cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New DNA markers for high molecular weight glutenin subunits in wheat

End-use quality is one of the priorities of modern wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding. Even though quality is a complex trait, high molecular weight (HMW) glutenins play a major role in determining the bread making quality of wheat. DNA markers developed from the sequences of HMW glutenin genes were reported in several previous studies to facilitate marker-assisted selection (MAS). However, most of the previously available markers are dominant and amplify large DNA fragments, and thus are not ideal for high throughput genotyping using modern equipment. The objective of this study was to develop and validate co-dominant markers suitable for high throughput MAS for HMW glutenin subunits encoded at the Glu-A1 and Glu-D1 loci. Indels were identified by sequence alignment of allelic HMW glutenin genes, and were targeted to develop locus-specific co-dominant markers. Marker UMN19 was developed by targeting an 18-bp deletion in the coding sequence of subunit Ax2* of Glu-A1. A single DNA fragment was amplified by marker UMN19, and was placed onto chromosome 1AL. Sixteen wheat cultivars with known HMW glutenin subunits were used to validate marker UMN19. The cultivars with subunit Ax2* amplified the 362-bp fragment as expected, and a 344-bp fragment was observed for cultivars with subunit Ax1 or the Ax-null allele. Two co-dominant markers, UMN25 and UMN26, were developed for Glu-D1 by targeting the fragment size polymorphic sites between subunits Dx2 and Dx5, and between Dy10 and Dy12, respectively. The 16 wheat cultivars with known HMW glutenin subunit composition were genotyped with markers UMN25 and UMN26, and the genotypes perfectly matched their subunit types. Using an Applied Biosystems 3130xl Genetic Analyzer, four F2 populations segregating for the Glu-A1 or Glu-D1 locus were successfully genotyped with primers UMN19, UMN25 and UMN26 labeled with fluorescent dyes.
AN ECOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE ROYAL KARNALI- BARDIA WILDLIFE RESERVE, NEPAL. PART I: VEGETATION, MODIFYING FACTORS, AND SUCCESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract The vegetation of a newly created tiger sanctuary in south-western Nepal is described in detail. Six major vegetational associations were identified. It was found that several subtypes of Shorea robusta forest covered over 70% of the land area of the reserve. Open grassland, savannah, and riverine forest accounted for the rest. Modifying factors which have altered vegetational composition and wildlife habitat are discussed. The most serious of these influences have been man's activities in relation to clearing for cultivation, grazing of domestic stock, and uncontrolled burning. A model of successional patterns observed within the Karnali-Bardia Wildlife Reserve is proposed.
Generation of GTP-Ran for Nuclear Protein Import

Certain cytoplasmic proteins are actively transported into the nucleus through nuclear pores. In a paper in this week9s issue the function of a participating soluble protein, p10, is elucidated (Nehrbass and Blobel, p. 120). Moore explains, in her Perspective, how these findings solve the riddle of the source of one of the molecules required for transport, GTP-Ran.
PbO Solubility in Lead-Blast Furnace Slags

A series of slags in the PbO-CaO-FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2 system has been equilibrated in contact with molten Pb and Pb-Ag alloys in a closed system at 1473 K. The influences of lead activity and the CaO/SiO2 and ferric/ferrous ion ratios on PbO solubility in slag have been examined. The PbO content is proportional to the lead activity and the ferric/ferrous ratio, but decreases with increasing values of the CaO/SiO2 ratio. The solubility of lead in the slag can also be characterized by the following empirical equation, % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXafv3ySLgzGmvETj2BSbqefm0B1jxALjhiov2D% aebbfv3ySLgzGueE0jxyaibaieYlf9irVeeu0dXdh9vqqj-hEeeu0x% Xdbba9frFj0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs% 0dXdbPYxe9vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabaGaciaacaqabeaadaqaaqaaaO% qaaiGacYgacaGGVbGaai4zaGqaaiaa-bcacaWFybWaaSbaaSqaaiaa% -bfacaWFIbGaa83taaqabaGccqGH9aqpdaWcaaqaaiaaigdaaeaaca% aIYaaaaiGacYgacaGGVbGaai4zaiaa-bcaieGacaGFWbWaaSbaaSqa% aiaa-9eadaWgaaadbaGaa8NmaaqabaaaleqaaOGaeyOeI0IaaGimai% aac6cacaaI3aGaaGOnaiaa+zeadaahaaWcbeqaaiaa+DeaaaGccqGH% RaWkcaaIWaGaaiOlaiaaigdacaaIWaGaciiBaiaac+gacaGGNbGaa4% Nraiaa-TcacaWFWaGaa8Nlaiaa-DdacaWF2aGaa83kaiaa-XgacaWF% VbGaa83zaiaa+TeadaWgaaWcbaGaa8NmaaqabaGccaGGSaaaaa!6054! $$\log X_{PbO} = \frac{1}{2}\log p_{O_2 } - 0.76F^G + 0.10\log F + 0.76 + logK_2 ,$$ whereX PbO is the lead oxide mole fraction,K 2 the equilibrium constant for the formation of liquid PbO at 1473 K, andF andG are the calcia/silica and iron/silica weight ratios, respectively. This equation, developed from data in the literature, has been used with the experimental results of this investigation for comparison with values ofp O 2predicted by Hollitt’s structural model. Further comparison with Hollitt’s model has been made with other experimental data in the literature. The values ofp O 2predicted with the structural model are an order of magnitude lower than those predicted by the empirical equation and the values ofp O 2 used by other investigators. The reason for this discrepancy may lie in part in the use of questionable assumptions about the behavior of FeO in slag systems; reevaluation of the structural model to include more “basic” FeO improves agreement between the values ofp O 2obtained with the structural model and those obtained with the empirical equation and the partial pressures of O2 used by other investigators. In addition, the structural model has also been tested with regard to the influence of CaO and FeO additions on the solubility of PbO. The possible effect of interaction between the equilibrating slag melt and the calcia-stabilized zirconia crucible on the system equilibria has also been examined; such an effect may not be as negligible as previous researchers have claimed.
Novel optical CDMA platform for avionics applications

