cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of evolutionarily conserved promoter elements and amino acids required for function of the C. elegans β-catenin homolog BAR-1

Abstract β-catenins are conserved transcription factors regulated posttranslationally by Wnt signaling. bar-1 encodes a Caenorhabditis elegans β-catenin acting in multiple Wnt-mediated processes, including cell fate specification by vulval precursor cells (VPCs) and migration of the QL neuroblast progeny. We took two approaches to extend our knowledge of bar-1 function. First, we undertook a bar-1 promoter analysis using transcriptional GFP reporter fusions and found that bar-1 expression is regulated in specific cells at the transcriptional level. We identified promoter elements necessary for bar-1 expression in several cell types, including a 321-bp element sufficient for expression in ventral cord neurons (VCNs) and a 1.1-kb element sufficient for expression in the developing vulva and adult seam cells. Expression of bar-1 from the 321-bp element rescued the Uncoordinated (Unc) phenotype of bar-1 mutants, but not the vulval phenotype, suggesting that a Wnt pathway may act in ventral cord neurons to mediate proper locomotion. By comparison of the 1.1-kb element to homologous sequences from Caenorhabditis briggsae, we identified evolutionarily conserved sequences necessary for expression in vulval or seam cells. Second, we analyzed 24 mutations in bar-1 and identified several residues required for BAR-1 activity in C. elegans. By phylogenetic comparison, we found that most of these residues are conserved and may identify amino acids necessary for β-catenin function in all species.
Some Conversion Coefficients Which Should Be Measured

Publisher Summary During the preparation of Nuclear Data Sheets, the Nuclear Data Group has noted a number of cases where measurements of conversion coefficients are necessary. All the experimental results presented in the chapter are taken from Nuclear Data Sheets. The cases discussed in the chapter fall into three groups in which comparison between experiment and theory is of interest, disagreement between different pieces of experimental information exists, and conversion coefficients. The so-called anomalous, hindered El transitions belong in the first group. It seems that all E1 transitions in rotational nuclei are highly hindered. The chapter presents a list of hindered transitions in even-mass nuclei. It discusses the second group comprising some cases where there are discrepancies between different experimental measurements. The third group contains a list of nuclei for which measurements of conversion coefficients are of great help in establishing and understanding the level scheme.
Carbon Measurement in Thin Silicon Wafers (∼400 μm) by Infrared Absorption Spectrometry

An original method is developed to determine the carbon content in industrial samples (thin silicon wafers double-side polished) through IR spectrometry. This method permits to remove interference fringes in the infrared spectra by using the properties of Brewster incidence.
Photoexcitation of benzophenone triplets: a two-photon pathway for ground state repopulation

Abstract Room temperature laser excitation of benzophenone triplets in their visible absorption band in benzene solvent leads to their deactivation with concomitant ground state repopulation.
Effect of Commercially Available Egg Cures on the Survival of Juvenile Salmonids

There is some concern that incidental consumption of eggs cured with commercially available cures for the purpose of sport fishing causes mortality in juvenile salmon. We evaluated this by feeding juvenile spring Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) with eggs cured with one of five commercially available cures. We observed significant levels of mortality in both pre-smolts and smolts. Depending on the experiment, 2, 3, or 4 of the cures were associated with mortality. Mortality tended to be higher in the smolts than in the parr, but there was no clear species effect. The majority of mortality occurred within the first 10 d of feeding. Removal of sodium sulfite from the cure significantly reduced the level of mortality. Soaking the eggs prior to feeding did not reduce mortality. We observed a clear relationship between the amount of cured egg consumed each day and the survival time. We conclude that consumption of eggs cured with sodium sulfite has the potential to cause mortality in juvenile steelhead and Chinook salmon in the wild.
Herman Melville’s Politics of Imperialism: Colonizing and De-Colonizing Spaces of Ethnicity

There is, in Herman Melville’s works, a constant struggle to situate the narrative within the context of a racial and ethnic “Other.” Melville’s narrators—almost invariably white, Euro-American males—appear at times in tense opposition to, and at other times in social harmony with, the African, Native American, Polynesian, and Oriental presences in his texts. In essence, Melville situates these non-white characters against the dominantly-raced narrator as racial “Others.” This ethnic “othering” entails a dangerous politics of racial separation, hierarchizing, and colonization, yet simultaneously allows for and even encourages a social critique of nineteenth-century white American imperialist attitudes toward non-white peoples. Indeed, this is what makes Melville such a difficult figure to decipher both literarily and historically. By marking these races as alien and “other,” indeed by striving to “mark” them at all, Melville at once conducts a constructive anthropological study as well as sets the destructive foundation for a race-driven, American imperialist project aimed at alienated and “othered” races. Indeed, Melville constructs for his readership a difficult paradox; his texts on the one hand call for white intervention and colonization of ethnic and racial spaces, and on the other, they illuminate the counter-productivity of such colonization. What, then, was Melville’s relationship to the ongoing imperialist project of nineteenth-century America? To reach an answer to this question we will examine Melville’s political relationship to two Pacific Ocean land groups (the Marquesan Islands and the Sandwich Islands), establish a pattern to his paradoxical imperialist and anti-imperialist philosophies, and finally, construct a model of his international, inter-ethnic political philosophy.
Rethinking nasal osteotomies: an anatomic approach.

