cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary naturalistic justifications of morality: A matter of faith and works

Robert Richards has presented a detailed defense of evolutionary ethics, a revised version of Darwin's views and a major modification of E. O. Wilson's. He contends that humans have evolved to seek the community welfare by acting altruistically. And since the community welfare is the highest moral good, humans ought to act altruistically. Richards asks us to take his empirical premises on faith and aims to show how they can justify an ethical conclusion. He identifies two necessary conditions for a naturalistic justification of morality (NJ): its premises (1) must be empirical and (2) concerned with morally relevant causal factors. I argue that these two conditions are insufficient. An NJ must also appeal to teleogical or teleonomic laws which identify proper effects and reliable causes of these effects. So I supplement biological faith with an NJ that I believe has a better chance of working since faith without works is dead.
Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on root dynamics and productivity of sorghum grown under conventional and conservation agricultural management practices

Abstract Although it is widely acknowledged that rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations will increase crop root growth, no study has considered how this response could be influenced by agricultural management practices. Therefore, we examined the influence of elevated atmospheric CO2 (ambient + 360 μmol mol−1) on root dynamics of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) produced under conventional (tillage following winter fallow) and conservation (no-till following clover (Trifolium repens) winter cover crop) agricultural management practices. Crops were grown in an outdoor soil bin facility and CO2 treatments were administered using open-top field chambers (OTC). Root dynamics were analyzed using minirhizotrons. In conventional tillage plots, CO2-enrichment increased sorghum seasonal root production and mortality by 58 and 59%, respectively. Root growth, however, was unaffected by [CO2] in conservation plots. Growth in CO2-enriched atmospheres increased residue production by 15 and 11% in conventional and conservation plots, respectively. Grain production was 6% greater in the conservation than conventional plots but was unaffected by atmospheric CO2. Neither carbon dioxide nor management practices had any impact on the proportion of roots that died by physiological maturity (i.e., root turnover). The fraction of roots that had died by physiological maturity decreased in a linear fashion from shallow to greater soil depths. Although management did not affect cumulative seasonal root production or mortality it did influence vertical root distribution; conservation management favored shallow root systems whereas conventional management favored deeper rooting. Data emphasize the importance of quantifying production and mortality as separate processes. This study suggests that conversion from conventional to conservation management practices might diminish stimulation of rooting by rising atmospheric CO2, at least in the C4 crop sorghum.
The Factorial Validity of the Teacher Occupational Stress Factor Questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to determine the factorial validity of the Teacher Occupational Stress Factor Questionnaire (Clark,1980). Factors interpreted emerged from use of a principal components factor analysis rotated to oblique solutions. The results of this study provided partial support for the construct validity of the instrument. However, item rearrangement resulted in changing the composition of three of the five factors of the original instrument. The new arrangement was thought to provide data for investigating teacher stress. Factors were renamed in light of the findings.
Eulerian finite element methods for the micromechanics of heterogeneous materials: Dynamic prioritization of material interfaces

Abstract In computational materials science, large deformations, phase changes, and the development of new free surfaces are frequent and important phenomena which must be included in the analyses. The multi-material Eulerian finite element formulation is therefore an attractive numerical approach. In the Eulerian formulation, the material interfaces are reconstructed after every time step based on the volumes of the different materials contained within each element. A central problem in the reconstruction is the determination of which materials are adjacent to each other. For highly heterogeneous microstructures, such as those found in materials science and biology, the adjacency of the materials changes spatially and evolves with time. A method for dynamically determining the adjacency of the materials is developed and applied to the shock densification of a powder.
Intermediates in the enzymic synthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin in Drosophila melanogaster

Summary A partially purified enzyme (Enzyme A) from Drosophila melanogaster catalyzes the conversion of 7,8-dihydroneopterin triphosphate to a compound that, from its ultraviolet absorption spectrum and other characteristics, appears to be 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin. This product can be converted to 6-lactoyl-tetrahydropterin in the presence of another partially purified enzyme (Enzyme B) and NADPH, and to 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin in the presence of a third enzyme preparation (biopterin synthase) and NADPH. The enzymically-produced 6-lactoyl-tetrahydropterin, when exposed to air, is oxidized nonenzymically to sepiapterin (6-lactoyl-7,8-dihydropterin). The results indicate that although 6-lactoyl-tetrahydropterin can be converted enzymically to tetrahydrobiopterin, neither it nor sepiapterin is an obligate intermediate in the conversion of 7,8-dihydroneopterin triphosphate to tetrahydrobiopterin.
New evidence of the displacive feature of the ferroelectric transition in KDP-type crystals

Employing ab initio calculations we have determined the structural parameters of the paraelectric and ferroelectric phases of KH2PO4, which are in good agreement with experiment. The calculations reveal that the O-O bond length and the coordinated motion of the P and K atoms have a large effect on the double-well potential for H, controlling the distance, δ, between the two equilibrium positions of the H along the O-O bond in the paraelectric phase. The calculations provide new evidence that the ferroelectric phase transition in H-bonded crystals has also a displacive feature.
A comparison of kinetic parameters obtained with three major non-interconvertible isozymes of rat pyruvate kinase.

