cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Educational Bioinformatics Project to Improve Genome Annotation

Scientific advancement is hindered without proper genome annotation because biologists lack a complete understanding of cellular protein functions. In bacterial cells, hypothetical proteins (HPs) are open reading frames with unknown functions. HPs result from either an outdated database or insufficient experimental evidence (i.e., indeterminate annotation). While automated annotation reviews help keep genome annotation up to date, often manual reviews are needed to verify proper annotation. Students can provide the manual review necessary to improve genome annotation. This paper outlines an innovative classroom project that determines if HPs have outdated or indeterminate annotation. The Hypothetical Protein Characterization Project uses multiple well-documented, freely available, web-based, bioinformatics resources that analyze an amino acid sequence to (1) detect sequence similarities to other proteins, (2) identify domains, (3) predict tertiary structure including active site characterization and potential binding ligands, and (4) determine cellular location. Enough evidence can be generated from these analyses to support re-annotation of HPs or prioritize HPs for experimental examinations such as structural determination via X-ray crystallography. Additionally, this paper details several approaches for selecting HPs to characterize using the Hypothetical Protein Characterization Project. These approaches include student- and instructor-directed random selection, selection using differential gene expression from mRNA expression data, and selection based on phylogenetic relations. This paper also provides additional resources to support instructional use of the Hypothetical Protein Characterization Project, such as example assignment instructions with grading rubrics, links to training videos in YouTube, and several step-by-step example projects to demonstrate and interpret the range of achievable results that students might encounter. Educational use of the Hypothetical Protein Characterization Project provides students with an opportunity to learn and apply knowledge of bioinformatic programs to address scientific questions. The project is highly customizable in that HP selection and analysis can be specifically formulated based on the scope and purpose of each student's investigations. Programs used for HP analysis can be easily adapted to course learning objectives. The project can be used in both online and in-seat instruction for a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate classes as well as undergraduate capstone, honor's, and experiential learning projects.
Religion, Development, and Faith-Based Organizations

This chapter surveys religion’s roles in low- and middle-income societies and in US politics, and introduces international faith-based NGOs. Religious beliefs, institutions, and practices are influential in almost every neighborhood and village in the countries of the Global South, and Nelson shows that they can be powerful rhetorical, spiritual, and organizational resources for community development and social action. Religion is also often a conservative force, anchoring traditional social orders and gender relations. In the United States, religion has been an organizing and motivating force for civil rights, peace movements, and immigration and sanctuary efforts. In recent decades conservative religious leaders have been increasingly prominent voices in public life, influencing a significant voting public.
Estimating the AUC with a graphical lasso method for high-dimensional biomarkers with LOD

This manuscript estimates the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of combined biomarkers in a high-dimensional setting. We propose a penalization approach to the inference ...
ATIVIDADES DE ENSINO REALIZADAS PELO GRUPO DE ESTUDOS PRO LATTE, DO IFC CAMPUS CONCÓRDIA, EM PROL DA PROFILAXIA E CONTROLE DA MASTITE BOVINA E MELHORIA DA QUALIDADE DO LEITE (2016-2019)

O Grupo de Estudos Pro Latte foi iniciado em maio de 2016, no IFC campus Concordia,com o intuito de contribuir para o aprendizado discente na area de BovinoculturaLeiteira, com enfase na prevencao e controle da mastite bovina e melhoria daqualidade do leite. O grupo conta com a participacao voluntaria, principalmente dealunos da area de Ciencias Agrarias, e tambem e aberto a comunidade externa docampus. No presente trabalho, sao apresentadas as atividades realizadas pelo grupo,de 2016 a 2019, como forma de divulgacao e incentivo aos demais campi do IFC.
A Boom with Review: How Retrospective Oversight Increases the Foreign Policy Ability of Democracies

In the ongoing debate concerning whether democracies can carry out effective national security policy, the role of transparency costs has received little attention. I argue for a more nuanced understanding of how some democracies that possess specific investigative institutions, such as national security–relevant freedom of information laws, legislative oversight powers, and press freedoms, are able to avoid the problems of which democracy skeptics warn. Using a new dataset on national security accountability institutions in democracies within a Bradley-Terry framework, I find that national security oversight mechanisms raise the probability that a democracy wins international disputes as well as increasing the expected number of enemy casualties, as compared to democracies that lack effective oversight. Contra previous theories of foreign policy efficacy, I find that the chances for democratic foreign policy success are maximized when competitive elections are linked to institutions that increase the retrospective revelation of previously classified information.
On the nature of the beta pictoris circumstellar nebula

We summarize the observed properties and deduced physical characteristics of the Beta Pictoris circumstellar nebula obtained from a detailed analysis of existing IR and optical data. On the basis of these results, we reject the hypothesis that the observed feature is a bipolar nebula surrounding an evolved star. We claim the nebula is a flattened disk of orbiting particles making up a planetary system in its clearing out phase as small grains collide, erode, and are swept out by radiation pressure.
Spin Engineering in Quantum Well Structures

The spatial confinement of carriers to two-dimensional systems has led to many recent advances in the field of semiconductor spintronics. Quantum wells offer a unique means for controlling the interactions of free carrier spins with localized magnetic-ion spins and nuclear spins, and have the advantage of a high level of technological versatility via advanced growth techniques, most notably molecular-beam epitaxy. Additionally, quantum wells offer advantageous optical properties for probing and polarizing spin. We review recent developments in semiconductor spintronics, in which electric and magnetic fields are used to polarize, orient, and couple quantum-confined spins. Heterostructure design for the engineering of g-factor, hyperfine coupling, and magnetic exchange interactions are discussed. Keywords: quantum wells; confinement effects; exchange interaction; spin dynamics; spin-orbit interaction; hyperfine interaction; band structure engineering; molecular-beam epitaxy; magnetic semiconductors
First International Conference on Solar Electric Concentrators

