cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding Land Values: What Can We Learn from Teardowns and Vacant Lot Sales in New York City?

This study aims to improve our understanding of the determinants of land values in large cities. We use two methods to recover land values. First, we rely on so-called teardown sales, which occur when a buyer purchases a property intending to demolish the existing structure and rebuild. As Rosenthal and Helsley (1994) and Dye and McMillen (2007) show, teardown sales provide a unique opportunity to measure land values in dense urban areas; the value of the land can be estimated as the purchase price of teardown properties plus the demolition costs. We are able to identify more than 4,000 teardown sales occurring in New York between 1994 and 2006 by matching a unique data set of all property sales to a full listing of demolition permits. For each teardown sale, we estimate the value of land as the purchase price plus the estimated demolition costs: the value of land per square foot is calculated as this amount divided by the lot area. The second method for recovering land values is from sales prices of vacant parcels. Although sales of vacant land are generally rare in dense cities, this is not the case in New York, where thousands of vacant lot sales have occurred in recent decades. We analyze more than 10,000 vacant land sales. One concern with these sales is that parcels that remain vacant for long periods of time in rapidly-appreciating cities like New York may not be representative of the typical lot, and therefore may not produce an accurate measure of land values. The analysis proceeds in two steps. First, we explore the extent to which vacant land sales produce land value estimates that are similar to the teardowns method, after controlling for important locational and neighborhood characteristics of the parcel. For the second phase of analysis, we use the variation in estimated land values across sites to explain the determinants of land values in New York City, running separate regression models for land value estimates derived from vacant land sales versus teardown sales. In particular, we focus on the following factors: proximity to the central business district; proximity to public amenities (subway stations, parks); neighborhood demographics; the quality of local public services (schools, crime); and zoning restrictions (maximum allowable development, location in a designated historic district). Findings from this study will aid researchers and local public officials in developing more sophisticated estimates of land values in dense urban areas.
Color Contrast Perimetry of the Extrafoveal Macula

Color contrast perimetry (with a color video tangent screen), conventional automated threshold static perimetry, and the Lanthony new color test (NCT) were used to examine 12 patients that had received argon laser grid therapy for diabetic macular edema. A type III acquired dyschromatopsia was found in all 12 eyes, and visual acuity was 20/50 or better. The color contrast perimetric test revealed a general depression of blue-yellow color contrast sensitivity throughout the macular representation of the central visual field. In spite of the presence of small, isolated depressions in the visual field detectable by conventional perimetry, color contrast testing generally failed to demonstrate localized (scotomatous) defects.
Feasibility of a Novel Virtual Reality-based Cognitive Intervention to Improve Attention in People with Heart Failure

Introduction Patients with heart failure (HF) often experience cognitive dysfunction and attention is one of the most commonly impaired cognitive domains. Attention is critical to initiate, maintain, and complete self-care activities effectively. In our previous work, we were able to show some improvements in attention in HF patients with a computer-based natural restorative environment intervention (NRE-C) based on Attention Restoration Theory. Building on that past work, we developed a novel, virtual reality-based, prototype intervention to improve attention by increasing interactions with nature. Aims The aim was to test feasibility (completion, safety, satisfaction, attention improvement) of the virtual reality-based natural restorative environment intervention (NRE-VR) with enhanced immersiveness. Methods Ten patients with HF (stage C; NYHA Class II/III) were sequentially assigned to the novel NRE-VR (n=5) and then to NRE-C (n=5). NRE-VR included 10 pictures of 360 degree nature views using Gear VR (1 minute/picture, total of 10 minutes), and NRE-C included 50 pictures of 2-dimensional nature views using a laptop computer screen (7 seconds/picture, approximately 7 minutes in total). Attention was examined using Multi-Source Interference Task, Digit Span, Trail Making, and Stroop tests immediately before and after the intervention. Adequacy of HF self-care was examined by the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index at pre-test. Results The sample was 50% female, with a mean age of 59 years, mean of 14 years of education, and mean LVEF of 44%. HF self-care was poor on average (maintenance=63.66 ± 15.67, management=60.00 ± 23.69, confidence=61.16 ± 15.28). Improved performances on the neuropsychological tests of attention were consistently found after NRE-VR except for Digit Span Forward. Compared with NRE-C, NRE-VR group had greater improvements on Multi-Source Interference Task and Trail Making Test ( Table 1 ). All 10 patients completed the study without adverse event. Satisfaction with the intervention was slightly higher among NRE-VR than NRE-C as was enjoyment and immersion. Patients in NRE-C were provided an opportunity to try NRE-VR at the end of the interview and 4 patients tried. All 4 patients preferred having NRE-VR than NRE-C. Conclusions The prototype of NRE-VR was feasible, safe, and demonstrated potential to improve attention among people living with HF.
Genetic complementation and enzyme correlates at the locus encoding the last two steps of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis in Drosophila melanogaster.

