cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence of substituents on cation-π interactions. 2 - Absolute binding energies of alkali metal cation-fluorobenzene complexes determined by threshold collision-induced dissociation and theoretical studies

Threshold collision-induced dissociation of M + (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ) x with Xe is studied using guided ion beam mass spectrometry. M + include the following alkali metal ions: Li + , Na + , K + , Rb + , and Cs + . Both mono- and bis-complexes are examined (i.e., x = 1 and 2). In all cases, the primary and lowest energy dissociation channel observed is endothermic loss of an intact toluene ligand. Sequential dissociation of a second toluene ligand is observed at elevated energies in the bis-complexes. Minor production of ligand exchange products, M + Xe and M + (C 6 H 5 CH 3 )Xe, is also observed. The cross section thresholds for the primary dissociation channel are interpreted to yield 0 and 298 K bond dissociation energies for (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ) x - 1 M + -C 6 H 5 CH 3 , x = 1-2, after accounting for the effects of multiple ion-neutral collisions, the kinetic and internal energies of the reactants, and dissociation lifetimes. Density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory are used to determine the structures of these complexes and provide molecular constants necessary for the thermodynamic analysis of the experimental data. Theoretical binding energies are determined from single point calculations at the MP2(full)/6-311+G(2d,2p) and B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,2p) levels using the B3LYP/ 6-31G* geometries. Zero-point energy and basis set superposition error corrections are also included. The agreement between theory and experiment is reasonably good when full electron correlation is included (for Li + , Na + , and K + ) but is less satisfactory when effective core potentials are used (for Rb + and Cs + ). In all cases, the experimentally determined bond dissociation energies are greater than the theoretically determined values. In most cases, better agreement is found for the MP2 values than the B3LYP values. The trends in M + (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ) x binding energies are explained in terms of varying magnitudes of electrostatic interactions and ligand-ligand repulsion in the complexes. Comparisons are also made to previous experimental bond dissociation energies of M + (C 6 H 6 ) x to examine the influence of the methyl substituent on the binding, and the factors that control the strength of cation-π interactions.
Acute traumatic ventricular septal rupture

Interventricular septal defects (VSDs) are an unfortunate complication of cardiac trauma. Both penetrating and blunt trauma can cause this injury. We report on a patient with a VSD associated with penetrating cardiac trauma. A previously healthy 24-year-old man came to a local emergency department after sustaining two stab wounds from a knife to the chest. A chest tube was placed for a left hemothorax, draining more than 1500 ml of blood, and hewas transferred to a tertiary-care center for further treatment. On arrival he was alert and oriented with a heart rate of 108 beats/min, blood pressure of 144/63 mm Hg, and a respiratory rate of 12 breaths/min. The chest was notable for two stab wounds, one just anterior to the left axillary line at the level of the nipple and the other approximately 20 cm posterior. A chest tube in place on the left side of the chest drained bloody fluid. Physical examination revealed tachycardia and no murmur or rub over the heart. Breath sounds were coarse over the left lung. The abdomen was tender, with guarding and decreased bowel sounds. All arterial pulses were strong and equal. Electrocardiogram showed sinus tachycardia with normal axis, normal PR wave, no Q waves, no conduction defects, and no ST-T abnormalities. Over the next several hours the patient's blood pressure began to decline. Because of the concern for abdominal bleeding he underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy, which revealed no evidence of retroperitoneal or intraabdominal injury. Through the same surgical incision, a pericardial window was performed, revealing no blood. A posterior chest tube was placed intraoperatively, draining another 1500 ml over the next 2 days. On the fourth hospital day, the chest tubes were removed, and on
Shift-invariant limited photorefractive-based correlators

Although photorefractive (PR) filter has the advantage of large storage capacity, the thickness of the filter also impairs the target shift limitation. In this paper, we have investigated the thickness requirement, as imposed by the focal depth of the transform lens, and the shift-invariant, as imposed by the Bragg diffraction. The commonly used photorefractive-based correlators are studied, which are VanderLugt, joint transform, and reflective types (RC) correlators. We have shown that PR-RC performance better, in terms of shift-invariant tolerance.
The impact of social context on learning and cognitive demands for interactive virtual human simulations

Interactive virtual human (IVH) simulations offer a novel method for training skills involving person-to-person interactions. This article examines the effectiveness of an IVH simulation for teaching medical students to assess rare cranial nerve abnormalities in both individual and small-group learning contexts. Individual (n = 26) and small-group (n = 30) interaction with the IVH system was manipulated to examine the influence on learning, learner engagement, perceived cognitive demands of the learning task, and instructional efficiency. Results suggested the IVH activity was an equally effective and engaging instructional tool in both learning structures, despite learners in the group learning contexts having to share hands-on access to the simulation interface. Participants in both conditions demonstrated a significant increase in declarative knowledge post-training. Operation of the IVH simulation technology imposed moderate cognitive demand but did not exceed the demands of the task content or appear to impede learning.
A Deep Sounding from the Southern Hemisphere

