cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cultural survival: Lessons from the native North Americans

Champagne, Duane. American Indian Societies: Strategies and Conditions of Political and Cultural Survival. Cambridge: Cultural Survival, Inc., 1989. 160 pp. including references. $19.95 cloth, $10.00 paper. Cohen, Fay G. Treaties on Trial: The Continuing Controversy over Northwest Indian Fishing Rights. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1986. vii + 256 pp. including notes and index. $20.00 cloth, $9.95 paper. Fahey, John. The Kalispel Indians. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986. vii + 248 pp. including notes, bibliography, and index. $18.95 cloth. Thornton, Russell. We Shall Live Again: The 1870 and 1890 Ghost Dance Movements as Demographic Revitalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986. ix + 95 pp. including appendices, bibliography, and index.
Effect of Social Desirability and Self-Concept Scores on the Measurement of Adjustment

Summary The study represented an attempt to assess the “true” nature of the relationships among measures of social desirability, self-concept, and level of adjustment. Positive linear relationships, of low to moderate magnitudes, were found for all three variables. These data do not support the traditional hypotheses that self-concept tests are saturated with social desirability, that social desirability is the primary component in the measurement of adjustment, nor that self-attitudes are the major variable in adjustment. An alternative system is presented for describing the psychometric relationships among these variables, with implications for viewing non-test correlates.
Tier-Adjacency Is Not a Necessary Condition for Learning Phonotactic Dependencies.

One hypothesis raised by Newport and Aslin to explain how speakers learn dependencies between nonadjacent phonemes is that speakers track bigram probabilities between two segments that are adjacent to each other within a tier of their own. The hypothesis predicts that a dependency between segments separated from each other at the tier level cannot be learned. Were this true, it could add psycholinguistic plausibility to phonological theories that limit possible nonadjacent dependencies to those between two tier-adjacent segments. Contrary to the prediction, the experiments in this paper show that adults can learn dependencies between two consonants that are nonadjacent to each other at the tier level as well as the segmental level. The results suggest that the range of learnable sound patterns may be wider than the range of attested sound patterns and that additional learning mechanisms should be considered to explain how speakers learn nonadjacent phonotactic dependencies.
The role of calcium influx in cellular proliferation induced by interaction of endogenous ganglioside GM1 with the B subunit of cholera toxin

Abstract The B subunit of cholera toxin, which binds specifically to ganglioside GM1, is mitogenic for quiescent Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. It was previously shown that the B subunit had no effect on cAMP, protein kinase C or phosphoinositide turnover, but did cause an increase in the influx of calcium from extracellular sources (Spiegel, S. and Panagiotopoulos, C. (]988) Exp. Cell Res. [77, 414–427). In contrast to the action of known growth factors, the B subunit induced significant DNA synthesis after only a l–3 h treatment. We utilized this unique property to determine whether the increase in calcium influx plays a role in B subunit-induced mitogenicity. Cells were briefly treated with the B subunit in the presence of calcium channel blockers, followed by removal of the blockers and further incubation in B subunit-free medium for the remaining time required to measure DNA synthesis. When 1 mM cobalt was only present during the first 3 h incubation, DNA synthesis induced by either the B subunit or fetal bovine serum was completely abolished. However, both nickel (1 mM) and the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel inhibitor nicardipin (10 μM) inhibited B subunit-induced cell proliferation without abrogating the response to fetal bovine serum. Using a gel retardation assay, we found that the B subunit markedly stimulated specific DNA-binding activity of the transcription factor, activator protein- 1 (AP-1), which functions as a major convergence point coupling early events induced by a variety of mitogens to long term growth responses. Presence of c-Fos protein in the AP-1 complex was demonstrated as a supershift band in the gel mobility assay using c-Fos polyclonal antibody. Cobalt, which markedly inhibited B subunit-induced DNA synthesis, also completely abolished AP-1 DNA-binding activity stimulated by the B subunit. In sharp contrast, cobalt had no effect on DNA-binding activity of AP-1 induced by the tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate. Our results suggest that calcium influx is a key element for both DNA-binding activity of AP-1 and cell proliferation induced by binding of the B subunit of cholera toxin to cell surface ganglioside GM1.
Patterns of genetic differentiation in Thamnophis and Taricha from the Pacific Northwest