Eight mutations of the rudimentary-like (r-l) locus were isolated following mutagenesis with ethylmethanesulfonate and inter se crosses revealed three basic complementation groups, using the wing phenotype as an index of complementation. One group consists of three entirely noncomplementing mutants that each specify severe reductions in levels of both r-l-encoded enzymes, orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPR-Tase) and orotidylate decarboxylase (ODCase). The other two groups consist of complementing mutants, such that any member of one group fully complements all members of the other group. One of these groups consists of two mutants that each specify severly reduced OPRTase, but normal ODCase. The other group consists of three mutants that specify severe OPRTase and OD-Case reductions in homoallelic flies, but that appear to contribute OPRTase in certain heteroallelic genotypes. It is concluded that the reciprocal and complementing enzymatic phenotypes of mutants in these two groups account for most instances of genetic trans complementation among r-l mutants. These findings are discussed relative to extant information on OPRTase and OD-Case in animals and an hypothesis is developed that the r-l locus encodes a single polypeptide product that contains both enzyme activities.
Fostering Responder Servant-Followership

This chapter reflects upon the concept of servant-followership within the community of responders. Throughout the emergency services, the lowest paid and least-esteemed positions are also the most dangerous. These are the quintessential followership positions consisting of the firefighter on the nozzle, the patient technician, and the patrol officer. Each of these positions is where the rubber meets the road, most loss is realized, and the most injury and line of duty deaths occur. These follower positions make up the bulk of the emergency services career fields. The vast majority of the men and women who serve within the emergency services find themselves at this level. As noble as these positions are, textbooks and writings seemingly disregard their importance by concentrating on the role of the leader. It is the aim of this chapter to bring to life the role that followership plays in the emergency services and how executive leaders can foster healthy followership within their organizations.
Effect of Fragile Speckle Patterns on Accuracy of Digital Volume Correlation

Due to challenges in generating high-quality 3D speckle patterns for Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) strain measurements, DVC experiments often utilize the intrinsic texture and contrast of composite microstructures. One common deficiency of these natural speckle patterns is their poor durability under large deformations, which can lead to decorrelation and inaccurate strain measurements. Using syntactic foams as a model material, the effects of speckle pattern degradation on the accuracy of DVC displacement and strain measurements are assessed with both experimentally-acquired and numerically-generated images. It is shown that measurement error can be classified into two regimes as a function of the percentage of markers that have disappeared from the speckle pattern. For minor levels of damage beneath a critical level of damage, displacement and strain error remained near the noise floor of less than 0.05 voxels and 100 μe, respectively; above this level, error rapidly increased to unacceptable levels above 0.2 voxels and 10,000 μe. This transition occurred after 30%–40% of the speckles disappeared, depending on characteristics of the speckle pattern and its degradation mechanisms. These results suggest that accurate DVC measurements can be obtained in many types of fragile materials despite severe damage to the speckle pattern.
Tris(Pyrazolyl)Methane Ligands: The Neutral Analogs of Tris(Pyrazolyl)Borate Ligands

Abstract Despite the widespread use of tris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands, their isoelectronic, neutral analogs, tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligands, have not been extensively studied. By use of appropriate starting materials, such as [Cu(NCMe)4]PF6 or [Cd2(thf)5](BF4)4, stable cationic complexes of the ligands HC(3,5-Me2pz)3, HC(3-Phpz)3 and HC(3-Bu1pz)3 can be prepared with the metals copper(I), silver(I), cadmium(II), lead(II) and thallium(I). In many cases isoelectronic groups of complexes, such as [HB(3,5-Me2pz)3]2Cd. {[HC(3,5-Me2pz)3]Cd[HB(3,5-Me2pz)3]}+, and {[HC(3,5-Me2pz)3]2Cd}2+, have been prepared and shown to have very similar structures. The 113Cd NMR chemical shifts of the three complexes are also very similar. The isoelectronic complexes {[HC(pz)3]2Pb}2+ and [HB(pz)3]2Pb have similar distorted six-coordinate structures. The isoelectronic pair {[HC(3,5-Me2pz)3]2Pb}2+ and [HB(3,5-Me2pz)3]2Pb have very similar octahedral structures in which the lone pair on the lead(ll) is stereochemically inactive. Thu...
Impact of air quality on the gastrointestinal microbiome: A review.