Objectives: To review our experience with our anatomic (medial, transverse, and lateral) nasal osteotomy technique for correcting the asymmetric bony nasal vault in esthetic and functional rhinoplasty. Methods: All patients undergoing anatomic nasal osteotomy technique by the senior author (y.d.) from August 1997 to August 2005 with a minimum follow-up of 6 months were reviewed. Preoperative and postoperative photographs and clinical examination were analyzed to determine restoration of a symmetric bony nasal vault configuration. Results: A total of 322 patients met the inclusion criteria. Percent of patients who had favorable results with restoration of a symmetric bony nasal vault configuration was 98.1%. Six (1.9%) patients required revision surgery at the level of the nasal bones with repeat osteotomies or dorsal rasping. All six of these patients had favorable outcomes after revision surgery. Conclusions: The anatomic nasal osteotomy technique represents an effective, simple, and logical approach for correcting asymmetric bony nasal vault.
Total hip replacement in children with arthritis

Fourteen children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and two with ankylosing spondylitis received 29 total hip replacements (THR). The ages at THR were 12 to 18 years, the median duration of prior hip disease was 7.1 years, and the minimum followup was one year (range 1--4 years, median 2.2 years). The primary indication for THR was pain in 5 hips and severe malposition or flexion contractures in 24 hips. (Sixteen of these also had some degree of pain.) All 29 hips demonstrated improved postoperative range of motion, and all were free of pain. In children, active rheumatic disease in other joints, prosthesis longevity, and possible lack of adequate motivation all merit special consideration prior to THR, but the results are encouraging.
The properties of trehalase from the mosquito-parasitizing water mold, Lagenidium sp

Abstract The soluble trehalase from the phycomycete Lagenidium sp., a parasite of many species of mosquitoes, was purified by acid titration, acetone precipitation, and Sephadex G-200 chromatography to give a 170-fold increase in specific activity over the crude extract. The enzyme was specific for trehalose. A β-glucosidase was copurified with the trehalase, but did not interfere with its characterization. Lagendium trehalase had a K m of 1.43 m m , and E a of 11.4 kcal/mole, and a p H of optimum activity of 5.5–6.5, and a molecular weight of 72,000. It was denatured by 30 min incubation at temperatures above 50°C, severely inhibited by heavy metals, and competitively inhibited by sucrose. No other reported inhibitors, including mannitol and ATP, were effective. Suggested physiological roles for the enzyme include the breakdown of stored trehalose in the mycelium and zoospores, and the digestion of hemolymph trehalose in infected mosquito larvae.
The effect of a peripheral stimulus on accommodation

Accommodation was measured by the laser scintillation technique while the S viewed a stationary fixation spot through a series of apertures in a screen located at various distances. The magnitude of accommodation was a compromise between the distance of the fixation spot and the screen. Accommodation was affected significantly by the interaction of the distance of the screen with aperture sizes of 1 and 4 deg and distance of the screen with its order of movement from near to far or far to near. The data are interpreted as implying the importance of the peripheral visual field and/or perceptual factors when conflicting cues to distance coexist in the visual field.
Pseudo-pseudohypoparathyroidism with unusual features.

ABSTRACT A case of pseudo-pseudohypoparathyroidism with some unusual features is presented. The patient, a 64-year-old diabetic female, was short, somewhat obese, and had a shortened metacarpal of the right ring-finger. The only subcutaneous calcification or ossification was a hitherto undescribed finding in this disorder, namely, ossification of the pinna of each ear. Plasma calcium and phosphorus concentrations were normal. Injection of parathyroid extract of proven potency (Ellsworth-Howard test) did not produce phosphate diuresis, but did increase plasma calcium concentration. Intravenous calcium infusion caused the expected increase in urine and plasma calcium content, but was not followed by the expected normal decrease in urinary phosphate excretion. These findings suggested that there might be a defect in the control of tubular reabsorption of phosphate by parathyroid hormone in this patient, whereas the action of the hormone on calcium metabolism was normal.
A Gray-Radiation Aquaplanet Moist GCM. Part I: Static Stability and Eddy Scale

Abstract In this paper, a simplified moist general circulation model is developed and used to study changes in the atmospheric general circulation as the water vapor content of the atmosphere is altered. The key elements of the model physics are gray radiative transfer, in which water vapor and other constituents have no effect on radiative fluxes, a simple diffusive boundary layer with prognostic depth, and a mixed layer aquaplanet surface boundary condition. This GCM can be integrated stably without a convection parameterization, with large-scale condensation only, and this study focuses on this simplest version of the model. These simplifications provide a useful framework in which to focus on the interplay between latent heat release and large-scale dynamics. In this paper, the authors study the role of moisture in determining the tropospheric static stability and midlatitude eddy scale. In a companion paper, the effects of moisture on energy transports by baroclinic eddies are discussed. The authors ...
Pharmacoeconomic evaluation of flumazenil for routine outpatient EGD.