We designed, built, and demonstrated a highly scalable incoherent Optical CDMA testbed under DARPA contract as a novel platform for testing different avionics applications which will be characterized by Lockheed Martin. It enables users to communicate with each other at the OC-24 rate of ∼1.25 Gbit/sec per user with raw BER of less than 10 -12 . The system architecture uses (3,11) fast wavelength-hopping, time-spreading prime codes with a chip size of 73 ps utilizing standard on-off-keyed picosecond optical pulses allocated in the time and wavelength domains. A novel design of optical encoders and decoders enables the realization of a secure connectivity approaching a so called one-time-pad security. The testbed is also designed to conduct eavesdropping studies among testbed users.
TAP & PLAY: an end-user toolkit for authoring interactive pen and paper language activities

Hybrid paper-digital interfaces are a promising approach for supporting language activities. The familiarity of pen and paper makes it a particularly attractive media for many user groups, including young children. Digital pens enhance interaction with traditional paper content by playing and recording audio and recognizing handwriting and gestures. Currently, generating custom interactive paper documents involves some programming, limiting its use by many user groups (e.g., educators and families) who might especially benefit from application of hybrid paper-digital interfaces in their practices. To address this need, we developed an end-user Toolkit for Authoring Pen and Paper Language Activities (TAP & PLAY). This paper describes the iterative development of the toolkit, its accessibility for novice non-technical users, and use in three different contexts for early language learning. We demonstrate and document the system's usability, generality, and utility for people who want to create and tailor their own custom interactive paper-based language activities.
Skunks have gene sequences in their cellular DNA related to squirrel monkey retrovirus: transmission between species of a new world primate endogenous type D retrovirus.

Abstract The squirrel monkey ( Saimiri , sciureus ), a New World primate, contains multiple copies of endogenous type D retroviral gene sequences in the cellular DNA of all its tissues. Gene sequences partially homologous to these type D virus genes are also found in the cellular DNA of normal tissues of the New World carnivore, the skunk ( Mephitis , mephitis and Spilogale , putorius ). We there-fore conclude that this class of viruses has, under natural conditions, been transmitted between the germ lines of these evolutionarily distant species. The example of interspecies transmission described here is the first that has been described among New World species and also the first that has been demonstrated for retroviruses other than type C viruses.
Dilemmas of emotion work in nursing under market‐driven health care

Therapeutic emotion work is one aspect of a range of emotion work performed by nurses as they manage their own and their patients’ feelings with the intention of improving health outcomes. Nurses have developed, sustained and passed on these often “invisible” knowledges and skills with little official recognition. Recent structural changes implemented under the logics of managed care have paradoxically both diminished and accentuated the importance of emotion work. For the nurses interviewed in this qualitative study, competing work models of productivity, efficiency and caring have led to both anger and sadness over what is being lost, and to various accommodations to “make it work.” What happens to interpersonal labour when the time to accomplish it is dramatically reduced, yet demands for patient satisfaction and quality customer relations have increased?
Alterations in GAP-43-immunoreactive innervation in the aging rat pituitary

The levels and distribution of the growth-associated protein, GAP-43, were examined in the pituitary glands of young and aging Sprague-Dawley rats, using immunohistochemical techniques on tissue sections and Western blot analyses. GAP-43-immunoreactive innervation was observed in sections in the intermediate and neural lobes of animals aged 8-15 months, while in the oldest rats studied (17 months), stained fibers were observed mainly in the neural, but not the intermediate lobe. Western blots revealed reduced levels of GAP-43 in samples from 15 month old animals, as compared to 12 month old rats, in the neurointermediate lobes. There was no immunoreactivity for GAP-43 in the anterior lobes in the tissue sections or in the blots in any of the glands examined. A diminished level of GAP-43 in pituitary innervation in aged animals suggests a reduced ability for nerve terminals to undergo 'plastic' changes in their relationship to target endocrine cells. Since GAP-43 has also been suggested to modulate neurotransmitter release, a reduction in the protein in aging nerve terminals may diminish availability of transmitters at presynaptic sites.
Temozolomide in uterine leiomyosarcomas