IT is well known that the great trenches of the Western Pacific represent larger vertical departures from the level surface of the geoid than even the Himalayas. But our knowledge of the shape of the ocean floor is still so fragmentary that the question as to which trench is the deepest has received several different answers within the past two decades. The Mindanao Trench east of the Philippines was long believed to contain the greatest oceanic depth; but for a few years prior to 1950 many authorities considered that the U.S.S. Ramapo soundings in the Japan Trench were the deepest yet recorded. In that year Hess and Buell1 re-examined the data and concluded that the sounding of 5,740 ± 50 fathoms obtained in the Mindanao Trench by the U.S.S. Cape Johnson during the Second World War represented tho greatest depth. H.M.S. Challenger in 1951 made still deeper soundings in the Marianas Trench east of Guam. These were reported by Carruthers and Lawford2, and later Gaskell, Swallow and Ritchie3 stated that the maximum depth lay between 5,882 and 5,940 fathoms.
Researching collaborative knowledge building in formal distance learning environments

Distance learning environments provide a rich opportunity for collaborative knowledge building, particularly through peer-to-peer dialogue. Much of the discussion in distance learning environments occurs in asynchronous forums, and it is content analysis of these discussions that constitutes the majority of research in online learning. However few studies in this area provide enough information about the context to know what works and what doesn't. Most studies do not go beyond downloading and analyzing the transcripts after the course is completed. Studies also lack a solid epistemological stance, attempting to capture evidence of individual learning of knowledge rather than examining the process of group learning through knowledge construction. An ongoing lack of attention to a coherent theoretical foundation, examining transcripts without attending to their situated contexts, and relying primarily on reductionist content analysis methods, will continue to limit our understanding of the potentiality and actuality of online collaborative learning environments. In this paper we explore how Stahl's social theory of CSCL can be applied to formal online learning environments to address these limitations.
Tests of behavior momentum in simple and multiple schedules with rats and pigeons

Four experiments examined the relationship between rate of reinforcement and resistance to change in rats' and pigeons' responses under simple and multiple schedules of reinforcement. In Experiment 1, 28 rats responded under either simple fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, or variable-interval schedules; in Experiment 2, 3 pigeons responded under simple fixed-ratio schedules. Under each schedule, rate of reinforcement varied across four successive conditions. In Experiment 3, 14 rats responded under either a multiple fixed-ratio schedule or a multiple fixed-interval schedule, each with two components that differed in rate of reinforcement. In Experiment 4, 7 pigeons responded under either a multiple fixed-ratio or a multiple fixed-interval schedule, each with three components that also differed in rate of reinforcement. Under each condition of each experiment, resistance to change was studied by measuring schedule-controlled performance under conditions with prefeeding, response-independent food during the schedule or during timeouts that separated components of the multiple schedules, and by measuring behavior under extinction. There were no consistent differences between rats and pigeons. There was no direct relationship between rates of reinforcement and resistance to change when rates of reinforcement varied across successive conditions in the simple schedules. By comparison, in the multiple schedules there was a direct relationship between rates of reinforcement and resistance to change during most tests of resistance to change. The major exception was delivering response-independent food during the schedule; this disrupted responding, but there was no direct relationship between rates of reinforcement and resistance to change in simple- or multiple-schedule contexts. The data suggest that rate of reinforcement determines resistance to change in multiple schedules, but that this relationship does not hold under simple schedules.
The logic of discovery and Darwin's pre-Malthusian researches

Traditional logical empiricist and more recent historicist positions on the logic of discovery are briefly reviewed and both are found wanting. None have examined the historical detail now available from recent research on Darwin, from which there is evidence for gradual transition in descriptive and explanatory concepts. This episode also shows that revolutionary research can be directed by borrowed metascientific objectives and heuristics from other disciplines. Darwin's own revolutionary research took place within an ontological context borrowed from non evolutionary predecessors with methodological objectives borrowed from and justified by their success in Newton's physics. The logic of discovery is not a special form of inference from observation to theory, but rather a theory of the rationality of research, including principles bearing upon the rational choice of problems, or epistemic objectives, and heuristic, or means to solving the problems. Such choices can be justified only locally in the context of a relatively stable background ontology and substantive epistemology, not globally for all science.
A novel nano-bubble inflation method for determining the viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polymer films

We describe a novel experimental technique for measuring the absolute creep compliance of ultrathin polymer films. The method is based on the classical bubble inflation technique for measuring the biaxial creep compliance of films, reduced in size to measure films with thicknesses down to at least 11.3 nm. The method uses the imaging capabilities of the atomic force microscope (AFM) to determine the time evolution of the geometry of nano-bubbles and thus avoids the problems with data interpretation that can arise due to “contact mechanics” issues when the AFM is used as a direct mechanical testing device. SCANNING 30: 000–000, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Center-of-Mass Motion in Many-Particle Systems. II. Critique of the Gartenhaus-Schwartz Transformation

