cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural analysis of drug—DNA interactions

Abstract This review summarizes results of solution NMR and X-ray crystallographic structural studies of drug—DNA complexes that have been reported since December, 1989. These include minor-groove-binding drugs, intercalators, and covalent adducts. Comparison of results obtained for the same or similar drugs bound to different DNA sequences, or complexes studied in solution and in the crystal, indicates the importance of sequence and conditions in determining the mode of drug binding. Different structures are sometimes observed in the crystal and in solution, and the mode of drug binding is sometimes different for different sequences. Two important general conclusions can be drawn from these studies. Firstly, large structural changes are often observed in the DNA concomitant with drug binding — these include widening of the minor groove to accommodate drug dimers and the formation of Hoogsteen base pairs. Secondly, many drugs exhibit more than one binding mode, and therefore one should be cautious in drawing conclusions about the biological mode of action of a drug based on results for a single structure.
Targeting mTOR in mantle cell lymphoma: Current and future directions

The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is an important therapeutic target in mantle cell lymphoma. Ample preclinical data suggests this axis contributes not only to pathogenesis, but remains tonically activated and can be targeted with available agents. Classic mTOR inhibitors, which allosterically bind to mTORC1 and include temsirolimus and everolimus, show efficacy in heavily pretreated and elderly patients. However, only a portion of patients respond and durability is limited. Numerous resistance mechanisms have been identified, including paradoxical Akt activation. Currently, several ongoing trials are combining mTOR inhibitors with other agents that either block upstream components of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis or that inhibit complementary signaling pathways, with hopes of improving outcomes. Dual inhibition of mTORC1 and mTORC2 using small molecule catalytic site inhibitors against the mTOR kinase may also prove to be superior to first generation agents, but clinical data remains nascent. Several dozen ongoing clinical trials should help refine the optimal use of mTOR inhibitors for MCL patients.
Economic Analysis in Talmudic Literature: Some Ancient Studies of Value

. The Talmudic Sages displayed a remarkable understanding of economic laws and practices. A knowledge of this understanding would be useful for the development of western economic thought. Especially is this true of the insight these Jewish scholars won into the nature of value, one of the most controversial economic concepts today. The Talmud—a compilation of studies, disputations and interpretations from Palestinian and Babylonian academies from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.—contains a complex system of value concepts in which economic aspects are part of a larger set of ethical and legal doctrines. This includes “ideal” and “market value,” the value of human life and its link to man's productive capacity, the derivation of present value from calculations of expected income flow from the person's labor, the nucleus of the concept of ”human capital,” of “free labor” as against “slave labor,” subjective and objective value with the latter made subjective and the former objective, psychic value and marginal utility. The most intriguing doctrine is that of a “valueless value”; the Talmudic sages attempted the quantification of a negative value couched in positive and psycho-economic terms, an idea which, it is held, has no parallel in western economic thought. This idea, it is argued, has significance for modern welfare economics; it is a distinct category in which the valueless subject is given a positive numerical value (1) (2).
Learning to trust and trusting to learn: a theoretical framework

Learning from other people requires integrating reasoning about an informant's psychological properties, such as knowledge and intent, with reasoning about the implications of the data the informant chooses to present. Here, we argue for an approach that considers these two reasoning paths as interrelated, reciprocal processes that develop over experience and guide learners when acquiring knowledge about the world.
To Educate, Equip, and Empower: Black Church Sponsorship of Tutoring or Literary Programs

The Black Church has a long history of sponsoring youth educational programs. Yet Black students continue to lag behind their White counterparts in academic outcomes. This research note examines; (1) sponsorship of tutoring or literacy programs based on a national sample of 1,863 Black churches across seven denominations and (2) the forms of congregational cultural capital that influence such efforts. Results show denominational differences. Moreover, larger churches as well as those with formally educated leaders and members are more likely to sponsor tutorial or literacy programs. Churches that provide religious and religious-education programs, include gospel rap music during worship, and strive to increase members’ awareness of racial, social, and political issues are also more likely to sponsor these programs. Lastly, although the influence of spiritual dictates varies, churches that more frequently expose members to sermons about personal spiritual growth are also more apt to offer these youth educational programs. Best practices are provided to identify and harness the various forms of church capital found in Black congregations to improve educational outcomes for Black students.
Public support for congress

The present inquiry focuses upon recent levels and trends of public support and nonsupport of the U.S. Congress. The data are drawn from statewide surveys of Wisconsin adults in 1970–1978 and from such sources as CPS/NES, Gallup, and Harris. Measurement focuses upon four major types of public support for Congress—pure specific support (performance), pure diffuse support (including general confidence in the institution, sense of personal efficacy in relation to Congress, desire for institutional reform or maintenance and the amount of power preferred for Congress relative to other branches), and two mixed types of support, long-term performance assessments and confidence in congressional incumbents. With few exceptions, Congress has suffered a general erosion of public support over the past decade on most indicators.
A distinct declarative question design in Korean conversation: An examination of turn-final ko questions

