cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Episomal and integrated maintenance of foreign DNA in Giardia lamblia

Giardia lamblia is an early diverging eukaryote which causes gastrointestinal disease throughout the world. Different subgroups of Giardia have been defined based on several biochemical and genetic criteria. We have developed a method for stably introducing DNA into the nuclei of the parasite using puromycin acetyltransferase (pac) as a dominant selectable marker. Transfected circular DNAs were maintained as episomes in the isolate WB, a representative of one Giardia subgroup. When input DNAs were linearized, integration was observed to occur by homologous recombination producing gene replacements in this isolate. In isolate GS, which represents a different subgroup, both linear and circular transfected DNAs were integrated into the genome by homologous recombination. In GS, linear DNA again produced gene replacements, while circular DNA produced duplicative integration events. The failure of GS to replicate episomes may reflect differences in the structure or recognition of DNA replication origins between these subgroups. A plasmid shuttle vector was also developed for expression of other genes in Giardia lamblia. Utilizing the green fluorescent protein as a reporter gene in the WB isolate, we show that gene expression from this vector correlated with plasmid copy number over a range of two orders of magnitude. Together these tools should greatly enhance our ability to study both the basic biology and the pathogenesis of this ubiquitous parasite.
Long-term outcome following programmed electrical stimulation in patients with high-grade ventricular ectopy

To determine if programmed electrical stimulation (PES) could be utilized to identify patients with high-grade ventricular ectopy at low- or high-risk for sudden cardiac death, we performed PES in 40 patients with high-grade ventricular ectopy refractory to conventional antiarrhythmic agents. Twenty-one patients had a previous myocardial infarction, five had cardiomyopathy, six had hypertension, three had valvular heart disease and five had no known structural heart disease. The mean age was 50 years (range, 18 to 76). During programmed ventricular stimulation, eight patients had inducible sustained (more than 30 seconds) monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (Group I) but in 32 patients sustained ventricular tachycardia was not inducible (Group II). None of the five patients without structural heart disease were inducible while seven out of 21 (33%) patients with previous myocardial infarction had inducible ventricular tachycardia (VT). Antiarrhythmic therapy was instituted in patients with inducible VT; patients without inducible VT did not receive antiarrhythmic agents. In Group I, seven of the eight patients are alive (mean follow-up, 16 months) and in Group II, 28 of the 32 patients are alive (mean follow-up, 17 months). None of the five deaths were sudden. We conclude that in the absence of antiarrhythmic therapy, the incidence of sudden cardiac death is very low in patients with high-grade ventricular ectopy who do not have inducible monomorphic ventricular tachycardia during programmed ventricular stimulation.
Integrated Direct/Indirect Adaptive Robust Control (DIARC) of Hydraulic Robotics Arm With Accurate Parameter Estimates

In a general Adaptive Robust Control (ARC) framework, the emphasis is always on the guaranteed transient performance and accurate trajectory tracking in the presence of uncertain nonlinearity and parametric uncertainties. However, when secondary purposes such as system health monitoring and prognosis are of equal importance, intelligent integration of output tracking performance oriented direct adaptive robust control (DARC) and the recently proposed accurate parameter estimation-based indirect adaptive robust control (IARC) is required. In this paper, we will consider such a seamless integration for a hydraulic robotic arm. The newly developed IARC design is first applied to the trajectory tracking for the robotic arm but with an improved estimation model, in which accurate parameter estimates are obtained through a parameter estimation algorithm that is based on physical dynamics rather than the tracking error dynamics. An integrated direct/indirect adaptive robust controller (DIARC) is then presented that preserves the excellent transient tracking performance of the direct ARC designs as well as the better parameter estimation process of the IARC design. The proposed Integrated Direct/Indirect Adaptive Robust Controller (DIARC) achieves the controller-identifier separation, thus enabling certain modularity in the controller design.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Present and future positron-molecular scattering experiments

Abstract Progress to date (June, 1999) of the Oak Ridge positron scattering project is reviewed. Results from our positron time-of-flight mass spectrometer include ionization and fragmentation of some halomethanes, positronium formation below the threshold for double ionization of Ne and the heavier noble gases, and the production of HeH + by positron impact on mixtures of He and H 2 . New directions for future experimental work are discussed. These entail the construction and testing of a new spectrometer which measures both the masses and recoil energies of charged products, including secondary electrons. We hope to use an intense positron beam, such as the one at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory or a similar beam, as the ionizing agent for the new spectrometer, which contains a pulsed supersonic molecular beam. With such an instrument, a range of new phenomena can be studied.
How does downsizing impact the innovative capability of a firm? A contemporary discussion with conceptual frameworks

Organisations have adopted downsizing activities in the pursuit of increased productivity, efficiency, competitiveness, and effectiveness for more than three decades. While an extensive body of literature has developed related to the driving forces and consequences of downsizing, few studies have examined the impact of downsizing on innovation. This paper synthesises the bodies of literature of both downsizing and innovation and develops three conceptual frameworks depicting the impact of downsizing on the innovative capability of a firm.
TRANSFER OF ENERGY FROM REACTION CENTER TO LIGHT HARVESTING CHLOROPHYLL IN A PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIUM

