cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conversion of Arginine into Ornithine by Advanced Glycation in Senescent Human Collagen and Lens Crystallins

Long lived proteins undergo age-related postsynthetic modifications that destabilize them by altering their conformation, charge, and helicity, thereby enhancing their resistance toward proteolysis and propensity to aggregate. The unexpected finding of substantial amounts of ornithine, the nonprotein amino acid, and decarbamidation product of arginine in acid hydrolysates of lens crystallins and skin collagen led us to investigate its source and mechanism of formation. In order to exclude ornithine formation as an artifact of acid hydrolysis, proteins were reductively alkylated with formaldehyde to convert ornithine to dimethyl-ornithine. The proteins were assayed for carboxymethyl-ornithine and glycated ornithine ("furornithine") by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Ornithine in acid hydrolysates of human lens and skin proteins increased from 1 to 15 nmol/mg protein from ages 10 to 90 years, whereas dimethyl-ornithine increased from 0.5 to 15 and from 0 to 5 nmol/mg protein, respectively. Carboxymethyl-ornithine and furornithine increased with age in lens and skin from ∼0 to 60 and 0 to 180 pmol/mg protein, respectively. In collagen, ornithine was elevated above levels of nondiabetic controls only when both diabetes and end stage renal disease were present. The age-related increase of these modifications provides evidence for substantial in vivo formation of ornithine in aging human tissue proteins. The mechanism of ornithine formation is not known, but data suggest that arginine-derived advanced glycation end products might serve as precursors for the in vivo conversion of ornithine from arginine.
Elastic constants of composites formed from PMMA bone cement and anisotropic bovine tibial cancellous bone

Abstract An ultrasonic pulse-transit time technique is used to determine the nine orthotropic engineering constants of 32 cement-cancellous bone composites as a function of volume fractions of bone ranging from 0.0 to 0.4. The composites are manufactured using well-aligned bovine cancellous bone from the proximal end of the tibia and low viscosity bone cement. Selected composites are also subjected to mechanical compression tests to compare with the ultrasonic results. There is excellent correlation between the dynamic or ultrasonically determined moduli and the static or mechanically determined moduli; the dynamic moduli are approximately twice the static moduli and this difference is thought to be due to the effect of strain rate. An orthotropic model is assumed requiring nine independent elastic constants to be determined. The dynamic Young's modulus in the direction of major trabecular alignment, E1, increases linearly from 4.9 to 10.4 GPa as bone volume fraction increases from 0 to 0.4; dynamic E2 and E3 values increase from 4.9 to 7 GPa as bone volume fractions increase from 0 to 0.4, with E2 being slightly higher than E3. The dynamic shear modulus, G12, increases from 1.8 to 3.0 GPa, and G31 and G23 increase slightly from 1.8 to 2.2 GPa as bone volume fractions increase from 0 to 0.4. The Poisson's ratios are more sensitive than the Young's moduli and shear moduli to experimental error in the velocity measurements. The mechanically tested modulus (static modulus) in the direction of major trabecular alignment, E1, increases with volume fraction of bone from 2.4 to 4.4 GPa as the bone volume fraction increases from 0 to 0.25; static E2 and E3 values are either equal to or lower than that of pure PMMA.
Cogan Syndrome: A Retrospective Review of 60 Patients Throughout a Half Century

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the disease manifestations and clinical course of patients affected by Cogan syndrome (a syndrome of nonsyphilitic interstitial keratitis and vestibuloauditory symptoms) at a single institution during roughly a half century. PATIENTS AND METHODS Medical records of all patients diagnosed as having Cogan syndrome at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, and who were followed up from 1940 to 2002 were comprehensively reviewed. Otolaryngologic, ophthalmologic, and systemic manifestations of disease were analyzed. Analysis included patient demographics, presenting manifestations, delayed manifestations, laboratory testing, physical examination features, therapeutic interventions, disease course, and hearing and vision outcomes. RESULTS Sixty patients were identified as having Cogan syndrome, with follow-up from 1940 to 2002. Most patients presented initially with vestibuloauditory symptoms, most commonly sudden hearing loss (50%). The most common inflammatory ophthalmologic condition noted was bilateral interstitial keratitis. Headache (40%), fever (27%), and arthralgia (35%) were the most frequently encountered systemic manifestations. Evidence of aortitis was found in 12% of patients. Complete hearing loss was eventually noted in 52% of affected patients, whereas permanent loss of any degree of vision was uncommon. Cochlear implantation outcomes were uniformly good. Death directly or indirectly attributed to the effects of Cogan syndrome was noted in 4 patients. CONCLUSIONS The major disease-related morbidities were due to vestibuloauditory disease and only infrequently due to systemic manifestations such as vasculitis, with or without aortitis. Cochlear implantation has been of major benefit in modern hearing rehabilitation for this patient population. We advise caution before institution of protracted courses of high-dose corticosteroids and/or chemotherapy for patients without pronounced systemic disease or severe eye disease unmanageable by topical or periocular corticosteroids alone.
Linking education and industry: Reasons for mutual cooperation