Aim The co-evolutionary interaction between the common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, and the rough-skinned newt, Taricha granulosa, takes place throughout much of the Pacific Northwest (North America). The biogeography of the Pacific Northwest has been heavily influenced by the last Pleistocene glaciation, which reached a maximum as late as 14,000 yr bp. We researched: (1) what type of population structure is present for garter snakes and newts, (2) whether the population structure of these species is consistent with a Pleistocene glaciation hypothesis, and (3) how population structure and migration possibly affect co-evolution between these species. Location The Pacific Northwest of North America, specifically northern California, Oregon and Washington in the USA. Methods We sampled approximately 20 populations for each species from three different transects. Using microsatellite markers and tissue samples from both species, we quantified the population structure for both species. Individual-based assignment tests were used to estimate contemporary migration rates. Results Both Th. sirtalis and Ta. granulosa exhibited little genetic differentiation among our study sites, even among those separated by large distances. Significant population structure was detected on multiple geographic scales. Differences in population structure were observed among transects and between garter snake and newt transects. Contemporary migration rate estimates indicate high levels of genetic exchange between populations. Main conclusions Prior to this study, little was known about the fine-scale population structure of either species in this region. Patterns of population structure for garter snakes and newts reflect a shared biogeographical history affected by the Pleistocene glaciation in the Pacific Northwest. Both species apparently migrate frequently between populations, thus potentially retarding the process of adaptive co-evolution. We find that populations from a northern coastal transect (Washington) are most likely to be locally adapted.
Climbing out of the black hole of subacute care.

A black hole is an accumulation of mass so dense and compact that nothing, even light, can escape its gravitational force. The edge of the black hole is where space and time stop. Some theorize that wormholes exist in black holes, which make it possible to travel nonlinearly through time. What does the theory of black holes have to do with medicine? Unfortunately, subacute care facilities often become the informational black hole of medicine. Frail patients who are not well enough to discharge to their independent homes nor ill enough to remain in the hospital are transferred to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and, to the rest of the health care community, disappear. At some point in the future, after a series of vague and confusing events, they reappear. Small chunks of information may precede or follow the patient’s discharge but most is lost in the black hole, leaving vulnerable patients at high risk of reentering the hospital. Recently, safety at transitions has come to the forefront as a topic of great interest, largely in part to the greater use of subacute care1 and the cost of recurrent hospital admissions. If not performed correctly, transitions between care settings can lead to adverse events.2e4 Unplanned rehospitalizations are a significant financial burden to Medicare.5,6 In addition to the financial burden, the hospital environment can be a significant cause of morbidity7,8 and errors tend to occur more frequently as patients shift between providers and/or care sites.9e11 Furthermore, long term care residents experiencing frequent transitions are often excluded from quality indicator measurements, which results in skewed epidemiologic data.12 Several health care provider societies have endorsed position papers calling for improved education, communication, policy, and clinical care at transitions.3,13e16 Medical education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels that includes formal teaching on hand-offs and care transitions17e21 is becoming more common, although there continues to be a significant gap.22 Inaddition, quality improvement initiativeshavebeendeveloped to reduce rehospitalizations, improve patient care outcomes, and increase patient and provider satisfaction.23e32 However, there is a significant lag in the health care system as awhole to adopt universal strategies to reduce the burden of rehospitalizations and enhance the care at transitions.33 Furthermore, historically, care transition interventions focused primarily on hospital-to-home transfers.18e21,24,27,31 Care transition programs and policies that are cost-effective, pragmatic, and universally applicable are desperately needed to enhance patient safety during these critical transfers between all sites of care.
SYNERGISTIC ANTITUMOR ACTIVITY OF VITAMINS C AND K3 ON HUMAN UROLOGIC TUMOR CELL LINES

Abstract A micro-tetrazolium assay was employed to evaluate vitamin C (VC), vitamin K 3 (VK 3 ) and vitamin C/vitamin K 3 combinations ( VC VK 3 ) for their antitumor activity against eight human urologic tumor cell lines. While the individual vitamins exhibited antitumor activity at high concentrations, co-administration of the vitamins in a VC : VK 3 ratio of 100 : 1 potentiated antitumor activity 4- to 61-fold even when exposure times were as short as 1 hour. Administration of exogenous catalase destroyed the antitumor activity of the vitamins and suggested that hydrogen peroxide and perhaps other reactive oxygen species were involved in the antitumor mechanism of these vitamins. Electron micrographs taken in a previous study demonstrated that vitamin treatment damaged mitochondria and may have impaired ATP synthesis. Analysis of cellular ATP and thiol levels as well as DNA and protein synthesis during the first five hours following a one hour VC VK 3 treatment, revealed: a transient increase in ATP production, a substantial decrease in DNA synthesis, an increase in protein synthesis and a decrease in thiol levels. These results suggested that redox cycling of the vitamin combination increased oxidative stress until it surpassed the reducing ability of the cellular thiols and cellular or genetic damage ensued.
An efficient decomposition approach for multi-area production costing