Abstract The kinetic properties of partially purified kidney cortex, liver and muscle isozymes of rat pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40) were compared. The liver and kidney cortex enzymes were isolated in forms which were homotropically activated by phosphoenolpyruvate and heterotropically activated by fructose-1,6-diphosphate. In the absence of added modulators, the liver enzyme was less active, but both isozymes were fruther inactivated by l -alanine, l -phenylalanine or ATP. The liver enzyme was relatively more sensitive to ATP, but less sensitive to l -phenylalanine. The muscle enzyme, on the other hand, was isolated in a more active form which was insensitive to ATP or l -alanine inhibition and of intermediate sensitivity to l -phenylalanine inhibition. In the presence of l -phenylalanine, muscle enzyme also underwent homotropic and heterotropic activation. Not any of the isozymes were inhibited by NADH. All three isozymes were activated by K+ or NH4+. NH4+ was the more effective activator for the kidney cortex or liver enzymes, in the former case because of a greater affinity, the latter because of a higher catalytic efficiency. Of the divalent cations tested only Mg2+ and Mn2+ activated. All three isozymes had lower maximal rates when activated by Mn2+, but this ion also consistently acted as a typical K-type activator. Evidence also was obtained which suggested that the change from one conformational form to another might take minutes and therefore, measured kinetic parameters could reflect conformational as well as catalytic phenomena. This observation, plus suggested independent subunit interactions, were considered to be evidence favoring a sequential rather than a concerted mechanism of conformational transition.
Time scale for multifragmentation in intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions

Fragment-fragment correlations are used to probe the spatial-temporal extent of the emitting source in central $^{36}\mathrm{Ar}$${+}^{197}$Au reactions at E/A=35, 50, 80, and 110 MeV. The experimental two particle correlations are compared both with the Koonin-Pratt two-body formalism as well as a three-body Coulomb trajectory calculation. The spatial-temporal extent of the emitting system decreases with increasing incident energy. Within the context of a three-body Coulomb trajectory model the mean fragment emission time rises sharply as a function of the assumed density of the system until \ensuremath{\rho}/${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{0}$\ensuremath{\approxeq}0.3. If one assumes a fixed density, the extracted mean emission time decreases with increasing assumed charge of the emitting system. Assuming \ensuremath{\rho}/${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\rho}}}_{0}$\ensuremath{\approxeq}0.3 the mean emission time \ensuremath{\tau} according to calculations using a three-body Coulomb trajectory model, is \ensuremath{\approxeq}115--135 fm/c at E/A=50 MeV and \ensuremath{\approxeq}75--100 fm/c at E/A=110 MeV. Comparisons with a generalized N-body Coulomb trajectory model demonstrate that the effect of interactions with other emitted particles is negligible. The prediction of a microcanonical model which includes pre-emission correlations between the fragments is compared to the measured correlation function at E/A=110 MeV.
Assessment of ovarian activity in the postpartum dairy cow by use of a milk progesterone assay

Abstract A direct radioimmunoassay for progesterone in cream was developed, validated, compared to plasma and used on samples collected at 48 hour intervals from 12 to 72 days post partum. No difference was found between extracted, extracted and chromatographed, and directly assayed progesterone in cream. The first discernable rise in progesterone, defined as concentrations greater than 2 ng/ml, was observed at 21 days after parturition, with a range of from 12 to 56 days. If 12 days of sustained progesterone production was used as an indication of normal luteal function, the initial rise did not occur until 30 days post partum. The duration of the first elevation for each cow was positively correlated with the magnitude of progesterone levels. When the first and second progesterone concentration increase was compared, the duration of elevation increased significantly from 10 days to 13 days in length. In addition, the magnitude of elevation increased from an average of 6.64 ng/ml during the first sustained rise to 10.03 ng/ml during the second rise. By evaluating milk progesterone in cream it was determined that the first estrous cycle following parturition is extremely variable in length and that luteal function is also variable but correlated to cycle length.
ApoE isoform-dependent changes in hippocampal synaptic function

The lipoprotein receptor system in the hippocampus is intimately involved in the modulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity. The association of specific apoE isoform expression with human neurodegenerative disorders has focused attention on the role of these apoE isoforms in lipoprotein receptor-dependent synaptic modulation. In the present study, we used the apoE2, apoE3 and apoE4 targeted replacement (TR) mice along with recombinant human apoE isoforms to determine the role of apoE isoforms in hippocampus area CA1 synaptic function. While synaptic transmission is unaffected by apoE isoform, long-term potentiation (LTP) is significantly enhanced in apoE4 TR mice versus apoE2 TR mice. ApoE isoform-dependent differences in LTP induction require NMDA-receptor function, and apoE isoform expression alters activation of both ERK and JNK signal transduction. Acute application of specific apoE isoforms also alters LTP induction while decreasing NMDA-receptor mediated field potentials. Furthermore, acute apoE isoform application does not have the same effects on ERK and JNK activation. These findings demonstrate specific, isoform-dependent effects of human apoE isoforms on adult hippocampus synaptic plasticity and highlight mechanistic differences between chronic apoE isoform expression and acute apoE isoform exposure.
P300 Amplitude and Latency Reflect Individual Difference of Navigation Performance in a Driving Task