This study identifies the use of the clausal connective suffix ko ‘and’ as a question-formulating device in Korean conversation. While previous studies of question devices in Korean mainly discuss sentence-ending suffixes, this study illustrates how the clausal connective suffix ko in turn-final position with a rising intonation formulates a distinct type of declarative question. The turn-final ko question syntactically shows a parasitic relation to another question or an informing turn in the interaction, which it treats as a host. The question is constructed in relation to prior turns as an insertion. This parasitic characteristic explains how the turn-final ko declarative question differs from other types of declarative questions formulated with different sentence-ending devices. This study also examines cases of the turn-final ko question independently functioning as a declarative question without a parasitic relationship to prior turns or talk, which further suggests that the turn-final ko has become grammaticalized as a marker of a full and complete declarative question. This study adds to cross-linguistic understanding of question formulation by illustrating question design features of Korean, an agglutinative language with a subject–object–verb structure.
Matters of scale and the politics of the Food Safety Modernization Act

Signed into law in early 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) marked the first major overhaul of the United States’ regulatory system for food safety since the 1930s. This presidential address explores how the social movement for local and regional food systems influenced the debates around the FSMA and, in particular, how issues of scale became pivotal in those debates. Specifically, a key question revolved around whether or not the proposed regulations should apply to small farms and processors who sell directly to consumers in local markets. Advocates of the so-called “Tester amendment” aimed to create a scale-sensitive alternative to the requirements in the bill. This address lays out the three interrelated arguments that amendment advocates used. The first was the idea that food safety risks are different at different scales, and therefore the rules should reflect those differences. Their second argument revolved around the character of the local, direct markets of small producers and the social relationships embedded within them. The third argument used to support the Tester amendment is that the costs of complying with the detailed regulatory requirements of the new food safety law place a disproportionately large burden on small producers and that might thwart the emerging market for local food as an alternative to industrial agriculture. I conclude by suggesting some research and policy questions that could be explored more fully, both with respect to this case and with respect to alternative agri-food movements more generally.
Psychometric modeling of decision making via game play

We build a model for the kind of decision making involved in games of strategy such as chess, making it abstract enough to remove essentially all game-specific contingency, and compare it to known psychometric models of test taking, item response, and performance assessment. Decisions are modeled in terms of fallible agents Z faced with possible actions ai whose utilities Ui=U (ai) are not fully apparent. The three main goals of the model are prediction, meaning to infer probabilities Pi for Z to choose ai; intrinsic rating, meaning to assess the skill of a person's actual choices ait over various test items t; and simulation of the distribution of choices by an agent with a specified skill set. We describe and train the model on large data from chess tournament games of different ranks of players, and exemplify its accuracy by applying it to give intrinsic ratings for world championship matches.
PsyScope: An interactive graphic system for designing and controlling experiments in the psychology laboratory using Macintosh computers

PsyScope is an integrated environment for designing and running psychology experiments on Macintosh computers. The primary goal of PsyScope is to give both psychology students and trained researchers a tool that allows them to design experiments without the need for programming. PsyScope relies on the interactive graphic environment provided by Macintosh computers to accomplish this goal. The standard components of a psychology experiment—groups, blocks, trials, and factors—are all represented graphically, and experiments are constructed by working with these elements in interactive windows and dialogs. In this article, we describe the overall organization of the program, provide an example of how a simple experiment can be constructed within its graphic environment, and discuss some of its technical features (such as its underlying scripting language, timing characteristics, etc.). PsyScope is available for noncommercial purposes free of charge and unsupported to the general research community. Information about how to obtain the program and its documentation is provided.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and the emergency physician

Summary AIDS is a new public health disaster that is unlikely to be resolved quickly. It is manifested by a profound immune deficiency accompanied by the development of KS, PCP, and/or other opportunistic infections. A retrovirus, HTLV-III, is the probable cause of the immunosuppression, and it is transmitted in a manner similar to hepatitis B virus. Groups at highest risk include homosexual men, intravenous drug abusers, Haitians, and hemophiliacs. Therapy is largely experimental, and mortality is high. The emergency physician must be familiar with the signs, symptoms, and early management of AIDS. He should be able to offer guidance on disease prevention to both health care workers and members of high-risk groups. Allocation of major financial resources and intensive investigation are necessary to abort this cruel epidemic that affects primarily younger persons. Such investigation will undoubtedly produce new advances in virology, oncology, and immunology that will benefit medicine and society as a whole.
Plane Strain Dislocations in Linear Elastic Diffusive Solids