Abstract Objective. Temozolomide has been studied in soft-tissue sarcomas with varying dosing schedules. We review the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) experience in women with metastatic or unresectable leiomyosarcoma treated with continuous daily dose (CDD) or bolus-dose (BD) temozolomide. We include a literature review of temozolomide activity in leiomyosarcoma patients. Methods. After obtaining Institutional Review Board approval, we identified women with recurrent leiomyosarcoma treated with temozolomide at MSKCC from 9/2001 to 9/2004. Patients were treated daily with dosages ranging from 50 to 75 mg/m 2 for 6 out of 8 weeks or for 5 days every 4 weeks with 150–300 mg/m 2 daily. All patients were evaluated at least every month for toxicity and response. We reviewed patients' charts for age at diagnosis, stage, performance status, prior treatments, temozolomide dose and schedule, best response to treatment, and treatment delays or dose reductions due to toxicity. Results. Twelve patients were treated with CDD temozolomide (median age, 54 years; range, 35–72 years). All patients had previously received doxorubicin; 11 had received ≥2 previous chemotherapy regimens. One patient achieved a prolonged partial response for 4 cycles; 4 demonstrated stabilization of disease for 2–5+ cycles. Seven patients were treated with BD temozolomide (median age, 50 years; range, 43–63 years). All patients received previous doxorubicin and received ≥2 previous chemotherapy regimens. Four patients achieved stabilization of disease for 3, 5, 6, and 16 cycles, respectively. One patient achieved a near complete response for 13 cycles and continues to be followed off therapy for 10+ months. Conclusions. Temozolomide has promising therapeutic benefit and is well tolerated in patients with metastatic unresectable leiomyosarcoma. Further investigation of temozolomide in leiomyosarcoma patients is warranted.
DISTRIBUTED COOPERATIVE CONTROL OF MULTIPLE VEHICLE FORMATIONS USING STRUCTURAL POTENTIAL FUNCTIONS

In this paper, we propose a framework for formation stabilization of multiple autonomous vehicles in a distributed fashion. Each vehicle is assumed to have simple dynamics, i.e. a double-integrator, with a directed (or an undirected) information flow over the formation graph of the vehicles. Our goal is to find a distributed control law (with an efficient computational cost) for each vehicle that makes use of limited information regarding the state of other vehicles. Here, the key idea in formation stabilization is the use of natural potential functions obtained from structural constraints of a desired formation in a way that leads to a collision-free, distributed, and bounded state feedback law for each vehicle.
Supplier Diversity Effectiveness: Does Organizational Culture Really Matter?

SUMMARY This study empirically examines the influence of organizational culture on supplier diversity. It examines the relationship between buyer behavior and culture using the Organizational Culture for Diversity Inventory (OCDI). The research assesses 12 business units within a heavy equipment manufacturer and uses confirmatory factor analysis to test an explanatory model of supplier diversity effectiveness. Results indicate achievement and affiliative culture styles are important to the effectiveness of supplier diversity. Moreover, in business units characterized by defensive or passive–defensive cultures, minority sourcing was lower. Conversely, the business units with constructive cultures for diversity had higher minority sourcing.
Native Americans and the U.S. Census: A brief historical survey

Abstract This article traces the history of the enumeration of American Indians by the U.S. Census Bureau and its predecessors. It considers the social and political background of the census and the reasons that Native Americans were not counted by the census until 1890. It also examines the changes in the enumeration and definition of Native Americans—key concepts needed to provide effective reference service for users of Census Bureau data.
Equilibrium Structure and Dynamics of Self-Associating Single Polymers

There has been significant interest recently in the development of materials that utilize the kinetic properties of self-associating groups, which can be tuned to manipulate dynamics and control mechanical, optical, and rheological properties. Here we describe the single-chain behavior of self-associating polymers in solution, using results from both simulation and theory. We use Brownian dynamics simulations with monomers that can reversibly associate using Bell model-based reaction kinetics. A straightforward two-state model is considered, and associations are exclusive; however, generalizations beyond these behaviors are briefly considered in the theory. We demonstrate that, even for a Θ-polymer, the inclusion of self-associations can drive the polymer into an equilibrium structure that resembles a collapsed polymer globule. The dynamic behavior of these polymers exhibits two regimes, with Rouse-dominated time scales when binding reactions have low energetic barriers and binder-dominated time scales wh...
Thermal resistance between powdered cerium magnesium nitrate and liquid helium at very low temperatures

Experiments have been performed from magnetic temperatures of 2–20 mK on the effect of minute4He impurities and a magnetic field on the thermal resistance between powdered cerium magnesium nitrate (CMN) and liquid3He. The thermal resistance decreases with decreasingT and increasing small field but is increased dramatically at a givenT by the addition of roughly a monolayer of4He. The resistance is interpreted as resulting from a surface magnetic coupling between CMN and liquid3He.
Treatment of Obesity-Related Complications with Novel Classes of Naturally Occurring PPAR Agonists