Even though individual difference of navigation performance was found in driving studies at behavioral level, few studies explored the cognitive mechanism of this individual difference at neurological level with ERP (Event-related Potential) technique. To address this important question in research, this study recruited two groups of navigators with good and poor navigation performance in a driving task and measured their P300 amplitude when two types of triggers were presented to subjects (intersection and street sign). It was found that poor navigators showed larger amplitude than good navigators on the left hemisphere, the right hemisphere, the temporal and the parietal and the occipital sites when intersections triggers were presented, and on the occipital site when street sign triggers were presented, reflecting different levels of mental resource needed to process in the spatial information between these two groups. Future research and application of the current finding in intelligent transportation...
Diverse heterologous primary infections radically alter immunodominance hierarchies and clinical outcomes following H7N9 influenza challenge in mice.

The recent emergence of a novel H7N9 influenza A virus (IAV) causing severe human infections in China raises concerns about a possible pandemic. The lack of pre-existing neutralizing antibodies in the broader population highlights the potential protective role of IAV-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) memory specific for epitopes conserved between H7N9 and previously encountered IAVs. In the present study, the heterosubtypic immunity generated by prior H9N2 or H1N1 infections significantly, but variably, reduced morbidity and mortality, pulmonary virus load and time to clearance in mice challenged with the H7N9 virus. In all cases, the recall of established CTL memory was characterized by earlier, greater airway infiltration of effectors targeting the conserved or cross-reactive H7N9 IAV peptides; though, depending on the priming IAV, each case was accompanied by distinct CTL epitope immunodominance hierarchies for the prominent KbPB1703, DbPA224, and DbNP366 epitopes. While the presence of conserved, variable, or cross-reactive epitopes between the priming H9N2 and H1N1 and the challenge H7N9 IAVs clearly influenced any change in the immunodominance hierarchy, the changing patterns were not tied solely to epitope conservation. Furthermore, the total size of the IAV-specific memory CTL pool after priming was a better predictor of favorable outcomes than the extent of epitope conservation or secondary CTL expansion. Modifying the size of the memory CTL pool significantly altered its subsequent protective efficacy on disease severity or virus clearance, confirming the important role of heterologous priming. These findings establish that both the protective efficacy of heterosubtypic immunity and CTL immunodominance hierarchies are reflective of the immunological history of the host, a finding that has implications for understanding human CTL responses and the rational design of CTL-mediated vaccines.
Parent age differentially influences offspring size over the course of development in Laysan albatross

Offspring growth and survival are predicted to be higher for older parents, due to a variety of mechanisms, such as increased breeding experience or greater investment favored by low residual reproductive value. Yet the extent to which parent age affects offspring viability is likely to vary between different aspects of growth and survival, perhaps being most pronounced at the most stressful stages of reproduction. We studied the link between parent age and nestling growth and survival in the Laysan albatross, a long-lived seabird with a mean first breeding age of 8 years. Offspring of older parents were more likely to survive to fledging. Among those that did fledge, nestlings of older parents grew more rapidly. However, parent age did not influence the eventual asymptotic size that nestlings reached before fledging: fast-growing nestlings of older parents reached 90% of asymptotic size roughly 1 week sooner, but slow-growing nestlings of younger parents eventually caught up in size before fledging. Older parents bred c. 2 days earlier than younger parents, but hatch date did not explain observed variation in offspring success. The extent to which parent age accounted for variation in size of individual nestlings was not constant but peaked near the midpoint of development. This could reflect a time period when demands on parents reveal age-based differences in parental quality. Overall, growth and survival of offspring increased with parent age in this species, even though the late age of first breeding potentially provides a 7-year period for birds to hone their foraging skills or for selection to eliminate low-quality individuals.
LOSS MEASUREMENTS AND STOICHIOMETRIC DEPENDENCE OF TI AND O IMPLANTED LINBO3 WAVEGUIDES

Planar waveguides created by the implantation at 500 C of 2.5 x 10{sup 17} Ti ions/cm{sup 2} and 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 x 10{sup 17} O ions/cm{sup 2} have been characterized for loss by the scattered light and cutback techniques. Results indicate losses of less than 2.5 dB/cm to 3 dB/cm for waveguides with a Ti:O ratio of 1:3 and losses of over 7 dB/cm{sup 2} for waveguides with Ti:O ratios of 1:1 and 1:2.
Morphological basis of multistep process in experimental colonic carcinogenesis