The current situation in many academic and industrial organizations provides little support for significant new ideas or changes in those areas where expenses or major retraining are required. While these areas are not typically critical for short-term organizational effectiveness, they are essential for the long-term health of these organizations.
Leader and Therapeutic Influences on Prosocial Skill Building in School-Based Groups to Prevent Aggression:

Objective: Increasingly, social workers are using standardized skill-building models to provide services to children that are time limited, focused on specific attainable goals, and easily evaluate...
Modeling the effect of attention deficit in game-based motor ability assessment of Cerebral Palsy patients

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a central nervous system disorder affecting 2 out of every 1000 births. CP limits a person's muscular function. Rehabilitative, touch-screen gaming promises to assist in developing muscle tone and dexterity for hemi-paretic CP patients as well as help therapists keep track of a patient's performance over time. However, most systems fail to take into account other factors of the disorder that could affect the scoring of a patient differently on various assessment days - specifically attention deficit or distraction. Cerebral Palsy is frequently associated with diagnosed Attention Deficit (Hyperactive) Disorder (ADD/ADHD), but even if a child does not fall within that definition, pediatric CP patients are often easily distracted. In this work we perform attention deficit simulation experiments with able-bodied users playing three rehabilitative games as well as similar computer generated data and propose a methodology to model and eliminate the effects of attention deficit or distraction from the scoring scheme used to evaluate the patient's motor abilities and progress over time.
Extra-retinal and perspective cues cause the small range of the induced effect.

With a horizontal magnifier before one eye, a frontoparallel surface appears rotated about a vertical axis (geometric effect). With a vertical magnifier, apparent rotation is opposite in direction (induced effect); to restore appearance of frontoparallelism, the surface must be rotated away from the magnified eye. The induced effect is interesting because it was thought until recently that vertical disparities do not play an important role in surface perception. As with the geometric effect, the required rotation for the induced effect increases linearly to &4% magnification; unlike the geometric effect, it plateaus at ∼8%. Current theory explains the linear portion: vertical size ratios (VSRs) are used to compensate for changes in horizontal size ratios (HSRs) that accompany eccentric gaze, so changes in VSR cause changes in perceived slant. The theory does not explain the plateau. We demonstrate that it results from differing slant estimates obtained by use of various retinal and extra-retinal signals. When perspective cues to slant are minimized or sensed eye position is consistent with VSR, the induced and geometric effects have similar magnitudes even at large magnifications.
Lidocaine potentiates the chondrotoxicity of methylprednisolone.

Purpose This study examined the viability of bovine articular chondrocytes after exposure to methylprednisolone, methylprednisolone with lidocaine, and methylprednisolone in a simulated inflammatory environment. Methods Bovine articular chondrocytes were suspended in alginate beads and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/F-12 for 1 week before experimentation. Suspended chondrocytes were exposed to 0.9% saline solution (negative control), methylprednisolone (4, 8, and 16 mg/mL), methylprednisolone (8 mg/mL) with 1% lidocaine, or methylprednisolone (8 mg/mL) and saline solution in a simulated inflammatory environment (interleukin [IL] 1β exposure, 10 ng/mL) for 15, 30, and 60 minutes. Flow cytometry was performed 1 day, 4 days, and 7 days after exposure by use of annexin V and propidium iodide to assess chondrocyte viability. Results Chondrocyte viability decreased from 84% in saline solution to 62%, 38%, and 2.4% 1 day after 60 minutes of exposure to 4, 8, and 16 mg/mL of methylprednisolone, respectively (n = 7, P P P Conclusions These results show a dose- and time-dependent decrease in chondrocyte viability after exposure to clinically relevant doses of methylprednisolone. The combination of methylprednisolone and lidocaine was toxic, with virtually no cells surviving after treatment. In addition, methylprednisolone did not mitigate the inflammatory effects of IL-1β; rather, it further potentiated the chondrotoxicity. Clinical Relevance Intra-articular injections of corticosteroids and local anesthetics are widely used in clinical practice. This in vitro study provides information on the potential effects of these drugs on articular cartilage.
Arrestin-1 expression level in rods: balancing functional performance and photoreceptor health.

Abstract In rod photoreceptors, signaling persists as long as rhodopsin remains catalytically active. Phosphorylation by rhodopsin kinase followed by arrestin-1 binding completely deactivates rhodopsin. Timely termination prevents excessive signaling and ensures rapid recovery. Mouse rods express arrestin-1 and rhodopsin at ∼0.8:1 ratio, making arrestin-1 the second most abundant protein in the rod. The biological significance of wild type arrestin-1 expression level remains unclear. Here we investigated the effects of varying arrestin-1 expression on its intracellular distribution in dark-adapted photoreceptors, rod functional performance, recovery kinetics, and morphology. We found that rod outer segments isolated from dark-adapted animals expressing arrestin-1 at wild type or higher level contain much greater fraction of arrestin-1 than previously estimated, 15–25% of the total. The fraction of arrestin-1 residing in the outer segments (OS) in animals with low expression (4–12% of wild type) is much lower, 5–7% of the total. Only 4% of wild type arrestin-1 level in the outer segments was sufficient to maintain near-normal retinal morphology, whereas rapid recovery required at least ∼12%. Supra-physiological arrestin-1 expression improved light sensitivity and facilitated photoresponse recovery, but was detrimental for photoreceptor health, particularly in the peripheral retina. Thus, physiological level of arrestin-1 expression in rods reflects the balance between short-term functional performance of photoreceptors and their long-term health.
Identifiability of kinetic parameters of methanol synthesis in plug-flow tracing