Abstract Background: Flumazenil is a benzodiazepine antagonist indicated for reversal of the sedative effects of benzodiazepines. Previous studies suggest that flumazenil may shorten recovery time after endoscopy, but there are few data on actual recovery room times and charges. Methods: Fifty patients undergoing routine upper endoscopy were sedated with midazolam alone in the usual titrated manner. Patients were randomized in a double-blind fashion to receive either flumazenil or saline immediately after procedure. Assessments of responsiveness, speech, facial expression, and ptosis (Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation [OAA/S] scale) were made before procedure, immediately after procedure and every 15 minutes thereafter. The patient was discharged from the recovery room when vital signs and OAA/S scale reached preprocedure levels. Recovery room times and charges were recorded. Results: The flumazenil group demonstrated shorter recovery room times and recovery room charges than the placebo group ( p p = 0.09). Conclusions: The routine use of flumazenil after midazolam sedation for upper endoscopy significantly shortened recovery time and charges but did not statistically reduce overall charges. (Gastrointest Endosc 2000;51:282-7.)
Numerical solution of the evolution equations of damage and rate-dependent plasticity

Abstract The evolution equations of damage theory and viscoelasticity are stiff ordinary differential equations and present numerous difficulties when one attempts to solve them numerically. This is particularly true when cyclic loading effects are to be simulated as few numerical schemes are stable when significant jumps in stresses occur. The present paper explores the performance of several numerical schemes for solving these evolution equations and presents methods which provide both accurate and stable simulations of large classes of rate-dependent problems.
Design Optimization of a Laptop Computer Using Aggregate and Mixed Logit Demand Models With Consumer Survey Data

Laptop computers are designed in a variety of shapes and sizes in order to satisfy diverse consumer preferences. Each design is optimized to attract consumers with a particular set of preferences for design tradeoffs. Gaining a better understanding of these tradeoffs and preferences is beneficial to both laptop designers and to consumers. This paper introduces an engineering model for laptop computer design and a demand model derived from a main-effects choice-based conjoint survey. Several demand model specifications are compared, including linear-in-parameters and discrete part-worth specifications for aggregate multinomial logit and mixed logit models. An integrated optimization scheme combines the engineering model with each demand model form for profit maximization. The solutions of different optimal laptop designs and market share predictions resulting from the unique characteristics of each demand model specification are examined and compared.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Localization of Near-Field Radio Controlled Unintended Emitting Sources in the Presence of Multipath Fading

Localization of near-field unintended emitting radio controlled (RC) devices under a multipath environment is considered in this paper using a uniform linear array (ULA). Since received signals are dependent on both angle of arrival (AoA) and distance from the RC devices to the ULA in the nearfield scenario, traditional localization schemes based on received signal strength indicator, time difference in arrival, which only estimate either AoA or distance, are unsuitable. Therefore, a novel smooth 2-D multiple signal classification (MUSIC) nearfield localization scheme is developed to locate RC devices under a multipath environment with a possible location error of ±0.5 m. Experimental results are provided to show the effectiveness and feasibility of the smooth 2-D MUSIC near-field localization scheme and it is contrasted with other methods, such as symmetric subarray and 1-D MUSIC-based schemes.
Radiological characterization of neutron-activated metal wastes from nuclear power stations

Three different methods for determining the long-lived radionuclide contents of highly neutron activated metal wastes are being compared and assessed using samples of pressurized-water reactor (PWR) and boiling-water reactor (BWR) spent fuel disassembly hardware and control rods. These methods include: 1) empirical analyses involving sampling and laboratory measurements; 2) direct assay techniques; 3) calculation methods. These techniques are discussed and the results of the comparisons made to date are presented. The agreement between empirical versus calculational methods for the disassembly hardware was generally within 10% to 50%, and rarely exceeded a factor of 2.5, especially near the fueled region of the reactor core. However, large discrepancies between the measured versus calculated concentrations were observed for59Ni and63Ni at the end fittings of the fuel assembly hardware, where the calculations underestimated the concentrations by factors varying from about 8 to 28. The calculation errors are believed to be due to inadequate cross section data for the nickel isotopes.
Animating art history: building a bridge between disciplines