Carcinogenesis has been shown to be a multistep process. However, the morphological basis of the multistep process in colonic carcinogenesis has not been adequately investigated. In the distal colon of adult female CF-1 mice given weekly injections of DMH, we are able to demonstrate that colonic adenocarcinomas develop and evolve in four distinct but continuous steps on morphological grounds. (1) A colonic neoplasm develops in a single crypt. A given crypt is first repopulated by atypical epithelial cells which have either originated at the cryptai base or occurred as an outpocketing pouch in the proliferative zone of the crypt. (2) In the atypical crypt thus repopulated by atypical cells, the epithelial lining becomes invaginated and/or evaginated in the upper half to form an earliest identifiable neoplatic glandular lesion there. (3) The neoplastic lesion thus formed keeps invaginating, evaginating and expanding in various directions by unceasing proliferation of neoplastic cells, giving rise to a polypoid or a discoid lesion. (4) As the neoplasm grows, its leading downward edge would eventually penetrate the muscularis mucosae, and the malignant behavior of the neoplasm becomes apparent with further invasion into the submucosa, muscularis externa and serosa. In the due process, we have also explored the mode of villous formation in some neoplasms and analyzed the possible regulatory mechanisms in the various steps of colonic carcinogenesis.
THE MECHANISM OF UNSTEADY DOWNSTREAM INTERACTIONS OF PREMIXED HYDROGEN-AIR FLAMES

Abstract The process of flame annihilation resulting from downstream interactions of premixed hydrogen-air flames is studied using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). The process is investigated during unsteady interaction between a vortex pair and a premixed flame kernel in 2D. The annihilation process results from the interactions of the premixed flames on their products' side. The simulations show that the mechanism of extinction during downstream interaction is different from an upstream interaction, which is governed by the sequence of the interactions of the different preheat and reaction layers on both processes and the diffusive transport of heat and mass. In contrast to observations related to upstream interactions, downstream interactions lead to a shift in the equivalence ratio towards the richer conditions with a steady decrease in chemical activity and no radical pool build-up during the stages of extinction. The effect of vortex sizes is qualitatively the same between the different cases con...
VEGF-A and αVβ3 integrin synergistically rescue angiogenesis via N-Ras and PI3-K signaling in human microvascular endothelial cells

We recently showed that normal fibroblasts mediate capillary-like differentiation of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) in a 3-D angiogenesis model. Here, we show that a collaborative effect of VEGF-A and alphaVbeta3 integrin is critical in fibroblast-mediated angiogenesis because enhancement of both VEGF production by fibroblasts and beta3 integrin expression in HMVEC can rescue capillary-like endothelial differentiation under reduced serum conditions. To investigate the downstream signaling mechanisms, we compared N-Ras and Rho/Rac/Cdc42, as well as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) and Akt, for their involvement in the capillary-like network formation. The dominant-negative mutant of N-Ras (N-RasN17), but not the mutants of Rho/Rac/Cdc42, suppressed network formation. Overexpression of a constitutively active form of PI3-K rescued the network formation, which was inhibited by a dominant-negative >beta3 integrin; however, an active form of Akt failed to rescue the inhibition but induced a phenotypic change in HMVEC. Moreover, PI3-K is a downstream target of N-Ras because it could be co-immunoprecipitated with N-Ras, and its active form could rescue the inhibitory effect of N-Ras N17. Thus, our data indicate the existence of N-Ras- and PI3-K-dependent but Rho/Rac/Cdc42- and Akt-independent signaling mechanisms for the synergistic effect of VEGF-A and alphaVbeta3 on fibroblast-mediated microvascular network formation.
Impacts of trunk and soil injections of low rates of imidacloprid on hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) and eastern hemlock (Pinales: Pinaceae) health.

Eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis Carriere) at two sites in southwestern Virginia were treated by trunk and soil injections of imidacloprid to determine the insecticide's impact on hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand. Treatments were 25, 50, and 100% of the highest labeled dosage rates for both stem and soil injection. Three and 4 yr after treatment, the half and full rates had significantly reduced A. tsugae populations, which were accompanied by increased new hemlock shoot growth and higher hemlock health scores on a visual rating of tree appearance. Imidacloprid and metabolite concentrations in tissue of treated trees were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and A. tsugae density decreased as imidacloprid concentrations increased in wood tissue. There were no observed A. tsugae populations in all trees with imidacloprid tissue concentrations >413 ppb. Olefin, di-hydroxy, and 6-chloro-nicotinic-acid metabolites were the imidacloprid metabolites recovered in the highest concentrations. This suggests that hemlock metabolism of imidacloprid may increase efficacy of the parent compound. Stem and soil treatments of low rates of systemic imidacloprid reduce adelgid populations and promote hemlock health, but still may provide a remnant food source for beneficial predators.
Comparative mapping and rapid karyotypic evolution in the genus Helianthus

