cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TreeCluster: Massively scalable transmission clustering using phylogenetic trees

Background: The ability to infer transmission clusters from molecular data is critical to designing and evaluating viral control strategies. Viral sequencing datasets are growing rapidly, but standard methods of transmission cluster inference do not scale well beyond thousands of sequences. Results: I present TreeCluster, a cross-platform tool that performs transmission cluster inference on a given phylogenetic tree orders of magnitude faster than existing inference methods and supports multiple clustering optimization functions. Conclusions: TreeCluster is a freely-available cross-platform open source Python 3 tool for inferring transmission clusters from phylogenetic trees. Code, usage information, and in-depth descriptions of the implemented clustering modes are available publicly at the following repository: https://github.com/niemasd/TreeCluster
Generative diffusion of innovations and knowledge networks in open source projects

In this study, we conceptualize an open source community as a constellation of dynamic, multiple and heterogeneous informal knowledge networks. Generative artifact, open source software in our context, is embedded in multiple knowledge networks. Therefore, generative diffusion of innovation will be affected by these networks. We identify two types of knowledge networks, developer-project network and developer-developer network, which a developer can simultaneously belongs to. We argue that the two networks emphasized on different types of knowledge transfer, and have different effects on the generative diffusion of innovation. We propose our hypotheses and methodology to test our hypotheses. We also discuss future plan and expected contributions.
Conscience Claims and Cost: Tribunals and the Asymmetry Debate

We appreciate Fritz’s (2021) thoughtful analysis of the asymmetry between legal protections for negative and positive conscience claims and are particularly interested in further exploring the conc...
Consumer Perspectives on Maternal and Infant Health Apps: Qualitative Content Analysis.

Background: Despite the popularity of maternal and infant health mobile apps, ongoing consumer engagement and sustained app use remain barriers. Few studies have examined user experiences or perceived benefits of maternal and infant health app use from consumer perspectives. Objective: This study aims to assess users’ self-reported experiences with maternal and infant health apps, perceived benefits, and general feedback by analyzing publicly available user reviews on two popular app stores—Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Methods: We conducted a qualitative assessment of publicly available user reviews (N=2422) sampled from 75 maternal and infant health apps designed to provide health education or decision-making support to pregnant women or parents and caregivers of infants. The reviews were coded and analyzed using a general inductive qualitative content analysis approach. Results: The three major themes included the following: app functionality, where users discussed app features and functions; technical aspects, where users talked about technology-based aspects of an app; and app content, where users specifically focused on the app content and the information it provides. The six minor themes included the following: patterns of use, where users highlighted the frequency and type of use; social support, where users talked about receiving social support from friends, family and community of other users; app cost, where users talked about the cost of an app within the context of being cost-effective or a potential waste of money; app comparisons, where users compared one app with others available in app stores; assistance in health care, where users specifically highlighted the role of an app in offering clinical assistance; and customer care support, where users specifically talked about their interaction with the app customer care support team. Conclusions: Users generally tend to value apps that are of low cost and preferably free, with high-quality content, superior features, enhanced technical aspects, and user-friendly interfaces. Users also find app developer responsiveness to be integral, as it offers them an opportunity to engage in the app development and delivery process. These findings may be beneficial for app developers in designing better apps, as no best practice guidelines currently exist for the app environment. Trial Registration:
A Framework for Evaluating the Role of Autonomy for UAS Operations

Trust is a key issue in the development of autonomous systems. Humans and autonomous function or systems should be able to establish trust in each other’s actions. With advancing technology, innovations, and growth in Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), ensuring trust in the use of automation and autonomy poses a major challenge. It is important that the automation in UAS operations is at an acceptable level of reliability, integrity, and redundancy. The bigger challenge is to approve the automation on the UAS and ground stations, which requires consideration of the complexity of operation, how automation is used in the operation, widely differing types of UAS, and the lack of standards to certify the automated elements. There is a need to examine relevant operational, technical, and procedural implications of automation in addition to analyzing system failures, contingent backup options in place for unforeseen circumstances, the role of the human, and training needs for the pilot or operator. It is important to account for these factors in defining standards and certification methods.With new concepts and technologies, and the tremendous emphasis on autonomy and automation, we assert a new method to prove the automation and transition plans for the required confidence level in automation. The method features a framework that accounts for new operations and interactions between all systems and stakeholders in the National Airspace System (NAS). Decision makers at all levels will find accelerated processing opportunities when using this framework to refine standards criteria, assess automation maturity, and focusing solution discussions with key stakeholder groups.The paper will describe the approach to classification of the automation role and human role leading to insights into the acceptable paths forward for automation inclusion. The strategic approach will enable the stakeholders to see the impact of UAS operating in widely varying environments, while ensuring operations remain safe and secure. The development of this comprehensive list with identified roles for automation and humans, as well as the interactions between humans and automation functions, will help with better planning, risk assessment, regulations, and policies as well as other integration activities.
Hydrogen Vibrations in Nickel Hydride