— Previous evidence indicates that energy transfer in photosynthetic bacteria can occur from reaction center to light harvesting chlorophyll (the reverse of the usually considered flow) and that the amount of this flow depends on the strain of bacteria. The present report demonstrates that the action spectrum for fluorescence of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides, strain R26, is changed by adding the strong reductant dithionite. This change indicates that the amount of reverse flow can be altered chemically. The amount of reverse flow inferred from these measurements is consistent with the amount predicted from the absorption and fluorescence spectra of chromatophores and isolated reaction centers, and from the relative fluorescence yields of these two. The measurements permit an estimate of the transfer rates describing the energy flow from light harvesting to reaction center chlorophyll as well as the reverse flow. The spectrum for delayed fluorescence of Rps. spheroides, strain Ga, was found to be similar to that of the variable part of the fluorescence. This is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition that the energy for delayed fluorescence originates in the reaction centers.
Anti-Jamming Performance of Spectrally Shaped Generalized MC-DS-SS with Dual Band Combining

The anti-jamming performance of a spectrally shaped multicarrier spread spectrum modulation scheme is investigated in this paper. The spectral shaping of the multicarrier spread spectrum signal is accomplished via the use of sinusoidal chip waveforms. As a result, the transmitted energy is transmitted via two sidebands. Specifically, one half of the energy is transmitted through a lower sideband (LSB), and the other half through an upper sideband (USB). Since the jammer can only put its energy at some portion of the whole bandwidth, these two independent sideband signals, when combined at the receiver, improve the anti-jam performance of the system. We illustrate this via comparing with conventional MC-DS-SS, and show our scheme's superior performance.
Smart-pixel-based free-space interconnects: solving the high-speed multichip packaging bottleneck

As IC densities grow to 100's of millions of devices per chip and beyond, the inter-chip link bandwidth becomes a critical performance-limiting bottleneck in many applications. Electronic packaging technology has not kept pace with the growth of IC I/O requirements. Recent advances in smart pixel technology, however, offer the potential to use 3-D optical interconnects to overcome the inter-chip I/O bottleneck by linking dense arrays of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and photodetectors, which are directly integrated onto electronic IC circuits. Many switching and parallel computing applications demand multi-chip interconnection fabrics that achieve high-density global I/O across an array of chips. Such global interconnections require a high degree of space-variance in the interconnection fabric, in addition to high inter-chip throughput capacity. This paper reviews the architectural and optical design issues associated with global interconnections among arrays of chips. The emphasis is on progress made in the design and implementation of the second generation Free-space Accelerator for Switching Terabit Networks (FAST-Net) prototype. The FAST-Net prototype uses a macro-optical lens array and mirror to effect a global (fully connected) fabric across a 4 X 4 array of smart pixel chips. Clusters of VCSELs and photodetectors are imaged onto corresponding clusters on other chips, creating a high- density bi-directional data path between every pair of smart pixel chips on a multi-chip module. The combination of programmable intra-chip electronic routing and the fixed global inter-chip optical interconnection pattern of the FAST- Net architecture has been shown to provide a low latency, minimum complexity fabric, that can effect an arbitrary interconnection pattern across the chip array. Recent experimental results show that the narrow beam characteristics of VCSELs can be exploited in an efficient optical design for the FAST-Net optical interconnection module. A new design combines micro-, mini-, and macro-optical elements to achieve the required high registration and resolution accuracy while minimizing the packaging and alignment complexity.
Fast iterative image reconstruction using sparse matrix factorization with GPU acceleration

Statistically based iterative approaches for image reconstruction have gained much attention in medical imaging. An accurate system matrix that defines the mapping from the image space to the data space is the key to high-resolution image reconstruction. However, an accurate system matrix is often associated with high computational cost and huge storage requirement. Here we present a method to address this problem by using sparse matrix factorization and parallel computing on a graphic processing unit (GPU).We factor the accurate system matrix into three sparse matrices: a sinogram blurring matrix, a geometric projection matrix, and an image blurring matrix. The sinogram blurring matrix models the detector response. The geometric projection matrix is based on a simple line integral model. The image blurring matrix is to compensate for the line-of-response (LOR) degradation due to the simplified geometric projection matrix. The geometric projection matrix is precomputed, while the sinogram and image blurring matrices are estimated by minimizing the difference between the factored system matrix and the original system matrix. The resulting factored system matrix has much less number of nonzero elements than the original system matrix and thus substantially reduces the storage and computation cost. The smaller size also allows an efficient implement of the forward and back projectors on GPUs, which have limited amount of memory. Our simulation studies show that the proposed method can dramatically reduce the computation cost of high-resolution iterative image reconstruction. The proposed technique is applicable to image reconstruction for different imaging modalities, including x-ray CT, PET, and SPECT.
Replacement and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid in normal and vitamin A deficient calves.