The prevalence of obesity and its associated comorbidities has grown to epidemic proportions in the US and worldwide. Thus, developing safe and effective therapeutic approaches against these widespread and debilitating diseases is important and timely. Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) α, γ, and δ through several classes of pharmaceuticals can prevent or treat a variety of metabolic and inflammatory diseases, including type II diabetes (T2D). Thus, PPARs represent important molecular targets for developing novel and better treatments for a wide range of debilitating and widespread obesity-related diseases and disorders. However, available PPAR γ agonistic drugs such as Avandia have significant adverse side effects, including weight gain, fluid retention, hepatotoxicity, and congestive heart failure. An alternative to synthetic agonists of PPAR γ is the discovery and development of naturally occurring and safer nutraceuticals that may be dual or pan PPAR agonists. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the health effects of three plant-derived PPAR agonists: abscisic acid (ABA), punicic acid (PUA), and catalpic acid (CAA) in the prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and metabolic diseases and disorders.
A MULTIPLE-PASS HEURISTIC RULE FOR JOB-SHOP SCHEDULING WITH DUE-DATES

Abstract This paper presents an efficient multiple-pass heuristic algorithm for job shop scheduling problems with due dates wherein the objective is to minimize total job tardiness. Algorithm operation is carried out in two phases. In phase 1 a dispatching rule is employed to generate an active or non-delay initial schedule. In phase 2, tasks selected from a predetermined set of promising target operations in the initial schedule are tested to ascertain whether by left-shifting their start times and rearranging some subset of the remaining operations one can reduce total tardiness. Performance evaluation is carried out over a range of shop sizes focusing, first of all, on the quality of the initial schedule produced through five commonly used dispatching rules and, secondly, the schedule improvement achieved with the multiple-pass heuristic. Results indicate that the proposed technique is capable of yielding notable reductions in total tardiness (over initial schedules) for practical size problems and wou...
Characterization of Nanoaerosol Size Change During Enhanced Condensational Growth.

Increasing the size of nanoaerosols may be beneficial in a number of applications, including filtration, particle size selection, and targeted respiratory drug delivery. A potential method to increase particle or droplet size is enhanced condensational growth (ECG), which involves combining the aerosol with saturated or supersaturated air. In this study, we characterize the ECG process in a model tubular geometry as a function of initial aerosol size (mean diameters–150, 560, and 900 nm) and relative humidity conditions using both in vitro experiments and numerical modeling. Relative humidities (99.8–104%) and temperatures (25–39°C) were evaluated that can safely be applied to either targeted respiratory drug delivery or personal aerosol filtration systems. For inlet saturated air temperatures above ambient conditions (30 and 39°C), the initial nanoaerosols grew to a size range of 1000–3000 nm (1–3 m) over a time period of 0.2 s. The numerical model results were generally consistent with the experimental ...
Lack of correlation between prostate-specific antigen and the presence of measurable soft tissue metastases in hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Appropriate staging procedures for patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer are poorly defined. In particular, there are no studies correlating prostate-specific antigen (PSA) with more traditional methods of staging. We have evaluated the abdominal/pelvic CT scan, bone scan, and PSA results following initial diagnosis of hot-nione-refractory prostate cancer in 177 consecutive patients (median age = 63.1 years, range 45-80). Thirty-four patients (19.2%) had nteasurable lesions (≥ 2 cm) on CT scan cotnpatible with inetastatic disease. Of the patients with measurable lesions, 29/34 (85.3%) had iztroperitoneal and/or- pelvic adenopathy; 5 patients (14.7%) had measurable lesions in the liver. Other- sites of metastatic disease were detected in less tkari 1% of the patients receiving scans. All patients had bone scan abriormalities compatible with metastatic disease. Results of these imaging studies were then compared to PSA serum concentration (Abbott IMx). The mean PSA concentration was not direrent ...
Activity of the A3 adenosine receptor gene promoter in transgenic mice: characterization of previously unidentified sites of expression

Sites of A3 adenosine receptor gene expression have not been fully explored nor has this gene's promoter activity been confirmed in vivo. Transgenic mice were generated in which 2.3 kb upstream of the transcriptional start site of the mouse A3 adenosine receptor was coupled to a β-galactosidase reporter gene. Selective transgene expression was detected in testis and brain as well as at other sites in which A3 adenosine receptor message has not been previously reported, including retinal ganglion cells and smooth muscle cells of the cerebrospinal vasculature. Our study suggests that this promoter may be useful in the selective targeting of gene expression to specific tissues.
Response to RFP: "rigorous test of intelligent design".