The study of art history is an exciting and rewarding one, but one in which the student frequently encounters complex and difficult to understand concepts. Traditional methodologies for educators presenting these ideas to students have included slides, lectures, textbooks and videos of static works of art. In our technologically driven and media-saturated society, though, high school and early college students in introductory art history courses respond more positively to today's multimedia pedagogical tools.Computer animation offers a new and interdisciplinary paradigm with which to approach the art historical curriculum. With advanced three-dimensional animation technology, the Animating Art History team is creating original and dynamic tools for classroom use. Animating Art History presents complicated concepts in art history within the framework of a fully realized animation segment. Through plot, humor and visual exaggeration, animation captures the imagination of the student and facilitates learning.
When numbers don't add up and words can't explain: Challenges in defining disability in higher education

This paper follows the discursive loops we have been attempting to untangle as a result of our work on a federally sponsored 3-year mixed methods research project at a private, not-for-profit university, which we will call Midwestern Regional University (MRU), in the mid-western United States. Grounded in the social model of disability, the project aimed to improve MRU's ability to provide a quality education for disabled students. We explore two sets of tensions: methodological ones that emanate from different epistemological assumptions of qualitative and quantitative inquiry that we combined, and theoretical ones stemming from different ideological underpinnings that position the medical and social model of disability as incongruent. These methodological and theoretical tensions also reverberated to the ethical and political aspects of our research.
The Psychodynamics of Torture

In this paper I consider some of the issues raised by the way the American Psychological Association has dealt with the participation of psychologists in interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. I set forth some of my experience, and what I feel I learned, from trying to convince the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association to support a moratorium on the participation of psychologists in interrogations of detainees at centers where due process is systematically denied. The paper was written before the Council of Representatives voted down the idea of a moratorium, with a coda describing the outcome.
O-sulfate esters of hydroxy amino acids in hydrolyzates of proteoglycans.

Abstract In the preparation of hydrolyzates of proteoglycans for analysis of amino acids, ninhydrin-positive materials other than free amino acids can be generated. Some of these are O -sulfate esters of the hydroxy amino acids and some unknown sulfate derivatives of the hexosamines. The amounts of the O -sulfate esters of the hydroxy amino acids and of the unknown derivatives of the hexosamines can be minimized if the hydrolyzates are evaporated to dryness in a flash evaporator at 45°C. A method is described for the separation and quantitation of the O -sulfate esters of serine, threonine, hydroxyproline, tyrosine, and cysteic acid.
The Use of Stable Isotope Labeling and Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry Techniques to Study the Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability of the Antimigraine Drug, MK‐0462 (Rizatriptan) in Dogs

MK-0462 (rizatriptan) is a 5HT1D agonist being developed for the treatment of migraine. The assay for this substance in plasma and urine is based on HPLC with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) detection. The procedure has been modified to include the simultaneous determination of the [triazole-13C2, 15N3-] stable-isotope-labelled analogue for which the lower quantifiable limit was 0.1 ng mL−1. The assay has been applied to study the pharmacokinetics of MK-0462 after simultaneous oral and intravenous administration of the drug and its stable-isotope-labelled analogue to dogs. The experiment afforded an estimate of plasma clearance concomitant with a precise measurement of the drug's oral bioavailability. The increasing use of LC-MS/MS in quantitative experiments may renew interest in stable isotopes as tools for pharmaceutical research.
Fall flooding for management of cranberry fruitworm (Acrobasis vaccinii) and dewberry (Rubus hispidus) in massachusetts cranberry production

Abstract To evaluate the potential for using postharvest fall floods as a pest management tool, designated sections of several commercial cranberry farms in Southeastern Massachusetts were flooded for 3–4 weeks in September–October. Seeded hibernacula of cranberry fruitworm ( Acrobasis vaccinii ) placed into flooded beds for 3 or 4 weeks had 85% lower moth emergence compared to unflooded beds. Fall flooding may reduce dewberry ( Rubus hispidus ) crown numbers and suppress weed coverage in some situations, but the effects were inconsistent. Fall flooding did not adversely affect percent fruit set, yield, or the new growth of cranberry uprights in the year following the flood. Incorporating fall flooding into commercial farm operations should not be difficult since cranberry growers currently use flooding at other times of year as a standard horticultural practice.
The persistence of tuberculosis in the age of DOTS: reassessing the effect of case detection

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether short-term annual declines of 5-10% in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) can be sustained over the long term by maintaining high case detection rates (CDRs). METHODS: We constructed a compartmental difference-equation model of a TB epidemic in a hypothetical population of constant size with a treatment success rate of 85%. The impact of CDR on TB incidence was then investigated by generating an equilibrium population with no TB case detection and increasing the smear-positive CDR under two scenarios: (i) rapid expansion by 10% per year to a CDR of 80% after 8 years, and (ii) gradual expansion by 1% per year to a CDR of 90% after 90 years. The model was applied in two hypothetical populations: one without HIV and the other with a stable HIV incidence representative of the African Region. The CDR for smear-negative TB was assumed to be a constant fraction of the smear-positive CDR. FINDINGS: In the absence of a TB control programme, the projected annual incidence of TB was 513 cases per 100 000 population, with a point prevalence of 1233 per 100 000 and an annual TB-specific mortality rate of 182 per 100 000. Immediately increasing the TB CDR from 0% to 70% caused a 74% reduction in TB incidence within 10 years. However, once case detection stabilized at any constant level < 80%, projected TB incidence also stabilized. Ten years after a CDR of 70% was reached, the annual decline in TB incidence was < 1.5%, regardless of how rapidly case detection was scaled up and despite wide variation of all model parameters. CONCLUSION: While improved CDRs have a dramatic short-term effect on TB incidence, maintaining those rates, even at current target levels, may not reduce long-term incidence by more than 1-2% per year. TB control programmes and researchers should vigorously pursue improvements in case detection, regardless of current CDRs.
Encouraging Community Service through Service Learning