The identifability of the fundamental kinetic parameters of a model of a plug-flow isotope transient tracing of methanol over PdNO/Al was investigated. The values of the parameters were estimated by securing a least-squares fit between the tracer data and the partial differential equations describing the reaction response in a plug-flow mode. The results demonstrate that modeling and identifiability of isotope transient tracing data provide for a meaningful assessment of heterogeneous catalytic reaction systems.
In vitro growth inhibition of murine leukemia cells by antibody specific for the major envelope glycoprotein (gp71) of friend leukemia virus

An in vitro complement (C')-independent growth cytostasis model is described in which the replication of Friend leukemia virus (FLV)-induced erythroleukemia cells (of the FLC-745 cell line) is inhibited by goat serum directed against the major FLV envelope glycoprotein, gp71. The cytostatic effect is reversible, with the degree of this reversibility dependent on both the concentration and duration of exposure to immune serum. The inhibitory factor in heat-activated goat anti-FLV gp71 (delta G alpha FLV gp71) serum has been identified as virus-specific IgG antibody, and F(ab')2 fragments of this antibody are highly effective in suppressing FLC-745 cell growth. Studies with various murine leukemia and lymphoma cell lines, as well as with a panel of antisera directed against various murine oncornaviruses or viral proteins, have demonstrated that antibodies reactive with the group or type determinants of FLV gp71 are capable of mediating cytostasis. Under conditions of antibody-mediated growth inhibition of FLC-745 cells, specific modulation of gp71 expression is followed by nonspecific modulation of H-2d antigen expression. In addition, considerable cell death occurs in cytostatic cultures which is accompanied by continued division (as measured by DNA synthesis) of a portion of the cell population. Cytofluorimetric analysis of nuclei from growth-inhibited FLC-745 cells demonstrates a diminution in the frequency of cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. It is suggested that antibody-mediate FLC-745 cell growth inhibition operates via a blockade of the cell cycle which prevents most cells in the population from traversing G2/M. While these blocked cells appear to be subject to slow cytolysis by a C'-independent mechanism, a portion of the cells escape this blockade and continue to replicate, thus offsetting the death of the former cells to yield a relatively constant density of viable cells for at least 72-96 h of growth inhibition. The possible relevance of this in vitro phenomenon to in vivo passive therapy against FLV-induced disease with G alpha FLV gp71 and similar antisera is briefly considered.
Age-related changes in the subiculum of Macaca mulatta: Synaptic density

Dendritic spines and synapses were quantitated in the subiculum of 12 Macaca mulatta from 7 to 29 years of age. Dendritic spines were analyzed in six dendritic foci of pyramidal neurons impregnated by the Golgi-Cox method. The dendritic foci examined were the apical shaft, apical oblique, apical tuft, apical terminal, basal terminal, and basal dendrites. Electron microscopic observations were made on synapses stained with ethanolic phosphotungstic acid. There was no difference in spine density between a group of young (7 to 12 years of age) and middle-aged (18 to 21 years) animals. The mean spine density was 1.09/microns for the young and 1.15/microns for the middle-aged animals. In contrast, the spine density of the old animals was 0.87/microns, which was significantly lower than the spine density found in the young and middle-aged animals. A loss of dendritic spines in the old animals occurred equally in all six dendritic foci. A decline in synaptic density in the aged animals were further evidenced by an ultrastructural analysis. The synaptic density of the old animals was 8.3 X 10(8)/mm3, significantly lower than 9.5 X 10(8)/mm3 and 10.2 X 10(8)/mm3 found in the young and middle-aged animals, respectively. This study on synaptic density demonstrated the decline in synaptic number as a function of age in M. mulatta.
Towards using online portfolios in computing courses

The direct experience we had with teaching a summer pre-college computing course in which we adopted an online portfolio approach has led us to consider the use of online portfolios in our regular computer science undergraduate courses. The technical challenges we foresee include: the necessary support from the college's IT department; the use of Microsoft-based web authoring technologies vs. the use of Open Source / freeware counterparts; the need for adequate technical knowledge on the part of our faculty; the need for server-side hardware and software resources.
Trapped nonneutral plasmas, liquids, and crystals (the thermal equilibrium states)

