to determine the parameters required for each component of the noise model. As a validation, the outputs of the simulations were compared to measurements with cadavers in the image domain and with phantoms in both the sinogram and image domain, using an unbiased root-mean-square relative error metric to quantify agreement in noise processes. Four-alternative forced-choice (4AFC) observer studies were conducted to confirm the realistic appearance of simulated noise, and the effects of various system model components on visual noise were studied. The ''just noticeable difference (JND)'' in noise levels was analyzed to determine the sensitivity of observers to changes in noise level. Individual detector measurements were shown to be normally distributed (p>0.54), justifying the use of a Gaussian random noise generator for simulations. Phantom tests showed the ability tomore » match original and simulated noise variance in the sinogram domain to within 5.6%{+-}1.6% (standard deviation), which was then propagated into the image domain with errors less than 4.1%{+-}1.6%. Cadaver measurements indicated that image noise was matched to within 2.6%{+-}2.0%. More importantly, the 4AFC observer studies indicated that the simulated images were realistic, i.e., no detectable difference between simulated and original images (p=0.86) was observed. JND studies indicated that observers' sensitivity to change in noise levels corresponded to a 25% difference in dose, which is far larger than the noise accuracy achieved by simulation. In summary, the dose-reduction simulation tool demonstrated excellent accuracy in providing realistic images. The methodology promises to be a useful tool for researchers and radiologists to explore dose reduction protocols in an effort to produce diagnostic images with radiation dose ''as low as reasonably achievable.''.« less
Abstract: An Investigation of Construct Validity Using Higher Order Invariance.

A variety of research has indicated that background factors such as socioeconomic status (SES), domain expertise, and similarly education and literacy affect cognitive performance. In fact, some of...
African american children and behavior therapy: Considering the Afrocentric approach*

Scant literature exists on behavior therapy with African American children. Whereas Black children are missing from the behavior therapy literature, behavior therapy is not missing from the literature on Black children. In this article, we attempt to disseminate information about an Afrocentric approach to behavior therapy. We begin with a discussion of Radical Black Behaviorism. The concept of Afrocentrism is defined and misperceptions about the concept are addressed. Examples are given of an Afrocentric approach to behavioral assessment and parent training. Behavior therapists are encouraged to increase their knowledge about African American children and the Afrocentric approach to behavior therapy.
Xylem density, biomechanics and anatomical traits correlate with water stress in 17 evergreen shrub species of the Mediterranean-type climate region of South Africa

1 Climate change in South Africa may threaten the sclerophyllous evergreen shrubs of this region. Available data suggest that they are not as tolerant of water stress as chaparral shrubs occurring in climatically similar California, USA. 2 Seventeen species from nine angiosperm families, including both fynbos and succulent karoo species, were studied at a field site in Western Cape Province, South Africa. Minimum seasonal pressure potential (P min ), xylem specific conductivity (K s ), stem strength against breakage (modulus of rupture, MOR), xylem density, theoretical vessel implosion resistance ((t/b) 2 h ) and several fibre and vessel anatomical traits were measured. 3 Species displayed great variability in P min , similar to the range reported for chaparral and karoo shrub species, but in contrast to previous reports for fynbos shrubs. 4 More negative P min was associated with having greater xylem density, MOR and (t/b) 2 h . There was no relationship between P min and traits associated with increased water transport efficiency. 5 Xylem density integrates many xylem traits related to water stress tolerance, including P min , MOR and (t/b) 2 h [ , as well as percentage fibre wall, parenchyma, vessel area and fibre lumen diameter. 6 Xylem density may be an integral trait for predicting the impact of climate change on evergreen shrubs.
Organization and administration: Then and now