We examine the Gartenhaus and Schwartz (G-S) transformation, which generates a translationally invariant wave function from one which does not possess this property. A clarification of the G-S procedure for the calculation of matrix elements is achieved if one takes two independent limits of the parameters $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$, ${\ensuremath{\Lambda}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ which appear in the expression for a transformed operator ${\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathfrak{a}}}^{\ensuremath{'}}=({\mathrm{lim}}_{{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}}{U}_{{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}^{\ensuremath{'}}}^{\ifmmode\dagger\else\textdagger\fi{}})\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathfrak{a}}({\mathrm{lim}}_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}}{U}_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}})$. It is shown that the G-S operator, $U={\mathrm{lim}}_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}}{U}_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}={\mathrm{lim}}_{\ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}}\mathrm{exp}[\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}i\ensuremath{\Lambda}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathcal{R}}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathcal{P}}+\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathcal{P}}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathcal{R}})]$, is equivalent to the operator $U={(2\ensuremath{\pi})}^{3}\ensuremath{\delta}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathcal{P}})\ensuremath{\delta}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathcal{R}})$. This operator is seen to be a specific example of the more general class of operators presented earlier.
Pain control in recovering alcoholics: effects of local anesthesia.

Objective: The medical literature suggests that alcoholics may present greater challenges to achieving clinical pain control than nonalcoholics. This study was undertaken to test the hypotheses that: (1) significant differences exist between alcoholics and nonalcoholics on detection and pain thresholds during electric tooth stimulation; (2) group differences exist in the depth and time course of pulpal anesthesia; and (3) responses to tooth stimulation are associated with severity of alcoholism and/or other psychological factors. Method: Male alcoholics (n = 22) in aftercare treatment (mean length of sobriety = 113 days) and age-matched nonalcoholics (n = 22) received 1.0 ml of 3% mepivicaine at the apex of a maxillary lateral incisor and saline placebo at the apex of the contralateral incisor. Results: At baseline no group differences were found on sensory thresholds. During drug intervention significant drug and time effects for both detection threshold (p < .0001) and pain threshold (p < .0001) were fo...
A Code of Conduct for Academic Emergency Medicine

A A MEMBER of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), I am committed to serving humanity. I will practice my art with conscience and virtue, keeping patient welfare my first consideration. I will be considerate, forthright, and just in all of my dealings with patients and colleagues, regardless of their power, position, or station in life. I will maintain the utmost respect for human dignity. I will strive to safeguard the public health and protect the vulnerable. I will advance the ideals of the profession, and I will not abuse the privilege of my knowledge or position. In addition to these general professional obligations, As a researcher of emergency medicine I vow: 1. Competence, conducting scientifically valid research that, before all else, benefits patients and society. 2. Compassion, attending humanely to the comfort and dignity of all subjects, animal or human. 3. Respect, securing the safety, privacy, and personal welfare of human subjects, and offering informed choice whenever possible. 4. Impartiality, treating fairly all those associated with the research process, including subjects and nonsubjects, coinvestigators, and potential au-
Specific inhibition of leukotriene B4 (LTB4)-induced neutrophil emigration by 20-hydroxy LTB4: implications for the regulation of inflammatory responses.

1. The interaction between leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and its metabolite, 20-hydroxy LTB4 in the control of neutrophil emigration was examined in guinea-pig skin. 2. Leukotriene B4 (10-300 ng) elicited a dose-dependent increase in neutrophil infiltration (as measured by myeloperoxidase activity) 4 h after injection into guinea-pig skin. In contrast, 20-hydroxy LTB4 (30-1000 ng) displayed only weak inflammatory activity in this assay. 3. Although 20-hydroxy LTB4 had low agonist activity, this metabolite caused a potent dose-dependent inhibition of responses to LTB4 (100 ng), when administered systemically (ED50 = 1.3 micrograms kg-1, s.c.) without significantly affecting neutrophil infiltration in response to C5a (2 micrograms). Systemic administration of 20-carboxy LTB4 (10 micrograms) did not affect neutrophil accumulation in response to LTB4 or C5a. In addition, neither 15(S)-hydroxy 5(S)-HPETE(10 micrograms) nor lipoxin A4 (10 micrograms) inhibited responses to LTB4. 4. Addition of 20-hydroxy LTB4 (10(-11)-10(-8) M) to human blood prior to isolation of the neutrophils led to concentration-dependent decrease in the number of LTB4 receptors and decreased chemotactic responsiveness to LTB4 without affecting responses to C5a. Incubation of blood with 20-carboxy LTB4 (10(-8) M) did not reduce LTB4 receptor number of chemotactic responsiveness to LTB4. 5. These data indicate that although 20-hydroxy LTB4 is a weak agonist at LTB4 receptors, it can desensitize neutrophils to the effects of LTB4 via down-regulation of the high affinity receptor and thus provides evidence for a mechanism whereby inflammatory responses may be regulated.
Inherently bias drift free amplitude modulator