Abstract Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) replacement and absorption were measured in vitamin A deficient and normal calves. Replacement estimates involved removal of CSF and determination of the time necessary to replace the volume removed, and absorption estimates involved reinjection of the fluid and estimation of the time necessary to absorb this volume. Thirty-five minutes were required to replace the 3.0 ml of CSF in the normal animals, as compared to 15 min in the deficient calves. When estimating absorption capacity in the deficient calves, the CSF pressure was highly stable in 11 of the 12 experiments and the trials were terminated between 25–60 min. With normal calves the pressures returned to the original level in 17 min. The results suggest that underabsorption represents a greater factor than overproduction as a cause of increased CSF pressure in vitamin A deficient calves.
Artifacts Associated with the Determination of Protein Secondary Structure by ATR-IR Spectroscopy

The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the application of FT-IR spectroscopy to biological problems. As well as transmission methods, many specialized techniques are increasingly being applied to biological structural studies, the most popular being ATR spectroscopy. While ATR-IR spectroscopy has been applied to conformational studies of lipids and membrane-associated proteins and peptides for some time, it has only recently been applied to soluble proteins. Two assumptions are made in the analysis of soluble proteins as films. First, it is assumed that drying of films does not result in irreversible structural alterations. Second, it is assumed that rehydration of the film results in the same degree of protein/solvent interaction as in solution, or that reduced solvent interaction in films does not produce structural alterations. In this note we compare spectra of representative proteins as films deposited on ATR elements and in solution. Our results show that significant differences are apparent between solution and film spectra.
Awarding bonuses the Japanese way

Jon P. Alston is Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M University. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Center for Research in Free Enterprise, and the coopera t ion of Ron West and Chris Ordendain. He is current ly working on a book on how Americans can adopt Japanese managerial practices. Although Japanese and American cultures vary in significant ways, some aspects of the Japanese reward system could be adapted to improve productivity and morale in American firms.
Operating characteristics of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) for identifying unhealthy alcohol use in adults with HIV infection

Unhealthy alcohol use (the spectrum of risky use through dependence) is common in HIV-infected persons, yet it can interfere with HIV medication adherence, may lower CD4 cell count, and can cause hepatic injury. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), often measured as %CDT, can detect heavy drinking but whether it does in people with HIV is not well established. We evaluated the operating characteristics of %CDT in HIV-infected adults using cross-sectional data from 300 HIV-infected adults with current or past alcohol problems. Past 30-day alcohol consumption was determined using the Timeline Followback (TLFB), a validated structured recall questionnaire, as the reference standard. Sensitivity and specificity of %CDT (at manufacturer's cut-off point of 2.6%) for detecting both "at-risk" (≥4 drinks in a day or >7 drinks per week for women, ≥5 drinks in a day or >14 per week for men) and "heavy" drinking (≥4 drinks in a day for women, ≥5 drinks in a day for men on at least seven days) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were estimated to summarize the diagnostic ability of %CDT for distinguishing "at risk" and "heavy" levels of drinking. Exploratory analyses that stratified by gender and viral hepatitis infection were performed. Of 300 subjects, 103 reported current consumption at "at-risk" amounts, and 47 reported "heavy" amounts. For "at-risk" drinking, sensitivity of %CDT was 28% (95% confidence interval (CI) 19%, 37%), specificity 90% (95% CI 86%, 94%); area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.59. For "heavy" drinking, sensitivity was 36% (95% CI 22%, 50%), specificity 88% (95% CI 84%, 92%); AUC was 0.60. Sensitivity appeared lower among women and those with viral hepatitis; specificity was similar across subgroups. Among HIV-infected adults, %CDT testing yielded good specificity, but poor sensitivity for detecting "at-risk" and "heavy" alcohol consumption, limiting its clinical utility for detecting unhealthy alcohol use in this population.
Polyamines in rat brain extracellular space after ischemia

This article reports measurements of extracellular polyamines in rat brain. Microdialysis probes were implanted in the striatum and microperfusion samples were collected before, during, and after transient (20 min) global ischemia. Polyamine levels in microperfusates were measured by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography after precolumn derivatization. No significant changes in extracellular polyamines were detected for up to 3 h following ischemia. We conclude that extracellular levels of polyamines (1) are comparable to the low levels in other extracellular compartments, and (2) do not change during the initial period of reperfusion, the period most critical for neuron survival after ischemia.
Effect of growth suppression and release on strength and specific gravity of yellow-poplar.