Just as the 2 1/2 decades of publication of Theory Into Practice have been years marked by change and transformation, so it is with the field of educational administration and, to some extent, school organization. When TIP began publication, educational administration was influenced by research and concepts drawn often from the behavioral and social sciences. It was an emerging profession, filled with energy and a sense of direction. A number of promising fields of inquiry were tied to theories that helped explain administrative behavior. There was in fact a "theory movement," stimulated by such scholars as Halpin, Getzels, Culbertson, Guba, and Griffiths. These scholars were joined by other individuals who were "developers," such as Campbell, Gregg, Goldhammer, Reller, Johns, and Lonsdale. These leaders were followed by dozens of other scholars and their students, who struggled with theory development and its application to practice. The history of Theory Into Practice parallels in large measure the evolution of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), located for much of its history at The Ohio State University (now located at Arizona State University). The UCEA stimulated a greater emphasis on research, theory development, and linkage to practice. The development of professors was a priority, as was the sponsorship of conferences, publications, and collaborative research activities. Preparation programs
Local existence and uniqueness of solutions of the Stefan Problem with surface tension and kinetic undercooling

Abstract We consider the Stefan Problem with surface tension and kinetic undercooling effects, that is, with the temperature u satisfying the condition u = − σκ − βV on the interface Γ(σ, β = const. >0), (∗) where κ and V are the mean curvature and the normal velocity of Γ, respectively. We establish short time existence and uniqueness of classical solutions for the resulting free-boundary problem. The key observation is that, when translated to local coordinates, equation (∗) is a quasi-linear parabolic equation on a manifold (without boundary). To prove existence and uniqueness we look for the solution u as a fixed point of a contracting map R . We start by solving the equation of motion (∗) for a given left-hand side u . This provides us with an interface Γ which we use to solve the parabolic problem in the bulk (with the conservation of energy condition across Γ), thereby obtaining a new temperature function ū= R ( u ). Finally, it is the regularizing character of the operator R that allows us to show that R is a contraction on a small time interval.
PDZ affinity chromatography: A general method for affinity purification of proteins based on PDZ domains and their ligands

PDZ (PSD-95, DiscsLarge, ZO1) domains function in nature as protein binding domains within scaffold and membrane-associated proteins. They comprise ∼90 residues and make specific, high affinity interactions with complementary C-terminal peptide sequences, with other PDZ domains, and with phospholipids. We hypothesized that the specific, strong interactions of PDZ domains with their ligands would make them well suited for use in affinity chromatography. Here we describe a novel affinity chromatography method applicable for the purification of proteins that contain PDZ domain-binding ligands, either naturally or introduced by genetic engineering. We created a series of affinity resins comprised of PDZ domains from the scaffold protein PSD-95, or from neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), coupled to solid supports. We used them to purify heterologously expressed neuronal proteins or protein domains containing endogenous PDZ domain ligands, eluting the proteins with free PDZ domain peptide ligands. We show that Proteins of Interest (POIs) lacking endogenous PDZ domain ligands can be engineered as fusion products containing C-terminal PDZ domain ligand peptides or internal, N- or C-terminal PDZ domains and then can be purified by the same method. Using this method, we recovered recombinant GFP fused to a PDZ domain ligand in active form as verified by fluorescence yield. Similarly, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and β-Galactosidase (LacZ) fused to a C-terminal PDZ domain ligand or an N-terminal PDZ domain were purified in active form as assessed by enzymatic assay. In general, PDZ domains and ligands derived from PSD-95 were superior to those from nNOS for this method. PDZ Domain Affinity Chromatography promises to be a versatile and effective method for purification of a wide variety of natural and recombinant proteins.
Identification of Determinants of Ligand Binding Affinity and Selectivity in the Prostaglandin D2 Receptor CRTH2

The chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2) is a G protein-coupled receptor that mediates the pro-inflammatory effects of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) generated in allergic inflammation. The CRTH2 receptor shares greatest sequence similarity with chemoattractant receptors compared with prostanoid receptors. To investigate the structural determinants of CRTH2 ligand binding, we performed site-directed mutagenesis of putative mCRTH2 ligand-binding residues, and we evaluated mutant receptor ligand binding and functional properties. Substitution of alanine at each of three residues in the transmembrane (TM) helical domains (His-106, TM III; Lys-209, TM V; and Glu-268, TM VI) and one in extracellular loop II (Arg-178) decreased PGD2 binding affinity, suggesting that these residues play a role in binding PGD2. In contrast, the H106A and E268A mutants bound indomethacin, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, with an affinity similar to the wild-type receptor. HEK293 cells expressing the H106A, K209A, and E268A mutants displayed reduced inhibition of intracellular cAMP and chemotaxis in response to PGD2, whereas the H106A and E268A mutants had functional responses to indomethacin similar to the wild-type receptor. Binding of PGE2 by the E268A mutant was enhanced compared with the wild-type receptor, suggesting that Glu-268 plays a role in determining prostanoid ligand selectivity. Replacement of Tyr-261 with phenylalanine did not affect PGD2 binding but decreased the binding affinity for indomethacin. These results provided the first details of the ligand binding pocket of an eicosanoid-binding chemoattractant receptor.
Thermal effects in the superelasticity of crystalline shape-memory materials

Abstract This paper develops a three-dimensional theory for the superelastic response of single-crystal shape-memory materials. Since energetic considerations play a major role in the phase transformations associated with the superelastic response, we have developed the theory within a framework that accounts for the laws of thermodynamics. We have implemented a special set of constitutive equations resulting from the general theory in a finite-element computer program, and using this program have simulated the superelastic response of a single crystal Ti–Ni shape-memory alloy under both isothermal and thermo-mechanically coupled situations. Both manifestations of superelasticity—stress–strain response at fixed temperature and strain–temperature response at fixed stress—are explored. The single-crystal constitutive-model is also used to discuss the superelastic response of a polycrystalline aggregate with a random initial crystallographic texture. The overall features of the results from the numerical simulations are found to be qualitatively similar to existing experimental results on Ti–Ni.
The net force acting on relativistic electrons caused by net inverse bremsstrahlung in a plasma wave

The net force acting on relativistic electrons in a laser-irradiated plasma is calculated by using both the pure classical electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. It is shown that the net force, averaged over the electron distribution, calculated by classical electrodynamics is zero, while that by quantum mechanics can exceed the oscillating Lorentz force of the laser wave when the electron energy is large and the momentum spread of the beam is properly controlled. We attribute it to the fact that inverse bremsstrahlung is not included in classical electrodynamics.
Identification of Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein K as a Transactivator for Human Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor Gene Transcription

hnRNP K, a member of the family of heterogeneous ribonucleoproteins, is known to exert various functional roles in the nucleus, cytoplasm, and mitochondria to affect different cellular processes including chromatin remodeling, transcription, splicing, and translation. Here we report, for the first time, that hnRNP K is specifically involved in human LDL receptor (LDLR) gene transcription in HepG2 cells. We show that depletion of hnRNP K by siRNA transfection reduces the expression of LDLR mRNA and protein by more than 50% as measured by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. Importantly, we show that the decay rate of LDLR mRNA is not affected by hnRNP K siRNA transfection, whereas the LDLR promoter activity is significantly decreased. Furthermore, overexpression of hnRNP K increased the LDLR promoter activity by the luciferase reporter assay. By utilizing a series of mutational and deletional constructs of LDLR promoter luciferase reporters, we mapped the K-responsive element to the repeat 3 (R3) sequence of the LDLR promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays show that the K protein binds to a single-stranded DNA probe containing the CT-rich element of R3, which is in contrast to the requirement of double-stranded DNA for Sp1 to bind to R3. Finally, chromatin immunoprecipitation assays reveal a direct interaction of hnRNP K with the LDLR promoter in intact HepG2 cells. These new findings provide strong evidence demonstrating that hnRNP K is an important transactivator for human LDLR gene transcription. This work sheds new light on our current understanding of how LDLR gene expression is controlled at the transcriptional level.
Vitamin and mineral status of women of childbearing potential.