The authors demonstrate an inherently bias drift free broadband amplitude modulator design based on an integrated optic travelling wave phase modulator in a fibre Sagnac interferometer. Operation is demonstrated over 0.5-20 GHz, and the bias is shown to be stable to better than 1/spl deg/ over a temperature range of 28/spl deg/C.
The isolation and long-term culture of oligodendrocytes from newborn mouse brain

Using differential adhesion we successfully isolated relatively pure populations of mouse oligodendrocytes which can be maintained in vitro for more than two months. The highest percentage of galactocerebroside (GalC)-positive oligodendrocytes was 95% at 3 days after isolation. Thereafter, proliferation of astrocytes and fibroblasts occured more quickly than did oligodendrocyte precursor division. GalC-positive oligodendrocytes rarely incorporate [3H]thymidine so that the use of a mitotic inhibitor (5 × 10−6 M AraC) reduced the number of non-ligodendrocytes so as to maintain the purity of oligodendrocytes at more than 75% for 14 days in culture. This system will be of use for immunological and virological studies which require viable cultured mouse oligodendrocytes.
Historic houses and special events

Abstract Heritage resource managers use events to generate publicity, attract crowds, create new entertainment forms, enhance education, preserve folk culture, celebrate ethnic diversity and raise money. This study investigates recurring events that are related to historic houses. Community festivals formally recognize historic houses as community leisure resources, but relegate them to peripheral status. Stand-alone house tours showcase historic houses and capitalize on their intrinsic appeal. Living history events show that historic houses are appropriate environments for learning about and enjoying many aspects of yesteryear's lifestyles. Key megatrends in the area of historic event production include rapidly growing competition, the professionalization of management and the proliferation of living history events.
An ontology based text mining system for knowledge discovery from the diagnosis data in the automotive domain

Abstract In automotive domain, overwhelming volume of textual data is recorded in the form of repair verbatim collected during the fault diagnosis (FD) process. Here, the aim of knowledge discovery using text mining (KDT) task is to discover the best-practice repair knowledge from millions of repair verbatim enabling accurate FD. However, the complexity of KDT problem is largely due to the fact that a significant amount of relevant knowledge is buried in noisy and unstructured verbatim. In this paper, we propose a novel ontology-based text mining system, which uses the diagnosis ontology for annotating key terms recorded in the repair verbatim. The annotated terms are extracted in different tuples, which are used to identify the field anomalies. The extracted tuples are further used by the frequently co-occurring clustering algorithm to cluster the repair verbatim data such that the best-practice repair actions used to fix commonly observed symptoms associated with the faulty parts can be discovered. The performance of our system has been validated by using the real world data and it has been successfully implemented in a web based distributed architecture in real life industry.
State and Local Government Procurement and the Winter Commission

The Winter Commission proposed a state and local government procurement reform agenda that placed public managers at the core of a depoliticized, deregulated, and more pragmatic public sector contracting process. Drawing on the literature and data from several state and local government surveys, this article shows that between 1992 and 2003, state and local governments’ contracting practices moved in directions consistent with the commission’s reform agenda. By 2003, state and local governments had decentralized and deregulated their contracting processes, were contracting more effectively and in circumstances in which it is more likely to be successful, and had adopted several innovative technologies and management practices.
Toward a General Approach for RNA-Templated Hierarchical Assembly of Split-Proteins

The ability to conditionally turn on a signal or induce a function in the presence of a user-defined RNA target has potential applications in medicine and synthetic biology. Although sequence-specific pumilio repeat proteins can target a limited set of ssRNA sequences, there are no general methods for targeting ssRNA with designed proteins. As a first step toward RNA recognition, we utilized the RNA binding domain of argonaute, implicated in RNA interference, for specifically targeting generic 2-nucleotide, 3' overhangs of any dsRNA. We tested the reassembly of a split-luciferase enzyme guided by argonaute-mediated recognition of newly generated nucleotide overhangs when ssRNA is targeted by a designed complementary guide sequence. This approach was successful when argonaute was utilized in conjunction with a pumilio repeat and expanded the scope of potential ssRNA targets. However, targeting any desired ssRNA remained elusive as two argonaute domains provided minimal reassembled split-luciferase. We next designed and tested a second hierarchical assembly, wherein ssDNA guides are appended to DNA hairpins that serve as a scaffold for high affinity zinc fingers attached to split-luciferase. In the presence of a ssRNA target containing adjacent sequences complementary to the guides, the hairpins are brought into proximity, allowing for zinc finger binding and concomitant reassembly of the fragmented luciferase. The scope of this new approach was validated by specifically targeting RNA encoding VEGF, hDM2, and HER2. These approaches provide potentially general design paradigms for the conditional reassembly of fragmented proteins in the presence of any desired ssRNA target.
The effect of bond coat grit blasting on the durability and thermally grown oxide stress in an electron beam physical vapor deposited thermal barrier coating