Abstract Background Poor air quality is increasingly associated with several gastrointestinal diseases suggesting a possible association between air quality and the human gut microbiome. However, details on this remain largely unexplored as current available research is scarce. The aim of this comprehensive rigorous review was to summarize the existing reports on the impact of indoor or outdoor airborne pollutants on the animal and human gut microbiome and to outline the challenges and suggestions to expand this field of research. Methods and results A comprehensive search of several databases (inception to August 9, 2019, humans and animals, English language only) was designed and conducted by an experienced librarian to identify studies describing the impact of air pollution on the human gut microbiome. The retrieved articles were assessed independently by two reviewers. This process yielded six original research papers on the animal GI gastrointestinal microbiome and four on the human gut microbiome. β-diversity analyses from selected animal studies demonstrated a significantly different composition of the gut microbiota between control and exposed groups but changes in α-diversity were less uniform. No consistent findings in α or β-diversity were reported among the human studies. Changes in microbiota at the phylum level disclosed substantial discrepancies across animal and human studies. Conclusions A different composition of the gut microbiome, particularly in animal models, is associated with exposure to air pollution. Air pollution is associated with various taxa changes, which however do not follow a clear pattern. Future research using standardized methods are critical to replicate these initial findings and advance this emerging field.
Estimating the Relationship between Special Education De-Identification for Emotional Disturbance and Academic and School Discipline Outcomes: Evidence from Wisconsin's Longitudinal Data.

Students placed in special education programs for emotional and behavioral disorders with emotional disturbance (ED) identification have academic outcomes that lag both students in regular and spec...
"Women hope the situation will change, and their husbands will change with it": narratives of intimate partner violence in Gaza.

The authors’ purpose in conducting this study was to identify barriers faced by survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in accessing services in Gaza. We collected data via in-depth interviews...
Utilizing Oncology-Related Social Media Content to Model Information-Seeking Behaviors Towards a Model of Shared Decision Making

The Internet has made it effortless to find advice, opinions, support, and information. Social media plays a supporting role by transferring such content between people, companies, doctors, and other actors instantly. When it comes to cancer diagnoses, researchers do not know who looks for what types of information and interactions on which websites, and how social media impacts different people. How people educate themselves on cancer and the level of cancer literacy (understanding of the diagnosis and treatment) is critical to support equality of treatment success. Understanding the internet pathways that patients and their caregivers follow when searching for information about cancer, and how doctors use or don't use social media, is important for being able to make sure that everyone has equal access to reliable information at the right time in the right way. This work-in-progress attempts to understand how stakeholders use social media in oncology decision-making and presents the outline of a decision-support service for shared decision making.
The social versus food preference test: A behavioral paradigm for studying competing motivated behaviors in rodents.

Abstract Behavior is influenced by a combination of factors, with the expression of the appropriate behavior dependent on an individual's current motivational state and the presence of stimuli in their surrounding environment. Thus far, most laboratory studies have focused on uncovering the peripheral and central systems that regulate the expression of a single behavior or the expression of a suite of behaviors associated with a single motivational state. In natural settings, however, an individual can be simultaneously experiencing multiple motivational states with multiple choices of how to act. Yet, the direct assessment of the roles of peripheral and central systems in coordinating motivated behavioral choice is largely understudied. This may be due to a lack of behavioral tests that are suitable for such investigations. Here, we describe a recently developed behavioral paradigm, hereafter called the Social versus Food Preference Test. This behavioral paradigm was validated in both rats and mice and is highly flexible, which will allow addressing of a wide range of research questions concerning the peripheral and central systems that coordinate the choice to seek social interaction versus the choice to seek food. • This paradigm was validated in rats and mice, the two most commonly used nonhuman species in behavioral research, but could be adapted for use in other rodent models. • The specific social and food stimuli used can be selected based on the research question. • Three-chamber apparatuses can be custom-constructed.
Conceptualizing protective family context and its effect on substance use: Comparisons across diverse ethnic-racial youth.

Background: Although family behaviors are known to be important for buffering youth against substance use, research in this area often evaluates a particular type of family interaction and how it s...
Donor site morbidity after sural nerve grafting: A systematic review.

Summary Background Understanding the morbidity of sural nerve harvest is important when counselling patients regarding nerve grafts. Existing data consist of small studies with varying degrees of follow-up and a wide range of reported donor site outcomes. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature and pool the current data for postoperative outcomes after sural nerve graft harvest. Methods A systematic review of literature was conducted to identify studies that examined donor site outcomes of sural nerve graft harvests. Results Five-hundred and fourteen studies were identified through a literature search, and nine studies met inclusion criteria. There were 240 patients who underwent sural nerve grafts. The most common methods for sensory evaluation were patient survey (44.4%) and Semmes–Weinstein evaluation (33.3%). Five studies reported surface areas of sensory loss, and this generally decreased over time after sural nerve grafting. Overall, 87.2% of patients (n = 190) reported sensory loss, 25.6% (n = 42) of patients reported pain, 22.2% (n = 28) of patients reported cold sensitivity, and 10% (n = 20) of patients reported functional impairment at follow-up. When the proximal sural nerve was spared during harvest, the extent of sensory loss and pain were less than harvest at the popliteal fossa (87.4% vs 95.7%, p = 0.0407 and 9.1% vs 35.5%, p = 0.0004, respectively). Conclusions In this study, we present the extent of sensory loss and rates of pain, cold sensitivity, and functional impairment after sural nerve harvest. These data should be discussed prior to surgery in order for patients and surgeons to make an informed decision.
Intracardiac Echocardiography to Diagnose Bioprosthetic Pulmonary Valve Thrombosis