Solutions are obtained for the stress and pore pressure due to sudden introduction of plane strain dislocations in a linear elastic, fluid-infiltrated, Biot, solid. Previous solutions have required that the pore fluid pressure and its gradient be continuous. Consequently, the antisymmetry (symmetry) ofthe pore pressure p about y = Orequires that this plane be permeable (p = 0) for a shear dislocation and impermeable (dp/dy = 0) for an opening dislocation. Here Fourier and Laplace transforms are used to obtain the stress and pore pressure due to sudden introduction of a shear dislocation on an impermeable plane and an opening dislocation on a permeable plane. The pore pressure is discontinuous on y = 0 for the shear dislocation and its gradient is discontinuous on y = 0 for the opening dislocation. The timedependence of the traction induced on y = 0 is identical for shear and opening dislocations on an impermeable plane, but differs significantly from that for dislocations on a permeable plane. More specifically, the traction on an impermeable plane does not decay monotonically from its short-time (undrained) value as it does on a permeable plane; instead, it first increases to apeak in excess of the short-time value by about 20 percent of the difference between the short and long time values. Differences also occur in the distribution of stresses and pore pressure depending on whether the dislocations are emplaced on permeable or impermeable planes.
Bipolar suction electrodes for pharyngeal electromyography

We have developed bipolar suction electrodes (BSEs) for surface electromyography (EMG) of the pharynx and esophagus. Construction techniques are described, and procedures for recording from the upper esophagus, cricopharyngeus, and pharyngeal constrictors are explained. Sample EMG recordings are presented. Advantages of this new technique, including simple verification of placement, analysis by surface recording, and minimal pain, are discussed.
Useful modifications of the Escherichia coli expression plasmid pJL6

Abstract Several useful modifications of the Escherichia coli expression plasmid pJL6 have been constructed. These include the introduction of a wide variety of restriction sites by the cloning of oligonucleotide linker DNA or of a short DNA fragment containing many sites. These plasmids can allow the expression of genes adjacent to one of the restriction sites provided. Another plasmid, pJLA16, allows the cloning of blunt-ended DNA adjacent to the fragment of phage gene, thus allowing fusions of this gene fragment with target gene DNA. This facilitates the expression of genes on blunt-ended DNA fragments that are either directly the product of restriction enzyme digestion or fragments that are resected with Bal-31 nuclease.
Mutation at β-Tubulin Codon 200 Indicated Thiabendazole Resistance in Penicillium digitatum Collected from California Citrus Packinghouses.

Schmidt, L. S., Ghosoph, J. M., Margosan, D. A., and Smilanick, J. L. 2006. Mutation at βtubulin codon 200 indicated thiabendazole resistance in Penicillium digitatum collected from California citrus packinghouses. Plant Dis. 90:765-770. Thiabendazole (TBZ) is commonly applied to harvested citrus fruit in packinghouses to control citrus green mold, caused by Penicillium digitatum. Although TBZ is not used before harvest, another benzimidazole, thiophanate methyl, is commonly used in Florida and may be introduced soon in California to control postharvest decay of citrus fruit. Isolates from infected lemons and oranges were collected from many geographically diverse locations in California. Thirty-five isolates collected from commercial groves and residential trees were sensitive to TBZ, while 19 of 74 isolates collected from 10 packinghouses were resistant to TBZ. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis indicated that the isolates were genetically distinct and differed from each other. Nineteen TBZ-resistant isolates and a known TBZ-resistant isolate displayed a point mutation in the β-tubulin gene sequence corresponding to amino acid codon position 200. Thymine was replaced by adenine (TTC ∆ TAC), which changed the phenylalanine (F) to tyrosine (Y). In contrast, for 49 TBZ-sensitive isolates that were sequenced, no mutations at this or any other codon positions were found. All of the isolates of P. digitatum resistant to TBZ collected from a geographically diverse sample of California packinghouses appeared to have the same point mutation conferring thiabendazole resistance.
Solute and penetrant diffusion in swellable polymers. XI. The dynamic swelling behavior of hydrophilic copolymers containing multiethylene glycol dimethacrylates

Copolymers of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate with a number of multiethylene glycol dimethacrylates were prepared by bulk copolymerization in the presence of AIBN s an initiator. The content of the dimethacrylate varied between 30 and 50 mol %. Additional copolymers were prepared by solution polymerization in the presence of water or ethanol. All samples were swollen in water up to thermodynamic equilibrium, and their dynamic swelling behavior was studied as a function of time. It was concluded that the mechanism of water transport in these moderately and highly crosslinked polymers was a coupled relaxation and diffusion and that the relaxational contribution to the overall transport depended on the chain length of the multiethylene glycol dimethacrylate.
POSTPARTUM WEIGHT LOSS AND BODY CHANGES IN LACTATING VS. FORMULA FEEDING PRIMIPARAS. † 776

POSTPARTUM WEIGHT LOSS AND BODY CHANGES IN LACTATING VS. FORMULA FEEDING PRIMIPARAS. † 776
The thermodynamic and the kinetic limits of superheat of a liquid