Increasingly, faculty members are incorporating service-learning projects into their courses, resulting in enhanced student learning and development. However, does service learning encourage subsequent student involvement in the community? This study investigates the effect faculty professionals can have through service learning on their students’intentions to participate in community service. A modified version of the Solomon four-group design analysis as well as a hierarchical regression were used to assess the change in student intentions after exposure to three service-learning treatments. Findings indicate that service learning has a significant impact on students’intentions to participate in community service. In particular, by adding a lecture to the standard service-learning format, faculty members can increase student intentions to participate in community service.
Photon modulated electroluminescence of GaInN/GaN multiple quantum well light emitting diodes

Under external laser excitation, we studied the electroluminescence (EL) of GaInN/GaN green light emitting diodes (LEDs) grown on sapphire by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. The EL intensity was found to be greatly enhanced under the photon bias. This enhancement strongly supersedes the photoluminescence (PL) signal. The EL enhancement varied with injection carrier density. The relative EL enhancement under 325-nm laser bias starts with a high ratio and decreases monotonically. This increase of the EL intensity is tentatively attributed to a balance between photocarrier screening and carrier drift within the active region. These findings elucidate the transition from highly efficient recombination at low current density to the region of efficiency droop at high current densities. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Normal distribution based pseudo ML for missing data: With applications to mean and covariance structure analysis

When missing data are either missing completely at random (MCAR) or missing at random (MAR), the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation procedure preserves many of its properties. However, in any statistical modeling, the distribution specification for the likelihood function is at best only an approximation to the real world. In particular, since the normal-distribution-based ML is typically applied to data with heterogeneous marginal skewness and kurtosis, it is necessary to know whether such a practice still generates consistent parameter estimates. When the manifest variables are linear combinations of independent random components and missing data are MAR, this paper shows that the normal-distribution-based MLE is consistent regardless of the distribution of the sample. Examples also show that the consistency of the MLE is not guaranteed for all nonnormally distributed samples. When the population follows a confirmatory factor model, and data are missing due to the magnitude of the factors, the MLE may not be consistent even when data are normally distributed. When data are missing due to the magnitude of measurement errors/uniqueness, MLEs for many of the covariance parameters related to the missing variables are still consistent. This paper also identifies and discusses the factors that affect the asymptotic biases of the MLE when data are not missing at random. In addition, the paper also shows that, under certain data models and MAR mechanism, the MLE is asymptotically normally distributed and the asymptotic covariance matrix is consistently estimated by the commonly used sandwich-type covariance matrix. The results indicate that certain formulas and/or conclusions in the existing literature may not be entirely correct.
Nanometre-sized molecular oxygen sensors prepared from polymer stabilized phospholipid vesicles

Nanometre-sized, chemically-stabilized phospholipid vesicle sensors have been developed for detection of dissolved molecular oxygen. Sensors were prepared by forming 150 nm phospholipid vesicles from 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) or DOPC doped with small (<1%) mole percentages of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanol amine-N-(7-nitro-2-1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl) (NBD-PE). Sensors were stabilized via cross-linking polymerization of hydrophobic methacrylate monomers partitioned into the hydrophobic interior of the DOPC bilayer. The resultant unilamellar, nanometre-sized, polymer-lipid vesicles are spherical, biocompatible and protect sensing components that are loaded into the aqueous interior of the vesicle from interfering species in the exterior environment. For O(2) detection, the oxygen-sensitive fluorescent dye, tris(1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) chloride (Ru(phen)(3)) was encapsulated into the aqueous interior of the polymerized phospholipid vesicle. NBD-PE was introduced into the phospholipid bilayer of the sensor as a reference dye, allowing ratiometric sensors to be constructed. The resultant sensors show high sensitivity, excellent reversibility and excellent linearity over a physiological range of dissolved oxygen concentrations. These results suggest that polymerized phospholipid vesicle sensors can be used for monitoring intracellular O(2) dynamics.
Review of Handbook of Individual Differences in Social Behavior