Abstract A 48-year-old woman presented with heart failure and bioprosthetic pulmonary valve regurgitation 2 years after pulmonary valve replacement. Intracardiac echocardiography demonstrated unifo...
Subsidy Schemes in Double Auctions

We study uniform-price double auctions augmented with a class of subsidy schemes. Using these subsidies, any profile of linear demand schedules can be implemented as an equilibrium outcome. By revenue equivalence, all other mechanisms which implement linear auction equilibria are essentially equivalent to some subsidy scheme in our class. We show that, under a linear dependency condition on primitives, fully efficient, budget balanced, and individually rational trade is possible. Thus, the welfare loss from equilibria in uniform-price auctions without subsidies is a non-fundamental distortion, which can be fixed with better mechanism design. However, we show that monopolist trading platforms have incentives to reduce allocative efficiency to increase revenue, even as the number of traders becomes large.
Induction of Protection in Mice against a Chlamydia muridarum Respiratory Challenge by a Vaccine Formulated with the Major Outer Membrane Protein in Nanolipoprotein Particles.

Chlamydia trachomatis is a sexually transmitted bacterium that infects over 130 million individuals worldwide annually. To implement a vaccine, we developed a cell-free co-translational system to express the Chlamydia muridarum major outer membrane protein (MOMP). This approach uses a nanolipoprotein particles (tNLP) made from ApoA1 protein, amphiphilic telodendrimer and lipids that self-assemble to form 10–25 nm discs. These tNLP provide a protein-encapsulated lipid support to solubilize and fold membrane proteins. The cell-free system co-translated MOMP and ApoA1 in the presence of telodendrimer mixed with lipids. The MOMP-tNLP complex was amenable to CpG and FSL-1 adjuvant addition. To investigate the ability of MOMP-tNLP+CpG+FSL-1 to induce protection against an intranasal (i.n.) C. muridarum challenge, female mice were vaccinated intramuscularly (i.m.) or i.n. and i.m. simultaneously 4 weeks apart. Following vaccination with MOMP-tNLP+CpG+FSL-1, mice mounted significant humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Following the i.n. challenge, mice vaccinated with MOMP-tNLP+CpG+FSL-1 i.n. + i.m. group were protected as determined by the percentage change in body weight and by the number of C. muridarum inclusion forming units (IFU) recovered from the lungs. To our knowledge, this is the first time a MOMP-based vaccine formulated in tNLP has been shown to protect against C. muridarum.
Black and Sleepless in a Nonideal World

Black people experience lower quality and lesser quantity of sleep than white people. Researchers, however, do not believe that racial disparities in sleep sufficiency are caused by biological differences, but rather by various social differences, such as differences in sleeping environments and socioeconomic status. Racial disparities in sleep sufficiency are a matter of social justice because sleep is important to mental and physical health, meaning racial disparities in sleep sufficiency can contribute to unequal and unjust disparities in overall health. Racial disparities in sleep may also be linked to other racial disparities in health that black people disproportionately experience such as hypertension and obesity. Sleep hygiene, common therapeutic advice given to help induce sleep, is often the first step to helping people sleep. Sleep hygiene, however, does not address the social, legal, cultural, and economic causes of racial disparities in sleep sufficiency. Sleep hygiene, as an ideal theory, addresses sleeplessness under ideal circumstances, only which a small group of privileged people live. Sleep hygiene ignores the unequal circumstances that contribute to some black people’s sleeplessness. Nonideal theory, however, acknowledges the less than ideal circumstances of certain groups, including people of color, and gives us a framework to develop solutions to racial disparities in sleep sufficiency.
Neoadjuvant Breast Cancer Trials: Translational Research in Drug Development

In addition to reducing the size and extent of locally advanced breast cancer tumors, neoadjuvant trials allow for rapid assessment of drug efficacy and could expedite development and approval of treatments for early breast cancer. For these reasons, clinical trials in the neoadjuvant setting are prime opportunities to study translational science, pathologic response, genetic biomarkers, and imaging biomarkers. In this review, we provide a summary of the efforts to identify biomarkers aimed to understand tumor biology and to prognosticate and predict response to neoadjuvant therapy for early breast cancer. We also provide a perspective on how neoadjuvant trials can be used to pursue translational research and drug development.
A biomimetic strategy for control of FES reaching