Abstract Photo-stimulated luminescence Piezo-spectroscopy (PLPS) is being developed as a non-destructive technique for thermal barrier coatings (TBC). In this study, the evolution of photo-stimulated luminescence with thermal cycling was systematically investigated from the thermally grown oxide (TGO) in a production TBC, which consists of an electron beam physical vapor deposited (EB-PVD) 7 wt.% Y2O3–ZrO2 top coat, a grit blasted (Ni,Pt)Al bond coat and a CMSX-4 superalloy substrate. The change of compressive stress in the TGO layer on the bond coat with thermal cycling was calculated from the wavelength shift of the luminescence spectra. The compressive stress increased from 1.0–2.2 GPa in the as received state to 2.8–3.3 GPa at 10 cycles, then gradually decreased to 1.2–1.9 GPa until 500 cycles and remained at this level until TBC spallation. Other fluorescence spectra characteristics, such as the width of R1 and R2 peaks and their relative intensity, were also evaluated. These PLPS measurements on TBCs with grit blasted bond coats are compared with previous measurements on similar TBC system but with non-grit blasted bond coats. It is concluded that the initial increase in stress is associated with the formation of a continuous oxide layer. The lower stress of the specimens with the grit blasted bond coats compared to that of the as-coated bond coats is associated partly with the greater surface roughness. And the fast decline in compressive stress is the result of bond coat surface rumpling facilitated by the initially rougher surface. The lifetime of the TBCs with grit blasted bond coats varies over a narrow range, 600–750 cycles with an average of 675 cycles, which is related to their consistent bond coat surface roughness.
Creatine phosphokinase, modified fluorometric method.

Abstract Creatine phosphokinase was determined using 20 μl of serum and a lo-min incubation period at 37° followed by a fluorometric quantitation. Reaction circumstances were made optimal and much higher normal values were found.
Effect of Penicillin on Seed Germination

The substances present in therapeutic penicillin which cause inhibition of germination and root growth are represented by the indole-3-acetic acid type of compound. Since this and phenylacetie acid were known to be present in the penicillin tested, it is concluded that they are responsible for the inhibition activity against seeds. None of the crystalline penicillins tested appreciably retarded germination.
Continuously broken ergodicity

A system that is initially ergodic can become nonergodic, i.e., display “broken ergodicity,” if the relaxation time scale of the system becomes longer than the observation time over which properties are measured. The phenomenon of broken ergodicity is of vital importance to the study of many condensed matter systems. While previous modeling efforts have focused on systems with a sudden, discontinuous loss of ergodicity, they cannot be applied to study a gradual transition between ergodic and nonergodic behavior. This transition range, where the observation time scale is comparable to that of the structural relaxation process, is especially pertinent for the study of glass transition range behavior, as ergodicity breaking is an inherently continuous process for normal laboratory glass formation. In this paper, we present a general statistical mechanical framework for modeling systems with continuously broken ergodicity. Our approach enables the direct computation of entropy loss upon ergodicity breaking, accounting for actual transition rates between microstates and observation over a specified time interval. In contrast to previous modeling efforts for discontinuously broken ergodicity, we make no assumptions about phase space partitioning or confinement. We present a hierarchical master equation technique for implementing our approach and apply it to two simple one-dimensional landscapes. Finally, we demonstrate the compliance of our approach with the second and third laws of thermodynamics.
Evidence for a NIMA-like mitotic pathway in vertebrate cells

NIMA is essential for entry into mitosis in Aspergillus nidulans. To examine whether there is a NIMA-like pathway in other eukaryotic cell cycles, we expressed NIMA and its dominant negative mutants in two different eukaryotic systems. In Xenopus oocytes, NIMA induced germinal vesicle breakdown without activating Mos, CDC2, or MAP kinase. In HeLa cells, NIMA induced premature mitotic events without activating CDC2, whereas the mutants caused a specific G2 arrest but did not block mutant CDC2T14AY15F-induced premature entry into mitosis. A sequence essential for both these phenotypes was mapped to a region of approximately 100 amino acids lying just after the catalytic domain of NIMA that shows a significant similarity to protein interaction domains in other proteins. These results provide evidence for the existence of a NIMA-like mitotic pathway in vertebrate cells.
Encapsulation of an 86-kDa assembly intermediate inside the cavities of GroEL and its single-ring variant SR1 by GroES.