Handbook of Individual Differences in Social Behavior, edited by Mark R. Leary and Rick H. Hoyle. New York, NY: Guilford Press, 2009. 624 pp. ISBN: 978-1-59385-647-2. $85.00, hardcover. IN THE OPEN...
A misclassification cost risk bound based on hybrid particle swarm optimization heuristic

Linear discriminant analysis models to minimize misclassification cost have recently gained popularity. It is well known that the misclassification cost minimizing linear discriminant analysis problem is an -complete problem that is difficult to solve to optimality for large scale datasets. As a result, heuristic techniques have gained popularity but it is difficult to assess how well these heuristic techniques perform. One way to aid assessment of the performance of heuristic techniques is to establish a lower-bound on the optimal value of misclassification cost. In this paper, we propose and use a hybrid particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Lagrangian relaxation (LR) based heuristic to establish a misclassification cost lower bound (MCLB) for two-group linear classifiers. We use the subgradient optimization procedure to tighten the MCLB. Using simulated and real-world datasets, we test a misclassification cost minimizing linear genetic algorithm classifier and two commercial non-linear classifiers (C5.0 and C&RT) to compare their performances with the MCLB. Our holdout sample tests indicate that the proposed MCLB works well for both linear and non-linear classifiers when class data distributions are normal. Additionally, as misclassification cost asymmetry increases, the proposed MCLB appears to provide better results.
Promoting Quality for Teacher Action Research: Lessons Learned from Science Teachers' Action Research.

In this article we explore the concept of quality in teacher action research by re‐examining our participation with science teachers in several different collaborative action research projects. We conducted second‐order action research and generated a series reflexive conditions for promoting and ensuring quality action research. We assert that a collaborative action research group must function as both a community of practice and an epistemic community if both practice is to be improved and knowledge and understanding is to be generated. In addition, teacher researchers must have a thorough grounding of the nature of action research and knowledge of appropriate research methods. The framework we have outlined only goes as far as suggesting a possible set of guidelines or conditions, and is not intended to be prescriptive. For others researchers, teacher educators and practitioners, this framework may serve as a starting point to draw from when establishing and facilitating their own action research projects.
Psychiatry’s age of enlightenment: optogenetics and the discovery of novel targets for the treatment of psychiatric disorders

A major goal of neuroscience has been to understand the systems-level neural processes governing higher-order func tions, such as perception, cognition and emotion. Until recently, however, achievement of this goal has been limited by a lack of neuromodulatory tools capable of targeting distinct popula tions of neurons, based on either genetic identity or circuit con nectivity, in behaving animals with the temporal precision re quired for causality testing. Such a tool would finally enable direct linkage of distinct neural activity patterns to behaviour. Since its inception in 2005, 1 the field of opto genetics has been re sponsible for the rapid progress in our understanding of the in tricate neural circuit elements driving emotive behaviours rel evant to psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. By using light pulses to turn specific populations of neurons on and off in awake, freely moving animals, optogenetics has finally provided science with a tool that has the spatial and temporal resolution required to causally link neural activity patterns to behaviour. It is becoming increasingly recognized that many psychi atric disorders are better conceptualized as diseases of abnor mal brain wiring and aberrant neural activity. Although in the past biological psychiatry has focused on chemical imbal ance as a pathophysiological driving force, this same ap proach may also explain the current paucity of truly effective treatment options for many psychiatric illnesses. Innovation and novel approaches that capitalize on the latest techno logic advancements are required for substantial progress. In this regard, it is an exciting time to be in the field of psychiatry, as optogenetics is leading to groundbreaking progress in our understanding of neurocircuit function in health and disease. This progress forces us to refocus and reconceptualize our under standing of the neural underpinnings of psychiatric disease and helps to identify novel targets for mechanisticbased therapeutic discovery. For basic and clinical scientists alike, an appreciation and understanding of this technology is essential in helping the field move forward. This editorial
Evolving paradigms of aspen ecology and management: impacts of stand condition and fire severity on vegetation dynamics

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) comprises only a small fraction of western USA forests, yet contributes significant biological diversity and is considered by many to be the most important deciduous forest type in western North America. There is currently a high level of concern in the western United States as many seral aspen populations are declining in vigor due to drought, ungulate browsing, and lack of disturbance. It is also highly uncertain if aspen will successfully accommodate future climate warming via migration through seedling establishment, which has been assumed to be extremely rare. In recent years, fundamental assumptions concerning aspen clonal age, regeneration, and genetic diversity have been challenged, and these findings have important implications for management and persistence of aspen in western USA forests. In this study, we compared regeneration dynamics of aspen revitalization strategies (conifer removal and prescribed fire) to unplanned wildfires of low, moderate, and high severity in the Sierra Nevada, and related multiple components of pre-fire stand composition to post-fire aspen regeneration. To better understand the viability of aspen migration to accommodate future climate warming, we examined recent events of aspen seedling establishment. We found substantial evidence that greater disturbance severity yields increased aspen sprout density and growth rates, and that live conifer and/or dead aspen basal area in a stand before a fire reduces post fire sprout density. Additionally, we found evidence that aspen seedling establishment is more common than has been assumed, and represents a viable means for aspen migration. Future climate changes will present both challenges and opportunities for aspen. Increased temperatures and drought will stress existing populations, but increased high severity fire in forested areas, may provide opportunity for successful aspen migration and genet establishment. In addition to revitalizing existing aspen stands, future management goals should include the establishment of new stands in more suitable habitat.
Synthesis of glycosyl phosphates from sugar ortho esters: formation of bis(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl) phosphate, and the effect of solvents on the synthesis of β-D-glucopyranosyl phosphate