Victims of spinal cord injury at the cervical level are usually left with a partially paralyzed arm whose upper arm is controlled voluntarily but the lower arm is largely paralyzed. Restoration of reach and grasp functions is essential for independence and quality of life of these patients. Here we describe a biomimetic approach for control of reaching that combines the residual voluntary control of the upper arm with functional electrical stimulation control of the paralyzed lower arm to restore reaching movement. A realistic biomechanical model of the human arm, able-bodied volunteers, and paralyzed patients will be used to develop, test, and deploy the proposed controller.
Positive Applications of Lattices to Cryptography

We describe constructions of several cryptographic primitives, including hash functions, public key cryptosystems, pseudo-random bit generators, and digital signatures, whose security depends on the assumed worst-case or average-case hardness of problems involving lattices.
Mineral carbon sequestration and induced seismicity

[1] The seismic safety of current technologies for CO2 sequestration has been questioned in several recent publications and whitepapers. While there is a definite risk from unbalanced subsurface fluid injection because of hydraulic fracturing, we propose a simple model to demonstrate that mineral carbonation in mafic rocks can mitigate seismic risk. In particular, mineral precipitation will increase the solid grain-grain contact area, which reduces the effective fluid pressure, distributes the deviatoric stress load, and increases frictional contact. Thus, mineral sequestration can potentially reduce seismic risk provided fluid pumping rates do not exceed a critical value.
Learning Mechanisms: The Case for CaM-KII

John Lisman, Robert C. Malenka, Roger A. Nicoll, and Roberto Malinow Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a strengthening of synapses in the brain that is thought to underlie learning and memory. Now in this issue Barria et al. show that the persistent change is likely to be phosphorylation of the postsynaptic glutamate receptor known as the AMPA receptor. Lisman et al. in their Perspective discuss how this phosphorylation may function to cause LTP and how these results fit in with other findings in the literature.
Dissolution of limestone fractures by cooling waters: Early development of hypogene karst systems

[1] Fracture dissolution in the early stages of karstification under hypogene conditions is investigated using a coupled numerical model of fluid flow, heat transfer, and reactive transport. Dissolution of calcite in the H2O-CO2-CaCO3 system along a cooling flow path is investigated using both equilibrium and kinetic models. During the very early stages of fracture growth, there is a positive feedback between flow, heat transfer, and dissolution. In this stage the dissolution rate is largely controlled by the retrograde solubility of calcite, and aperture growth is relatively uniform along the fracture length. There is a period of slow continuous increase in the mass flow rate through the fracture, which is followed by an abrupt rapid increase. We refer to the time when this rapid increase occurs as the maturation time. As the flow rate continues to increase after maturation, forced convective effects lead to higher fluid temperatures in the fracture, resulting in a negative feedback that slows the rate of fracture growth. The behavior of aperture growth before the maturation time can be described by a simple ordinary differential equation. The solution of this differential equation provides an estimate of the maturation time, in terms of the initial aperture, hydraulic and thermal gradients, and the change in solubility with temperature. The behavior before maturation in two-dimensional variable aperture fractures is investigated using a simplified model. The maturation time is shown to decrease with the degree of aperture variability due to highly selective growth along preferential flow paths.
Wetlands, Property Rights, and the Due Process Deficit in Environmental Law

In Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency a unanimous Supreme Court held that private landowners could seek judicial review of an Administrative Compliance Order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency alleging that their land contained wetlands subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. The Court’s decision rested on statutory grounds, but the same result may have been dictated by principles of due process. Under the CWA, federal regulators have asserted authority over waters and dry lands alike and sought to expand federal jurisdiction well beyond constitutional limits. Under existing regulations, landowners have little notice or certainty as to whose lands are covered, under what authority, or with what effect. As a consequence, federal wetlands regulations, as currently practiced, violates important due process principles.
Characterization of the Tumorlike (T) Antigen Induced by Type 12 Adenovirus II. Physical and Chemical Properties

Abstract T antigen, purified from KB cells infected with type 12 adenovirus, was characterized by chemical and physical methods. The immunologically active molecule had an ultraviolet-absorption spectrum characteristic of a protein, and was partially inactivated (i.e., approximately 85%) by trypsin (final concentration of 150 μg/ml). Centrifugation analyses indicated that the purified antigen was a single molecular species with an average sedimentation coefficient of 2.40S (measured by zonal centrifugation in sucrose gradients) and an S20,w of 2.58 determined by analytical centrifugation. The antigen was inactivated at temperatures above 40 C, it was stable between pH 5.7 and 8.8, and it had an isoelectric point of approximately 5.0, as determined by electrophoresis on cellulose polyacetate membranes.
The Formation of Cyclic Ketones by Intramolecular Acylation