Editor’s Note: Comforted that one out of five Americans believe in an “alternative” to Galileo’s heliocentric theory and that a good majority of Americans believe that intelligent design is a theory “complementary” to Darwin’s, officials at NCAAM have issued an RFP (Request for Proposal) for studies of intelligent design. Letters of Intent flooded in for the program, “Rigorous Test of Intelligent Design” (CAM//shaft AD 1632/1859). One example of such a Letter, written in NCCAM preferred style, has been submitted by Professor Bruce Cronstein of New York University School of Medicine. Prayer and spirituality for the benefit of health are relied upon by many Americans. NCCAM seeks to develop strategies to bring the most rigorous and detailed scientific approaches to studying these and other CAM practices so that we can understand the health impact that these practices
Role of sea surface temperature, Arctic sea ice and Siberian snow in forcing the atmospheric circulation in winter of 2012-2013

During the 2012–2013 winter, the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) predominated, resulting in a cold winter over Europe and northern Asia punctuated by episodes of frigid weather. This climate anomaly is part of a recent trend towards negative values of the NAO index that has occurred over recent winters. The negative trend of the NAO may be related to atmospheric internal variability but it may also be partly forced by slowly varying components of the climate system. In the present study, we investigate the influence of surface conditions on the atmospheric circulation for the 2012–2013 winter using an atmospheric global climate model. In particular, the role of low Arctic sea ice concentration, warm tropical/North Atlantic sea surface temperature and positive Siberian snow cover anomalies are isolated by prescribing them in a set of different numerical experiments. Our simulations suggest that each of these surface forcings favored a negative NAO during the 2012–2013 winter. In our model, the combined NAO response to tropical/North Atlantic SST, Arctic sea ice and Siberian snow anomalies accounts for about 30 % of the observed NAO anomaly. Different physical mechanisms are explored to elucidate the atmospheric responses and are shown to involve both tropical and extratropical processes.
Au/Pd core-shell nanoparticles with varied hollow Au cores for enhanced formic acid oxidation

A facile method has been developed to synthesize Au/Pd core-shell nanoparticles via galvanic replacement of Cu by Pd on hollow Au nanospheres. The unique nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and electrochemical measurements. When the concentration of the Au solution was decreased, grain size of the polycrystalline hollow Au nanospheres was reduced, and the structures became highly porous. After the Pd shell formed on these Au nanospheres, the morphology and structure of the Au/Pd nanoparticles varied and hence significantly affected the catalytic properties. The Au/Pd nanoparticles synthesized with reduced Au concentrations showed higher formic acid oxidation activity (0.93 mA cm-2 at 0.3 V) than the commercial Pd black (0.85 mA cm-2 at 0.3 V), suggesting a promising candidate as fuel cell catalysts. In addition, the Au/Pd nanoparticles displayed lower CO-stripping potential, improved stability, and higher durability compared to the Pd black due to their unique core-shell structures tuned by Au core morphologies.
Towards Cyber-Physical Holodeck Systems Via Physically Rendered Environments (PRE's)

We present an early vision of a cyber-physical environment in which computer controlled rendering of physical surfaces, terrains, and environments is achieved by manipulating grids of "moving physical pixels'' or "moxels", whose heights can be raised and lowered on command. A user would be free to walk within such a dynamically deformable physically rendered environment (PRE). The system would be able to create on demand the floor, ceiling and sides of the "Holodeck'' in which the person resides, and vary the slipperiness of the surfaces to provide authentic tactile feedback in real time. A user would be able to conduct a walking tour of a remote site, the experience of climbing a steep mountain, or navigation through a maze - all within the bounds of the Holodeck. Multiple users could be networked together to create a distributed cyber-physical system to enable team-based distributed training. We present early results in a Holodeck-like simulator, HoloSim.
Competitive prefetching for concurrent sequential I/O

During concurrent I/O workloads, sequential access to one I/O stream can be interrupted by accesses to other streams in the system. Frequent switching between multiple sequential I/O streams may severely affect I/O efficiency due to long disk seek and rotational delays of disk-based storage devices. Aggressive prefetching can improve the granularity of sequential data access in such cases, but it comes with a higher risk of retrieving unneeded data. This paper proposes a competitive prefetching strategy that controls the prefetching depth so that the overhead of disk I/O switch and unnecessary prefetching are balanced. The proposed strategy does not require a-priori information on the data access pattern, and achieves at least half the performance (in terms of I/O throughput) of the optimal offline policy. We also provide analysis on the optimality of our competitiveness result and extend the competitiveness result to capture prefetching in the case of random-access workloads.We have implemented the proposed competitive prefetching policy in Linux 2.6.10 and evaluated its performance on both standalone disks and a disk array using a variety of workloads (including two common file utilities, Linux kernel compilation, the TPC-H benchmark, the Apache web server, and index searching). Compared to the original Linux kernel, our competitive prefetching system improves performance by up to 53%. At the same time, it trails the performance of an oracle prefetching strategy by no more than 42%.
Control of Cell Polarity and Chemotaxis by Akt/PKB and PI3 Kinase through the Regulation of PAKa

We demonstrate that PI3 kinase and protein kinase B (PKB or Akt) control cell polarity and chemotaxis, in part, through the regulation of PAKa, which is required for myosin II assembly. We demonstrate that PI3K and PKB mediate PAKa's subcellular localization, PAKa's activation in response to chemoattractant stimulation, and chemoattractant-mediated myosin II assembly. Mutation of the PKB phosphorylation site in PAKa to Ala blocks PAKa's activation and inhibits PAKa redistribution in response to chemoattractant stimulation, whereas an Asp substitution leads to an activated protein. Addition of the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 results in a rapid loss of cell polarity and the axial distribution of actin, myosin, and PAKa. These results provide a mechanism by which PI3K regulates chemotaxis.
Numerical Modeling of Geothermal Systems with Applications to Krafla, Iceland and Olkaria, Kenya