Comparative genetic linkage maps provide a powerful tool for the study of karyotypic evolution. We constructed a joint SSR/RAPD genetic linkage map of the Helianthus petiolaris genome and used it, along with an integrated SSR genetic linkage map derived from four independent H. annuus mapping populations, to examine the evolution of genome structure between these two annual sunflower species. The results of this work indicate the presence of 27 colinear segments resulting from a minimum of eight translocations and three inversions. These 11 rearrangements are more than previously suspected on the basis of either cytological or genetic map-based analyses. Taken together, these rearrangements required a minimum of 20 chromosomal breakages/fusions. On the basis of estimates of the time since divergence of these two species (750,000-1,000,000 years), this translates into an estimated rate of 5.5-7.3 chromosomal rearrangements per million years of evolution, the highest rate reported for any taxonomic group to date.
Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells Based on TiO2 Coatings with Dual Size‐Scale Porosity

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) with efficiencies greater than 4% were produced with templated “inverse opal” titania coatings. A novel one-step method produces uniform and crack-free coatings made using commercially available titania nanoparticles with high reproducibility and uniformity. In this research, a volatile solvent electrolyte was tested; however, it shows proof-of-concept that larger pore volumes can be created for increased penetration of more viscous electrolytes that can be utilized in high-efficiency cells. This dual size-scale porosity film is a promising structure for DSSC applications, especially for those solid-state or quasi-solid-state cells that require polymer electrolytes.
Personality and Temperament

Temperament is an early-developing set of characteristics related to later personality. Personality includes a range of traits, including major traits of extraversion, neuroticism and impulsivity/sensation-seeking. Both behavioral genetic (twin and adoption) and molecular genetic research (emphasizing dopamine- and serotonin-related genes) have contributed to the understanding of major traits of temperament and personality. Keywords: personality; temperament; behavior; development; dopamine
Spiders fluoresce variably across many taxa

The evolution of fluorescence is largely unexplored, despite the newfound occurrence of this phenomenon in a variety of organisms. We document that spiders fluoresce under ultraviolet illumination, and find that the expression of this trait varies greatly among taxa in this species-rich group. All spiders we examined possess fluorophores in their haemolymph, but bright fluorescence appears to result when a spider sequesters fluorophores in its setae or cuticle. By sampling widely across spider taxa, we determine that fluorescent expression is labile and has evolved multiple times. Moreover, examination of the excitation and emission properties of extracted fluorophores reveals that spiders possess multiple fluorophores and that these differ among some families, indicating that novel fluorophores have evolved during spider diversification. Because many spiders fluoresce in wavelengths visible to their predators and prey (birds and insects), we propose that natural selection imposed by predator–prey interactions may drive the evolution of fluorescence in spiders.
Adoptive transfer of tumor immunity between twins by in vitro immunized nodal macrophages and lymphocytes: reversal of serum enhancement.

The lymphocytes and serum of a nonidentical twin male with advanced colon cancer were evaluated in vitro for their ability to inhibit the growth of autologous tumor cells. The patient's serum enhanced autologous tumor cell growth. Three siblings including an HL-A matched grade A female twin underwent similar studies. Benign lymph nodes of the twins and one sibling were evaluated for the ability of nodal macrophages to be sensitized to the patient's tumor antigen. The male twin patient received in-tralymphatically in vitro sensitized nodal macrophages and lymphocytes from the female twin donor. Thirty days after treatment the patient's lymphocytes and serum inhibited the growth of autologous tumor cells.
Surgical treatment options in hallux rigidus

Abstract Relief of pain and potential improvement in range of motion are the goals in the surgical treatment of hallux rigidus.For less advanced disease, cheilectomy, with or without the addition of a proximal phalangeal osteotomy, is the mainstay of treatment. An arthrodesis or resection arthroplasty of the first metatarsophalangeal joint is an appropriate consideration in patients with advanced disease. Capsular interposition arthroplasty is an attractive alternative to an arthrodesis, particularly in younger, active individuals.
Translating application requirements to ATM cell level requirements

It has been well established that high speed networks will be based on cell relay technology, an important feature of which is small fixed size packets. However, application data is rarely small of fixed size, and hence it is important to study the impact on message-level performance in a cell based system. This paper presents a simulation study of application level performance and studies various trade-offs in requesting specific cell level QoS parameters to satisfy the application requirements.
Bur1 Kinase Is Required for Efficient Transcription Elongation by RNA Polymerase II

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) Bur1 (Sgv1) may be homologous to mammalian Cdk9, which functions in transcriptional elongation. Although Bur1 can phosphorylate the Rpb1 carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) kinase in vitro, it has no strong specificity within the consensus heptapeptide YSPTSPS for Ser2 or Ser5. BUR1 mutants are sensitive to the drugs 6-azauracil and mycophenolic acid and interact genetically with the elongation factors Ctk1 and Spt5. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments show that Bur1 and its cyclin partner Bur2 are recruited to transcription elongation complexes, cross-linking to actively transcribing genes. Interestingly, Bur1 shows reduced cross-linking to transcribed regions downstream of polyadenylation sites. In addition, bur1 mutant strains have a reduced cross-linking ratio of RNA polymerase II at the 3′ end of genes relative to promoter regions. Phosphorylation of CTD serines 2 and 5 appears normal in mutant cells, suggesting that Bur1 is not a significant source of cotranscriptional Rpb1 phosphorylation. These results show that Bur1 functions in transcription elongation but may phosphorylate a substrate other than the CTD.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL DEFICITS RELATING TO SELF-CONTROL AND TEMPERAMENT TO THE PREVENTION OF SERIOUS ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR

The current article is a targeted review of two biosocial constructs, neuropsychological deficits relating to self-control and temperament, which as demonstrated by prior researchers are importantly related to antisocial behavior, importantly related to other constructs that influence antisocial behavior, such as aggression, and importantly related to prevention efforts. We explicate what is known about neuropsychological deficits relating to self-control and temperament specifically vis-a-vis prevention and early intervention programs that seek to preclude the development of costly antisocial careers.
Push or Pull?: Toward Optimal Content Delivery

Video-over-IP applications are experiencing a momentous popularity increase via crowd-acceleration. Content delivery using distributed caching can alleviate high bandwidth demands of such applications. However, existing content distribution networks (CDNs) are designed for relatively small web objects, and many prior efforts are mainly focused only on reducing user experienced latency. A few recent studies address the issue of bandwidth usage in CDNs. We argue that considering the bandwidth consumption together with delay performance is important for the emerging needs of videos of diverse object sizes and user perceived performance. We have formulated the joint optimization problem and proved it is NP-complete. We then develop an efficient light-weight approximation algorithm toward the optimization problem, and provide its theoretical complexity analysis. We also establish the performance bound of the proposed approximation algorithm that shows a much better worst case ratio than those in previous works. Simulation results exhibit that the performance is near optimal for most of the practical conditions.
Fast simulation methods for highly dependable systems

We review fast simulation techniques for estimating various performance measures and their derivatives of highly dependable systems. We consider methods for steady-state and transient performance measures of Markovian and non-Markovian systems.
MediaWare: on multimedia synchronization

Temporal relationships are inevitable among multimedia objects. Synchronization of multiple data streams in time has thus been recognized as a crucial requirement for multimedia applications. We study the synchronization requirements among distributed multimedia objects. We describe a temporal model that deals with interstream and intrastream synchronization requirements in live media objects. Both the blocking policy and the restricted blocking policy are presented. In addition, our model handles the accurate and uncertain temporal requirements which may exist in the teleorchestration of fuzzy scenarios. The fuzzy scenarios that contain imprecise synchronization constraints, such as unknown object presentation starting or ending points, can be transformed into more accurate temporal specifications. The paper provides several examples to show our approach.
Thermal Decomposition of Energetic Materials. 36. Fast thermolysis of overoxidized nitro– and halonitro nitramines

Temperature profiling/FTIR is described for the fast thermolysis of four C-NO2-containing nitramines whose oxygen content exceeds the balance to CO2. The compounds are [(NO2)3CCH2N(NO2)CH2-]2 (ONDO), [(NO2)3CCH2]2N(NO2) (BTNEN), [Cl(NO2)2CCH2]2N(NO2) (CDNEN), and [F(NO2)2CCH2]2N(NO2) (FDNEN). By themselves, these compounds are found not to be especially exothermic during the rapid decomposition off-gasing phase probably because of their overoxidized nature. The halogen atoms appear as ClNO and FNO in the gas decomposition products.
Power Comparison of Admixture Mapping and Direct Association Analysis in Genome-Wide Association Studies

When dense markers are available, one can interrogate almost every common variant across the genome via imputation and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) test, which has become a routine in current genome-wide association studies (GWASs). As a complement, admixture mapping exploits the long-range linkage disequilibrium (LD) generated by admixture between genetically distinct ancestral populations. It is then questionable whether admixture mapping analysis is still necessary in detecting the disease associated variants in admixed populations. We argue that admixture mapping is able to reduce the burden of massive comparisons in GWASs; it therefore can be a powerful tool to locate the disease variants with substantial allele frequency differences between ancestral populations. In this report we studied a two-stage approach, where candidate regions are defined by conducting admixture mapping at stage 1, and single SNP association tests are followed at stage 2 within the candidate regions defined at stage 1. We first established the genome-wide significance levels corresponding to the criteria to define the candidate regions at stage 1 by simulations. We next compared the power of the two-stage approach with direct association analysis. Our simulations suggest that the two-stage approach can be more powerful than the standard genome-wide association analysis when the allele frequency difference of a causal variant in ancestral populations, is larger than 0.4. Our conclusion is consistent with a theoretical prediction by Risch and Tang ([2006] Am J Hum Genet 79:S254). Surprisingly, our study also suggests that power can be improved when we use less strict criteria to define the candidate regions at stage 1.
Risk and Protective Factors for Drug Use Among Youth Living in Foster Care