The cyclizations of gamma-phenylbutyric acid (I) to tetralone-1 (II) and of beta-phenylpropionic acid (III) to hydrindone-1 (IV) exemplify a type of intramolecular acylation which has served as an important tool in the synthesis of polycyclic hydroaromatic and aromatic compounds, Such ring closures have been effected by a variety of methods, generally involving either the direct cyclodehydration of the acids or the cyclodehydrohalogenation of the acid chlorides by an intramolecular Freidel-Crafts reaction. This chapter presents a discussion of these methods and the various problems involved in the formation of cyclic ketones by the ring closure of aryl-substituted aliphatic acid. Keywords: cyclic ketones; intramolecular acylation; ring size; steric factors; ring closures; benzene; naphthalene; phenathrene; cyclization
Nonlinear realizations of Lorentz symmetry

This paper withdrawn -- it has been revised and merged with gr-qc/0205067 (Conservation laws in "Doubly Special Relativities"; Simon Judes and Matt Visser)
A Novel Type of Non-coding RNA, nc886, Implicated in Tumor Sensing and Suppression

nc886 (=vtRNA2-1, pre-miR-886, or CBL3) is a newly identified non-coding RNA (ncRNA) that represses the activity of protein kinase R (PKR). nc886 is transcribed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) and is intriguingly the first case of a Pol III gene whose expression is silenced by CpG DNA hypermethylation in several types of cancer. PKR is a sensor protein that recognizes evading viruses and induces apoptosis to eliminate infected cells. Like viral infection, nc886 silencing activates PKR and induces apoptosis. Thus, the significance of the nc886:PKR pathway in cancer is to sense and eliminate pre-malignant cells, which is analogous to PKR's role in cellular innate immunity. Beyond this tumor sensing role, nc886 plays a putative tumor suppressor role as supported by experimental evidence. Collectively, nc886 provides a novel example how epigenetic silencing of a ncRNA contributes to tumorigenesis by controlling the activity of its protein ligand.
Complications Following Infundibular Resection in Fallot's Tetralogy

Two patients are presented to demonstrate complications that may arise following infundibular resection in patients with the tetralogy of Fallot. An aneurysm of the infundibular chamber developed in one patient following removal of the infundibular stenosis. A left to right blood flow at the ventricular level occurred postoperatively in a second patient with marked cardiac enlargement and left ventricular hypertrophy.
Investigation into the experimental kinetic support of the two-state model of the cell cycle.

Five previously published cell generation-time distribution functions have been examined in an effort to elucidate the parameters of the two-state model of the cell cycle. These parameters are the fractional number of cells that bypass the G0 state, the probability of exit from G0 and the distribution of traversal times through the active state. To explain observed β-curve behavior of cell populations, it is necessary to define the parameters in terms of pairwise behavior of newborn sister cells. From the β-curve, we demonstrate that at least 50% of the cells must pass through the G0 state. The α-curve is consistent with any positive fraction of newborn cells passing through the G0 state, and provides no further information. We explore a possible method for resolving the remaining indeterminacy regarding the number of cells bypassing the G0 state, namely, examination of the generation-time distribution functions of fast sister cells only. Such an approach, although theoretically attractive, presents formidable experimental difficulties, however. If it should turn out that indeed only 50% of the cells are apparently passing through a randomexiting phase of the cell cycle, then an alternative plausible biological mechanism for the observed variability in generation times is supplied by Prescott's hypothesis: variability is a consequence of the inequality in the metabolic content of sister cells at birth.
Crystallinity and quality of spray-dried lactose powder improved by soluble soybean polysaccharide

Abstract The crystallinity of lactose is significant to the quality and shelf-life of spray-dried dairy products. In this study, the properties of spray-dried lactose powder were studied after co-spray drying with soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS) at mass ratios of 1:0, 19:1 and 9:1. Spray-dried samples with SSPS had the significantly increased crystallinity based on polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD). Increasing the feed rate also increased the crystallinity and moisture content of lactose powder. The XRD data indicated the presence of both α- and β-lactose crystals in the spray-dried powder with 10 g/100 g SSPS. Moisture sorption tests at 65% relative humidity and 25 °C indicated that SSPS delayed the crystallization of amorphous lactose in the powder, which agreed with the reduced caking and clumping. Findings from this study may be valuable in extending the shelf-life and improving the transportation property of spray-dried powder containing lactose.
Clinical disorders of water metabolism

The osmotic concentration of body fluids in man is maintained remarkably constant between 286 and 294 mOsm/kg H 2 O despite large variations in water intake. This flexibility is made possible by the operation of a thirst-neurohypophyseal-renal feedback system. This system is characterized by a very sensitive osmotic control of thirst and vasopressin 1 secretion (1 to 2% threshold) and by the action of this hormone on its target organ, the kidney. In the kidney vasopressin alters the water permeability of the collecting duct epithelium thereby modulating the rate of renal excretion of water. Thus, in the face of increased water intake, the small reduction in the tonicity of body fluids suppresses vasopressin release and leads to maximal urinary dilution. The excretion of the excess water thus occurs with restoration of plasma osmolality to normal. Conversely, if water intake is limited, a small increase in plasma osmolality activates the organism's water conserving mechanism by stimulating thirst and increasing the secretion of vasopressin. Vasopressin then increases collecting duct water permeability and thereby facilitates the reabsorption of water and the concentration of urine. It follows, therefore, that impairments in either maximal diluting or concentrating abilities will markedly decrease the range of water intake that the patient can tolerate. The disturbances in renal water excretion and the resultant alterations in body tonicity are the subjects of this paper.
Organic geochemistry and pore water chemistry of sediments from Mangrove Lake, Bermuda