Abstract We described previously that during the assembly of the α2β2 heterotetramer of human mitochondrial branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase (BCKD), chaperonins GroEL/GroES interact with the kinetically trapped heterodimeric (αβ) intermediate to facilitate conversion of the latter to the native BCKD heterotetramer. Here, we show that the 86-kDa heterodimeric intermediate possesses a native-like conformation as judged by its binding to a fluorescent probe 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate. This large heterodimeric intermediate is accommodated as an entity inside cavities of GroEL and its single-ring variant SR1 and is encapsulated by GroES as indicated by the resistance of the heterodimer to tryptic digestion. The SR1-αβ-GroES complex is isolated as a stable single species by gel filtration in the presence of Mg-ATP. In contrast, an unfolded BCKD fusion protein of similar size, which also resides in the GroEL or SR1 cavity, is too large to be capped by GroES. The cis-capping mechanism is consistent with the high level of BCKD activity recovered with the GroEL-αβ complex, GroES, and Mg-ATP. The 86-kDa native-like heterodimeric intermediate in the BCKD assembly pathway represents the largest protein substrate known to fit inside the GroELcis cavity underneath GroES, which significantly exceeds the current size limit of 57 kDa established for unfolded proteins.
A fast resource synthesis technique for energy-efficient real-time systems

We consider a resource synthesis technique for real-time systems where the energy budget is limited and the performance of the system depends on how resources and energy are used. We consider two performance models for a task: (1) a task has variable execution time and performance of a task depends on the amount of execution time received, and (2) the execution time of a task is constant and the performance of a task depends on its frequency. We first propose an optimal resource synthesis technique which maximizes system performance without energy constraints. We prove its optimality with the earliest deadline first (EDF) scheduling policy when the performance function of a task is non-decreasing and concave. We propose an energy-aware resource allocation technique for systems with energy constraints using the same analytical framework. The energy-aware resource synthesis technique considers both resource usage and energy consumption to find a near optimal solution that maximizes system performance within the energy budget.
Assertive Outreach: An Effective Strategy for Engaging Homeless Persons with Substance Use Disorders into Treatment

The purpose of this study was to examine substance abuse treatment referrals that were made by outreach workers in a homeless outreach project. Ten outreach workers completed questionnaires on each of their clients who they had referred to a substance abuse treatment program over the previous year. Additional data was collected on the client's motivation level at the point the referral was made, which agencies the client was referred to, and if the client was rejected from any of the treatment programs. Bivariate correlation analyses were used to examine relationships between the variables. Of 73 project clients who were referred to substance abuse treatment in a one-year period of time, 41% successfully entered treatment. As might be expected, there was a statistically significant relationship between clients' motivation level and completed referral, and between referrals made and program acceptance. This study provides evidence that assertive outreach is effective in engaging and linking homeless persons with substance use disorders to substance abuse treatment services.
The Tabernacle and the Temple in Ancient Israel

According to the Bible, the Tabernacle, a portable and ornate tent shrine, served as the terrestrial home for ancient Israel's deity from its construction at Mount Sinai under the supervision of Moses until it was replaced by Solomon's Temple. Solomon built his Temple in Jerusalem on the summit of Mount Moriah, and this served as God's home for approximately four hundred years. The Babylonians destroyed the Temple in 586 BCE. Zerubbabel oversaw the building of a Second Temple in 520 BCE. This building underwent extensive renovations by Herod in 19 BCE, and the Jerusalem Temple was finally destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans. Many of the most famous events in the Bible and history take place at the Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temple, as they were the most important structures in ancient Israel. For the past two millennia they have been the focus of more attention than any other buildings in antiquity.
Plagiocephaly and torticollis: etiology, natural history, and helmet treatment.

PLAGIOCEPHALY, or rhomboid-shaped head, occurs in at least one in 300 live born infants.' Such calvarial asymmetry is rarely caused by brain malformation or unilateral sutural synostosis, but usually results from late gestational or postnatal deformation. When an infant's rapidly growing head is maintained in a nearly fixed position against the uterine wall or the mattress, the calvarium is progressively flattened. Such deformational plagiocephaly generally will improve within a few months after birth, especially ifa full range of neck movement can be rapidly achieved. However, for perhaps 10% of affected infants plagiocephaly may persist as a permanent mild-to-severe cosmetic deformity. If the pressure of a rapidly growing brain against a flat surface would flatten the skull, then pressure against a concave surface should round it back again. We developed individual plastic helmets for this purpose and previously reported the successful use of these helmets in four patients.: Since that report we have treated an additional 24 patients with helmets for severe deformational plagiocephaly. Another 15 patients with severe plagiocephaly have been followed who declined helmet treatment. This experience with 43 patients with plagio
Uninfected mosquito bites confer protection against infection with malaria parasites.