Nickel hydride was prepared in a BeCu high pressure cell at room temperature by applying a hydrogen gas pressure of 7kbar to pellets pressed from fine nickel powder. The rate and degree of completion of the hydride formation was first checked by neutron diffraction using deuterium gas with the result that a deuterium to metal ratio of approximately 0.75 was reached. After desorption of the deuterium, the nickel sample was charged with hydrogen for the inelastic incoherent neutron scattering measurements. Measurements were performed with the Be filter technique at the Brookhaven High Flux Beam Reactor. The optic modes appear as a broad band in the phonon density of states from about 70 to 110 meV with peaks at approximately 88 and 108 meV. Included in the discussion of these results will also be the effect of hydride formation on the acoustic phonon density of states.
Clearing Crime in Prime-Time: The Disjuncture Between Fiction and Reality

Crime dramas provide entertainment to millions of Americans. The impact of viewing these programs on perceptions and expectations of police is a concern for practitioners, researchers and policy makers. While a growing body of research is identifying factors associated with the probability of clearance in offenses reported to police, a dearth of research looks at the portrayal of police efficiency in apprehending offenders in popular crime dramas. This study examines the depictions of police investigations across four fictional crime dramas. The authors find offenses are cleared at much higher rates than national averages and that several case characteristics typically associated with clearance in actual cases do not share the same relationship in these fictional programs. Results indicate substantial variation between programs in the depiction of the collection and utility of DNA evidence in assisting investigators to identify suspects. Findings are discussed in relation to data collected from actual police departments.
The effect of glucose on electroreduction of phosphate at a Pt electrode: An indirect method of glucose detection in KRPB solution

Abstract Two voltammetric redox peaks at a platinum electrode in a physiological Krebs-Ringer phosphate buffer solution (KRPB, pH = 7.4) in the presence of glucose are found to be related to a phosphate redox process instead of a glucose redox process as reported earlier. The voltammetric reduction peak of phosphate in KRPB was not observed in previous studies, due to the presence of excess dissolved oxygen. The role of dissolved oxygen in phosphate electroreduction is found to be equivalent to a pH effect. The peak currents of phosphate reduction in phosphate buffer (KRPB) are also found to increase by the addition of glucose. The role of glucose in the peak current enhancement is correlated to the change of phosphate electroreduction from its two-electron reduction pathway to a one-electron reduction pathway, caused by the adsorbed glucose species on the electrode. The peak current enhancement by glucose may be used as an indirect method for glucose detection in physiological KRPB solution and diabetes mellitus.
Automated Discovery of Empirical Laws in a Science Laboratory

Machine discoverers can be briefly defined as computer systems that autonomously pursue knowledge. The research in machine discovery has been growing in two main directions: (1) automated scientific discovery and (2) knowledge discovery in databases. The latter is focused on data which are fixed, prearranged and typically sparse. Because data available in databases are different from data which can be obtained by an experimental scientist, both the search techniques and the results of knowledge discovery in databases differ from those of automated scientific discovery. Results in knowledge discovery in databases have been described in several collections of papers, typically conference proceedings, edited by Piatetsky-Shapiro (1991, 1993), Piatetsky-Shapiro & Frawley (1991), Zytkow (1992), Ras (1993), Ziarko (1993), and many other papers.
Who Knows Best? Education, Partisanship, and Contested Facts

An alert, informed electorate is considered vital to a robust democracy, and the main path to that electorate includes formal education. The educated citizen is politically attentive, knowledgeable, and participatory, and the uneducated citizen is not. However, this fact conceals a less favorable effect of education. Educated citizens possess the cognitive skills to reject facts inconsistent with prior dispositions. And educated citizens are among the most invested partisans. Thus education is indispensable for an ideal democratic citizen, but that same education can create a resistant, insular democratic participant. We examine this duality across several prominent empirical cases where political facts are in dispute and employ goal-oriented information processing theory to generate hypotheses. In each case, we find that the most educated partisans are furthest apart in their factual understanding. Our primary concern resides with the inability of education to overcome powerful partisan motives; education intensifies those motives.
Burgers system driven by a periodic stochastic flow

Burgers System (BS) is Navier-Stokes system without pressure and incompressibility. It is one of the most popular models of hydrodynamics and has a lot of applications. In this paper, we consider BS driven by a potential force whose potential is a periodic stochastic flow. If x = (x 1,... x n) is the vector of coordinates and u = (u 1,..., u„) is the velocity vector then the n-dimensional BS takes the form $$\frac{\partial u}{\partial t}+(u,\nabla )u=\mu \Delta u+\nabla \dot{B}(x,t)$$ (1) or in the coordinate form $$\frac{\partial {{u}_{i}}}{\partial t}+\sum\limits_{k=1}^{n}{\frac{\partial {{u}_{i}}}{\partial {{x}_{k}}}}\cdot {{u}_{k}}=\mu \Delta {{u}_{i}}+\frac{\partial }{\partial {{x}_{i}}}\dot{B}(x,t)$$ (2) .
Changes in Menaquinone Concentration During Growth and Early Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis

In two strains of Bacillus subtilis, menaquinone-7 has been shown to reach maximal cellular concentrations during early stationary phase. These concentration changes closely parallel the previously reported concentration changes in the cytochromes.
Molecular Evidence for the Early Specification of Presumptive Functional Domains in the Embryonic Primate Cerebral Cortex

To identify molecules that may play a role in the initiation of cerebral cortical area formation, we examined the expression of the Eph receptors and their ligands, the ephrins, during primate corticogenesis. We selected the macaque monkey neocortex because of its clear areal subdivisions, large surface area, protracted development (gestation = 165 d), and similarity to the human brain. In situ hybridizations, performed at early [embryonic day 65 (E65)], middle (E80), and late (E95) stages of cortical development, revealed that EphA system family members are expressed in distinct gradients and laminar and areal domains in the embryonic neocortex. Indeed, several regionally restricted molecular patterns are already apparent within the cortical plate at E65, before the formation of thalamocortical connections, suggesting that the initial expression of some EphA system members is regulated by programs intrinsic to cortical cells. For example, EphA3, EphA6, and EphA7 are all selectively expressed within the presumptive visual cortex. However, although EphA6 and EphA7 are present throughout this region, EphA3 is only expressed in the prospective extrastriate cortex, suggesting that cortical cells harbor functional biases that may influence the formation of appropriate synaptic connections. Although several patterns of early gene expression are stable (e.g., EphA3, EphA4, and EphA6), others change as development proceeds (e.g., EphA5, EphA7, ephrin-A2, ephrin-A3, and ephrin-A5), perhaps responding to extrinsic cues. Thus, at E95, after connections between the cortical plate and thalamus have formed, receptor subtypes EphA3, EphA5, EphA6, and EphA7 and the ligand ephrin-A5 are expressed in posterior regions, whereas EphA4 and ephrin-A2 and ephrin-A3 are either uniformly distributed or anteriorly biased. Taken together, our results demonstrate molecular distinctions among cells of the embryonic primate neocortex, revealing hitherto unrecognized compartmentalization early in corticogenesis.
Assessment Of Target Tracking Techniques

This paper presents an overview of target tracking techniques. It includes an assessment of presently fielded military trackers and their shortcomings; present state-of-the-art (SOA) tracker capabilities and their shortcomings; and capabilities of future "intelligent" target trackers.© (1979) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Visualization of an adsorption model for surfactant transport from micelle solutions to a clean air/water interface using fluorescence microscopy.

Abstract This work pertains to visualizing a transport model for adsorption of surfactants from micelle solutions onto a clean air/water interface. Under the condition of surfactant adsorption from very dilute solutions, the time scale for diffusion of a surfactant monomer is much slower than the time scale for kinetic breakdown of the aggregates. A theoretical model predicts two regimes for the adsorption dynamics. We visualize these two regimes under the mechanism of solubilization using fluorescence microscopy, in which an insoluble fluorescent probe, NBD-HAD (4-(hexadecylamino)-7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole), is used to illuminate the micelles. The dye fluoresces in the microenvironment of micelles but is quenched in the aqueous solution on laser excitation. The region containing micelles is illuminated, but the region which does not contain micelles appears dark. For surfactant solution of C14E6 at concentration just above the critical micelle concentration (CCMC), CCMC = 4.4 mg/L, a dark region between the bright image of the air/water interface and the micelle-containing zone is observed. This dark region becomes smaller with time and finally disappears once equilibrium is reached. For a surfactant solution of C14E6 at the concentration of 4.74CCMC, which is higher than a critical total surfactant concentration ( C T c ) of 4.25CCMC, we observe bright images through surfactant solutions during the adsorption process. Fluorescence images validate the theoretical model.
Investigation of drug partition property in artificial sebum.

Abstract Targeted delivery of a therapeutic agent into the hair and sebaceous follicles greatly depends on the extent of drug partitioning/diffusion in the sebum. The objective of the present research was to develop a method to determine the sebum partition coefficient in order to facilitate the selection of sebum-targeted drug candidates. Partition coefficients of model drugs with different chemical structures and 4-hydroxybenzoate series compounds were measured in artificial sebum/water (Ksebum) and human stratum corneum/water (Ksc) at 37 °C. The relationship was evaluated between log Ksebum, log Ksc and clog P. The results of the partition coefficient studies indicate that the Ksebum of some drugs was significantly higher than the Ksc, whereas some drugs showed lower or similar Ksebum when compared with Ksc. Overall, a relatively poor correlation was observed between log Ksebum, log Ksc and clog P. However, a linear relationship exists between log Ksebum and clog P in the 4-hydroxybenzoate series compounds, indicating that Ksebum depends on the lipophilicity and chemical structure of the compounds. The results of the present study demonstrate that Ksebum is different from Ksc and calculated P and is likely to be a critical parameter reflecting drug delivery into hair and sebaceous follicles.
ROLE OF THE LIVER IN THE METABOLISM OF EXOGENOUS CHOLESTEROL ESTERS.