The use of numerical models for the evaluation of the generating potential of high temperature geothermal fields has increased rapidly in recent years. In the late 1970s and early 1980s there were many papers published on comparisons between the simple lumped-parameter models and the more complex distributed-parameter (numerical) models (e.g., Sorey and Fradkin, 1979; Castanier et al., 1980; Fradkin et al., 1981). These papers generally concluded that in most cases lumped-parameter models give just as reliable estimates as the distributed-parameter models for the potential of geothermal systems. In recent years, however, as more data have been collected from many geothermal reservoirs and the need for very comprehensive evaluations has arisen, the use of numerical models has greatly increased. One advantage of using the more complex numerical models is the fact that they are capable of utilizing most of the relevant field data, such as spatial variability in permeability and porosities, and this capability is very important as field data can help constrain the model.
Modeling and analyzing transient military air traffic control

A theoretical application of transient queueing analysis is provided for military air traffic control. The exact distribution of the nth arriving or departing flight's sojourn time in an M/M/s queue with k flights initially present is reviewed. Algorithms previously developed for computing the covariance between sojourn times for an M/M/1 queue with k ≥ 0 flights present at time zero are provided and utilized. Maple computer code is utilized for practical applications in air traffic control of transient queue analysis for many system measures of performance without regard to traffic intensity (i.e., the system may be unstable with traffic intensity greater than one), thus negating the need for simulation.
Sequestration of phosphoinositides by mutated MARCKS effector domain inhibits stimulated Ca2+ mobilization and degranulation in mast cells

Protein kinase C β (PKCβ) participates in antigen-stimulated mast cell degranulation mediated by the high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E, FceRI, but the molecular basis is unclear. We investigated the hypothesis that the polybasic effector domain (ED) of the abundant intracellular substrate for protein kinase C known as myristoylated alanine-rich protein kinase C substrate (MARCKS) sequesters phosphoinositides at the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane until MARCKS dissociates after phosphorylation by activated PKC. Real-time fluorescence imaging confirms synchronization between stimulated oscillations of intracellular Ca(2+) concentrations and oscillatory association of PKCβ-enhanced green fluorescent protein with the plasma membrane. Similarly, MARCKS-ED tagged with monomeric red fluorescent protein undergoes antigen-stimulated oscillatory dissociation and rebinding to the plasma membrane with a time course that is synchronized with reversible plasma membrane association of PKCβ. We find that MARCKS-ED dissociation is prevented by mutation of four serine residues that are potential sites of phosphorylation by PKC. Cells expressing this mutated MARCKS-ED SA4 show delayed onset of antigen-stimulated Ca(2+) mobilization and substantial inhibition of granule exocytosis. Stimulation of degranulation by thapsigargin, which bypasses inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate production, is also substantially reduced in the presence of MARCKS-ED SA4, but store-operated Ca(2+) entry is not inhibited. These results show the capacity of MARCKS-ED to regulate granule exocytosis in a PKC-dependent manner, consistent with regulated sequestration of phosphoinositides that mediate granule fusion at the plasma membrane.
Hamstring autograft versus soft-tissue allograft in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Purpose: To compare outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with hamstring autograft versus softtissue allograft by systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic review of randomized controlled studies comparing hamstring autograft with soft-tissue allograft in ACL reconstruction was performed. Studies were identified by strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Descriptive statistics were reported. Where possible, the data were pooled and a metaanalysis was performed using RevMan software (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark). Dichotomous data were reported as risk ratios, whereas continuous data were reported as standardized mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. Heterogeneity was assessed by use of I 2 for each meta-analysis. Study methodologic quality was analyzed with the Modified Coleman Methodology Score and Jadad scale. Results: Five studies with 504 combined patients (251 autograft and 253 allograft; 374 male and 130 female patients) with a mean age of 29.9 � 2.2 years were included. The allografts used were fresh-frozen hamstring, irradiated hamstring, mixture of fresh-frozen and cryopreserved hamstring, fresh-frozen tibialis anterior, and fresh-frozen Achilles tendon grafts without bone blocks. The mean follow-up period was 47.4 � 26.9 months, with a mean follow-up rate of 83.3% � 8.6%. Two studies found a longer operative time with autograft than with allograft (77.1 � 2.0 minutesv59.9 � 0.9 minutes,P ¼.008). Meta-analysis showed no statistically significant differences between autografts and allografts for any outcome measures (P > .05 for all tests). One study found significantly greater laxity for irradiated allograft than for autograft. The methodologic quality of the 5 studies was poor, with a mean Modified Coleman Methodology Score of 54.4 � 6.9 and mean Jadad score of 1.6 � 1.5. Conclusions: On the basis of this systematic review and meta-analysis of 5 randomized controlled trials, there is no statistically significant difference in outcome between patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with hamstring autograft and those undergoing ACL reconstruction with soft-tissue allograft. These results may not extrapolate to younger patient populations. The methodology of the available randomized controlled trials comparing hamstring autograft and soft-tissue allograft is poor. Level of Evidence: Level II, systematic review of Level I and II studies.
Unraveling the Gordian Knot: Interactions among vegetation, topography, and soil properties in the central and southern Appalachians