Compression tests and specific gravity analyses were conducted to investigate the impacts of growth suppression and growth release on wood quality in yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.). Gro...
Desorption of polyacrylamide and polysaccharide polymers from soil materials

Abstract Quantitative information on adsorption- desorption of polymers on soil helps in predicting the depth of effective polymer treatment. Desorption of six tritium labeled polymers from three soils and an acid washed quartz sand was measured. Three anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) polymers whose charge density was in the order of 40 J >21 J >2 J ; two cation polysaccharide (guar) polymers whose charge density was greater for T-4141 than for CP-14; and an anionic polysaccharide (T-4246) were investigated. After 30 g of soil has been equilibrated with 20 mL of polymer solution, the supernatant was replaced by distilled water and the amount of polymer desorbed was calculated. Additionally, one soil was dried under the laboratory hood after decanting the supernatant before adding distilled water. Very little or no desorption occured when the material was kept wet. All 2J and 59 to 76 percent of the other polymers left in solution after decanting became irreversibly bonded to the soil by drying the soil.
Bureaucratic Professionalization and the Limits of the Political Control Thesis: The Case of the Federal Trade Commission

This article explores the political control thesis in light of the literature on bureaucratic politics and agency professionalization. It argues that existing studies of political control have been limited by a failure to analyze the impact of organizational factors on policy change. The article tests political-control and bureaucratic hypotheses through an analysis of changing enforcement priorities at the Federal Trade Commission, The results suggest that the growing role of economists in the agency, rather than congressional oversight or presidential appointments, is critical in explaining the changing antitrust priorities of the Federal Trade Commission.
Photocatalytic reactivity of zinc and cadmium ions in UV-irradiated titania suspensions

Abstract The reduction of Zn(II) and Cd(II) species to their corresponding metallic form is characterized by negative reduction potentials in aqueous media. Thus the direct reduction of these species by photogenerated electrons in UV-irradiated titania (Degussa, P 25) suspensions is difficult unless co-additives are present. This paper presents such scenarios involving nitrate and organic additives and describes conditions where facile conversion of Zn(II) and Cd(II) species can be secured. The photocatalysis reaction products depend on the conditions extant in the TiO 2 dispersions and can be either the corresponding oxy-hydroxy compound or the metal. Interesting interfacial changes occur when formate ions are added to a TiO 2 suspension containing Zn(II) species. Such changes were probed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
Low Social Status Markers: Do They Predict Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence?

Some markers of social disadvantage are associated robustly with depressive symptoms among adolescents: female gender and lower socioeconomic status (SES), respectively. Others are associated equivocally, notably black v. white race/ethnicity. Few studies examine whether markers of social disadvantage by gender, SES, and race/ethnicity jointly predict self-reported depressive symptoms during adolescence; this was our goal. Secondary analyses were conducted on data from a socioeconomically diverse community-based cohort study of non-Hispanic black and white adolescents (N = 1,263, 50.4% female). Multivariable general linear models tested whether female gender, black race/ethnicity, and lower SES (assessed by parent education and household income) and their interactions predicted greater depressive symptoms reported on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Models adjusted for age and pubertal status. Univariate analyses revealed more depressive symptoms in females, blacks, and participants with lower SES. Multivariable models showed females across both racial/ethnic groups reported greater depressive symptoms; blacks demonstrated more depressive symptoms than did whites, but when SES was included this association disappeared. Exploratory analyses suggested blacks gained less mental health benefit from increased SES. However, there were no statistically significant interactions among gender, race/ethnicity, or SES. Taken together, we conclude that complex patterning among low social status domains within gender, race/ethnicity, and SES predicts depressive symptoms among adolescents.
Long-term follow-up of patients undergoing postconditioning during ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Reperfusion injury may offset the optimal salvage of myocardium achieved during primary coronary angioplasty. Thus, coronary reperfusion must be combined with cardioprotective adjunctive therapies in order to optimize myocardial salvage and minimize infarct size. Forty-three patients with their first ST-elevation myocardial infarction were randomized to myocardial postconditioning or standard of care at the time of primary coronary angioplasty. Postconditioning was performed immediately upon crossing the lesion with the guide wire and consisted of four cycles of 30 s occlusion followed by 30 s of reperfusion. End-points included infarct size, myocardial perfusion grade (MPG), left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and long-term clinical events (death and heart failure). Despite similar ischemic times (≅4.5 h) (p = 0.9) a reduction in infarct size was observed among patients treated with the postconditioning protocol. Peak creatine phosphokinase (CPK), as well as its myocardial band (MB) fraction, was significantly lower in the postconditioning group when compared with the control group (CPK—control, 2,444 ± 1,928 IU/L vs. PC, 2,182 ± 1,717 IU/L; CPK-MB—control, 242 ± 40 IU/L vs. PC, 195 ± 33 IU/L; p = 0.64 and p < 0.01, respectively). EF in the postconditioning group was improved when compared with the control group (control, 43% ± 15 vs. PC, 52% ± 9; p = 0.05). After a mean follow-up of 3.4 years, a 6-point absolute difference in LVEF was still evident in the postconditioning group (p = 0.18). MPG was better among patients treated with the postconditioning protocol compared with control (2.5 ± 0.5 vs. 2.1 ± 0.6; p = 0.02). Due to the small sample size no significant differences in clinical events were detected (p value for death = 0.9; p value for heart failure = 0.2). A simple postconditioning protocol applied at the onset of mechanical reperfusion, resulted in reduction of infarct size, better epicardial and myocardial flow, and improvement in left ventricular function. The beneficial effects of postconditioning on cardiac function persist beyond 3 years.
Accidental ingestion of methotrexate