Abstract This paper presents a new approach for multi-area production costing called SEG-GSIDES (segmented global simultaneous decomposition-simulation). It is based on the SIDES (simultaneous decomposition-simulation) approach which has been developed for computing reliability indices in a multi-area configuration. The global state space is obtained from the maximum number of units committed in each area and thus contains the state space corresponding to any set of committed units. In the GSIDES approach, the global state space is decomposed and the resulting sets are used to compute the required indices for any subset of units committed. The energy supplied by each unit is calculated by the difference between the expected unserved energy before and after unit commitment. In some cases it may be possible to obtain indices by decomposition alone but generally a decomposition phase is followed by a simulation phase. When the units committed are close to base loaded units, their contribution to unserved energy from the decomposition phase is low. The major contribution in this case comes from the simulation phase and this introduces an approximation due to convergence. To reduce this approximation the decomposition is performedsequentially on different segments of the global state space. In this way, the major part of the indices is obtained from the decomposition phase and this leads to a more accurate determination of energy supplied by the units. The concepts are illustrated using a small example system. Case studies are presented for the three area and four area IEEE-RTS systems.
DOA1/UFD3 Plays a Role in Sorting Ubiquitinated Membrane Proteins into Multivesicular Bodies

Ubiquitin (Ub) is a sorting signal that targets integral membrane proteins to the interior of the vacuole/lysosome by directing them into lumenal vesicles of multivesicular bodies (MVBs). The Vps27-Hse1 complex, which is homologous to the Hrs-STAM complex in mammalian cells, serves as a Ub-sorting receptor at the surface of early endosomes. We have found that Hse1 interacts with Doa1/Ufd3. Doa1 is known to interact with Cdc48/p97 and Ub and is required for maintaining Ub levels. We find that the Hse1 Src homology 3 domain binds directly to the central PFU domain of Doa1. Mutations in Doa1 that block Hse1 binding but not Ub binding do not alter Ub levels but do result in the missorting of the MVB cargo GFP-Cps1. Loss of Doa1 also causes a synthetic growth defect when combined with loss of Vps27. Unlike the loss of Doa1 alone, the doa1Δ vps27Δ double mutant phenotype is not suppressed by Ub overexpression, demonstrating that the effect is not due to indirect consequence of lowered Ub levels. Loss of Doa1 results in a defect in the accumulation of GFP-Ub within yeast vacuoles, implying that there is a reduction in the flux of ubiquitinated membrane proteins through the MVB pathway. This defect was also reflected by an inability to properly sort Vph1-GFP-Ub, a modified subunit of the multiprotein vacuolar ATPase complex, which carries an inframe fusion of Ub as an MVB sorting signal. These results reveal novel roles for Doa1 in helping to process ubiquitinated membrane proteins for sorting into MVBs.
Interactions and synergism between the recombinant CelD, an endoglucanase, and the cellulosome-integrating protein (CipA) of Clostridium thermocellum

Abstract The Clostridium thermocellum cellulosome is a multicomponent cellulase complex. Its largest subunit, CipA, contains nine repeated domains (R's), each of which binds to a cellulosomal catalytic subunit, and a cellulose binding domain (CBD). We have previously reported that the activity of CelS, an exoglucanse subunit, is enhanced by the anchorage function of CipA. In this work, we examined the effect of anchorage on the activity of CelD, an endoglucanase subunit, using recombinant CelD (rCeiD) and the CipA functional domains, R3 (a repeat next to CBD) and CBD R3 , expressed in Escherichia coli, rCelD formed a stable complex with CBD R3 as analyzed by a gel-shift assay on a nondenaturing polyacrylamide gradient gel. Binding of rCelD to crystalline cellulose, as its activity toward both phosphoric acid-swollen and crystalline cellulose, was dependent on CBD R3 . These results indicate that the activity of an endoglucanase subunit of the cellulosome, as that of the exoglucanase subunit, is enhanced by the anchorage function of CipA. Such anchorage function of CipA may thus augment the potential endo-exo synergism in the cellulosome.
INTEREST CHARGES FOR AUTOMOBILE LOANS IN METROPOLITAN TORONTO

This study addresses itself to the structure of interest rates for automobile loans in Toronto. Variations in interest charges were found among every type of lender. Because of the banking structure in Canada, loan rates would be similar in other parts of Ontario and in the other Canadian provinces.
Probing the thermodynamics of competitive ion binding using minimum energy structures.

Ion binding is known to affect the properties of biomolecules and is directly involved in many biochemical pathways. Because of the highly polar environments where ions are found, a quantum-mechanical treatment is preferable for understanding the energetics of competitive ion binding. Due to computational cost, a quantum mechanical treatment may involve several approximations, however, whose validity can be difficult to determine. Using thermodynamic cycles, we show how intuitive models for complicated ion binding reactions can be built up from simplified, isolated ion–ligand binding site geometries suitable for quantum mechanical treatment. First, the ion binding free energies of individual, minimum energy structures determine their intrinsic ion selectivities. Next, the relative propensity for each minimum energy structure is determined locally from the balance of ion–ligand and ligand–ligand interaction energies. Finally, the environment external to the binding site exerts its influence both through lo...
Review of cardiometabolic risk factors among current professional football and professional baseball players.