Abstract Rats were fed a test meal containing cholesterol, no fatty acids, or different fatty acids. A control group received a test meal with only a tracer amount of cholesterol-4-C 14 . Substantial amounts of cholesterol esters accumulated in the liver in 24 hours. The degree of accumulation was greatest when unsaturated fatty acids were fed. The cholesterol ester which accumulated to the greatest extent, irrespective of the fatty acid fed, was cholesterol oleate. The fatty acid composition of the serum cholesterol esters was essentially unchanged by cholesterol feeding. The cholesterol-C 14 ester pattern in the liver at 24 hours was similar in all groups irrespective of the fatty acid fed and showed a general shift toward C 14 -monounsaturated esters. In all groups, the principal cholesterol-C 14 ester found in the blood at the end of 24 hours was cholesterol arachidonate. The specific activity data on the free and individual cholesterol esters; of the liver indicate that a major portion of the incoming cholesterol esters undergoes transferase reactions with fatty acid donors to form other cholesterol esters. The specific activity of the serum cholesterol esters did not exceed the specific activity of the corresponding liver cholesterol esters. The results of the present study suggest that intestinal cholesterol esters are rapidly removed by the liver. A portion of these esters undergoes hydrolysis to free cholesterol while another portion appears to participate in a series of transferase reactions with fatty acid donors to form other cholesterol esters. A major ester formed in this fashion is cholesterol arachidonate, which is then released into the blood in association with the lipoproteins.
The effect of ambient temperature on the flight performance of the mature male tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans

. The wingbeat frequency at flight initiation in mature male G.morsitans West, rose approximately linearly from 213 Hz at 20°C to 263 Hz at 32°C. An increase of temperature to 36°C produced no further effect. The time course of frequency changes was affected in a complex manner by temperature, due probably to the interaction of a number of physico-chemical and behavioural processes with different temperature dependencies. Higher temperatures caused a more rapid overall decline in wingbeat frequency, consistent with the greater demand on the limited reserve of the only important flight substrate, proline. At 20°C, a considerable proportion of tsetse were relatively inactive, whilst a small proportion flew for longer than at any other temperature. At intermediate temperatures both extremes in flight duration decreased, but at 36°C 80% of tsetse flew for less than 90s. These observations can be explained on the basis of the interaction between the tendency of tsetse to be inactive at extremes of temperature, and the more rapid oxidation of reserves at higher temperatures.
Thermal conductivity of amorphous solids above the plateau.

We have measured the thermal conductivity of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), amorphous ${\mathrm{As}}_{2}$${\mathrm{S}}_{3}$, Ca-K nitrate glass, three ${\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$-based glasses, and glycerol in the temperature range 30--300 K, using an ac technique that eliminates errors from blackbody radiation. This technique and the problems of blackbody radiation in thermal measurements are discussed in detail. Our data do not support a recent prediction of heat transport by fractons. Instead, we find that the thermal conductivity of these glasses above \ensuremath{\sim}50 K is well described by the minimum thermal conductivity suggested by Slack.
Engineered RNase P ribozymes inhibit gene expression and growth of cytomegalovirus by increasing rate of cleavage and substrate binding.

We have previously employed an in vitro (genetic) selection procedure to select RNase P ribozyme variants for their activity in cleaving a mRNA substrate from a pool of ribozymes containing randomized sequences. In this study, one of the variants was used to target the overlapping region of the mRNAs encoding the major transcription regulatory proteins, IE1 and IE2, of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The ribozyme variant exhibited an enhanced substrate binding and rate of chemical cleavage, and was at least 25 times more efficient in cleaving the target mRNA in vitro than the ribozyme derived from the wild-type sequence. Our results provide the first direct evidence that a point mutation at nucleotide 86 of RNase P catalytic RNA from Escherichia coli (A86 → C86) increases the rate of chemical cleavage while another mutation at nucleotide 205 (G205 → C205) enhances substrate binding of the ribozyme. Moreover, the variant was also more effective in inhibiting IE1 and IE2 expression and HCMV growth in cultured cells. A reduction of more than 97 % in IE1 and IE2 expression and a reduction of 3000-fold in viral growth were observed in cells expressing the variant. Thus, RNase P ribozyme variant is highly effective in inhibiting HCMV gene expression and growth. Our results provide the direct evidence that increasing the rate of chemical cleavage and substrate-binding affinity of the ribozymes should lead to an improvement of their anti-HCMV efficacy. Moreover, our data also suggest that highly effective anti-HCMV ribozyme variants can be developed using genetic engineering approaches including in vitro selection.
Dynamic QRS variations in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: Electrocardiographic and clinical observations