Thermodynamic, mechanical stability considerations place an upper limit on the domain of a metastable, superheated liquid. This spinodal temperature or thermodynamic limit of superheat (TLS) exceeds the kinetic limit of superheat (KLS) determined by droplet-heating and pulse-heating experiments or predicted by homogeneous nucleation theory. The two-parameter equations of state of van der Waals, scaled particle theory, Redlich-Kwong, and Berthelot, all fail to exceed the maximum observed KLS. These low estimates are expected because all of these equations predict a tangent to the vapor pressure curve, dPsdT, which is too small at the critical point. A four-parameter equation of state is explored with the form (P + aTmVn) (V - b) = RT. The parameters are adjusted so that T, P, V, and dPsdT all have the correct value at the critical point. This equation yields TLS estimates which not only exceed the maximum KLS, but also provide a reasonable extrapolation of the KLS data to the maximum possible bubble nucleation flux.
Quantitation of IgE antibodies by radioimmunoassay in the presence of high concentrations of non-IgE antibodies of the same specificity

Radioimmunoassays for mouse IgE antibodies, based on adherence to an antigen-coated surface, are precise and sensitive, but errors can be introduced by the presence of relatively high concentrations of non-IgE antibodies of the same specificity. Such errors are caused by competition for the limited number of antigenic determinants on the antigen-coated surface. In this paper we explore further the quantitative aspects of the 'competition effect'. An easily applied method is described, based on preferential precipitation of non-IgE antibodies by ammonium sulfate, that permits analysis of IgE antibodies in the presence of large amounts of non-IgE antibodies (that are principally IgG). For IgE anti-Ar, the maximum permissible ratio is extended from approximately 1500:1 to at least 40,000:1. We have also determined the effect of IgG antibodies or whole mouse serum on PCA reactions of mouse IgE antibodies, carried out in rats.
Insights from full-rotation Nelder spacing trials with Eucalyptus in São Paulo, Brazil.

The choice of spacing among trees for operational plantations is typically based on one or more experimental plantations that test for the response of tree and stand growth to a range of tree-to-tree distances. The most common design for spacing experiments entails rectangular plots that test different distances between rows, and between trees within rows, and with replication of plots covering one to several hectares within a single stand. Other designs may offer more information with simpler layouts, and we examined the insights that could be obtained from a Nelder (fan-shape) design, where spacing among trees varies with the radial distance from a central point. The response of Eucalyptus dunnii seed-origin trees to spacing was essentially similar between a classic plot design replicated in four blocks (tree spacing from 4.5 to 9.2 m2 tree−1, covering 1.4 ha of land), and a Nelder design (tree spacing from 2.1 to 44.0 m2 tree−1, covering 0.6 ha of land). The Nelder design showed slightly higher volume ...
On-line liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for determination of the brevetoxin profile in natural “red tide” algae blooms

Abstract Reversed-phase liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) was employed to analyze brevetoxin compounds associated with naturally occurring red tide blooms collected from Sarasota Bay, FL, USA. The LC-ESI-MS method utilizes a C18 microbore column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-water (85:15, v/v), a flow-rate of 8 μl/min and a post-column split ratio of 3:1 (UV-absorbance detector-mass spectrometer). Three known brevetoxins Btx-2, Btx-1 and Btx-3 were detected at 60 μg/l, 10 μg/l and 5.7 μg/l levels, respectively, in the natrual red tide bloom samples. This distribution differed quantitatively from that found in red tide culture extract samples. Btx-9 was not detected either in natural red tide bloom extracts or in red tide culture extracts, possibly due to the instability of this compound. An unknown component with a molecular mass of 941 found in the natural bloom extract was postulated to have the structure of a reduced form (hydrogenation of two double bonds in the alkyl side chain) of Btx-5.
Atmospheric Circulation Changes Associated with the Warming over the Northern North Atlantic in the 1920s

Abstract A sharp increase in the Arctic mean winter temperature occurred around 1920. The occurrence of consistently positive temperature anomalies at Spitsbergen (starting in 1919), Iceland (1921) and Greenland (1926) subjoined the more gradual warming trend over northern Europe which had been in progress since the mid-1890s. The atmospheric circulation changes associated with the warming of the 1920s are examined using the historical surface weather maps, surface zonal and meridional wind components and station air temperature data. From 1900 to 1925, when European winters were gradually becoming milder, winters in Greenland were generally colder than the 1851–1960 normal. The mean Icelandic Low reached maximum intensity and a northernmost position at about 65°N latitude throughout the period. After 1925, the Low shifted closer to the southern tip of Greenland; this was accompanied by a slight weakening of the westerlies and an increase in meridional flow (southerly) over Greenland and Baffin Bay. In no...
A review on solution processing of chalcogenide glasses for optical components