Despite decades of research and multiple initiatives, malaria continues to be one of the world's most debilitating infectious diseases. New insights for malaria control and vaccine development will be essential to thwart the staggering worldwide impact of this disease (A. Bjorkman and A. Bhattarai, Acta Trop. 94:163-169, 2005); ultimately successful vaccine strategies will undoubtedly be multifactorial, incorporating multiple antigens and targeting diverse aspects of the malaria parasites’ biology (M. F. Good et al., Immunol. Rev. 201:254-267, 2004). Using a murine model of malaria infection, we show here that exposure to bites from uninfected mosquitoes prior to Plasmodium yoelii infection influences the local and systemic immune responses and limits parasite development within the host. In hosts preexposed to bites from uninfected mosquitoes, reduced parasite burdens in the livers were detected early, and during the blood-stage of the life cycle, these burdens remained lower than those in hosts that received mosquito bites only at the time of infection. Repeated exposure to bites from uninfected mosquitoes skewed the immune response towards a T-helper 1 (Th1) phenotype as indicated by increased levels of interleukin-12, gamma interferon, and inducible nitric oxide synthase. These data suggest that the addition of mosquito salivary components to antimalaria vaccines may be a viable strategy for creating a Th1-biased environment known to be effective against malaria infection. Furthermore, this strategy may be important for the development of vaccines to combat other mosquito-transmitted pathogens.
Do female college students who purge report greater alcohol use and negative alcohol-related consequences?

Objective: There has been little research examining the relative importance of the amount of substance consumed versus consequences of substance use in persons with eating disorders. The current study examined the status of both aspects of alcohol use in persons with problematic eating behavior. Method: Twenty-one women who reported purging on the National College Health Assessment were identified from a larger (N = 391) sample. A matched group was also created from the larger sample. These groups were compared on alcohol consumption and negative alcohol-related consequences. Results: Participants who purged reported both more frequent alcohol use and more negative consequences of alcohol use than the comparison group. Some of the negative consequences were severe. The current study extends previous research on the association between eating disorders and alcohol use disorders. Because alcohol use and the negative consequences of alcohol use are not identical, they both should be assessed in persons with eating disorders. a 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Computational Study of Primary Electrons in the Cusp Region of an Ion Engine's Discharge Chamber

In this work a computer code called PRIMA is used to study the motion of primary electrons in the magnetic cusp region of the discharge chamber of an ion engine. Even though the amount of wall area covered by the cusps is very small, the cusp regions are important because prior computational analyses have indicated that most primary electrons leave the discharge chamber through the cusps. The analysis presented here focuses on the cusp region only. The affects of the shape and size of the cusp region on primary electron travel are studied as well as the angle and location at which the electron enters the cusp region. These affects are quantified using the confinement length and the number density distributions of the primary electrons. In addition to these results comparisons of the results from PRIMA are made to experimental results for a cylindrical discharge chamber with two magnetic rings. These comparisons indicate the validity of the computer code called PRIMA.
Regulation of neuronal and glial proteins by leptin: implications for brain development

The complete absence of leptin causes severe obesity in mice and humans, but its physiological roles are incompletely defined. Earlier studies reported decreased brain weight and impaired myelination in ob/ob and db/db mice. Here we have examined the effects of leptin deficiency and postnatal leptin treatment on brain weight, the expression of a broad array of neuronal and glial markers, and locomotor activity. ob/ob and db/db mice have reduced brain weight and an immature pattern of expression of synaptic and glial proteins, with growth-associated protein being elevated in the neocortex and hippocampus, and syntaxin-1, synaptosomal-associated protein-25, and synaptobrevin being decreased. The expression of myelin basic protein, proteolipid protein, and glial fibrillary acidic protein was also decreased in the neocortex, hippocampus, and striatum of ob/ob and db/db mice. Six weeks of leptin treatment initiated at week 4 increased brain weight and protein content, increased locomotor activity, and normalized levels of growth-associated protein, syntaxin-1, and synaptosomal-associated protein-25 in ob/ob mice without affecting synaptobrevin and glial proteins. In contrast with ob/ob and db/db mice, obese agouti (AY/a) mice had normal brain weight and expression of synaptic and glial proteins. These findings suggest that leptin, a peripheral signal of energy stores in adult animals, is required for normal neuronal and glial maturation in the mouse nervous system.
Social movements and email: expressions of online identity in the globalization protests

This study focuses on three email lists — one used by a professional organization (Friends of the Earth) and two by grass roots, street-level participants (Direct Action Network and People's Global Action) — in the Seattle World Trade Organization protests. Each list was examined in terms of how it contributed to the expression of collective identities online. Each group's list employed at least one of three processes identified here as key to collective identity: the Friends of the Earth list emphasized cognitive framing of the event; Direct Action Network focused on emotional investments among list members; and People's Global Action stressed setting boundaries among movement participants.Yet overall, none of the lists was entirely successful as a vehicle for expressing movement identities, suggesting that while the internet may facilitate certain organizational activities of social movements, it appears to have less impact on their symbolic ones.
Organic Synthesis via Triphenylborane