A characteristic feature of the Wolff-ParkinsonWhite (WPW, preexcitation) syndrome is the wide spectrum of ECG types encountered. Variations in the QRS configuration reflect different patterns of ventricular activation and are related to the different locations of the accessory atrioventricular (AV) connections.‘-3 In addition to the stable variations in the ECG of different persons, dynamic changes in the QRS complex of individual patients with the syndrome are noted but have received little attention. These may manifest as varying degrees of preexcitation and QRS aberration at different times in the same patient or as beat-to-beat variations in the QRS in the same ECG. It is the purpose of this communication to address these dynamic QRS variations and examine the situations in which they may arise, and their probable mechanisms on the basis of observations in our patients and in those of other investigators. ORS configuration and pattern of AV conduction in WPW syndrome. Based on current concepts of the anatomic basis of the WPW syndrome, the AV conduction sequence may follow one of several possibilities, resulting in a variety of ECG patterns.1-3j” These have been broadly classified into types A and B, depending on the form of QRS in the right precordial leads4 or on the vector of the delta wave.5 More recently, Boineau et a1.3 and Tonkin et a1.6 related QRS morphologic changes and the spatial location of the initial QRS forces, respectively, to specific sites of epicardial preexcitation in direct mapping studies. Atrioventricular conduction may be further modi-
The economics of large-scale wind power in a carbon constrained world

Abstract The environmental impacts of fossil-fueled electricity drive interest in a cleaner electricity supply. Electricity from wind provides an alternative to conventional generation that could, in principle, be used to achieve deep reductions ( > 50 % ) in carbon dioxide emissions and fossil fuel use. Estimates of the average cost of generation—now roughly 4 ¢ / kWh —do not address costs arising from the spatial distribution and intermittency of wind. The greenfield analysis presented in this paper provides an economic characterization of a wind system in which long-distance electricity transmission, storage, and gas turbines are used to supplement variable wind power output to meet a time-varying load. We find that, with somewhat optimistic assumptions about the cost of wind turbines, the use of wind to serve 50% of demand adds ∼ 1 – 2 ¢ / kWh to the cost of electricity, a cost comparable to that of other large-scale low carbon technologies. Even when wind serves an infinitesimal fraction of demand, its intermittency imposes costs beyond the average cost of delivered wind power. Due to residual CO 2 emissions, compressed air storage is surprisingly uncompetitive, and there is a tradeoff between the use of wind site diversity and storage as means of managing intermittency.
On-chip microresonator frequency combs formation: Observation of comb line dependent mutual coherence

We use pulse shaper to investigate frequency combs generation in microresonators in the temporal domain. We observe that different groups of comb lines have different mutual coherence and suggest a model for comb formation.
Chapter 16: Text Mining for Translational Bioinformatics

Text mining for transla- tional bioinformatics is a new field with tremendous research poten- tial. It is a subfield of biomedical natural language processing that concerns itself directly with the problem of relating basic biomed- ical research to clinical practice, and vice versa. Applications of text mining fall both into the category of T1 translational research—trans- lating basic science results into new interventions—and T2 transla- tional research, or translational research for public health. Potential use cases include better phenotyp- ing of research subjects, and phar- macogenomic research. A variety of methods for evaluating text mining applications exist, including corpo- ra, structured test suites, and post hoc judging. Two basic principles of linguistic structure are relevant for building text mining applica- tions. One is that linguistic struc- ture consists of multiple levels. The other is that every level of linguistic structure is characterized by ambi- guity. There are two basic ap- proaches to text mining: rule- based, also known as knowledge- based; and machine-learning- based, also known as statistical. Many systems are hybrids of the two approaches. Shared tasks have had a strong effect on the direction of the field. Like all translational bioinformatics software, text min- ing software for translational bioin- formatics can be considered health-critical and should be sub- ject to the strictest standards of quality assurance and software testing.
At the dark end of the street: black women, rape, and resistance – a new history of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the rise of black power

by Danielle L. McGuire, New York, Knopf, 2010, 352 pp., US$27.95 (cloth), ISBN 9780307269065. Danielle L. McGuire opens At the Dark End of the Street with a vivid and disturbing account of the 1944...
Fundamental social motives and the varieties of religious experience

Evolutionary theorists have explained universals in religion, but no integrative theory exists to explain why multiple aspects of religion vary within and between individuals and groups. We propose how four dimensions of religions – beliefs about nonhuman agents, religious rituals, community structures, and moral concerns and values – may change in response to the fundamental social goals of self-protection, disease avoidance, coalition formation, status seeking, mating and mate retention, and kin care. We review empirical research and provide testable hypotheses, and finally discuss implications of this theoretical framework for the study of evolution and religion.
A unique control system simulator for the evaluation of pulsed plasma thrusters

Because of the low thrust characteristics of solid-propellant pulsed plasma thrusters and their operational requirement to operate in a vacuum environment, unique and sensitive test techniques are required. A technique evolved for testing and evaluating pulsed plasma thrusters in an open- or closed-loop system mode employs a unique air bearing platform as a single-axis simulator on which the thruster is mounted. The simulator described was developed to evaluate pulsed plasma thrusters in the low micropound range; however, the simulator can be extended to cover the operational range of currently developed millipound thrusters.
275 REGULATION OF MOUSE RENIN EXPRESSION DURING ONTOGENY