Solution-processing offers a pathway to fabricate complex chalcogenide structures for electronic, imaging and photonic applications. More importantly, it has benefits in flexibility and integration as compared to conventional methods. This paper reviews the fundamental physics and chemistry in the solution process, along with discussing recent examples of applying the solution method to fabricate high-quality optical and photonic components.
Workplace literacy assessment

This is a report of applied research into assessment of learning in three workplace literacy programs for paraprofessional health care workers in the USA. In these programs the employees sought to improve skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and problem solving needed on the job. These skills, along with self-concept and self-efficacy, were assessed using a variety of instruments including informal tests, teacher ratings, self-report scales, and standardized measures. Links between instruction and assessment are described for a workplace literacy program for psychiatric health aides, in which statistically significant pre-post gains were obtained for reading comprehension, writing skills, self-efficacy and self-concept. Issues affecting workplace literacy assessment include participant attrition, the nature of measures (formal vs informal) and transfer of training from job-specific to general reading abilities. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A methodology for testing a new spatial model of elections

The purpose of this paper is to offer a methodology for testing a new spatial theory of elections. Specifically, it is shown that the new spatial model of elections developed by Enelow and Hinich (1984a) is statistically equivalent to assuming that a classical factor structure underlies the data that voters provide concerning the issue positions of themselves and the candidates. A factor analysis of the sample correlation matrix of candidate variables averaged over voters and issues provides consistent estimates of the candidate locations in the space of predictive dimensions postulated by Enelow and Hinich, and the facor scores assigned to the voters can be used to project the voters onto the same predictive space with the candidates.
Overview of the MGH-Northeast Proton Therapy Center plans and progress

Abstract The Northeast Proton Therapy Center (NPTC) is currently being designed and is scheduled for completion in 1998. The goal of the project is to provide the northeast region of the United States with a first class proton therapy facility which has the capabilities needed for the conduct of innovative research, and proven treatments using proton therapy. The NPTC will be built on the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) campus. MGH has contracted Bechtel Corporation to coordinate the design and building of the civil construction. Ion Beam Applications (IBA) who is teamed with General Atomics, is responsible for the equipment. The specifications for the facility are written in terms of the clinical performance requirements and will be presented. Aspects of the facility design, status and plans will also be presented.
Ethylene dimerization over a model Sn/Pt(111) catalyst

The dimerization reaction of ethylene was studied over Pt(111) and (√3×√3)R30°-Sn/ Pt(111) model catalysts at moderate pressures (20–100 Torr). The catalyst surfaces were prepared and characterized in a UHV surface analysis system and moderate pressure catalytic reactions were conducted with an attached batch reactor. The overall catalytic activity of the (√3×√3)R30°-Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy for C4 products was slightly higher than that at Pt(111). In addition to the dimerization reaction, hydrogenolysis of ethylene to propane and methane was also observed, with the (√3×√3)R30°-Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy less active than Pt(111). Among the C4 products, butenes andn-butane were the major components. Carbon buildup was observed to be significant above 500 K with the (√3×√3)R30°-Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy much more resistant than Pt(111). The dimerization of ethylene was not eliminated by the presence of surface carbonaceous deposits and even at significant surface coverages of carbon the model catalysts exhibited significant activities. The results are discussed in terms of the surface chemistry of ethylene and the previously reported catalytic reactions of acetylene trimerization andn-butane hydrogenolysis at these surfaces.
Simplified Screening of Lower Extremity Arterial Bypasses

This study assessed a new technique comparing the width of the distal Doppler signal with that of the proximal Doppler signal in order to detect intervening bypass graft or anastomotic stenoses. The width of the Doppler signal was defined as the time from the initial Doppler signal upstroke until the time the signal returned to within 10% of its baseline. The width of the distal Doppler signal was compared with the width of the proximal Doppler signal for 11 normal bypasses and for 11 bypasses with a significant intervening stenosis.The distal Doppler signal was at least 10% wider than the proximal Doppler signal in all bypasses with a significant intervening stenosis, unlike most bypasses without an intervening stenosis (P<0.001). This technique detected all the significant bypass graft stenoses while eliminating the need to do complete bypass graft duplex ultrasound studies on most normal bypasses.
Diffusion of metals in silicon dioxide

The diffusion coefficient and solubilities of several metals (Ag, Cu, Au, Pd, and Ti) have been investigated by bias temperature stress (BTS) of (MOS) structures using the candidate metal as the electrode. Temperatures ranged from 250° to 600°C, and the electric fields ranged from +106 to −106 V/cm in ambients of vacuum (10−6 torr), nitrogen, and forming gas . In dry , the activation energy for silver diffusion is found to be 1.24 eV in the temperature range of 275°–365°C. The diffusion coefficient for silver at 300°C in silicon dioxide is . Copper diffusion has an activation energy of 1.82 eV in the temperature range of 350°–450°C in a forming gas environment and a diffusion coefficient in at 450°C of . A thermodynamic model to predict the activation energy of the solid solubility of these metals in and an interstitial diffusion model, that includes both strain and electrostatic energies, which predicts the diffusion activation energy, have been developed. Diffusion coefficients are estimated from a closed form solution of the diffusion equation and the observed behavior of the metal in .
Materials characterization and flaw detection by acoustic NDE