Two siblings ingested an unknown amount of methotrexate and, although they were treated with a folinic acid preparation within 3 hours, serum levels of SGOT and LDH were elevated within 24 hours. No other signs of toxicity developed. The elimination of methotrexate from the body was slow, and 13 days after ingestion the drug was measurable in plasma of each child. Because of the current use of methotrexate in the treatment of skin disorders, the drug is now more available for accidental ingestion by children. Prompt administration of folinic acid (Leucovorin) is important, if severe toxicity is to be avoided.
Kinetic comparison of human, canine and porcine pepsins

1. 1. The variation of the Michaelis constant (Km and the maximum reaction velocity (V) with pH for the reaction of hemoglobin with human, canine and porcine pepsins was studied. 2. 2. At pH 2 the Km's were found to be 6 · 3 × 10−4 M, 10 × 10−4 and 1 · 1 × 10−4 M, respectively, for human, canine and porcine pepsins. 3. 3. The similarity between human and canine pepsins permits valid comparisons of these enzyme activities in molar terms, and porcine pepsin appears to be a reasonable gravimetric standard for such studies.
Pulsed Laser Deposition of Epitaxial Sr(RuxSn1-x)O3 Thin Film Electrodes and KNbO3/Sr(RuxSnl-x)O3 Bilayers

Sr(Ru x Sn l-x )O 3 is proposed as a new conducting oxide for use in epitaxial multilayer structures. The Sr(Ru 0.48 Sn 0.52 )O 3 composition exhibits an excellent lattice match with (100)-oriented KTaO 3 , and films of this composition grown by pulsed laser deposition on KTaO 3 , SrTiO 3 , and LaAIO 3 substrates have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering/ion channeling, and resistivity measurements. Epitaxial KNbO 3 /Sr(Ru 0 48 Sn 0.52 )O 3 bilayers have been successfully grown.
Ynol esters and alkynyl(phenyl)iodonium chemistry

The author's extensive studies aimed at elaboration of synthetic strategies, and investigation of structure, reactivity pattern, and biological activity of new classes of organic compounds, viz., alkynyloiodonium salts and ynol esters, are reviewed.
Design Considerations for a Discrete Angular Joint for Use in Digital Robot Systems

The goal of this work is to investigate the design of a joint suitable for use in a digital robot. Digital robotics, for the purposes of this paper, refers to robots with discrete joint output positions and binary input. For each proposed design, the input is a linear position, and the output is an angular position. Utilizing the kinematics of each design, the mechanical advantage is generated and corresponding design charts are generated for both a two and three position slotted slider as well as a rotating angular slotted block driven by either a rack and gear or a modified Geneva drive.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Block copolymer pervaporation membrane for in situ product removal during acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation

Abstract We address two major challenges facing commercialization of acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation: product inhibition and low productivity. We studied a polystyrene-b-polydimethylsiloxane-b-polystyrene (SDS) triblock copolymer membrane for selective removal of butanol from aqueous solutions by pervaporation. The SDS membrane exhibited higher permeabilities than a commercially available cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane. Both types of pervaporation membrane were also used for in situ product removal of ABE biofuels in Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentations operated in a semi-continuous mode. Membrane performance and its effect on the fermentation process were assessed by measuring flux, OD600 and concentrations of different components in the fermenter as a function of time. Volumetric ABE productivity increased from 0.45 g/(L h) in simple batch fermentation to 0.66 g/(L h) in the case of pervaporative-fermentation with the PDMS membrane. A further increase in productivity to 0.94 g/(L h) was obtained in the case of pervaporative-fermentation with the SDS membrane. Overall, total ABE production improved by a factor of three, viable fermentation time increased by a factor of two, and cell density increased by a factor of 2.5 upon applying SDS membrane pervaporation, relative to the batch process.
Turning renewable resources into value-added polymer: development of lignin-based thermoplastic

Productive uses of lignin, the third most abundant natural polymer, have been sought for decades. One especially attractive possibility is that of developing value-added products including thermoplastics based on lignin. This possibility warrants special attention due to growth of the modern biofuel industries. However, the polydisperse molecular weight and hyper-branched structure of lignin has hindered the creation of high-performance biopolymers. Here, we report the preparation and characterization of novel lignin-based, partially carbon-neutral thermoplastics. We first altered the molecular weight of lignin, either by fractionation with methanol, or by formaldehyde crosslinking. Crosslinking of lignin increases the molecular weight, exhibiting Mn = 31000 g mol−1, whereas that of as-received lignin is 1840 g mol−1. Tuning the molecular weight of lignin enabled successful preparation of novel lignin-derived thermoplastics, when coupled with telechelic polybutadiene soft-segments at proper feed ratios. Characteristic to thermoplastic rubbers, free-standing films of the resulting copolymers exhibit two-phase morphology and associated relaxations in the dynamic mechanical loss spectrum. To the best of our knowledge this article is the first report to demonstrate phase immiscibility, melt-processibility, and biphasic morphology of soft and hard segments in a lignin-based copolymer for all feed ratios of two macromolecular components. The use of higher molecular weight lignin enhanced the resulting shear modulus due to efficient network formation of telechelic polybutadiene bridges. The storage modulus in the rubbery plateau region increased with increasing lignin content. The successful synthesis of novel lignin-based thermoplastics will open a new pathway to biomass utilization and will help conserve petrochemicals.
Vigilance: a paradigm and some physiological speculations.