Increasing data suggest a role for micronutrients in pregnancy outcome, and in some cases nutritional status must be adequate in the first weeks of pregnancy. We examined nationally representative survey data on women of childbearing age: the NHANES II data for serum measures of iron status and the CSFII four-day data for dietary measures of intake of protein, iron, zinc, folic acid, and vitamins A, C, and B6. For those nutrients, women below or near poverty had consistently lower levels, with median intakes below the RDA for all but protein (e.g., folic acid, 150 micrograms in contrast with the RDA of 180 for nonpregnant and 400 for pregnant women; for B6, 0.96 mg instead of 1.6 or 2.2). Even among women with incomes as high as three times the poverty level or more, large segments of the population had very low intakes. For example, the 25th percentile in that group was only 142 micrograms/day of folic acid, 4.6 alpha-tocopherol equivalents of vitamin E, 6.7 mg zinc, and 433 mg of calcium. Approximately 15% of women had low transferrin saturation.
The geometry of matrix eigenvalue methods

This paper explores the relations between the matrix Riccati equation and the standard matrix eigenvalue methods. It is demonstrated that the mathematics of the analysis of the two objects is essentially the same; consisting of the analysis of flows on the homogeneous spaces of various Lie groups.
Experimental study and large eddy simulation of effect of terrain slope on marginal burning in shrub fuel beds

Abstract This paper presents a combined study of laboratory scale fire spread experiments and a three-dimensional large eddy simulation (LES) to analyze the effect of terrain slope on marginal burning behavior in live chaparral shrub fuel beds. Line fire was initiated in single species fuel beds of four common chaparral plants under various fuel bed configurations and ambient conditions. An LES approach was developed to model fire spreading through a fuel bed with a subgrid scale turbulent combustion model based on a flame surface density concept. By examining two fuel bed slope configurations, it was found that upslope fire spread depends not only on the increased radiant heat transfer but also on the aerodynamic effect created by the interaction of the flame with the inclined surface. Under certain conditions, the convective heat transfer induced by this interaction becomes the dominant mechanism in determining fire spread success. Seventy-three (or 42%) of 173 experimental fires successfully propagated for slopes ranging from −70% to 70%. It was found there exists a critical slope above which fire spread in these live fuel beds was successful, and below which fire spread was unsuccessful. This critical slope for marginal burning varied widely with fuel moisture content and fuel loading. A stepwise logistic regression model was developed from experimental data to predict the probability of successful fire spread. It is expected that this model may be helpful in providing guidelines for prescribed fire application.
Studying localized corrosion using liquid cell transmission electron microscopy

Localized corrosion of Cu and Al thin films exposed to aqueous NaCl solutions was studied using liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM). We demonstrate that potentiostatic control can be used to initiate pitting and that local compositional changes, due to focused ion beam implantation of Au+ ions, can modify the corrosion susceptibility of Al films.
Cone photoreceptor mechanisms and the detection of polarized light in fish

Although numerous studies have demonstrated the detection of polarized light in vertebrates, little is known of the photoreceptor mechanisms involved. Recent evidence, however, indicates that cyprinid fishes possess both ultraviolet (UV) and polarization sensitivity suggesting that some vertebrates, like many invertebrates, may employ UV-sensitive cone receptors in polarization sensitivity. In this report, we describe experiments that determine which spectral types of receptors participate in the detection of polarized light. We used a heart-rate conditioning technique to measure increment thresholds of immobilized goldfish for plane-polarized, narrow-band (10 nm half max.) spectral stimuli (380 nm, 460 nm, 540 nm, 660 nm). A typical experiment involved ‘isolating’ the activity of a cone photoreceptor mechanism by chromatic adaptation and measuring increment thresholds for spectral stimuli at e-vector orientations of the polarizer between 0° to 180° in 30° steps. The UV-, green- and red-sensitive cone receptor mechanisms showed clear evidence of polarization sensitivity while the blue-sensitive cone receptor mechanism was polarizationally insensitive. The average amplitude (base to peak height on Fig. 4) of the polarization sensitivity curves (UV-, green- and red-curves) was 0.67 log unit (standard deviation of 0.12 log unit), with the UV-sensitive cone receptor mechanism most sensitive to the vertical e-vector axis and the green- and red-sensitive cone receptor mechanisms most sensitive to the horizontal e-vector axis. The observation that different cone photoreceptor mechanisms have orthogonal polarization sensitivity in fish suggests that the perception of polarized light may enhance the capacity for visual discrimination in lower vertebrates.
Training Using Actual Food Improves the Accuracy of Meal Intake Estimation