Plasmas consisting exclusively of particles with a single sign of charge (e.g., pure electron plasmas and pure ion plasmas) can be confined by static electric and magnetic fields (in a Penning trap) and also be in a state of global thermal equilibrium. This important property distinguishes these totally unneutralized plasmas from neutral and quasineutral plasmas. This paper reviews the conditions for, and the structure of, the thermal equilibrium states. Both theory and experiment are discussed, but the emphasis is decidedly on theory. It is a huge advantage to be able to use thermal equilibrium statistical mechanics to describe the plasma state. Such a description is easily obtained and complete, including for example the details of the plasma shape and microscopic order. Pure electron and pure ion plasmas are routinely confined for hours and even days, and thermal equilibrium states are observed. These plasmas can be cooled to the cryogenic temperature range, where liquid and crystal-like states are realized. The authors discuss the structure of the correlated states separately for three plasma sizes: large plasmas, in which the free energy is dominated by the bulk plasma; mesoscale plasmas, in which the free energy is strongly influenced by the surface; and Coulomb clusters, in which the number of particles is so small that the canonical ensemble is not a good approximation for the microcanonical ensemble. All three cases have been studied through numerical simulations, analytic theory, and experiment. In addition to describing the structure of the thermal equilibrium states, the authors develop a thermodynamic theory of the trapped plasma system. Thermodynamic inequalities and Maxwell relations provide useful bounds on and general relationships between partial derivatives of the various thermodynamic variables.
Protecting genomic integrity in somatic cells and embryonic stem cells.

Abstract Mutation frequencies at some loci in mammalian somatic cells in vivo approach 10 −4 . The majority of these events occur as a consequence of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) due to mitotic recombination. Such high levels of DNA damage in somatic cells, which can accumulate with age, will cause injury and, after a latency period, may lead to somatic disease and ultimately death. This high level of DNA damage is untenable for germ cells, and by extrapolation for embryonic stem (ES) cells, that must recreate the organism. ES cells cannot tolerate such a high frequency of damage since mutations will immediately impact the altered cell, and subsequently the entire organism. Most importantly, the mutations may be passed on to future generations. ES cells, therefore, must have robust mechanisms to protect the integrity of their genomes. We have examined two such mechanisms. Firstly, we have shown that mutation frequencies and frequencies of mitotic recombination in ES cells are about 100-fold lower than in adult somatic cells or in isogenic mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). A second complementary protective mechanism eliminates those ES cells that have acquired a mutational burden, thereby maintaining a pristine population. Consistent with this hypothesis, ES cells lack a G1 checkpoint, and the two known signaling pathways that mediate the checkpoint are compromised. The checkpoint kinase, Chk2, which participates in both pathways is sequestered at centrosomes in ES cells and does not phosphorylate its substrates (i.e. p53 and Cdc25A) that must be modified to produce a G1 arrest. Ectopic expression of Chk2 does not rescue the p53-mediated pathway, but does restore the pathway mediated by Cdc25A. Wild type ES cells exposed to ionizing radiation do not accumulate in G1 but do so in S-phase and in G2. ES cells that ectopically express Chk2 undergo cell cycle arrest in G1 as well as G2, and appear to be protected from apoptosis.
Supersymmetric optical waveguides

We show that the concept of supersymmetry (SUSY) can be utilized as a versatile tool to design integrated optical structures with desirable eigenmode spectra. Our approach relies on the intriguing ability of SUSY transformations to systematically construct a “superpartner” structure that shares all of its propagation constants with the original waveguide. This approach can be employed to any given one-dimensional refractive index landscapes and establishes perfect global phase matching condition between an, in principle, arbitrarily large number of guided modes, while separating the fundamental mode of the original waveguide. In doing so, SUSY transformations also relate the field distributions of the paired modes, in turn allowing for mode conversion with unity efficiency. Here, the concept of supersymmetry is illustrated through several examples of one-dimensional waveguides. These include the step-index (slab) waveguide as well as parabolic and exponential index profiles. In all cases the superpartner can be obtained analytically. The unique properties of coupled superpartner arrangements make them an ideal platform for integrated mode filtering and multiplexing applications. The key idea behind this is that global phase matching allows each mode from the original waveguide to interact freely with the neighboring guides, while the fundamental mode remains isolated. Here, this whole set of modes can be simultaneously manipulated, attenuated/amplified, or passed through to higher-order SUSY arrangements.
Flavonoids of Viguiera series Brevifoliae

Abstract Leaf and floral fiavonoids were investigated for the three species of Viguiera series Brevifoliae . Foliar fiavonoid aglycones associated with subsessile glandular trichomes confirm that V. brevifolia (no glands and no compounds) and V. greggii (glands on both Fleaf surfaces and several compounds) are distinct species and not just pappose and epappose forms; the third species, V. bicolor , has glands restricted to the lower leaf sorface and relatively large amounts of a single compound, nevadensin. Floral fiavonoids in all species include quercetin glycosides and the anthochlors coreopsin/sulfurein and isoliquiritigenin; V. bicolor and V. brevifolia also contain isoliquiritigenin 4′-glucoside and quercetagetin and its 7-glucoside. The series is distinct within Viguiera in containing flavonoid aglycones with the 6,8,4′ pattern of methoxylation and floral compounds of the quercetagetin type.
Performance of a label erase and wavelength switching sub-system for layer-3 all-optical label switching using a two stage InP wavelength converter

We experimentally assess the performance of a two-stage wavelength conversion label swapping sub-system operating at OC-48 line-rates and variable length packets with layer-3 traffic control. Wavelength switching times < 6 ns are observed giving insignificant throughput penalties for dynamic wavelength switching.
Real progress in molecular psychiatric genetics.