Abstract The paradigm followed in experiments on human vigilance is discussed in detail to show relationships between vigilance, signal-detection, and animal discrimination experiments. Parts of the paradigm involve ‘observing response’ and ‘decision whether stimulus is signal’ as hypothetical constructs, and suggestions from the literature on electroencephalography are developed to convert these to empirical constructs. Specifically, an early potential (100–200 msec latency) of the averaged evoked response may correspond to the observing response, and a late potential (350–600 msec latency) may be related to the way the observer decides whether or not a stimulus isa signal.
Rate of entorhinal and hippocampal atrophy in incipient and mild AD: Relation to memory function

In the present study, as part of a more extensive longitudinal investigation of the in vivo anatomical markers of early and incipient AD in our laboratory, three groups of elderly participants were followed with yearly clinical evaluations and high resolution MRI scans over a 6-year period (baseline and 5 years of follow-up). At baseline, participants consisted of: (1) 35 old subjects with no cognitive impairment (controls); (2) 33 participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI); and (3) 14 patients with very mild AD. 11 participants with amnestic MCI received a diagnosis of AD over the follow-up period and 9 controls declined in cognitive function. T1 weighted MRI scans were acquired using a 3D SPGR pulse sequence. At baseline, both the amnestic MCI and mild AD groups differed from the controls in hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volume, but not from each other. Longitudinal analyses showed that the rate of atrophy of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus for the stable controls differed significantly from MCI participants who converted to AD and the AD groups. Furthermore, longitudinal decreases in hippocampal and entorhinal volume were related to longitudinal decline in declarative memory performance. These findings suggest that the rate of atrophy of mesial temporal lobe structures can differentiate healthy from pathological aging.
Reliability-Aware Optimization for DVS-Enabled Real-Time Embedded Systems

Power and energy consumption has emerged as the premier and most constraining aspect in modern computational systems. Dynamic voltage scheduling (DVS) has been provably one of the most effective techniques used to achieve low power specification. On the other hand, as the feature size of logic gates (and transistors) is becoming smaller and smaller, the effect of soft error rates caused by single event upsets (SEUs) becomes exponentially greater. Lowering supply voltage to save energy increases soft error rates caused by SEU for two reasons: I) lower voltage makes digital circuits more prone to soft errors and II) reduction in supply voltage, increases the duration of process which increases the chances of being hit by SEU. In this paper, we propose an optimal methodology for DVS on a task graph with consideration of soft error rate. We consider the effects of voltage on SEU and incorporate this dependency in our formulation to develop a new method for energy optimization under SEU constraints. We also propose a convex programming formulation that can be solved efficiently and optimally. We show the effectiveness of our optimal results by simulation on TGFF benchmarks.
Locally Grown Fruit and Vegetable Purchasing Habits and the Association With Children’s Diet

This study explores whether the frequency of parents’ local fruits and vegetables (F&V) purchasing is associated with children’s F&V intake. Questions from the 2008 Child Health Assessment and Monitoring Program survey assessed parental habits and perceived barriers to purchasing and preparing local food. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the independent association between frequency of purchasing local food and children’s F&V consumption. The study showed that 43.3% of parents report that their child consumes 5 or more servings of F&V/day. In addition, 49.7% of those who purchase locally grown F&V regularly had a child who consumed 5 or more servings of F&V/day. Compared to those parents who purchased locally grown F&V regularly, those in the less frequent purchasing categories were less likely to report that their child consumed 5 or more servings of F&V/day, pointing to the potential role that purchasing locally grown F&V may have in influencing children’s intake.
First-principles prediction of high-temperature superconductivity in metallic hydrogen

AT ambient pressure and low temperatures, hydrogen crystallizes in an insulating molecular phase. The possibility of a transition to a metallic structure at high pressures has been the subject of research for over fifty years1-6. Moreover, it has been recognized for some time that metallic hydrogen could be a superconductor2, but estimates of its transition temperature vary widely4,7,8. Here we present the first ab initio calculation of the electron-phonon coupling constant λ in a distorted hexagonal high-pressure (∼400 GPa) phase of hydrogen; this first-principles approach has successfully predicted superconductivity in compressed silicon9,10. From the calculated value of λ for this structure, and using standard BCS-Eliashberg11-13 theory, the superconducting transition temperature Tc is estimated to be 230±85 K. Thus if metallic hydrogen were to be formed in the laboratory in the structure proposed here or in similar structures, it should be superconducting with the highest Tc yet known.
Hand abnormalities in Apert’s syndrome: surgical management