AbstractData on the development of cardiovascular disease in professional football players are conflicting. Studies have documented a higher prevalence of obesity, lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, increased left ventricular and left atrial size, and higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in former professional football linemen compared with nonlinemen. It has been suggested that former National Football League players are at risk for early cardiovascular disease and premature death. A print media report in 2006 indicated an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease and early mortality in professional football players compared with professional baseball players. However, there has been little scientific evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors in professional baseball players. Our data suggest that there is increased cardiovascular disease risk in football players, but this is limited to heavier linemen. In preliminary studies, baseball players do not appear to demonstrate the same...
A Little Ingenuity Solves an Elephant-Sized Problem

A student team from NC State has designed a collar to help control wild elephants that threaten human property and life in Africa and Asia. The Web extra at https://youtu.be/aQV_BkOL4vA is a video showing how students from North Carolina State University designed a collar to keep elephants away from farms and villages. In this field test in South Africa, a buzzing sound from the collar causes an elephant to turn away from the protected area. Video by Emma Besaw. The second Web extra at http://youtu.be/ap1dSwCc6fY is a video in which editor Greg Byrd introduces the new Student Design Showcase column, dedicated to innovative, interesting student projects from computer science and engineering.
Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of tocopherols and tocotrienols on normal mouse mammary epithelial cells.

Studies were conducted to determine the comparative effects of tocopherols and tocotrienols on normal mammary epithelial cell growth and viability. Cells isolated from midpregnant BALB/c mice were grown within collagen gels and maintained on serum-free media. Treatment with 0–120 μM α-and γ-tocopherol had no effect, whereas 12.5–100 m μM tocotrienol-rich fraction of palm oil (TRF), 100–120 μM δ-tocopherol, 50–60 μM α-tocotrienol, and 8–14 μM γ- or δ-tocotrienol significantly inhibited cell growth in a dose-responsive manner. In acute studies, 24-h exposure to 0–250 μM α-, γ-, and δ-tocopherol had no effect, whereas similar treatment with 100–250 μM TRF, 140–250 μM α-, 25–100 μM γ- or δ-tocotrienol significantly reduced cell viability. Growth-inhibitory doses of TRF, δ-tocopherol, and a-, γ-, and δ-tocotrienol were shown to induce apoptosis in these cells, as indicated by DNA fragmentation. Results also showed that mammary epithelial cells more easily or preferentially took up tocotrienols as compared to tocopherols, suggesting that at least part of the reason tocotrienols display greater biopotency than tocopherols is because of greater cellular accumulation. In summary, these findings suggest that the highly biopotent γ- and δ-tocotrienol isoforms may play a physiological role in modulating normal mammary gland growth, function, and remodeling.
A Quadband Antenna for Laptop Applications

The design and analysis of a new quadband antenna have been presented. The antenna is suitable for integration into mobile devices especially laptop computers and offers advantages in size, cost, and performance. Future study will concentrate on extending the antenna bandwidth to cover the UMTS band. Further antenna size reduction is necessary for smaller laptops.
Large mirror fabrication of low expansion glasses

Low expansion glasses offer many advantages as mirror blank materials due to their thermal and mechanical properties as well as the flewibility they offer in design and fabrication. Fused silica, Corning Code 7940, and ULE (trademark) titanium silicate, Code 7971, produced by the flame hydrolysis process, are high purity and homogeneous glasses. Determination of the average and the variation pattern of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) within ULE mirror blanks is readily accomplished by ultrasonic measurements.
Introduction of Dr. Clement A. Smith for the John Howland Award. (From the American Pediatric Society, April 28, 1976, St. Louis, Missouri).

Introduction of Dr. Clement A. Smith for the John Rowland Award: (From the American Pediatric Society, April 28, 1976, St. Louis, Missouri)
Central adipose distribution is related to coronary atherosclerosis.

A "male" distribution of adipose tissue in women (excess of fat in the abdomen compared with that in the hips; i.e., elevated waist/hip ratio) has been related to symptomatic cardiovascular disease. An elevated waist/hip ratio has also been related to symptomatic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in men, as well as to risk factors for these diseases and various metabolic conditions. To determine whether adipose distribution was related to coronary atherosclerosis, we performed a case-control study in patients with angiographically documented coronary atherosclerosis (cases) and in angiographically normal hospital and neighborhood controls. The data show that distribution of adiposity as assessed by waist/hip ratio is significantly related to coronary atherosclerosis in both females and males. Waist/hip ratio is significantly greater in female cases compared with either control group; in males, waist/hip ratio is significantly greater in cases compared with asymptomatic neighborhood controls but not compared with patients with normal coronary arteries. These results persist after control for age, plasma concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins, body mass index, history of hypertension, history of diabetes, and smoking status. The connection between the male adipose distribution in females and coronary atherosclerosis partly explains the greater likelihood of symptomatic cardiovascular disease in them. Males with excess deposition of fat in the abdominal region are also likely to experience increased risk.
In vitro assays to study role of T cell-derived factors on human B lymphocytes should take into consideration inhibiting effect of large granular lymphocyte subset (CD5−,CD16+) that can contaminate B cell preparations