For many years, researchers have used internal friction to characterize structural inhomogeneities or flaws in a material by using the frequency or temperature dependence of the acoustic loss mechanisms connected with these inhomogeneities. The field of materials characterization and flaw detection by acoustic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) thus has a broad fundamental base. This knowledge base is of great interest in that it is useful for nondestructive characterization and, particularly, to determine the effect of these inhomogeneities on the overall performance of the material. A variety of inhomogeneities can be studied by acoustic NDE, including interstitials, precipitates, dislocations, grains, phase transformations, porosity, and cracks.
Forced Resonant Migration of Pluto's Outer Satellites by Charon

Two small moons of Pluto have been discovered in low-eccentricity orbits exterior to Pluto's large satellite, Charon. All three satellite orbits are nearly coplanar, implying a common origin. It has been argued that Charon formed as a result of a giant impact with primordial Pluto. The orbital periods of the two new moons are nearly integer multiples of Charon's period, suggesting that they were driven outward by resonant interactions with Charon during its tidal orbital expansion. This could have been accomplished if Charon's orbit was eccentric during most of this orbital evolution, with the small moons originating as debris from the collision that produced Charon.
Effect of chronic sulfonylurea treatment on the myocardium of insulin-dependent diabetic rats

Adult rats treated with high doses of streptozocin became progressively more hyperglycemic during the first month of the diabetic condition. Treatment of these rats with the sulfonylurea glyburide halted, and in some cases, reversed this process in a high percentage of the diabetics. Associated with the glyburide-mediated improvement in fasting blood glucose levels was an increase in myocardial glucose utilization and lactate production. The stimulation of myocardial glucose utilization by insulin was greater in glyburide-treated hearts, indicating that the hyperglycemic agent increased insulin responsiveness. The sulfonylurea also partially restored insulin sensitivity to the normal range. In agreement with previous studies, myocardial mechanical function was significantly impaired in the diabetic heart. When treated with glyburide, the severity of the mechanical defect was significantly less. The sulfonylurea also promoted an increase in myosin ATPase activity and a shift in the myosin isozyme pattern in favour of the most active V1 form. These results imply that glyburide therapy can provide benefit to the diabetic heart by improving energy metabolism and promoting a shift in myosin towards the most active form.
Nonlinear hydrodynamics and the liquid-glass transition: A numerical study

We present a numerical study of a Langevin-equation model for a simple fluid. We study the relaxation kinetics of the density-time-correlation function. We find a stretched exponential regime with an exponent \ensuremath{\beta} depending on wave vector in agreement with results obtained from mode-coupling theory and correlated with the wave-number dependence of the static-structure factor. At larger wave vectors, we find a transition to power-law behavior after a rapid decay.
Oscillatory cluster patterns in a homogeneous chemical system with global feedback

Oscillatory clusters are sets of domains in which nearly all elements in a given domain oscillate with the same amplitude and phase1,2,3,4. They play an important role in understanding coupled neuron systems5,6,7,8. In the simplest case, a system consists of two clusters that oscillate in antiphase and can each occupy multiple fixed spatial domains. Examples of cluster behaviour in extended chemical systems are rare, but have been shown to resemble standing waves9,10,11,12,13, except that they lack a characteristic wavelength. Here we report the observation of so-called ‘localized clusters’—periodic antiphase oscillations in one part of the medium, while the remainder appears uniform—in the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction–diffusion system with photochemical global feedback. We also observe standing clusters with fixed spatial domains that oscillate periodically in time and occupy the entire medium, and irregular clusters with no periodicity in either space or time, with standing clusters transforming into irregular clusters and then into localized clusters as the strength of the global negative feedback is gradually increased. By incorporating the effects of global feedback into a model of the reaction, we are able to simulate successfully the experimental data.
Tyrosines in the Influenza A Virus M2 Protein Cytoplasmic Tail Are Critical for Production of Infectious Virus Particles

The cytoplasmic tail of the influenza A virus M2 protein is required for the production of infectious virions. In this study, critical residues in the M2 cytoplasmic tail were identified by single-alanine scanning mutagenesis. The tyrosine residue at position 76, which is conserved in >99% of influenza virus strains sequenced to date, was identified as being critical for the formation of infectious virus particles using both reverse genetics and a protein trans-complementation assay. Recombinant viruses encoding M2 with the Y76A mutation demonstrated replication defects in MDCK cells as well as in primary differentiated airway epithelial cell cultures, defects in the formation of filamentous virus particles, and reduced packaging of nucleoprotein into virus particles. These defects could all be overcome by a mutation of serine to tyrosine at position 71 of the M2 cytoplasmic tail, which emerged after blind passage of viruses containing the Y76A mutation. These data confirm and extend our understanding of the significance of the M2 protein for infectious virus particle assembly.
A Novel Cost of R Gene Resistance in the Presence of Disease