Abstract Boerner, R. E. J. Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University 318 West 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 USA. Unraveling the Gordian Knot: Interactions among vegetation, topography, and soil properties in the central and southern Appalachians. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 133: 321–361. 2006.—This review focuses on the development of our knowledge of the interactions among vegetation, soil forming processes, topography, and human actions in shaping the forests of the central and southern Appalachians. It proceeds from a review of the studies that led to and cemented the topographic paradigm in forest ecology in the 1940's to a review of the studies of soil development in the region during the 1960's and 1970's. This is followed by a review of how the incorporation of the emerging understanding of edaphic and biogeochemical factors affected studies of vegetation in the Appalachians over the last three decades, with emphasis on studies which have been particularly useful in ...
Chronic mesenteric ischemia in a 26-year-old man: multivessel median arcuate ligament compression syndrome.

Background Chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) is a rare diagnosis for patients in their third decade of life. Other conditions can mimic the signs and symptoms of CMI, including median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS), primary arteritides, and congenital anomalies. Here, we present the case of a 26-year-old man who presented with CMI and multivessel mesenteric occlusive disease. Methods A 26-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of 40-pound weight loss, postprandial abdominal pain, and food fear. His physical examination showed a scaphoid abdomen with no tenderness. Findings from laboratory evaluation were normal. Computed tomography angiogram revealed celiac artery (CA) occlusion and >80% superior mesenteric artery (SMA) stenosis, with a large marginal artery of Drummond supplying collateral circulation. Results A retroperitoneal exposure of the perivisceral aorta was performed. Surgical exposure revealed compression of both CA and SMA by the MAL. The total distance of caudal arterial displacement was >3 cm. Both the CA and SMA were chronically stenotic/occluded secondary to this compression. After division of the MAL, a retrograde aortoceliac and aortomesenteric bypass was performed for mesenteric revascularization. The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged home on the third day after surgery tolerating a full diet. Conclusions MALS is a pathologic entity that can affect more than the CA. This case demonstrates multivessel, mesenteric arterial insufficiency secondary to MALS sufficient to promote IMA collateralization of the SMA circulation. In young patients with CMI, multivessel MALS must be considered. In addition to MAL release, arterial revascularization may be necessary owing to stenoses from chronic compression.
Uniform Approximation on Manifolds

It is shown that if A is a uniform algebra generated by a family of complex-valued C 1 functions on a compact C 1 manifold-with-boundary M, the maximal ideal space of A is M, and E is the set of points where the dierentials of the functions in fail to span the complexied cotangent space to M, then A contains every continuous function on M that vanishes on E. This answers a 45-year-old question of Michael Freeman who proved the special case in which the manifold M is two-dimensional. More general forms of the theorem are also established. The results presented strengthen results due to several mathematicians.
Density estimation with Haar series

Abstract Rate of convergence for density estimators based on Haar series are derived under very mild condition: the unknown density has to be of bounded variation. These estimators are histograms on dyadic intervals.
Effect of Verapamil on the Sinoatrial and Atrioventricular Nodes of the Rabbit and the Mechanism by Which it Arrests Reentrant Atrioventricular Nodal Tachycardia

The effects of verapamil, an antiarrhythmic drug that apparently blocks slow inward currents, were studied on the isolated, superfused sinoatrial (SA) and atrioventricular (AV) nodes of the rabbit heart with intracellular microelectrodes. Verapamil decreased the rate of spontaneous impulse initiation by the SA node. This effect could be overcome with epinephrine. Concomitantly, verapamil decreased the amplitude of SA node action potentials without reducing maximum diastolic potential. The peak of the action potential fell well short of reversal after exposure to the drug. Verapamil had similar effects on the action potentials of the upper and middle AV nodal regions, reducing action potential amplitude so that the overshoot vanished without significantly reducing maximum diastolic potential. Action potentials of fibers in the lower region of the AV node were not affected as greatly. Verapamil slowed conduction of atrial impulses through the AV node; such slowing increased when the atrial rate increased. Verapamil also prolonged the effective refractory period of the AV node, thus slowing or blocking conduction of premature impulses. Verapamil prevented AV nodal reentry and initiation of atrial tachycardia by causing premature impulses to block rather than to conduct with the delay needed to initiate reentry. Verapamil had no effect on the rate of depolarization, action potential amplitude, or maximum diastolic potential of atrial or His bundle fibers. The results are consistent with the hypotheses that fibers in the SA and AV nodes show slow response activity, that the slow response plays a crucial role in causing certain cardiac arrhythmias, and that drugs that block the slow response are therefore antiarrhythmic.
Achieved Anticoagulation vs Prosthesis Selection for Mitral Mechanical Valve Replacement: A Population-Based Outcome Study