Psychiatric geneticists have quietly been celebrating new discoveries that are changing how we think about the inheritance of mental disorders. We have whispered news about genomewide significant loci, replicated polygenic signals, and cross-disorder genetics, and now publications have begun to tell this tale in louder tones. Such quiet celebration is sensible for a field that has cycled through hope and despair while searching for genes that cause psychopathology.
Lagrangian Observations of Inner-Shelf Motions in Southern California: Can Surface Waves Decelerate Shoreward-Moving Drifters Just outside the Surf Zone?

AbstractThis study explores Eulerian and Lagrangian circulation during weak winds at two inner-shelf locations off the Southern California coast where the shoreline, shelf, wind, and wave characteristics differ from those in previous studies. In agreement with recent observational studies, wave-driven Eulerian offshore flow just outside the surf zone, referred to as undertow, is a substantial component of the net cross-shore circulation during periods of weak winds. Drifter observations show onshore surface flow, likely due to light onshore winds, and a consistent decrease in onshore velocity of roughly 4 cm s−1 within a few hundred meters of the surf zone. Undertow is examined as a possible explanation for the observed Lagrangian decelerations. Model results suggest that, even when waves are small, undertow can decrease the velocity of shoreward-moving drifters by >2 cm s−1, roughly half the observed deceleration. The coastal boundary condition also has the potential to contribute to the observed deceler...
Comment on ``Diffusion of Ionic Particles in Charged Disordered Media''

This comment points out that simulation results of Mehrabi and Sahimi [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 735 (1999)] are iconsistent with exact bounds, renormalization group calculations, and previous numerical simulations.
Gauge gravity and the unification of natural forces

Physics seems to tell us that there are four fundamental force-fields in nature: the gravitational, the electromagnetic, the weak, and the strong force-field (or interactions). But it also seems to tell us that gravity cannot possibly be a force-field, in the same sense as the other three are. And yet the search for a grand unification of all four force-fields is today one of the hottest pursuits in it. Is this the result of a simple confusion? This paper aims at clarifying this situation by doing the following: (i) examine the conception of unification of force-fields; (ii) review the gauge-field program in view of the above examination; (iii) review the various attempts at a gauge theory of gravity; and (iv) articulate the nature of 'gauging' and using it to explain the difference between gravity and the other force-fields.
Towards a Molecular Taxonomy for Protists: Benefits, Risks, and Applications in Plankton Ecology

The increasing use of genetic information for the development of methods to study the diversity, distributions, and activities of protists in nature has spawned a new generation of powerful tools. For ecologists, one lure of these approaches lies in the potential for DNA sequences to provide the only immediately obvious means of normalizing the diverse criteria that presently exist for identifying and counting protists. A single, molecular taxonomy would allow studies of diversity across a broad range of species, as well as the detection and quantification of particular species of interest within complex, natural assemblages; goals that are not feasible using traditional methods. However, these advantages are not without their potential pitfalls and problems. Conflicts involving the species concept, disagreements over the true (physiological/ecological) meaning of genetic diversity, and a perceived threat by some that sequence information will displace knowledge regarding the morphologies, functions and physiologies of protistan taxa, have created debate and doubt regarding the efficacy and appropriateness of some genetic approaches. These concerns need continued discussion and eventual resolution as we move toward the irresistible attraction, and potentially enormous benefits, of the application of genetic approaches to protistan ecology.
A theoretical and experimental investigation of antenna near-field effects as applied to incoherent backscatter measurements at Arecibo

Abstract The ‘near-field’ (or Fresnel zone) properties of the Arecibo spherical reflector and 430 MHz line feed have been investigated along with the influence of these properties on incoherent backscatter determinations of lower ionosphere electron concentrations. Previous attempts to measure or estimate these effects have been plagued by either inaccurate techniques or lack of clear documentation regarding the procedures employed. We thus review the form of the classical radar equation used for incoherent backscatter measurements and relate this form of the equation with range dependent gain to experimentally accessible far-field beam pattern measurements. Near-field characteristics are investigated from a theoretical viewpoint which is justified via far-field agreement between a theoretical antenna model and experiment. We conclude that in the Arecibo case the ‘near-field correction’ to the appropriate far-field radar equation is no more than 20% at a range of 50 km. We also comment on beam patterns which are optimum for incoherent backscatter applications.
Orientation and lever responding in auditory discriminations in squirrel monkeys.