Abstract: Resistance responses can impose fitness costs when pests are absent. Here, we test whether the induction of resistance can decrease fitness even in plants under attack; we call this potential outcome a net cost with attack. Using lines in which genetic background was controlled, we investigated whether susceptible Arabidopsis thaliana plants can outperform R gene resistant plants when infected with pathogens. For the R gene RPS2, there was a fitness benefit of resistance in the presence of intraspecific competition, but there was a net cost in the absence of competition: resistant plants produced less seed than susceptible plants even though infected with Pseudomonas syringae. This net cost was primarily due to overcompensation by susceptible plants, which occurred because of a developmental response to infection. For the R gene RPP5, there was no fitness effect of resistance without competition but a net cost when plants were infected with Peronospora parasitica in the presence of competition. ...
Obama's Education Plan: The Theory of Action behind Turning Around America's Worst Schools.

Policy makers’ attempts to improve low-achieving schools through reform measures are not new to the 21st century. Research asserts that this policy churn has done little, if anything, to change stu...
Falsely Elevated Acetaminophen Levels in the Setting of Hyperbilirubinemia

A 51-year-old male with a history of heavy alcohol abuse presented with alcoholic hepatitis and acute renal failure. Although he denied acetaminophen (APAP) ingestion, he was found to have elevated APAP levels that persisted and actually increased despite treatment with N-acetylcysteine. Review of the literature reveals that falsely elevated APAP levels may rarely occur with patients suffering from liver failure and felt to be related to severe hyperbilirubinemia. Interpretation of APAP levels in patients with severe liver disease and hyperbilirubinemia may be difficult and lead to diagnostic and therapeutic confusion. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jaim.v2i2.8782 Journal of Advances in Internal Medicine 2013;02(02):74-77
ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Over the last 45 years the field of organ transplantation has evolved into a well-established therapy for irreversible failure of a variety of organs. Since the first successful renal transplantation in 1954 by Joseph Murray, 400,000 kidney, 42,000 heart, 52,000 liver, 6000 lung, 2000 pancreas, 7000 kidney-pancreas, 230 pancreatic islet, and 80,000 bone marrow transplants have been performed worldwide. 1 Whereas graft loss owing to acute rejection was the major problem of organ transplantation 40 years ago, transplant loss owing to chronic rejection, the adverse effects of chronic immunosuppression, and the organ donor shortage are at the forefront of problems facing this rapidly emerging discipline. Induction of immunologic tolerance allowing graft survival in the absence of exogenous immunosuppression, the holy grail of transplantation immunology, and the use of tissue from animal donors are the predominant research challenges for the immediate future.
An IRT-based measure of alcohol trait severity and the role of traitedness in trait validity: A reanalysis of Project MATCH data

With the variability among alcohol users in mind, Project MATCH hypothesized several treatment matching relationships based on alcohol severity and alcohol dependence, but found limited effects. However, it is possible that the existing examinations of Project MATCH data did not fully characterize the nature of severity of alcohol dependence, as these analyses have examined dependence severity as an additive symptom count similar to the diagnostic strategy represented in the DSM-IV. We examined dependence severity as a latent trait hypothesized to have a characteristic developmental progression using Item Response Theory (IRT), and examined the implications of this approach to severity scaling in the Project MATCH data. The IRT-derived empirical continuum corresponded to an earlier theoretical model of the developmental course of alcoholism, demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity, and incremented other severity markers in predicting Alcoholics Anonymous involvement, social functioning, and readiness of change. However, it did not predict treatment outcomes or other validating variables more effectively than the measures used in the original design. Furthermore, an empirical index of person fit to this continuum did not moderate trait-validator relations including treatment outcome and treatment matching effects. Overall, findings did not support the incremental utility of a latent trait representation of alcohol severity.
The clinical course of patients with severe "rheumatic" mitral insufficiency.

Abstract This study has been concerned chiefly with the clinical course of adult patients with predominant rheumatic mitral insufficiency under medical management. It is based on a series of 42 patients followed medically, and a group of 115 patients who underwent cardiac surgery. These have been compared with a group of 138 patients proven to have pure mitral stenosis at surgery. The patients were similar in age and sex. Rheumatic fever had been diagnosed in more than half the patients with insufficiency, and subacute bacterial endocarditis had occurred more frequently, but a history of systemic embolism was less frequent in insufficiency than in stenosis. Strikingly different was the tendency of patients with insufficiency to develop atrial fibrillation and enlargement of the left ventricles and left atria, the latter often very marked. It has been shown that mitral insufficiency may exist in the symptom-free stage for many years, and many of these patients may be in atrial fibrillation and have large and even gigantic left atria, and left ventricular enlargement. Deterioration may be very slow, although sudden death may occur occasionally. The more malignant course and the difference in clinical profile of patients with ruptured papillary muscles or chordae tendineae is described in a group of 13 such patients. The implications of this study in connection with the selection of patients for cardiac surgery have been discussed.
On the linguistic shaping of thought: Another response to Alfred Bloom