In these studies, the inhibitory role of a large granular lymphocyte (LGL) subset (CD5−,CD16+) on pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced B lymphocyte differentiation was examined. CD5−,CD16+ LGL cells are the predominant subset of LGL cells and are possibly distinct from other LGL subsets in that they lack B and T cell markers. CD5−,CD16+ LGL posses abundant FcIgG receptors and previous studies have clearly demonstrated that in the presence of insoluble immune complexes, this LGL subset will inhibit B lymphocyte differentiation in the presence of T cells. In the present studies, we analyzed the inhibiting role of CD5−,CD16+ LGL cells that had not been activated by immune complexes. B + L preparations obtained by removal of E rosette-forming T cells were further depleted of T lymphocytes by complement-dependent lysis of T cells using a monoclonal antibody reactive to total T cells (Leu-1, CD5 antigen, Becton-Dickinson). B lymphocytes in such B + L preparations failed to differentiate into plasma cells containing intracytoplasmic immunoglobulin (Ig), in the presence of PWM, T cell-derived helper supernatants (THS), and interleukin-2 (IL-2). However, B cells differentiated under these conditions, when B + L preparations were further depleted of CD5−,CD16+ LGL celld by complement-dependent lysis using a monoclonal antibody (Leu-11) reactive to CD16 antigen of FcIgG receptors present on LGL cells. These studies indicated that CD5−,CD16+ cells unlike the CD8-positive T suppressor cell, will directly inhibit B lymphocyte differentiation into plasmacytoid cells containing intracytoplasmic Ig when T lymphocytes are not present. However, addition of a few T lymphocytes (< 10%) to purified B + L preparations abrogated the CD5−,CD16+ LGL cell inhibition of B cell differentiation.
Extramedullary hematopoiesis of the middle ear

A 22-year-old man with sickle cell disease developed a conductive hearing loss as a result of extramedullary hematopoiesis in the right middle ear. This is the first reported case of conductive hearing loss from extramedullary hematopoiesis and only the second report of extramedullary hematopoiesis in the middle ear.
Training of academic staff in obstetrics and gynaecology in the USA.

Abstract As we enter a new century and millennium, departments of obstetrics and gynaecology in American medical schools face a number of challenges. Of primary concern among these is the relative dearth of physician–scientists to explore and connect the basic mechanisms and clinical aspects of the diseases of women. This report reviews some aspects of three programmes designed to educate such investigators: The Reproductive Scientist Development Program, The American Gynecological and Obstetrical Society–American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Foundation Fellowship Program and the Women's Reproductive Health Research Career Development Centers. Based on a decade of experience with the first two of these programmes, the prospects for the relatively new third programme are promising. Nonetheless, the need for and opportunities for obstetrician–gynaecologist reproductive scientists far exceed the supply.
Stability Charts: Design and Application to Accelerated Stability Testing of Pharmaceuticals

The design of a nomographic chart to facilitate the analysis of stability data obtained in accelerated testing at elevated temperatures is described. The effects of errors on predictions made using the chart are discussed, particularly those arising from faulty assays, timing, and temperature control. An optimized stability testing program, based on the selection of elevated temperatures at equal intervals on a 1/ T scale and on a predetermined assay schedule, is outlined for use with the chart.
Transferring Schema or Transforming Cultures

Wassell and LaVan (this issue) make strong arguments about the value of coteaching as a model for learning to teach. This response paper draws upon recent sociocultural conceptualizations of human nature and development as a process of contribution and shared contribution to extend Wassell and LaVan’s findings about teacher learning and to further illuminate evidence of the transformative potential of coteaching. It is argued that the beginning teachers in Wassell and LaVan’s study appropriated the cultural practices, and ontological and epistemological stances of coteaching and used these perspectives and practices to transform the cultures of their in-service classrooms as well as the roles and epistemic perspectives of their students.
Cloaked virus slips between cells

A common retrovirus encases itself in an extracellular matrix, enabling its transfer between T4 cells. The discovery of this new mode of infectivity has the potential to lead to new ways to combat the virus, human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), which is associated with cancers and inflammatory disorders (pages 83–89).
ECG Response: July 23, 2013