Abstract Reaction of exo-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-1,2-O-(tert-butyl orthoacetyl)-α- D -glucopyranose with phosphoric acid and phosphorus pentaoxide in oxolane gave 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β- D -glucopyranosyl phosphate. Treatment of the reaction mixture with aqueous lithium hydroxide gave the expected β- D -glucopyranosyl phosphate. However, neutralization with ammonium hydroxide gave exclusively the phosphoric diester, namely, bis(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β- D -glucopyranosyl) phosphate. Formation the diester was traced to the phosphorus pentaoxide in the initial reaction-mixture. Study of solvents showed that phosphorylation of the ortho ester proceeds rapidly in a variety of ethers and N,N-dimethylamides.
Air-fuel ratio control in spark-ignition engines using estimation theory

Increasingly strict emission standards require very accurate and fast air-fuel (A/F) ratio control. Theory, implementation, and experiments for a model-based A/F ratio control system using state-space control and estimation methods are presented. An excellent match of the in-cylinder A/F ratio with the desired A/F ratio can be achieved in spite of the time delay in the system. This is accomplished by compensating the air dynamics with a drive-by-wire throttle supported feedforward control, and the fuel dynamics with an observer-based feedback control. For fast correction of steady-state system errors, the control law is extended by learning control. The proposed method is applicable to multicylinder production engines. Experimental validation is made on a single-cylinder research engine, with A/F ratio feedback from either a linear or a nonlinear exhaust gas oxygen sensor. >
Equilibration of Adenylates by Maize Leaf Adenylate Kinase: Effects of Magnesium on Apparent and True Equilibria

In this study, the effect of magnesium on equilibration of adenylates by purified maize leaf adenylate kinase (AK) was investigated. The equilibration was expressed in terms of either apparent equilibrium constant, defined as K,pp = (ATPtoul)(AMP«u,)/(ADPtot.,)2, or true equilibrium constant, defined as tftnie = (Mg-ATP)(AMPfr «)/(Mg-ADP)(ADPfre,). At a fixed concentration of free magnesium (1-8-1-9 mM), the K,pp and Ktrac were constant at 0-76 + 0-10 and 6-O2±0-75, respectively. On the other hand, at the free magnesium range of 00014 to 8-3 mM, the Kmpp varied from 0-30 to 1-27, while A^true remained constant at 5-93 ±0-31. The data indicate that, contrary to previous speculations, leaf AK does not maintain an equilibrium of total adenylates. Rather, the enzyme governs an equilibrium of Mg-ADP, free ADP, Mg-ATP, and free AMP, which are the true substrates/products of the AK. reaction. Some implications of this finding for studies on energy metabolism in plant tissues are discussed.
Energy-Aware Design of Compressed Sensing Systems for Wireless Sensors Under Performance and Reliability Constraints

This paper describes the system design of a compressed sensing (CS) based source encoding system for data compression in wireless sensor applications. We examine the trade-off between the required transmission energy (compression performance) and desired recovered signal quality in the presence of practical non-idealities such as quantization noise, input signal noise and channel errors. The end-to-end system evaluation framework was designed to analyze CS performance under practical sensor settings. The evaluation shows that CS compression can enable over 10X in transmission energy savings while preserving the recovered signal quality to roughly 8 bits of precision. We further present low complexity error control schemes tailored to CS that further reduce the energy costs by 4X as well as diversity scheme to protect against burst errors. Results on a real electrocardiography (EKG) signal demonstrate 10X in energy reduction and corroborate the system analysis.
Gate field emitter failures: experiment and theory

Intrinsic failures of gated field emitters have been studied. The gate-emitter voltage drops from typical values of 140 V to 10-70 V in less than 10 ns at the onset of a failure. Measurements with an electrostatic probe indicate that plumes of ions and electrons are ejected into vacuum. The measured ion current to the probe is typically 10% of the electron current. The voltage during the event and the ion-to-electron current ratio measured at the probe are characteristic of a cathodic vacuum arc plasma. For series resistors less than 1 k Omega , the arc is continuous, while the series resistors greater than 10 k Omega , the arc is intermittent. Initiation of the failure based on ion-space charge enhancement of the emitter electric field is modeled with the plasma simulation code PDS1. These structures provide a controlled geometry for studying arcs of micron size dimension. >
High performance frequency division MC-CDMA system via carrier interferometry codes