Apert’s syndrome is the most common of the acrocephalosyndactylies with complex malformations of the hands. Treatment of the Apert hand is complex, and numerous procedures are required. The aim of this study is to propose a strategy for hand management. Sixteen Apert’s syndrome hands were submitted to early surgery, which included opening of the first web, separation of the fingers, realigninment of the thumb, and correction of the clinodactylies. We performed an average of six operations per child. Treatment of the first web depended on the classification of Upton: For the severe stages, we used a dorsal hand flap. Radical clinodactyly was treated by osteotomy of the delta phalanx and Z-plasty. We treated nine hands with four fingers and seven hands with five fingers. There was always bilateral opposition and symphalangism excluding the fifth finger. All of the children have a rudimentary but functional pinch grip. Revision of the webs was necessary in 16% of the cases. The Apert hand requires early and specialized treatment that aims to provide a functional hand before 2 or 3 years, with the least surgical complications. The functional prognosis is adversely affected by symphalangism.
Protein synthesis in rabbit reticulocytes: characteristics of peptide chain initiation factors.

Summary In a cell-free amino acid incorporating system using preincubated reticulocyte ribosomes, the transfer of methionine from [35S] Met-tRNAfMet in response to poly r((U-G) messenger (in the presence of unlabeled valine, cysteine and crude tRNA) was dependent on addition of the 0.5M KCl wash of crude reticulocyte ribosomes. The optimum Mg++ concentration for this transfer reaction was 3mM. The ribosomal salt wash preparation was fractionated by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. At least three factors (I1, I2 and I3) that eluted from the column stimulated poly r(U-G) directed methionine transfer from Met-tRNAfMet. All three factors were necessary to obtain maximum transfer of methionine. Preincubated reticulocyte ribosomes actively catalyzed the incorporation of [14C] phenylalanine in response to poly r(U) and the addition of the ribosomal salt wash or the above three factors (I1, I2 and I3), had no significant effect on [14C] phenylalanine incorporation.
Spinal neurokin3 receptors facilitate the nociceptive flexor reflex via a pathway involving nitric oxide.

Abstract The present study examined the effects of intrathecal administration of neurokinin3 receptor agonists on the electrically-evoked nociceptive flexor reflex in decerebrate and spinalized adult rats. The reflex was evoked by stimulating the isolated sural nerve at an intensity that activates C fibers and was measured by recording the number of compound potentials in the ipsilateral hamstring muscles. Intrathecal senktide (1–30 nmol), a neurokinin3 receptor agonist, dose-dependently facilitated the reflex reaching a maximum effect of 230% of the baseline reflex at 10 nmol. SR 142801 (60 nmol), a non-peptide neurokinin3 receptor antagonist, blocked facilitation of the reflex induced by 10 nmol senktide, providing further support that the effect of senktide is mediated by neurokinin3 receptors. The intrathecal administration of senktide (10 nmol) did not alter the monosynaptic reflex elicited by stimulating the L5 dorsal root at an intensity that was at the threshold for activating A fibers. This indicates that the senktide-induced facilitation of the nociceptive flexor reflex was not at the level of the motor neuron. Pretreatment with NG-nitro- l -arginine methyl ester (30 nmol), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, attenuated the effect of senktide, indicating that facilitation of the reflex by senktide is also mediated by the production of nitric oxide. Data from the present work have shown that spinal neurokinin3 receptors facilitate the nociceptive flexor reflex through a pathway that involves interneurons and the production of NO. Therefore, neurokinin3 receptors are likely to be involved in enhancing nociceptive neurotransmission at the level of the spinal cord.
Synthesis of carbon-14 labeled doxylamine succinate†

SUMMARY Doxylamine succinate, N,N-dimethyl-2-[1 -phenyl-l-(2-pyridinyl)ethoxylethanamine succinate is an antihistamine used primarily as a sedative. Carbon-14 labeled doxylamine succinate, required for toxicological studies, was synthesized in two steps starting from 2-benzoyl pyridine.
Preparation of stable crystalline surfaces for subsequent fundamental reaction studies

Abstract Distributed nickel crystallites were prepared by the deposition of nickel vapor in a vacuum of 4 × 10 -8 Torr preferentially onto tin oxide island nucleation sites. Previous studies on thin tin films by Caswell and Budo indicated that tin oxide crystallites form stable discontinuous surfaces when they are vapor deposited at very low temperatures and then oxidized during warm-up. Nickel, in the form of the oxide NiO, was identified from selected area diffraction studies performed with a transmission electron microscope, and dark field investigations of the different metal phases (tin, nickel and their oxides) indicated that the nickel had been deposited onto the tin oxide crystallites only. There was a critical thickness of nickel for each tin oxide island distribution beyond which interisland deposits of nickel formed, e.g. the thickness t of nickel was greater than 5.0 nm on a distribution of tin oxide islands nominally 10.0 nm thick. Different distributions of the stable dispersed tin oxide islands were achieved by varying the temperature at which oxidation of the tin film took place as it broke up into islands during warm-up.
α-TC1.9 cells--a model system for analyzing the endoproteolytic processing of POMC.