Despite recent advances in understanding the individual and contextual development of youth substance abuse, limitations remain regarding the interplay of risk and protective factors—especially for highly vulnerable foster care youth. Using data available from the Communities That Care Youth Survey, we analyzed risk and protective factors for a sample of 1,595 foster youth. Structural equation modeling was used, and a three-factor confirmatory factory analysis was estimated to validate the survey measurement structure. To differentiate between risk and protective constructs, the researchers employed an orthogonalizing approach to deal with collinearity between risk and protection. Findings indicate a high correlation between the risk and protective constructs and suggest a single dimension for this sample and for the scales as they are currently constructed; however, the orthogonalizing approach used here also provided some support for considering these constructs separately. Findings generated from our study also suggest that risk factors play a greater role in predicting drug use than do protective factors among foster youth. If the differentiation of risks/protective factors is to serve fully in assessment and intervention, we need to disentangle constructs and learn more about their relative and interactive influence. These findings reveal an important distinction in the understanding of the role that risk and protection may play. Although either decreasing risk factors or increasing protective factors will mitigate drug use in foster care youth, our findings suggest that the development and implementation of targeted risk reduction strategies may result in a larger impact.
Supplemental oxygen delivery to suspected stroke patients in pre hospital and emergency department settings.

Recent data suggests that high-flow oxygen started promptly after stroke symptom onset salvages ischemic brain tissue. We investigated the consistency of oxygen delivery to suspected stroke patients in the pre-hospital (PH) and Emergency Department (ED) settings, and associated adverse events (AEs). We retrospectively reviewed pre-hospital call reports of suspected stroke patients transported by our institution’s paramedics. We extracted data on oxygen delivery in the PH and ED settings, demographics, Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS), final diagnosis, and selected AEs (mortality, seizures, worsening neurological status, new infarction, and post-ischemic hemorrhage). Patients were grouped according to ED oxygen delivery: none, low-flow (2-4 L/min), and high-flow (10-15 L/min). Oxygen delivery was documented in 84% of 366 stroke transports, with 98% receiving 10-15 L/min. Our hospital received 164 patients. Oxygen delivery in the ED was documented in 150 patients, with 38% receiving none, 47% low-flow, and 15% high-flow oxygen. There were no instances of oxygen refusal, premature termination, or technical difficulties. Advanced age and low GCS predicted the use of higher flow rates. High-flow oxygen was more frequently administered to patients with symptom onset < 3 hours, and those with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) or seizures (p < 0.001). More patients receiving high-flow oxygen were documented to have an AE (p = 0.02), however the low- and no-oxygen groups more frequently had multiple AEs (p = 0.01). The occurrence of AEs was predicted by the diagnosis of ICH/HIE/seizures (p = 0.013) and acute ischemic stroke (AIS)/transient ischemic attack (TIA) (p = 0.009), but not by the amount of oxygen. Suspected stroke patients routinely receive 10–15 L/min oxygen in the ambulance however in the ED there is wide variability due to factors such as clinical severity. Oxygen delivery appears safe in the PH and ED settings.
Aspects of Structure in an Epipaleolithic Occupation Site in West Central Jordan

A 95% sample of lithic debris from Wadi Hasa Survey Site 1065, a radiometrically-dated series of Kebaran and Natufian base camps with midden deposits and structures in the Wadi Hasa (west-central Jordan), is analyzed to evaluate the remaining integrity of a geologically old archaeological surface. Structural and compositional characteristics of the surface array (63,800 pieces) are compared with excavated samples (89,539 pieces). Methods used to detect aspects of structure in the surface component include density distribution maps of debitage and retouched pieces and cluster analyses of spatial units using tool groups.
Bilingual Children: Cross-sectional Relations of Psychiatric Syndrome Severity and Dual Language Proficiency

The severity of child psychiatric disorders is commonly associated with child language delays. However, the characteristics of these associations in the fast-growing population of bilingual children remain unknown. To begin to address this gap, we studied a unique sample of Spanish-English bilingual children with significant parent-reported psychopathology (n = 29), focusing on their language proficiencies and psychiatric severity using the Child Behavior Check List. We present cross-sectional analyses of associations of general and specific language proficiency in Spanish and English with the severity of specific psychiatric syndromes. We found Spanish language-proficiency scores to have negative correlations with a wide range of psychiatric symptoms, particularly externalizing (i.e., delinquency and aggression) symptoms (r = −.38 to −.61, p ≤. 05). English scores were similarly associated. Dual language tests covering multiple specific language dimensions explained a large proportion (51%) of overall va...
5α-Reductase Activity in the Genital Skin of Hirsute Women*