Abstract Head orientation during auditory discriminations was studies in squirrel monkeys using a two-lever trial-by-trial procedure. Animals were studied using auditory discriminations based on the position of the sound and on the spectral content differences between a pure tone and a noise. After the percentage of correct responses reached asymptote, head orientation was measured using videotape recordings. Orientation occurred on virtually every trial and was under the control of the position of the sound under all conditions. Lever responding was controlled by the same parameters of the sound under some conditions, and by different parameters in others. Orientation and lever responding were correlated (a level response could be predicted from the direction of orientation) when both responses were under the control of the same parameters of the sound. The two responses were uncorrelated when they were controlled by different parameters of the sound. Orientation and lever responding were not functionally related.
The Convergence of Cultures and Religions in Light of the Evolution of Conciousness

This article describes a challenge to the cultures and religions of the world that the author believes is the greatest challenge that has confronted the human race in its entire history. Modernity's search for unity and postmodernity's affirmation of pluralism reflect aspects of our current situation, but more needs to be recognized. We must acknowledge that East and West must face the current challenges together. Multiculturalism and unity encompass all world cultures, and we cannot be content to read our present history only through the lens of western developments. Karl Jaspers's theory of the First Axial period of history, 800-200 B.C.E., in which all the present world religions have their roots, is useful. It reveals that our present flowering of culture and spirit in the Western world, including our science, is not so much a product of the Western Renaissance and Enlightenment, as it is rooted in cultural events that belong to East and West equally. We are now in the Second Axial Period, which challenges the world religions to allow their energies to move toward convergence, just as in the previous millennia they moved toward differentiation. Teilhard de Chardin's thought is a guide for us, in his vision of a complex convergence of consciousness, in which differences will not be abolished but will be transformed in their coming together. This convergent perspective will also join with the perspective of rediscovering our roots in the earth, and it will repossess the spirituality of the primal peoples, in its understanding of the entire human race to be one tribe. The world religions are faced with the task, therefore, of encountering each other in “dialogic dialogue,” and channeling their spiritual resources toward the solution of real-world global problems.
SEED DISPERSAL BY MONKEYS AND THE FATE OF DISPERSED SEEDS IN A PERUVIAN RAIN FOREST

Primary seed dispersal by two species of monkeys and the effects of rodents and dung beetles on the fate of dispersed seeds are described for a rain forest in southeastern Peru. During the six-month study period (June–November 1992) spider monkeys (Ateles paniscus) dispersed the seeds of 71 plant species, whereas howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) dispersed seeds of 14 species. Spider and howler monkeys also differed greatly in their ranging behavior and defecation patterns, and as a consequence, produced different seed rain patterns. Monkey defecations were visited by 27 species of dung beetles (Scarabaeidae). Dung beetles buried 41 percent of the seeds in the dung, but the number of seeds buried varied greatly, according to seed size. Removal rates of unburied seeds by rodents varied between 63–97 percent after 30 d for 8 plant species. The presence of fecal material increased the percentage of seeds removed by seed predators, but this effect became insignificant with time. Although seed predators found some seeds buried in dung balls (mimicking burial by dung beetles), depth of burial significantly affected the fate of these seeds. Less than 35 percent of Brosimum lactescens seeds buried inside dung balls at a depth of 1 cm remained undiscovered by rodents, whereas at least 75 percent of the seeds escaped rodent detection at a depth of 3 cm and 96 percent escaped at 5 cm. Both dung beetles and rodents greatly affected the fate of seeds dispersed by monkeys. It is thus important to consider postdispersal factors affecting the fate of seeds when assessing the effectiveness of frugivores as seed dispersers.
The perception of chromatic figure/ground relationships in 5-month-olds*

This study tested the hypothesis that 5-month-old infants are able to encode and retrieve the spatial relationships between chromatically different regions in a simple visual pattern. Twenty-four 5-month-old infants were familiarized with a bichromatic figure/ground pattern. Across familiarization trials, the ratio of figure luminance to ground luminance changed over a large range, whereas the chromatic relationship between the figure and the ground remained constant. Infants responded with increased attention to changes in the color either of the figure or of the ground alone, or to a reversal of the chromatic relationship between the figure and the ground. The results show that 5-month-olds are capable of encoding and retrieving the relationship between the chromatic and spatial characteristics of a simple bichromatic pattern.
Bureaucratic tenure and economic performance in centrally planned economies

Murrell and Olson (1991) set forth the hypothesis that in centrally planned economies economic interests over time become fragmented as bureaus become more autonomous and form into narrowly-based distributional coalitions. As a consequence, the national leader's encompassing interest in economic growth becomes compromised and growth begins to slow. This paper provides the first direct test of the hypothesis that growing bureaucratic autonomy results in declining economic growth in centrally planned economies.
Production of α-hydroxy fatty acids by two strains of Lactobacillus casei