ECG Challenge: A 69-year-old man with a known history of coronary artery disease and a previous myocardial infarction is seen for a routine physical examination. He denies all symptoms. His examination is unremarkable, but an irregular pulse is felt with episodes of pauses noted. The rhythm is irregular but there is a pattern, as all the short RR intervals are the same (┌┐) and the long RR intervals (↔) are the same. Therefore, the rhythm …
Re-Enlistment Patterns of Civil War Soldiers

The results of a demographic profile of age, occupation, and prewar residence of western Pennsylvania soldiers—created from enlistment and muster rolls, and examined at enlistment, at the end of 1863, and after re-enlistment—when placed within the context of individual soldiers' letters and the social history of western Pennsylvania, show that soldiers with rural backgrounds and poor occupations re-enlisted at higher rates than soldiers with urban backgrounds and better occupations. The reason for the difference lies in the greater opportunities available to civilians in the city.
Volume Exclusion in Calcium Selective Channels

Another research group has proposed an interesting model for calcium channel selectivity. However, on the basis of their reported results we find it impossible to assess the merits of their model because their results and claims concerning selectivity are based on an extrapolation over four orders of magnitude to low Ca2+ concentration. Their results and claims have been presented in several articles and reviews in several journals and, thus, need attention. In this article, we first establish that we obtain results on electrostatics and channel occupancies similar to the high-concentration simulations they present. We then perform grand canonical ensemble simulations that enable us to study micromolar Ca2+ concentrations. We find that their model channel is only weakly Ca2+ selective. A crucial problem with their model appears to be the placement of the negatively charged glutamate structural elements in fixed positions inside the protein rather than as flexible units inside the filter.
The cocktail party effect in infants

Most speech research with infants occurs in quiet laboratory rooms with no outside distractions. However, in the real world, speech directed to infants often occurs in the presence of other competing acoustic signals. To learn language, infants need to attend to their caregiver's speech even under less than ideal listening conditions. We examined 7.5-month-old infants' abilities to selectively attend to a female talker's voice when a male voice was talking simultaneously. In three experiments, infants heard a target voice repeating isolated words while a distractor voice spoke fluently at one of three different intensities. Subsequently, infants heard passages produced by the target voice containing either the familiar words or novel words. Infants listened longer to the familiar words when the target voice was 10 dB or 5 dB more intense than the distractor, but not when the two voices were equally intense. In a fourth experiment, the assignment of words and passages to the familiarization and testing phases was reversed so that the passages and distractors were presented simultaneously during familiarization, and the infants were tested on the familiar and unfamiliar isolated words. During familiarization, the passages were 10 dB more intense than the distractors. The results suggest that this may be at the limits of what infants at this age can do in separating two different streams of speech. In conclusion, infants have some capacity to extract information from speech even in the face of a competing acoustic voice.
Protasis and Problema in the Topics

The purpose of this discussion is to show that Mrs Martha Kneale has misunderstood Aristotle's distinction between protasis and problema in the Topics. She writes that, according to Aristotle, protasis and problema are "both questions and the difference between them ... is merely one of form, ..."'t Then, she goes on to state what, according to her, this distinction may amount to: the distinction is perhaps that between the thesis proposed for discussion, i.e. the starting-point of the argument, and a question put later to keep it going. We may suppose that the question for discussion is 'Is animal the genus of man?' This is the protasis, the starting-point. In the course of the argument, the questioner asks 'Is it or is it not a property of animals to be self-moving?' This would be a problema.2 After this, she contrasts the use of thse words in the Topics with that found in the Prior Analytics. She writes that there the word 'protasis' "always means a statement and in chapters 26 to 28 of the first book of that work ... problemna also seems to mean a statement."3 Kneale thinks that Aristotle has changed his point of view. In the Prior Analytics he is concerned to find out how a given proposition can be proved rather than how a given question can be answered either in the affirmative or negative. In the Topics he has always the two disputants in mind.4 Then, she brings etymological considerations in support of her view that the two words have undergone changes in meaning: Protasis is from 7pOw?tvw ('to hold forth or offer') and is therefore something offered for consideration at the beginning of the dispute, while problema is from 7pop3&XXo ('to throw forward or down')
Computer-assisted predictions of signal peptidase processing sites

Abstract Computer programs are presented which incorporate 2 different algorithms for predicting the site of signal peptide cleavage for eukaryotic preproteins. These programs can be used to identify sites of signal peptidase cleavage of putative preproteins, to facilitate the design and interpretation of signal peptide mutagenesis experiments, and to engineer artificial prepolypeptides.
SWItching off methylated DNA.