Abstract The mouse α-TC1.9 endocrine cell line was used to analyze the amino acid requirements for endoproteolytic processing at the paired basic amino acid cleavage site, K 141 R 142 that is N-terminal to the ACTH sequence in the POMC proprotein of the anuran amphibian, Silurana tropicalis . Real-Time PCR analysis of non-transfected α-TC1.9 cells indicated that these cells endogenously express the pc2 (proprotein convertase 2) gene, but do not express the pc1 / 3 (proprotein convertase 1/3) gene or the pomc gene. In addition, immunocytochemical analysis and RIA analysis of non-transfected α-TC1.9 cells did not detect the presence of POMC-related products in these cells. For this study the open reading frame of a S. tropicalis POMC cDNA (wild-type) was placed into an expression vector and transiently transfected into α-TC1.9 cells. Two days after transfection the steady-state levels of α-MSH-related and β-endorphin-related end-products were nearly the same as the steady-state levels of these POMC-related end-products in extracts of the S. tropicalis intermediate pituitary. Transient transfection of either the R 142 /A 142 pomc construct or the K 141 /A 141 pomc construct completely blocked cleavage at this site and yielded a 6K immunoreactive product that had the ACTH(1–13)NH 2 sequence at the C-terminal end of the fusion protein. However, substitution of an alanine residue at R 137 , Q 138 , E 139 , and N 140 had no effect on cleavage at the K 141 R 142 cleavage site. Collectively, these results indicate that secondary structure N-terminal to the K 141 R 142 does not appear to influence cleavage at this site. However, both K 141 and R 142 are required for the integrity of this cleavage site. Finally, this study indicates that α-TC1.9 cells should be useful for studying the amino acid requirements for the other endoproteolytic cleavage sites in the S. tropicalis POMC proprotein.
Transport of momentum and energy in a ducted jet: II. Theoretical study of turbulent transport of momentum, energy, and matter in ducted coaxial streams

This paper concerns the kinetics of the processes that take place when a high-velocity jet of fluid mixes turbulently with a low-velocity, induced stream of the same fluid in a duct of uniform diameter. Semi-two-dimensional solutions of the equations of transport involving two empirical coefficients were obtained by application of Reichardt's hypothesis and three assumptions: (a) a negligible fraction of the flow entity (energy, mass, or momentum) is lost at the wall and the presence of the boundary layer may be ignored, (b) the static pressure is uniform over a section of the duct, and (c) the turbulence pattern is similar to that in free jets except that the duct wall limits the growth of the scale of the turbulence. A mixing index, which is a measure of the degree to which the jet stream remains unmixed with the induced stream at any point, was defined and related to the geometry of the system and the flow parameters by means of the theoretical equation, and a method of evaluating the empirical coefficients for a typical case of momentum transport was described.
Interaction of the papillomavirus E2 protein with mitotic chromosomes.

The bovine papillomavirus E2 transactivator protein is a multifunctional protein that activates viral transcription, cooperates in initiation of viral DNA replication, and is required for long-term episomal maintenance of viral genomes. We have shown previously that the E2 transactivator protein and bovine papillomavirus type 1 genomes are associated with mitotic chromosomes and have proposed that E2 links the genomes to cellular chromosomes to ensure segregation to daughter nuclei. In this study, we show that E2 is associated with cellular chromosomes at all stages of mitosis. We also further map the regions of E2 that are required for this association. The transactivation domain of E2 is necessary and sufficient to mediate the interaction with mitotic chromosomes; the DNA binding domain, and the flexible hinge region that separates the two domains, is not required. Furthermore, mutation of previously identified phosphorylation sites (serine residues 235, 298, and 301) has no effect on the ability of the E2 protein to bind mitotic chromosomes.
Rapid Acquisition of Stable Azole Resistance by Candida glabrata Isolates Obtained before the Clinical Introduction of Fluconazole

Five azole-susceptible Candida glabrata isolates obtained before 1975 became resistant to fluconazole, itraconazole, and voriconazole within 4 days of in vitro fluconazole exposure. This cross-resistance was stable for at least 4 months after removal of fluconazole and was associated with increased CgCDR1 and CgCDR2 expression.
High resolution electron paramagnetic resonance imaging of biological samples with a single line paramagnetic label

The application of electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI) to obtain information from biological samples has been limited by the lack of ideal single line radical labels. The commonly used nitroxides exhibit multiple lines causing either hyperfine-based limitations in the maximum obtainable image resolution or hyperfine-based artifacts in the reconstructed image. The use of a novel single-line triarylmethyl paramagnetic label that enables marked enhancement in image quality and resolution is reported. This label exhibits a single line EPR spectrum that is sharp (linewidth ∼60 mG in the absence of oxygen) and relatively stable in tissues. The potential of this label in enabling high resolution EPR imaging of biological samples was demonstrated in a series of phantoms and isolated biological organs such as the rat kidney. The images demonstrate that resolutions better than 100 μm could be obtained at L-band on samples of up to 20 mm in size.