Renin is expressed in many tissues other than the kidney and may play an important role in the control of local tissue processes. The regulation of renin expression in many extrarenal tissues has not been defined. We examined the CD-1 mouse, which has two renin genes--Ren–1 (expressed predominantly in the kidney) and Ren-2 (expressed in the submandibular gland (SMG)). The latter is regulated by androgen, whereas the former is not. During ontogeny in the male mouse SMG renin increases at puberty as androgen rises, while renal renin remains unchanged throughout development. Like SMG, other extrarenal tissue renin levels, e.g. testes and adrenal, also increase markedly at puberty. In contrast, these dramatic increases in extrarenal renin levels are not observed in the female CD-1 mouse, nor in the male C57 mouse, which contains only the Ren-1 gene. The influence of androgen on CD-1 mouse SMG renin mRNA was examined by hybridization “dot blot” analysis using the renin cDNA probe ID-2. Indeed renin mRNA increases at puberty paralleling the enzyme activity. Taken together, the above data suggest that extra-renal renins are regulated by androgen, at least at the transcriptional level, and are probably products of Ren-2 gene expression. The data also imply that control of extrarenal renins may be distinct from renal renin.
Using surface deformation to image reservoir dynamics

The inversion of surface deformation data such as tilt, displacement, or strain provides a noninvasive method for monitoring subsurface volume change. Reservoir volume change is related directly to processes such as pressure variations induced by injection and withdrawal. The inversion procedure is illustrated by an application to tiltmeter data from the Hijiori test site in Japan. An inversion of surface tilt data allows us to image flow processes in a fractured granodiorite. Approximately 650 barrels of water, injected 2 km below the surface, produces a peak surface tilt of the order of 0.8 microradians. We find that the pattern of volume change in the granodiorite is very asymmetrical, elongated in a north‐northwesterly direction, and the maximum volume change is offset by more than 0.7 km to the east of the pumping well. The inversion of a suite of leveling data from the Wilmington oil field in Long Beach, California, images large‐scale reservoir volume changes in 12 one‐ to two‐year increments from 1...
A prospective, controlled study showing that rubber gloves are the major contributor to latex aeroallergen levels in the operating room

Abstract BACKGROUND: Although protocols have been published for reducing natural rubber latex exposure in medical environments, there are no objective data documenting their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE: We prospectively studied the impact of a single intervention, substitution of low-allergen-containing latex gloves for high-allergen-containing latex gloves, on latex aeroallergen levels in a single operating room (OR). METHODS: We sampled OR air on 52 consecutive days, including 33 surgery days and 19 nonsurgery days. On each surgery day all personnel wore either high-allergen gloves ( n = 18 days) or low-allergen gloves ( n = 15 days). Latex aeroallergen levels (in nanograms per cubic meter) and extractable latex glove allergen contents (in allergen units per milliliter) were measured by inhibition immunoassays. An on-site study monitor recorded the number of gloves used, the total time spent by all patients in the OR each day (OR time), and the total time of all procedures for each day (operating procedure time). RESULTS: Latex aeroallergen levels during low-allergen glove use days (mean, 1.1 ng/m 3 ; median, 0.9 ng/m 3 ; range, 0.1 to 3.5 ng/m 3 ) were significantly lower than on high-allergen glove use days (mean, 13.7 ng/m 3 ; median, 7.7 ng/m 3 ; range, 2.2 to 56.4 ng/m 3 ) ( p 3 ; median, 0.3 ng/m 3 ; range, 0.1 to 3.6 ng/m 3 ). Latex aeroallergen levels were strongly correlated with the total number of gloves used on designated high-allergen glove days ( r = 0.66, p = 0.003). There was no appreciable day-to-day carryover of latex aeroallergen. CONCLUSIONS: The substitution of low-allergen-containing latex gloves for high-allergen-containing latex gloves can reduce levels of latex aeroallergen by more than 10-fold in an OR environment. (J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUNOL 1996;98:325-30.)
COMPARISON OF TOXINS IN THREE ISOLATES OF GONYAULAX TAMARENSIS (DINOPHYCEAE)1

Toxicity levels and profiles of three isolates of Gonyaulax tamarensis Lebour grown under the same conditions were compared. One isolate was collected from Ipswich, Massachusetts, during the massive red tide of 1972 along the New England coast. The other two isolates were obtained from Perch Pond (Falmouth, Massachusetts) and Mill Pond (Orleans, Massachusetts) located in the southwest and south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, respectively. All the three cultures produced toxins with variation in their toxicity levels. Toxin contents were highest in the Ipswich isolate, followed in an order by Mill Pond and Perch Pond cultures. Morphological similarity existed between Ipswich and Mill Pond cells, whereas the Perch Pond cells possessed an additional ventral pore on the l' epithecal plate.
Feasibility of Siphons for Degassing Water

Abstract Siphons of 5.1-, 10.2-, and 15.2-cm inside diameter, tested at several vacuum heads and flow rates, lowered the nitrogen content of supersaturated water by up to 20% of saturation (to 103% or less). Turbulence was a primary factor in lowering gas content of water passed through a siphon.
Is C-Reactive Protein Specific for Vascular Disease in Women?