The mechanism by which cytosine methylation stably represses transcription is of great interest. A new study provides evidence associating DNA methylation, MeCP2 and the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling factor, implicating local chromatin architecture in DNA methylation–dependent transcriptional repression.
Health Care and the Homeless: A Political Parable for Our Time

The growth in the number of homeless persons is perhaps the most visible indicator of social disintegration in the 1980s, although health and health care are not the central issues of homelessness. This paper, which draws on the author's experience as chairman of the Committee on Health Care for Homeless People of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), describes what is known about the characteristics of homeless persons and the causes of homelessness, and about the health status of homeless persons, which is often not very good (but not significantly worse, it would appear, than that of other low-income persons). The contemporary history of health services targeted to homeless persons begins with the joint initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts in 1985, which became the model for federal support through the Stewart B. McKinney Act of 1987. The McKinney Act, like the IOM report, demonstrates how, in contemporary American politics, there can be widespread political consensus not only about a problem but about solutions, while the resulting policy actions are largely symbolic.
Calcium/Calmodulin Up-regulates a Cytoplasmic Receptor-like Kinase in Plants

Abstract Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases play an important role in protein phosphorylation in eukaryotes. However, not much is known about calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphorylation and its role in signal transduction in plants. By using a protein-protein interaction-based approach, we have isolated a novel plant-specific calmodulin-binding receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase (CRCK1) from Arabidopsis thaliana, as well as its ortholog from Medicago sativa (alfalfa). CRCK1 does not show high homology to calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases in animals. In contrast, it shows high homology in the kinase domain to serine/threonine receptor-like kinases in plants. However, it contains neither a transmembrane domain nor an extracellular domain. Calmodulin binds to CRCK1 in a calcium-dependent manner with an affinity of ∼20.5 nm. The calmodulin-binding site in CRCK1 is located in amino acids 160–183, which overlap subdomain II of the kinase domain. CRCK1 undergoes autophosphorylation in the presence of Mg2+ at the threonine residue(s). The Km and Vmax values of CRCK1 for ATP are 1 μm and 33.6 pmol/mg/min, respectively. Calcium/calmodulin stimulates the kinase activity of CRCK1, which increases the Vmax of CRCK1 ∼9-fold. The expression of CRCK1 is increased in response to stresses such as cold and salt and stress molecules such as abscisic acid and hydrogen peroxide. These results indicate the presence of a calcium/calmodulin-regulated receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase in plants. Furthermore, these results also suggest that calcium/calmodulin-regulated protein phosphorylation involving CRCK1 plays a role in stress signal transduction in plants.
The morphology, mechanical properties, and flammability of aligned electrospun polycarbonate (PC) nanofibers

The electrospinning of the polycarbonate (PC) solutions was performed for the variable electrospinning parameters such as polymer concentration, solvent composition, applied voltage, flow rate, and take-up velocity in order to evaluate changes of morphology, mechanical properties, and flammability of the aligned PC nanofibers as a function of the electrospinning parameters. It was found that the ratio of THF/DMF solvent in the electrospinning parameters had a major effect on the spinnability and fiber morphology. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the mechanical properties were dependent upon the fiber morphology. The spinnability of the PC solutions with a lower THF ratio in THF/DMF solvent was poor. The aligned electrospun PC fiber with the best morphology was made in the range of polymer concentration of 22%, solvent ratio of 50:50 THF : DMF, applied voltage of 14 kV, flow rate of 0.050 ml/m, and a take-up velocity of 7.3 m/s. The ultimate strength and initial modulus of the 80% drawn 22% PC fiber were 64 ± 2 MPa (commercial 55–75 MPa) and 1.9 ± 0.1 GPa. The heat release capacity (HRC) of the 22 and 25% PC fiber were 275 ± 27 J/g K and 198 ± 1 J/g K. It was found that the flame resistance of the electrospun PC nanofiber was superior to that of the PC raw material (HRC ∼360 J/g K). POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Stock distribution relationship to unexpected future earnings

Abstract This study empirically demonstrates that companies issuing stock distributions have greater unexpected earnings in the quarter and the full year after the distribution announcements than do companies not issuing stock distributions. These results indicate that investors have reason to change their expectations of earnings when stock distributions are announced. Thus, investors' expectations of greater future cash flow provide a rational explanation for market movements at announcements of stock splits and stock dividends.
Preliminary analysis of phylogenetic relationships among Galapagos Island lizards of the genus Tropidurus

Albumin evolution in six species of Galapagos iguanid lizards of the genus Tropidurus was measured using the quantitative immunological technique of micro-complement fixation. We propose a phylogeny for these species based upon their albumin differentiation. Our data suggest several colonizations from the South American mainland are needed to account for current species diversity on the Galapagos Islands. The standard calibration for the albumin molecular clock yields divergence estimates for Galapagos Tropidurus that are similar to those previously reported for the iguanas in the Galapagos and are not in conflict with recent understanding of the geological history of these islands.
The implications of antigenic diversity for vaccine development.