Abstract Mangrove Lake, Bermuda, is a small coastal, brackish-water lake that has accumulated 14 m of banded, gelatinous, sapropelic sediments in less than 10 4 yr. Stratigraphic evidence indicates that Mangrove Lake's sedimentary environment has undergone three major depositional changes (peat, freshwater gel, brackish-water gel) as a result of sea level changes. The deposits were examined geochemically in an effort to delineate sedimentological and diagenetic changes. Gas and pore water studies include measurements of sulfides, ammonia, methane, nitrogen gas, calcium, magnesium, chloride, alkalinity, and pH. Results indicate that sulfate reduction is complete, and some evidence is presented for bacterial denitrification and metal sulfide precipitation. The organic-rich sapropel is predominantly algal in origin, composed mostly of carbohydrates and insoluble macromolecular organic matter called humin with minor amounts of proteins, lipids, and humic acids. Carbohydrates and proteins undergo hydrolysis with depth in the marine sapropel but tend to be preserved in the freshwater sapropel. The humin, which has a predominantly aliphatic structure, increases linearly with depth and composes the greatest fraction of the organic matter. Humic acids are minor components and are more like polysaccharides than typical marine humic acids. Fatty acid distributions reveal that the lipids are of an algal and/or terrestrial plant source. Normal alkanes with a total concentration of 75 ppm exhibit two distribution maxima. One is centered about n -C 22 with no odd/even predominance, suggestive of a degraded algal source. The other is centered at n -C 31 with a distinct odd/even predominance indicative of a vascular plant origin. Stratigraphic changes in the sediment correlate to observed changes in the gas and pore water chemistry and the organic geochemistry.
Modified CRLB on the modulation parameters of a QAM signal

When the characteristics of a digitally modulated signal are not known, the estimation of its modulation parameters is crucial for many emitter interception applications. This paper presents the Modified Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (M-CRLB) on the modulation parameters of a QAM signal embedded in AWGN. The modulation parameters considered are the carrier frequency, carrier phase, signal amplitude and symbol time. The M-CRLB results indicate that the carrier frequency has the highest estimation accuracy, followed by the symbol time, the signal amplitude and the carrier phase. The M-CRLBs of the four parameters are affected by the modulation level and the pulse shaping function. When the modulation level increases, the estimation accuracy decreases. When a raised cosine pulse shaping filter is used, the M-CRLBs on the four parameters all increase as the raised cosine roll-off factor increases. For lowpass pulse shaping filter, the M-CRLB on the symbol time decreases as the filter bandwidth increases. However, the M-CRLBs on the other three parameters increase.
Density of states of ensembles of conjugated molecules deduced from the photobleaching and absorption spectra

In this contribution a consistent interpretation of both the absorption spectra and the photobleaching spectra of different conjugated molecules is presented . Based on this quantitative analysis it is possible to show how the photobleaching spectra can be used as a direct tool to probe the density of states in a conjugated material. Furthermore, this quantitative analysis can also explain the behavior of the observed photobleaching signal if external parameters such as pressure or modulation frequency and intensity of the exciting light source are varied.
Effects of Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) on Bacterioplankton: Evidence for Both Size-Selective Consumption and Growth Stimulation

Abstract Zebra mussels had significant direct and possible indirect effects on heterotrophic bacteria in two contrasting sites in Saginaw Bay. At a eutrophic site in the inner portion of Saginaw Bay, mussels fed directly on bacterial-sized particles and had a negative impact on bacterial abundances. Mussels removed large bacteria (> 0.9 μm) more effectively than small bacteria at this site. Individual mussels cleared from 37–89 ml per day. Results using different sizes of fluorescent microspheres suggest that zebra mussels have a lower limit for particle size removal that is less than 0.4 μm. Contradictory to inner bay results, mussels at an outer bay oligotrophic site had a positive impact on heterotrophic bacterial abundance, perhaps as a result of indirect effects, such as nutrient or organic carbon excretion by the mussels. Differences in the impact of mussels on the bacterial communities of the inner bay and outer bay probably result from differences in trophic state and bacterial community structure. A hypothesized smaller size of bacteria at outer bay sites may enable them to escape heavy predation pressure from mussels and the high rates of mussel nutrient excretion may facilitate their growth in these nutrient depleted conditions.
Simulation of evapotranspiration from Florida pine flatwoods