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To recognize that educating dietary staff using actual food increases their meal intake estimation accuracy. A vital aspect of determining adequate nutrition in the institutional setting is accurate estimation of food consumption. This study assessed if the use of actual food versus pictures of food to depict meal consumption during training affects the accuracy of meal consumption estimation. An experimental design using pre-test and post-tests was used. The study was conducted in one south Florida 120 bed skilled nursing facility. The subjects were 33 Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) working the 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM shifts. Subjects were divided arbitrarily into two groups. Training was conducted to improve the subject's ability to estimate percentage of meal consumed. One group was trained with pictures of food; the other group with actual food. All subjects had previous training and experience with meal intake estimation. Attitude and meal intake estimate tests were conducted before, directly after, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after training. Data was analyzed using Student's t-test. Both groups showed an improvement in meal intake estimation accuracy after the training with the improvement continuing after both the 2 and 2 week follow-up period. For the group taught using actual food, this improvement was statistically significant (p=0.017). Using actual food versus pictures of food in training improved the accuracy of meal consumption estimation.
Feasibility of improving CD-SEM-based APC system for exposure tool by spectroscopic-ellipsometry-based APC system

Lot-to-lot ADI CD data are generally used to tighten the variation of exposure energy of an exposure tool through an APC feedback system. With decreasing device size, the process window of an exposure tool becomes smaller and smaller. Therefore, whether the ADI CD can reveal the real behavior of a scanner or not becomes more and more a critical question, especially for the polysilicon gate layer. CD-SEM has generally been chosen as the metrology tool for this purpose. Because of the limitations of top-down CD-SEMs, an APC system could be easily misled by improper ADI CD data if the CD data were measured on a T-topped photo resist. ArF resist shrinkage and line edge roughness are also traditional causes for improper CD feedback if the user did not operate the CDSEM carefully. Another candidate for this APC application is spectroscopic-ellipsometry-based scatterometry technology, commonly referred to as SpectraCD. In recent studies, SpectraCD was proven to be able to reveal profile variation with excellent stability. The feasibility of improving a CDSEM-based APC system by a SpectraCD-based system in a high-volume manufacturing fab is therefore worthy of study. This study starts from an analysis of the historical data for the polysilicon ADI CD of a 130 nm product. Two different sets of CD measured from the two different metrology tools were analyzed. In the fab, CDSEM was the metrology tool chosen for the APC feedback. The CD data measured by SpectraCD over a 2 month timeframe were plotted as a CD trend chart of the specific exposure tool. There are several trend-ups and trend-downs observed, even though the overall CD range is small. After a series of analyses, the exposure tool has been proven to be quite stable and the CD data measured by SpectraCD also reveal the real behavior of the exposure tool correctly. The scanner is shown to have been misled by improper CD feedback. In comparison with CDSEM, the linearity of the correlation between ADI and AEI CDs, which represents the consistence of etch bias, can also be improved from 0.4 to 0.8 by SpectraCD. The root causes are still under investigation, but one suspected reason is related to resist profile. All the analysis results will be reported in this paper. The data provided sufficient motivation for switching the APC feedback system of the fab from a CDSEM-based system to a SpectraCD-based system. The results of the new APC system will also be discussed.