Abstract The reactivity of human monoclonal and polyclonal anti-HlV-1 antibodies demonstrates that shared epitopes, including those that induce neutralizing antibodies, exist and are recognized by the human immune system. A priori, there is no reason why cross-clade neutralizing antibodies could not be induced by an appropriately constructed HIV vaccine. But to construct such a vaccine, it is critical to understand, as completely as possible, the antigenic structure of HIV, to establish and identify immunologic classifications for HIV, and to choose rationally the minimum number and types of viruses from these immunologic groupings that will induce the broadest protective responses.
Bionanoelectronics: Bionanoelectronics (Adv. Mater. 7/2011)

Every cell in a living organisms performs a complex array of functions using a vast arsenal of proteins, ion channels, pumps, motors, signaling molecules, and cargo carriers. With all the progress that humankind has made to date in the development of sophisticated machinery and computing capabilities, understanding and communicating with living systems on that level of complexity lags behind. A breakthrough in these capabilities could only come if a way is found to integrate biological components into artificial devices. The central obstacle for this vision of bionanoelectronics is the absence of a versatile interface that facilitates two-way communication between biological and electronic structures. 1D nanomaterials, such as nanotubes and nanowires, open up the possibility of constructing tight interfaces that could enable such bidirectional flow of information. This report discusses the overall progress in building such interfaces on the level of individual proteins and whole cells and focuses on the latest efforts to create device platforms that integrate membrane proteins, channels, and pumps with nanowire bioelectronics.
The Physics in the Auroral Dynamo Regions and Auroral Particle Acceleration

Abstract Auroral particle acceleration requires an energy flux flowing into the acceleration region and the subsequent development of parallel electric fields. Auroral arcs are often very dynamic, and even in cases when a quasi-steady arc is formed, the question arises of how the system evolved to this quasi-steady state. Existing theories of auroral current generation and the formation of parallel electric fields mostly consider such a steady situation, limiting their ability to describe the dynamics of the system. Since the energy necessary to power auroral particle acceleration is related to the auroral current system, the generation of field-aligned currents (FAC) and auroral particle acceleration are closely coupled. Thus, in order to understand the dynamics of auroral particle acceleration, the physics in the auroral dynamo region must also be considered. Construction of such a dynamical theory of the auroral current system requires that the time-dependent generation of field-aligned currents (∂J|/∂t) and the dynamics of the generation of parallel electric fields (∂E|/∂t) and parallel potential drops must be the primary considerations. The time-dependent generation of FAC filaments can occur as a result of the interaction of the MHD fast mode wave packets and a current sheet, either at the magnetopause or in the plasma sheet. In this process, a shear Alfven wave can be generated in a discrete form as shear Alfven wave packets. Although a single shear Alfven wave packet can propagate without distortion or nonlinear interaction, the interaction of incident and reflected shear mode wave packets in the auroral acceleration region can release the kinetic and/or magnetic energy carried by the wave packets. Either solitary waves accompanied by a charge condensation (charge hole) or a net parallel potential drop may be formed, depending on the polarizations of the interacting wave packets. In order to produce FAC filaments and parallel electric fields by the wave packet interaction, a localized breakdown of the frozen-in condition is necessary. The electron inertial term is a natural candidate to break the frozen-in condition locally.
Pharmacokinetics of minocycline in domestic cats

ObjectivesRecently, the increased cost and decreased availability of doxycycline has sparked an interest in using minocycline as an alternative. The purpose of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics of minocycline in domestic cats in order to facilitate dosage decisions.MethodsPurpose-bred, young adult cats were administered a single dose of either intravenous (IV; n = 4; 5 mg/kg) or oral (n = 6; 50 mg/cat) minocycline. Blood was collected from each at intervals up to 24 h afterwards. Minocycline was measured using high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. A one-compartment pharmacokinetic model was fit to the oral data and a two-compartment model to the IV data via a computer program. Plasma protein binding was measured by fortifying blank plasma from untreated healthy cats with minocycline at two concentrations and applying an ultracentrifugation method.ResultsTwo cats became transiently lethargic and tachypneic during IV drug infusion. One cat vomited 6.0 h after infu...
A General Synthesis of α-Substituted Acrylonitriles

Abstract During a study of synthetic approaches to naturally-occurring sesquiterpene lactones, a new synthesis of the α-methylene-y-butyrolactone group was developed1 and has subsequently been applied to the synthesis of various types of α-methylenecarbonyl compounds.2 The synthetic scheme suggested that α-substituted acrylonitriles would also be available by this method.
Transport of globin mRNA from nucleus into cytoplasm in differentiating embryonic red blood cells.

Transport of globin mRNA from nucleus into cytoplasm in differentiating embryonic red blood cells