Abstract The principal α-hydroxy acids other than lactic acid produced by L. casei strains 7469 and 280-16A were isolated by countercurrent extraction and identified as α-hydroxyisocaproic acid and α-hydroxyisovaleric acid. The amount of these acids and of lactic acid were estimated from counter-current distribution data, and the degrees of racemization were estimated from specific rotation values and from the results of optically specific microbiological assays. The maximal concentrations of α-hydroxyisocaproic and α-hydroxyisovaleric acids produced by L. casei were approximately 0.6 and 0.2 μeq./ml., respectively. The lactic acid, α-hydroxyisovaleric acid, and α-hydroxyisocaproic acid produced by L. casei 7469 were approximately 16%, 62%, and 97% racemic (the rest l -), respectively, whereas the same acids produced by L. casei 280-16A were much less racemic. This was particularly true of the L. casei 280-16A lactic acid, which appeared to be 99.3% l -lactic acid. Racemization of the α-hydroxy acids appears to be of importance in L. casei since strain 280-16A, which produces only slightly racemized acids, fails to grow in the usual media unless provided with a d -α-hydroxy acid source.
Neutron capture on149Sm in lunar samples

Abstract High precision isotopic composition measurements of Sm have been carried out for two terrestrial and seven lunar samples from three Apollo sites. The lunar samples, selected to show a wide variation in cosmic ray exposure ages, have a wide range of enrichments in150Sm/154Sm (up to 0.8%) and depletions in149Sm/154Sm which are due to neutron capture. The ratio of the number of neutrons captured per atom by149Sm to157Gd is 0.9 and reflects a hardened lunar neutron spectrum. This ratio is in reasonable but not exact agreement with that obtained from the theoretical lunar neutron energy spectrum of Lingenfelter, Canfield and Hampel. The average composition for terrestrial samarium is144Sm :147Sm :148Sm :149Sm :150Sm :152Sm :154Sm = 3.074 : 14.995 : 11.243 : 13.820 : 7.380 : 26.739 : 22.749%.
Exhaustive RT-RICO algorithm for mining association rules in protein secondary structure

Prediction of a protein's secondary structure from its amino acid sequence is a well studied computational problem in bioinformatics, and has significant practical research value. Although the secondary structure prediction problem was first defined almost fifty years ago, the accuracy of most modern methods still hovers around 80%. In [1] this research team presented a promising protein secondary structure prediction method, BLAST-RT-RICO (Relaxed Threshold Rule Induction from Coverings), that employs a modified association rule learning approach, utilizing multiple sequence alignment information. BLAST-RT-RICO achieved Q 3 scores of 89.93% and 87.71% on the standard test datasets RS126 and CB396, respectively. However, there were some areas of the algorithm that were in need of improvement; most importantly, the time complexity for the rule generation step needed to be reduced. Recently, we developed a modified rule generation algorithm, ERT-RICO (Exhaustive Relaxed Threshold Rule Induction from Coverings), that addresses this issue. The research team now is able to run much larger test datasets with different choices of segment length and threshold value; preliminary test results achieved a Q 3 score of 92.19% on the standard test dataset RS126. The modified algorithm, its mathematical definitions, and the improved time/space complexity are discussed in this paper.
The Procedures and Justification of a Two-Tailed Directional Test of Significance

The procedures and justification of a directional two-tailed test of significance are presented along with some suggested advantages of the conception.
Pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature in the 94-K superconductor YBa2Cu3O7.

We present the pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature for a variation of preparations of the 94-K superconductor Y-Ba-Cu-O. All preparations show a superconducting transition temperature near 90 K and a small positive derivative ${\mathrm{dT}}_{c}$/dP=0.07\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02 K/kbar.
Consequences of Differential Attention: The Impact of Leader Gaze on Status and Team Performance

Status within a group can be quickly achieved. Research has shown, for instance, that individual traits such as race, gender, or expertise influence individuals’ status and their team’s early interactions. The current research digs into the micro-behaviors of these early interactions by investigating the potent impact of a team leader’s nonverbal behavior (e.g., unequal visual attention) on the status hierarchy within small groups. In Study 1, individuals who received more of a leader’s visual attention were more likely to influence group decisions than individuals who received less of a leader’s visual attention, and groups that received this unequal visual attention performed worse than groups that received equal attention. Study 2 investigated whether the effects of a leader’s visual attention were due simply to the attention itself or whether it depended on the leader’s status. The results supported the latter hypothesis, as attention transferred status: more attention from a high-status leader increa...
Microbial pharmacodynamics of piperacillin in neutropenic mice of systematic infection due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Mathematical solutions for two possible pharmacodynamic interactions (linear nonsaturable and nonlinear saturable) between antibiotics and microorganisms derived from the incorporation of clinically relevant antibiotic dosage regimens such as single bolus dosing, multiple doses, and constant infusion at steady state have been obtained. It is concluded that the saturable nonlinear interaction model between the tested antibiotic and microorganism appears appropriate. The model and its derived equations are capable of describing in vivobacterial growth of P. aeruginosaafter single bolus dosing and multiple doses of piperacillin as described by a linear one-compartment pharmacokinetic model. The activity of piperacillin against P. aeruginosain the neutropenic mouse systemic infection model can be described by an equation with three dynamic parameters: the bacterial growth rate constant k app ,0.02345min −1, the bacterial killing rate constant k′ kill ,0.02623 min −1, and the Michaelis-Menten type saturation constant Km, 0.05467 μg/ml. The concept and derived equations for the optimal dosing interval and minimum critical concentration are of clinical importance for the proper selection of antibiotic dosage regimens.
The Healing of Superficial Skin Wounds Is Stimulated by External Electrical Current