C-reactive protein (CRP) predicts risk for future cardiovascular events in asymptomatic persons. However, because CRP also predicts total mortality, its specificity for vascular disease is uncertai...
Modeling the motor striatum under Deep Brain Stimulation in normal and MPTP conditions

Striatum (STR) is the major input stage of the basal ganglia (BG). It combines information from cortex, subthalamic nucleus (STN) and external globus pallidus (GPe), and projects to the output stages of the BG, where selection between concurrent motor programs is performed. Parkinson's disease (PD) reduces the concentration of dopamine (DA, a neurotransmitter) in STR and changes in the level of DA correlate with the onset of PD motor disorders. Though STR plays a pivotal role in BG, its behavior under PD and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is still unclear. We develop point-process models of the STR neurons as a function of the activity in GPe, cortex, and DBS. We use single unit recordings from a monkey under STN DBS at different frequencies before and after treatment with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydro-pyridine (MPTP) to develop PD motor symptoms. The models suggest that STR neurons have prominent bursting activity in normal conditions, positive correlation with cortex (3–10 ms delay), and mild negative correlation with GPe (1–5 ms lag). DA depletion evokes 30–60 Hz oscillations, and increases the propensity of each neuron to be inhibited by surrounding neurons. DBS elicits antidromical activation, masks existent dynamics, reinforces dependencies between nuclei, and entrains at the stimulation frequency in both conditions.
Micrognathia, an associated defect of Hanhart's syndrome, Types II and III

I n 1928, Wriedt and Mohr3 reported on a condition in cattle in which affected animals exhibited congenital micrognathia and peromelia. At that time, it was proposed that the condition was due to a recessive lethal gene. In 1947 the first occurrence of a similar syndrome in a human being was reported by Hanhart. In man the condition is characterized by a birdlike face, micrognathia, peromelia, and opisthodontia. These patients generally have normal intelligence. Since that time, two additional cases have been reported. One of these involved a 39-year-old woman who had a birdlike face, a high degree of micrognathia (mandibular incisors were 15 mm. behind maxillary incisors), and opisthodontia (ten teeth were missing). She had low-set ears and various bony and soft-tissue defects of all four extremities. Thus, the condition first described in cattle is apparently quite similar to the human syndrome in both its morphologic defects and its hereditary nature. This article will present the case of a 16-month-old boy with Hanhart’s syndrome, Type II. It will also present records of a 5-week-old deceased girl who had Hanhart’s syndrome, Type III.
Injection of inositol 1, 3, 4, 5-tetrakisphosphate into Xenopus oocytes generates a chloride current dependent upon intracellular calcium

Injection of inositol 1, 3, 4, 5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P 4 ) into voltage-clamped oocytes of Xenopus laevis elicited an oscillatory chloride membrane current. This response did not depend upon extracellular calcium, because it could be produced in calcium-free solution and after addition of cobalt to block calcium channels in the surface membrane. However, it was abolished after intracellular loading with the calcium chelating agent EGTA, indicating a dependence upon intracellular calcium. The mean dose of Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P 4 required to elicit a threshold current was 4 x 10 -14 mol. In comparison, inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate (Ins(1, 4, 5)P 3 ) gave a similar oscillatory current with doses of about one twentieth as big. Hyperpolarization of the oocyte membrane during activation by Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P 4 elicited a transient inward current, as a result of the opening of calcium-dependent chloride channels subsequent to the entry of external calcium. In some oocytes the injection of Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P 4 was itself sufficient to allow the generation of the transient inward current, whereas in others a prior injection of Ins(1, 4, 5)P 3 was required. We conclude that Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P 4 causes the release of intra­cellular calcium from stores in the oocyte, albeit with less potency than Ins(1, 4, 5)P 3 . In addition, Ins(1, 3, 4, 5)P 4 activates voltage-sensitive cal­cium channels in the surface membrane, via a process that may require ‘priming’ by Ins(1, 4, 5)P 3 .
Development of fatigue life criteria for experimental fusion reactor first-wall structures☆

Abstract An approach to the rational design of fusion reactor first-wall structures against fatigue crack growth is proposed. The approach is motivated by microstructural observations of fatigue crack growth enhancement in unirradiated materials due to volumetric damage ahead of a propagating crack. Examples are cited that illustrate the effect of mean stress on void nucleation and coalescence, which represent the dominant form of volumetric damage at low temperature, and of grain boundary sliding and creep cavitation, which are the dominant volumetric damage mechanisms at high temperature. The analogy is then drawn between these forms of fatigue crack growth enhancement and those promoted by irradiation exposure in the fusion reactor environment, such as helium embrittlement and atomic displacement. An enhanced strain range is suggested as a macroscopic measure of the reduction in fatigue life due to the higher fatigue crack growth rates. The enhanced strain range permits a separation of volumetric and cyclic effects, and assists in the assignment of rational design factors to each effect. A series of experiments are outlined which should provide the numerical values of the parameters for the enhanced strain range.
Optimal and robust invariant designs for cubic multiple regression