This paper proposes a novel multi-carrier CDMA scheme, namely FD-CI/MC-CDMA (frequency division carrier interferometry multi-carrier code division multiple access), to combine the benefits of previously developed FD-MC-CDMA with CI/MC-CDMA together to provide higher BER performance in multipath fading channels. FD-MC-CDMA is capable of exploiting the available frequency diversity benefits in multipath fading channels while reducing MAI. Specifically, instead of transmitting all users' information bits over all carriers, FD-MC-CDMA employs a subset of non-contiguous carriers to support a subset of users (while maintaining the same overall system capacity and throughput as in MC-CDMA). However, since the length of Hadamard-Walsh codes only exists for certain integers, FD-MC-CDMA lacks the flexibility to accurately divide all subcarriers into subsets according to the channel condition. On the other hand, CI/MC-CDMA offers good BER performance while providing any length of orthogonal spreading codes. By combining these two systems together, the proposed FD-CI/MC-CDMA system significantly outperforms FD-MC-CDMA (as well as MC-CDMA) in multipath fading channel at similar complexity.
Adaptability of myosin V studied by simultaneous detection of position and orientation

We studied the structural dynamics of chicken myosin V by combining the localization power of fluorescent imaging with one nanometer accuracy (FIONA) with the ability to detect angular changes of a fluorescent probe. The myosin V was labeled with bifunctional rhodamine on one of its calmodulin light chains. For every 74 nm translocation, the probe exhibited two reorientational motions, associated with alternating smaller and larger translational steps. Molecules previously identified as stepping alternatively 74-0 nm were found to actually step 64-10 nm. Additional tilting often occurred without full steps, possibly indicating flexibility of the attached myosin heads or probing of their vicinity. Processive myosin V molecules sometimes shifted from the top to the side of actin, possibly to avoid an obstacle. The data indicate marked adaptability of this molecular motor to a nonuniform local environment and provide strong support for a straight-neck model of myosin V in which the lever arm of the leading head is tilted backwards at the prepowerstoke angle.
By any other name: the many iterations of "patient advocate" in clinical research.

satisfactory informed con-sent process for clinicalresearch can be elusiveunder the best of circumstances.Prospective enrollees may be limit-ed in their understanding of theprocess by poor education or seri-ous illness. Conflicts of interestmay bias investigators’ presenta-tions of information. Time con-straints and a host of other factorscan likewise intrude. In view ofsuch challenges, some observershave proposed that, at least forsome kinds of research, prospectiveenrollees should have someone—a“patient advocate” or “researchsubject advocate”—to enhance theprocess. Indeed, one commentator hasinsisted that such advocatesalready have a well-establishedrole. In a recent lawsuit the plain-tiff’s attorney claimed that in theresearch context, patient advocateconstitutes a profession for whichthere is a clear standard of care towhich all members should beheld.
Human triglyceride-rich lipoprotein apo E kinetics and its relationship to LDL apo B-100 metabolism.

Abstract Apolipoprotein (apo) E is a multifunctional protein that can act as a ligand for lipoprotein receptors. The receptor-mediated clearance of the triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL) chylomicrons and VLDL from plasma is, in part, dependent on apo E. Enrichment of VLDL with apo E is thought to enhance receptor-mediated clearance of VLDL resulting in a low rate of conversion of VLDL to LDL. However, the kinetic mechanism controlling the concentration of apo E in VLDL is not known. We conducted kinetic studies on apo E in the TRL fraction ( d d =1.019–1.063 g/ml) fractions to assess the kinetic determinants of apo E concentration in TRL and to determine the effects that TRL apo E production and clearance rates have on the production rate of LDL apo B-100. Nineteen males between the ages of 24 and 73 underwent a primed-constant infusion with deuterated leucine tracer in the constantly-fed state. Apo B-100 from TRL and LDL, and apo E from TRL were isolated and their tracer incorporation measured by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The residence time and production rates of each protein were determined from the kinetic data using the SAAM II modeling program. The residence time and production rate of TRL apo E were about one-half that of TRL apo B-100 (1.8±1.0 vs. 2.9±2.1 h and 14.5±11.0 vs. 27.6±17.3 mg/kg per day, respectively). The production rate of TRL apo E was weakly correlated with the production rate of TRL apo B-100 ( r =0.424, P =0.07). Multiple regression analysis showed that the residence time of TRL apo B-100 and the relative TRL apo E production rate (relative to the TRL apo B100 production rate) were negatively associated with LDL apo B-100 production rate, accounting for 68% of its variability. We conclude that (1) the concentration of apo E in TRL is highly correlated to its production rate, suggesting that production rate regulates the TRL apo E concentration, and (2) individuals with a relatively short TRL apo B-100 residence time and those producing TRL with a relatively low apo E content have the highest LDL apo B-100 production rates.