We studied the effects of direct electric current supplied by an energized silver-coated electrode on dermal and epidermal wound healing. Keratome-induced wounds (0.3 mm deep) on the skin of young domestic pigs were treated with either an energized (50–300 μA) electrode (DC), an unenergized electrode (placebo), or left untreated. Wounds were excised on days 1–7 after wounding and the epidermis was separated from the dermis. The epidermal sheet was evaluated for reepithelialization and the dermis was assayed for collagen biosynthetic capacity. Dermal collagen production among treatments did not differ markedly on days 1–4 after wounding. However, a highly significant increase ( p p
Regulation of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Production in Human Keratinocytes by Interferon-γ

Interferon-γ (IFNγ) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)2D] each have potent antiproliferative and prodifferentiating effects on keratinocytes. Since keratinocytes produce 1,25-(OH)2D, we explored the possibility that IFNγ acted on keratinocytes in part by regulating 1,25-(OH)2D production. We cultured human neonatal foreskin keratinocytes for various periods of time in the presence of various concentrations of IFNγ before assessing their ability to produce 1,25-(OH)2D. The production of 1,25-(OH)2D by preconfluent keratinocytes grown in the presence of serum (which retards differentiation) was stimulated by 1.8 nM IFNγ. Postconfluent keratinocytes did not respond to 1.8 nM IFNγ. The production of 1,25-(OH)2D by keratinocytes grown in serum-free medium was maximally stimulated by 0.006 nM IFNγ and inhibited at concentrations greater than 0.06 nM. Keratinocytes grown in 0.1 mM calcium serumfree medium (which prevents differentiation) were more sensitive to both the stimulatory and inhibitory effects of I...
Variability in the inorganic carbon system over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf during spring 1980 and spring—summer 1981

Abstract Inorganic carbon system measurements made over the southeast Bering Sea shelf during March to June 1980 and April to July 1981 reveal extreme temporal variability that is governed primarily by biological processes. Inorganic carbon uptake by organisms reduced pCO2 values from near or above atmospheric levels to minimums of 125 ppm by volume during both experiments, andΣCO2 (CO2 + H2CO3 + HCO3− + CO32−) concentrations were reduced from∼2mM to minimums of∼1.75mM. The accumulation of organic carbon due to net community production, as estimated from changes in the inorganic carbon system, attained maximum values of∼100gC m−2 during each experiment. Although the dominant signals were of biological origin, effects of increasing insolation during spring and early summer, vertical mixing during storms, gas exchange with the atmosphere, and oscillatory currents were also evident. Although basic similarities existed between the 1980 and 1981 data, there were some interannual differences. For example, within the∼50to 150 m isobaths, the spring blooms of 1980 and 1981 both began in or near a front that is found near the 100 m isobath, but in 1981, the bloom began further seaward and about one week later (sometime between 11 and 22 April). The accumulation of organic carbon observed during our experiments tended to be lower in 1981, in the middle shelf where the 1980 and 1981 spring bloom values were∼100and 60 gC m−2, respectively, and average net community production rates were2.4gC m−2 d−1 during 12 April to 24 May 1980 and1.2gC m−2 d−1 during 12 April to 3 June 1981. The lower mid-shelf values in 1981 are in line with data on the interannual differences in wind mixing, grazing pressure, and nitrate levels. Our last ΣCO2 and pCO2 observations from 1980 (in late May) suggest that much of the organic carbon produced remained unmineralized. By the end of the 1981 experiment (mid-July), considerable remineralization had occurred near the middle of the shelf, but net inorganic carbon uptake continued at other locations. Ratios of change of inorganic carbon to inorganic nitrogen appeared to be higher than the ‘standard’ ratios. Atomic ratios of change for C:N may have been9 (vs Redfield, Ketchum and Richards' ratio of 6.6) even after correcting for the possible effect (∼30%) of carbonate precipitation, a factor that causes the ΔΣCO2:ΔN ratio to be even higher.
Effects of anhydrous benzoylation on staining with a variety of protein end-group methods.

The effects of anhydrous benzoylation were examined in connection with the following protein end-group methods: diazosulfanilic acid — Azure A, the Sakaguchi reaction and a fluorescent variant, the phenanthrequinone fluorescent method for arginine, the Millon reaction, the Morel-Sisley reaction, the mercury orange method, the alloxan and ninhydrinShiff methods, the Dansyl-chloride fluorescent method for lysine, the dimethylaminobenz-aldehydenitrite (DMAB) method for tryptophan, and the acid fluorochrome brilliant sulfoflavin used at pH 2.8 as a stain for basic groups. With all of these methods except the DMAB method for tryptophan, selective blockage of cytoplasmic proteins and staining of nuclei was obtained. With the DMAB reaction, the results were reversed: cytoplasmic staining exceeded nuclear staining after benzoylation.