An evapotranspiration model (ETM), including three submodels of transpiration, rainfall interception and substrate (soil or water surface) evaporation, was developed for the simulation of evapotranspiration (ET) from cypress (Taxodium ascendens) wetlands and slash pine (Pinus elliottii) uplands in Florida flatwoods. Transpiration was scaled up from the leaf level to the ecosystem level by incorporating information on ecosystem structure (e.g. species composition, tree density, leaf area index), turbulence transport in and from the canopy, stomatal conductance and meteorological information. The rainfall interception submodel was physically derived from the interception processes. The substrate evaporation submodels for the open surfaces in the wetlands and forest floors in the pine uplands were developed based on field observations. The model was tested with an independent data set acquired by eddy correlation. Daily and seasonal patterns of ET, bulk aerodynamic conductance, bulk stomatal conductance and canopy dryness index of these two ecosystems were simulated and the sensitivity of ET to environmental conditions was evaluated.
The Dynamic Analysis of Concrete Pump Truck Arm in Civil Engineering

The concrete pump truck integrates transportation with pouring process ，which is characterized with flexibility, facility and celerity in civil engineering. As for the concrete pump truck, the arm system is the most important because the rationality of the arm directly influences the performance and pouring position of the truck in its application in civil engineering. For the arm system of the concrete pump truck, the movement of the arm system and the hydraulic cylinder are analyzed respectively with multi-body dynamic theory. By using numerical arithmetic to resolve the dynamic equation, the terminal track of the arms is analyzed. It shows that the kinetic equation built by multi-body dynamics can describe the dynamic characteristics of pump truck exactly.
Comparability of drug abuse rating scales.

Drug histories of 144 college students were rated on five different scales of degree of drug use. The scales were based on frequency of marijuana use, life style, and nature of marijuana use, number of drugs used, types of drugs used, and over-all involvement with drugs. While significant intercorrelations were obtained, the most consistent scales were those that took into account life style, history, and over-all involvement rather than simply drug type or single drug frequency. It was concluded that many individual Ss would be misclassified in regard to this position-toward-drug-use by ratings based only on drug type or frequency.
The connections between A- and I-band filaments in striated frog muscle.

When the frog semitendinosus muscle is fixed in situ in such a position of the leg that the muscle is stretched close to its maximum extension in situ , there is no overlapping of I- and A-band filaments. Further stretching to the maximum length in the body results in development of a gap between the A-band and the I-band filaments. Thin filaments can be observed bridging this gap. These filaments are thinner than the I-band filaments; their thickness varies—the thinnest measuring 30 A or less in diameter. They appear continuous with the tapering-off ends of the A-band filaments. In passive shortening, A- and I-band filaments interdigitate and the ends of the I-band filaments appear to be connected to the sides of the A-band filaments. A substructure can be observed in the A-band filaments. The I-band filaments form a network with cross bridges located at regular intervals corresponding to the 400 A periodicity.
Using Corporate Inflation Protected Securities to Hedge Interest Rate Risk

In the first half of 2008, rising inflation became a concern, but by the fall the focus was on deflation. Such shifts in the outlook for inflation represent a significant risk for some companies, particularly those whose revenues and profits are negatively affected by increases in inflation and rates. For such companies, the use of long-term fixed-rate debt will provide at least a partial hedge against increased rates. Less widely appreciated is that even companies whose profits move up and down with inflation face considerable risk from fluctuations in interest rates. Conventional wisdom holds that floating-rate debt hedges this risk. But this article argues that floating-rate debt still leaves a company exposed to increases in real interest rates. Inflation-sensitive companies such as utilities can use corporate inflation-protected securities (CIPS) to hedge their real interest rate risk as well as inflation risk. In addition to its hedging benefits, CIPS also have the potential to reduce borrowing costs by satisfying growing investor demand for high-quality securities that provide inflation protection (including demand sources like the recent restoration of French savings accounts to inflation).
Some further observations on the photically elicited arousal response

Abstract Observations on the effects of intensity and wave length of light on EEG arousal responses have been studied. In addition arousal response durations of the left and right hemispheres of left and right-handed individuals have been investigated. Results of studies related to hemispheric dominance indicate that although there was a tendency for the right cerebral hemisphere to show a longer response, statistical analysis of the data revealed no significant difference between the sides. There is a significant decrease in arousal duration if an individual is stimulated with serially decreasing stimuli intensities. If the stimuli are serially increasing in intensity, the duration of the response is the same as if the intensity remained constant. Responses obtained in the initial period with the highest intensity were not significantly different from those obtained in the initial period with the lowest intensity. Variations in response to light of different wave lengths cannot be explained using the present data. Further studies using stimuli of varying wave lengths, but of equal intensity, are required to investigate more adequately the relationship.