Bloom (1981, 1984) linked the existence of specific grammatical constructions – for example, the counterfactual conditional in English – to the development of a labeled cognitive schema specific to counterfactual thought. He claimed that because the Chinese language lacks an equivalent grammatical marker, Chinese speakers do not develop the corresponding cognitive schema and thus process counterfactuals “less naturally” (1981:22) than English speakers. Whereas attempts to replicate Bloom (Au 1983, 1984; Liu 1985) questioned the extent to which such differences exist, this article demonstrates that where differences in counterfactual response patterns clearly do exist, they cannot be attributed to the presence/absence of a linguistic “counterfactual” construction.
Life history and secondary production of Hexagenia bilineata (Say) in an embayment of Kentucky Lake

Spatial distribution, life history, and secondary production of Hexagenia bilineata (Say) were studied in Ledbetter Embayment of Kentucky Lake, Kentucky, USA. We sampled the naiad population using a PONAR grab based on (1) geographically-referenced random sampling for the whole embayment, and (2) targeted sampling in a known high-density area. Secondary production was calculated with the size-frequency method. Greatest densities of naiads were collected in the shallow area (water depth <2 m) of the embayment with sediments containing gravel and sand. Mean density and biomass in the high-density transect (70.8 m−2, 587.3 mg ash-free dry mass, AFDM/m2) were more than 4× higher than estimates for the whole embayment (16.6 m−2, 121.5 mg AFDM/m2). H. bilineata population in Ledbetter Embayment had a mixed voltinism composed of two major cohorts, 14 and 22 month long with the majority of adult emergence occurring June through August. Annual production of H. bilineata was 333 mg AFDM/m2 for the embayment and 1736 mg AFDM/m2 for the high-density transect. The production of H. bilineata in Ledbetter Embayment was lower than previous estimates from similar reservoirs and lakes in the North America. The unusual spatial distribution pattern and low productivity of H. bilineata in Ledbetter Embayment were attributed to seasonal and spatial variations in water temperature and dissolved oxygen that affected naiad growth and development. H. bilineata population has been relegated from a species often responsible for a large percentage of the benthic macroinvertebrate production and carbon turnover to peripheral importance in total benthic energy flow in Ledbetter Embayment.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors C and D Induces Proliferation of Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Cells through Autocrine Crosstalk with Endothelium

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a potentially fatal lung disease characterized by nodules of proliferative smooth muscle-like cells. The exact nature of these LAM cells and their proliferative stimuli are poorly characterized. Herein we report the novel findings that the lymphangiogenic vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) C and D induce LAM cell proliferation through activation of their cognate receptor VEGF-R3 and activation of the signaling intermediates Akt/mTOR/S6. Furthermore, we identify expression of the proteoglycan NG2, a marker of immature smooth muscle cells, as a characteristic of LAM cells both in vitro and in human lung tissue. VEGF-C-induced LAM cell proliferation was in part a result of autocrine stimulation that resulted from cross talk with lymphatic endothelial cells. Ultimately, these findings identify the lymphangiogenic VEGF proteins as pathogenic growth factors in LAM disease and at the same time provide a novel pharmacotherapeutic target for a lung disease that to date has no known effective treatment.
On the Diffusion of Electromagnetic Waves and Applicability of Diffusion Equation to Multipath Random Media

The diffusion behavior of electromagnetic (EM) waves in two dimensional (2-D) multipath media is studied through integral equation based full wave Monte Carlo simulations. The influences of some physical factors are explored, among which the area density of the embedded obstacles manifests itself to be the most important one in determining wave diffusion. A lossy system starts to behave diffusively when the area density approximately exceeds 5%, and the diffusion equations are generally applicable for predicting power decay. At low densities, the power-distance relation of the waves appears to follow power laws. The sizes and shapes of the obstacles have a secondary effect on the diffusion of waves. Whenever a system contains small objects or objects with reflecting sides, the waves therein are more diffusive and the diffusion equation approximates the reality more accurately. Absorption loss decreases wave diffusion in general, but our results show that the diffusion equation for a system with very lossy but small obstacles can work very well for predicting power decay.
Reflexive empathy: On predicting more than has ever been observed

A model positing that perception of another's affective state automatically generates matching emotional and instrumental responses predicts more than has ever been observed. Reflexive empathicness would produce emotional exhaustion, inhibitory strain, and debilitate everyday functioning. Self-regulation of empathic responses involves, not only reactive inhibition, but agentic proactive control. Pervasive inhumanities involve selective disengagement of empathic restraints through dissociative psychosocial mechanisms.