Multiple polynomial regression of third order in v ≥ 2 real variables is considered, where the experimental region is a ball centered at zero or a symmetric cube centered at zero. Besides the full cubic regression we consider also symmetric submodels which are between the full quadratic and the full cubic models. The problem is to find (numerically) an optimal approximate design under a given convex and differentiable optimality criterion. The large dimension of the problem is considerably reduced by restricting to designs which are invariant w.r.t. the group of permutations and sign changes of coordinates. This is justified by the fact that many (convex) optimality criteria are invariant w.r.t. the induced matrix group. We develop the mathematical tools to apply algorittms from Gaffke & Mathar (1992) to compute (nearly) optimal designs. Numerical results are presented for mixtures of Kiefer's Φ p -criteria under a fixed regression model, and for mixtures over competing models. These mixture criteria aim at designs which are robust under change of criterion or change of regression model, respectively, and are thus of considerable practical interest
An expert natural language interface for statistical packages

Abstract A natural language interface has been developed to facilitate the use of statistical packages. Queries are parsed into “case frames” based on statistical primitives. A rule-based expert system uses the case frame to choose a statistical test and generate a batch file that, when executed, answers the query.
Concurrent fNIRS and fMRI processing allows independent visualization of the propagation of pressure waves and bulk blood flow in the cerebral vasculature

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures changes in blood oxygenation, which is affected by physiological processes, including cardiac pulsation, breathing, and low frequency oscillations (LFO). It is challenging to identify spatial and temporal effects of these processes on the BOLD signal because the low sampling rate of BOLD leads to aliasing of higher frequency physiological signal components. In this study, we used concurrent functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and fMRI on 6 subjects during a resting state scan. To reduce aliasing, the BOLD fMRI acquisition was repeatedly performed on a set of sequentially acquired slice stacks to lower the TR to 0.5s while retaining high spatial resolution. Regressor interpolation at progressive time delays (RIPTiDe) method was used, in which physiological signal acquired by fNIRS (without aliasing) and its temporal shifts were used as regressors in the fMRI analysis to determine the magnitude and timing of the effects of various physiological processes on the BOLD signal. The details of the timing of the passage of the cardiac pulsation wave and of the cerebral blood itself were mapped. The result suggests that the cardiac signal affects the voxels near large blood vessels (arteries and veins) most strongly, while LFO mostly affected the drainage veins. We hypothesize that this could be the result of differences in the cerebral blood path lengths, and differences in the dynamics of the propagation of the signals. Together these results validate and extend a novel imaging technique to dynamically track the pulse-wave and bulk blood flow with concurrent fMRI and fNIRS.
Tissue distribution of 2,3,7,8-TCDD in bullfrogs obtained from a 2,3,7,8-TCDD-contaminated area

Abstract Adult bullfrogs ( Rana catesbeiana ) were collected along the Rockey Branch Creek in Arkansas, a known area of 2,3,7,8-TCDD contamination. Various tissues from the frogs were analyzed for 2,3,7,8-TCDD. Levels of 2,3,7,8-TCDD ranging from 87 ppt for a muscle sample to 68,000 ppt for a fat sample were measured.
VIIRS Product Evaluation at the Ocean PEATE

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) mission will support the continuation of climate records generated from NASA missions. The NASA Science Data Segment (SDS) relies upon discipline-specific centers of expertise to evaluate the NPP data products for suitability as climate data records. The Ocean Product Evaluation and Analysis Tool Element (PEATE) will build upon well-established NASA capabilities within the Ocean Color program in order to evaluate the NPP Visible and Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Ocean Color and Chlorophyll data products. The specific evaluation methods will support not only the evaluation of product quality but also the sources of differences with existing data records.
The Goal of Biological Parenthood and Emotional Distress From Infertility: Linking Parenthood to Happiness

This study examined the relationship between construals of the parenthood goal and emotional reactions to fertility difficulties. Mcintosh and Martin's (1992) goal linkage model predicts that individuals experiencing fertility difficulties who strongly link biological parenthood to happiness (i.e., those who strongly believe that having a biological child is necessary for happiness and life satisfaction) will ruminate more about this unfulfilled goal than will individuals who engage in less linking. The model also predicts that greater rumination leads to greater emotional distress and that rumination will mediate the relationship between linking and emotional distress. To examine these hypotheses, 69 women experiencing difficulty conceiving completed questionnaires that assessed linking, rumination, and emotional distress. Results support the hypotheses from the goal linkage model: Linking predicted rumination, rumination predicted emotional distress, and rumination mediated the relationship between linking and distress.