Abstract We are currently interested in the regiospecific introduction of functional substituents on to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The new organoborane technology appeared to offer a straightforward solution to a number of our synthetic problems.1,2 An examination of the literature revealed that only a few of the newer synthetic procedures have been applied to aryl organoboranes.3 Consequently, we decided to investigate the reactions of aryl organoboranes with a variety of reagents utilizing triphenylborane as our model compound.
Patellar tendon avulsion as a complication of Osgood-Schlatter's disease

The etiology of Osgood-Schlatter's disease remains a topic for debate. Previous studies by Ogden and Southwick (Osgood-Schlatter's disease and tibial tubercle development. Clin Orthop 116: 180 - 189, 1976) strongly support the concept of multiple microavulsions of the anterior surface of the developing ossification center of the tibial tubercle as the underlying cause. Orthopaedic literature fails to associate Osgood-Schlatter's disease with traumatic disruption of the extensor mechanism of the knee. Though the mechanism of injury for such trauma is as common as Osgood-Schlatter's disease itself, such occurrences are rare. Failure of the point of attachment of the patellar tendon in a patient with markedly symptomatic Osgood-Schlatter's disease tends to confirm the etiologic concept of Ogden and Southwick. Patients with markedly symptomatic Osgood-Schlatter's disease who engage in activities involving rapid deceleration or vigorous vertical acceleration are in a relatively high risk category for disruption of the extensor mechanism. Traumatic avulsion of the patellar tendon in such a patient establishes this relationship.
Lactogenic Effect of Bovine Placental Lactogen on Pregnant Rabbit but not Pregnant Heifer Mammary Gland Explants

Abstract The biological function of bovine placental lactogen is unknown. However, bovine placental lactogen is known to bind prolactin receptors in rabbit mammary gland. This hormone was therefore cultured with rabbit mammary gland explants to confirm that it is lactogenic in this species. Mammary explants from pregnant heifers were also cultured with bovine placental lactogen to determine if the same preparation of hormone possessed similar lactogenic potential in homologous species. Bovine placental lactogen was tested over a range of concentrations from 10 to 500ng/ml and was about 50 to 80% as potent as bovine prolactin when cultured with mammary explants from 19-d pregnant virgin rabbits. Lactogenic response was assessed by both the incorporation of [ 14 C] acetate into lipid and by the synthesis of casein. Bovine placental lactogen displayed negligible lactogenic activity when cultured with mammary explants from 6 to 7-mo pregnant heifers. Lactogenic response was assessed using the same criteria as used with the rabbit mammary explants; in addition, accumulation of α-lactalbumin in the explants was also measured. Although bovine placental lactogen was lactogenic in the rabbit, the same hormone preparation was apparently not lactogenic in cattle. It is therefore vital to test for the biological activity of a hormone in a homologous system, because inappropriate conclusion may be drawn from the response obtained in a heterologous system.
Endpoint admission control: network based approach

Proposes a network-based endpoint admission control system for scalable QoS-guaranteed real-time communication services. This system is based on a sink tree-based resource management strategy and is particularly well-suited for differentiated services-based architectures. By performing the admission decision at the endpoints, the flow setup latency and the signaling overhead are kept to a minimum. In addition, the proposed system integrates routing and resource reservation along the routes, and therefore displays higher admission probability and better link resource utilization. This approach achieves a low overall admission control overhead because much of the delay computation is done during system configuration, and so resources can effectively be pre-allocated before run time. We investigate a number of resource-sharing approaches that allow resources to be efficiently re-allocated at run time with minimized additional overhead. We provide simulation experiments that illustrate the benefits of using sink tree-based resource management for resource pre-allocation and for routing, both with and without resource sharing.
An emerging organizational structure: A study of levels and information needs

The increasingly competitive nature of business is causing firms to rethink the manner in which they are organized, while the availability of more advanced information technologies are enabling significant organizational change tot take place. One change is the compression of organizational structures towards four basic hierarchical levels. Each level requires information specific to its unique orientation and related activities. To meet this requirement three types of support will be needed: Intelligence support, which provides information on the internal and external environments of the organization; decision support, which organizes the information and facilitates the decision-making process; and technical support, which enables a sharing of the organization's information. A study of the procurement areas in several firms in a single manufacturing industry found that the areas appear to be moving towards the four-level organizational structure. However, they are doing so without recognition of the orientation and activities associated with the various levels. Also, none of the firms have gone beyond developing minimal intelligence support capability. This study indicates that systems thinking is not driving the organizational structure in the procurement areas, which may be indicative of other functional areas in the firm. Such systems thinking must come about if each functional activity is to contribute to the competitive capabilities of the firm.
A wavelength-tunable monolithically integrated double ring resonator coupled laser

Large wavelength tuning of a double ring resonator coupled laser is demonstrated. The 20 different modes spreading in 17 nm range have a maximum output power of 1.2 mW, and a side mode suppression of about 30 dB.