A simplified, rapid, and highly reproducible technique is described for measuring 5α-reductase activity (5αRA) in small skin biopsies. Human genital skin was obtained from 23 nonhirsute and 20 hirsute premenopausal women (HW) and 5 normal men. Skin samples were minced at 4 C and incubated (with RPMI-1640 in the presence of 95% O2-5% CO2 and 4.15 nmol [14C]testosterone ([14)C]T) for 2 h at 37 C. Steroids were extracted with diethyl ether and separated by Celite and paper chromatography. Radioactivity in specific eluates was quantified, and the mass of each steroid was measured by RIA. The separate formation of 5α-androstane-17β-ol-3-one (DHT), 5α-androstane-3α, 17B diol (3αdiol), androstene-dione, and androsterone from [14C]T was measured. In separate experiments it was demonstrated that an incubation time of 2 h was optimum and that the addition of cofactors was unnecessary. Radiochemical purity was confirmed after chromatography. The mean ± SE conversion ratio (CR) of T to DHT (in 2 h) in HW was higher t...
“Bailout” coronary stenting in patients with a recent myocardial infarction

Patients who underwent bailout intracoronary stenting within 7 days of a myocardial infarction had lower clinical and angiographic success rates and a higher incidence of emergent coronary artery bypass graft surgery than patients who underwent bailout stenting without a history of a recent myocardial infarction. In addition, there was a trend toward more cardiac events after discharge in patients who received stents after a recent myocardial infarction.
Non-redundant error correction of uncoded M-DPSK using a modified Viterbi algorithm and a sliding block non-coherent multi-symbol detector

Differential phase shift keying (DPSK) is often used in applications where system requirements make a phase-coherent reference at the receiver difficult to obtain or economically unattractive. Previous methods of reducing the energy penalty associated with the lack of phase coherence in DPSK using non-coherent detection have focused on non-redundant error correction (NEC) or sequence estimation techniques, optimal non-coherent (block) detection, trellis code modulation (TCM), and combinations of these methods. In the present paper, a new and general sub-optimal non-redundant error correction method for non-coherent detection of M-DPSK is proposed. The new method decides from 1 to N DPSK data symbols using a sliding block of N+1 phase measurements without adding any redundancy to the data signal using a technique derived from the Viterbi decoder for TCM. Simulation results for the additive white Gaussian noise environment show that while retaining the same general structure for different PSK signaling constellations, the new method achieves much of the performance of NEC and block detection without the exponential complexity in block length and TCM without any coding or increase in the signal constellation space. >
Reformulating Suicide Risk Formulation: From Prediction to Prevention

Psychiatrists-in-training typically learn that assessments of suicide risk should culminate in a probability judgment expressed as “low,” “moderate,” or “high.” This way of formulating risk has predominated in psychiatric education and practice, despite little evidence for its validity, reliability, or utility. We present a model for teaching and communicating suicide risk assessments without categorical predictions. Instead, we propose risk formulations which synthesize data into four distinct judgments to directly inform intervention plans: (1) risk status (the patient’s risk relative to a specified subpopulation), (2) risk state (the patient’s risk compared to baseline or other specified time points), (3) available resources from which the patient can draw in crisis, and (4) foreseeable changes that may exacerbate risk. An example case illustrates the conceptual shift from a predictive to a preventive formulation, and we outline steps taken to implement the model in an academic psychiatry setting. Our goal is to inform educational leaders, as well as individual educators, who can together cast a prevention-oriented vision in their academic programs.
Fatal Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in a HIV-negative adult

Pneumocystis jirovecii is responsible for P. jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) in immunocompromised individuals, with a recent rise of cases noted in non-HIV patients. A middle-aged man presented with new-onset cough, fever, hypoxia and tachypnoea. He was on a tapering course of dexamethasone for amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis. He developed worsening airspace disease necessitating mechanical ventilation. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was positive for P. jirovecii and he was managed with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and pentamidine, but succumbed to cardiorespiratory arrest. One-third of PJP cases occur in non-HIV patients, and have a higher morbidity and mortality. Most immunocompromised patients typically exhibit PJP during a corticosteroid taper. The accurate dose, duration or frequency of steroid use in not well established. Diagnosis of PJP in this population is more challenging due to lower BAL yield with alternate modalities such as serum/BAL β-d-glucan and PCR enhancing the yield. Further studies are needed to highlight PJP prophylaxis in patients with steroid use.
Molecular genetics and immunohistochemistry of renal tumours: Translation into clinical practice

Abstract Renal cell carcinomas comprise a heterogeneous group of tumours with diverse clinicopathological and molecular characteristics as well as therapeutic options. Accurate diagnosis and classification are critical for patient management and prognosis prediction. They have traditionally been classified according to histopathological features. Recent advances in high throughput technologies, including next generation sequencing, have enabled us to search genome-wide for genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic changes in large number of renal cancer specimens. Studies have demonstrated that different histological subtypes harbour unique genomic and epigenetic alterations and gene expression and protein profile that can be integrated with clinicopathological features for diagnosis, classification, prognosis and individualized treatment and "n-of-1" trials. This review will discuss the immunoprofiles of major renal cell carcinoma subtypes, immunohistochemical markers that are commonly used in clinical laboratories, and recent genomic and epigenetic discoveries in renal cell carcinomas.