Background Thromboembolic events (TEs) are frequent after mechanical mitral valve replacement (MVR), but their association to anticoagulation quality is unclear and has never been studied in a population-based setting with patients who have a complete anticoagulation record. Methods We compiled a complete record of all residents of Olmsted County, MN, who underwent mechanical MVR between 1981 and 2004, for all TE, bleeding episodes, and international normalized ratios (INRs) measured from prosthesis implantation. Results In the 112 residents (mean [± SD] age, 57 ± 16 years; 60% female residents) who underwent mechanical MVR, 19,647 INR samples were obtained. While INR averaged 3.02 ± 0.57, almost 40% of INRs were 4.5. Thirty-four TEs and 28 bleeding episodes occurred during a mean duration of 8.2 ± 6.1 years of follow-up. There was no trend of association of INR (average, SD, growth variance rate, or intensity-specific incidence of events) with TE. Previous cardiac surgery (p = 0.014) and ball prosthesis (hazard ratio [HR], 2.92; 95% CI, 1.43 to 5.94; p = 0.003) independently determined TE. With MVR using a ball prosthesis, despite higher anticoagulation intensity (p = 0.002), the 8-year rate of freedom from TE was considerably lower (50 ± 9% vs 81 ± 5%, respectively; p Conclusion This population-based comprehensive study of anticoagulation and TE post-MVR shows that, in these closely anticoagulated patients, anticoagulation intensity was highly variable and not associated with TE incidence post-MVR. Higher anticoagulation intensity is linked to higher variability and, thus, to bleeding. The MVR-ball prosthesis design is associated with higher TE rates notwithstanding higher anticoagulation intensity, and its use should be retired worldwide.
Design and evaluation of a submesh allocation scheme for two-dimensional mesh-connected parallel computers

This paper presents the design and evaluation of a novel submesh allocation algorithm called the Optimized Buddy System which is derived from conventional binary buddy system. Our scheme is made feasible by using a bit-map to represent the status of the processors. The proposed scheme can be mapped into hardware directly to take the advantage of the speed of a pure combinational-logic implementation. Although the buddy system may allocate a submesh that is much larger than the requested size, the logic that finds a free submesh can be augmented by a "bit-flipper" to relinquish the unused portion at the end of the submesh. This effectively eliminates internal fragmentation. The hardware complexity of proposed scheme (i.e. and-gate tree, or-gate tree and bit-flipper) is O(m/spl times/n), where m/spl times/n is the total number of the processors. The unique blind spot issue of proposed system is also investigated. Simulation results show that the allocation efficiency of the proposed scheme is similar to the one that uses best-fit approach.
University entrepreneurship: a taxonomy of the literature

The literature on university entrepreneurship is rapidly expanding, in both the United States and Europe. Since the literature is also fairly fragmented, however, we submit that it is time to take stock of the current knowledge to provide directions for future research and guideposts for policy makers. To accomplish this, we present an unusually comprehensive and detailed literature analysis of the stream of research on university entrepreneurship, now encompassing 173 articles published in a variety of academic journals. Four major research streams emerge in this area of study: (i) entrepreneurial research university, (ii) productivity of technology transfer offices, (iii) new firm creation, and (iv) environmental context including networks of innovation. We inductively derive a framework describing the dynamic process of university entrepreneurship based on a synthesis of the literature. We submit that this framework is useful in guiding future research on this important, yet complex and under-researched topic.
Emotions Evoked by Common Words and Phrases: Using Mechanical Turk to Create an Emotion Lexicon

Even though considerable attention has been given to semantic orientation of words and the creation of large polarity lexicons, research in emotion analysis has had to rely on limited and small emotion lexicons. In this paper, we show how we create a high-quality, moderate-sized emotion lexicon using Mechanical Turk. In addition to questions about emotions evoked by terms, we show how the inclusion of a word choice question can discourage malicious data entry, help identify instances where the annotator may not be familiar with the target term (allowing us to reject such annotations), and help obtain annotations at sense level (rather than at word level). We perform an extensive analysis of the annotations to better understand the distribution of emotions evoked by terms of different parts of speech. We identify which emotions tend to be evoked simultaneously by the same term and show that certain emotions indeed go hand in hand.
Kinetics of Recombinant Adenovirus Type 5, Vaccinia Virus, Modified Vaccinia Ankara Virus, and DNA Antigen Expression In Vivo and the Induction of Memory T-Lymphocyte Responses

While a new generation of vaccine vectors has been developed for eliciting cellular immune responses, little is known about the optimal routes for their administration or about the ramifications of the kinetics of in vivo vaccine antigen expression for immunogenicity. We evaluated the kinetics of vaccine antigen expression by real-time in vivo photon imaging and showed dramatic differences in these kinetics using different vectors and different routes of administration. Further, using a gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunospot assay to measure T-lymphocyte immune responses, we observed an association between the kinetics of vaccine antigen expression in vivo and the magnitude of vaccine-elicited memory T-lymphocyte responses. These results highlight the utility of the real-time in vivo photon-imaging technology in evaluating novel immunization strategies and suggest an association between the kinetics of vaccine antigen clearance and the magnitude of vaccine-elicited T-lymphocyte memory immune responses.