More than 100 attendees from 11 countries attended this auxiliary session to the 29th IEEE PV Specialists Conference, listed in the program as the "Solar Electric Concentrator Meeting." Oral and poster presentations described concentrator projects from around the world, lessons learned from earlier projects, and pathways for PV concentrator systems entering markets for large scale electricity generation.
Origin, Current Status, and Future Perspectives of Chemical Cytometry

Cells are the organizing units of life. However, not all cells are alike; individual cells can differ significantly from their neighbors. These differences can be due to genetic, environmental, cell cycle, or stochastic effects, and these differences can have profound effects upon the behavior of a cellular population. A knowledge of the function and composition of individual cells will lead to deeper understanding of the response to disease, development, and environmental insult. Most biological techniques are incapable of determining cellular heterogeneity. Instead, most biological techniques begin with the homogenization of many millions of cells, and those techniques simply report the average composition and response of the population. These methods are inherently blind to the distribution of the cellular population. There is a simple reason why most biological measurements are performed on millions of cells. Cells are small, and very few biological techniques are capable of analyzing the minute amount of material contained within a cell. Consider a typical cell from a higher eukaryote. That cell might be 15μm in diameter, corresponding to a volume of 1 pl and a mass of 1 ng. The cell is roughly 15% protein, corresponding to 150 pg; roughly 7% nucleic acids, corresponding to 70 pg; and roughly 2.5% carbohydrates and 2.5% lipids, corresponding to 25 pg. Analysis of this minute amount of material is a formidable challenge.
The Discriminating Mind: Define It, Prove It

Differential group achievements in competitive spheres like business, government, and academia, in conjunction with professed organizational commitments to fairness and equal opportunity, fuel claims that unconscious discrimination operates widely in society today. But attempts to blame disparities by race or sex on inadvertent bias must be approached with caution in the current climate. Many allegations concerning unconscious discrimination do not properly allege category-based treatment at all but rather target the disparate impact, or differential effects, of category-neutral criteria. Such impacts often reflect well-documented supply side disparities between groups in human capital development, qualifications, and behavior. These patterns are not most effectively addressed by focusing on unconscious processes, but rather by scrutinizing neutral practices for efficiency and social usefulness and also by attempting to eliminate underlying group differences in the ability to compete for social rewards.Likewise, allegations of unconsciously motivated disparate treatment, which are based on the contention that race or sex plays a causal role in social outcomes, should be scrutinized for alternative, non-discriminatory explanations for observed disparities, including supply side differences between groups. In addition, some disparities attributed to unconscious bias could just as well be explained by old-fashioned statistical or rational discrimination, which is also fueled by real, average, observable differences in performance by race or sex. In general, sweeping and categorical claims of unconscious discrimination are unwarranted without specific evidence that this process is actually operating in a given case. Such evidence is hard to come by. In many cases, supporting such claims requires excluding alternative explanations - including supply side explanations for observed disparities in group success.
Accurate determination of the phase space evolution of a laser-cooled atomic beam

A laser-cooled atomic beam apparatus employing a frequency modulated ring dye laser has been developed which permits continuous monitoring of the fluorescence at any point along the beam. The laser frequency is modulated by the counterrotation of two intracavity glass plates mounted on scanning galvo drivers. Hermetically sealed photodiode assemblies have been mounted inside the vacuum system along the length of the atomic beam in a 1.6-m section of uniform magnetic field.
Accident Prediction Models and Applications for Unsignalized and Signalized Intersections

A 3-level modelling approach is employed for the accident prediction models of unsignalized and signalized intersections. Developments and applications of the accident models for both unsignalized and signalized intersections are shown. The models are developed on intersection characteristics of design, control, traffic flow, and environments. Furthermore, based on the results of the models, the relative safety of unsignalized and signalized intersections is discussed, and comments are provided. All data used in this study are drawn from Traffic Accident Surveillance and Analysis System in California.
The Main Devices of Foregrounding in the Information Structure of Georgian Sentences

Structuring of information proceeds through the foregrounding of certain parts of the information. In general, foregrounding can be realized on various linguistic levels and it is possible to distinguish: Conceptual,Functional, Discourse and Pragmatic devices, which can be represented by various formal means: Phonetic-Phonological, Morphological-Syntactic and Lexical-Pragmatic. All the devices can co-occur during the information packaging. Some of them are obligatory and are on the high level of the hierarchically organized processes of foregrounding (e.g. conceptual or functional foregrounding); some of them are optional and they are defined by the specific discourse and/or pragmatic values of a sentence (e.g. focus or topic); some forms of foregrounding are implicational (e.g. sometimes reordering implies emphasis of intonation) and so on. The relations between the different kinds of foregrounding are language specific, but it seems possible to speak about universal models of formalization of the information structures. In Georgian there is no morphological topic marker, but all other devices of foregrounding are possible. The paper examines the main models of such devices.
Chemical Analysis of Changes in Membrane Composition During Growth of Streptococcus pyogenes

Changes in the structural components of the Streptococcus pyogenes membrane between exponential and early stationary phases of growth are reported. The overall protein composition ranged from 70 to 73% of the dry weight of the membranes, irrespective of the phase of growth from which they were isolated. Amino acid analyses of membranes isolated from streptococci in either the exponential or stationary phase of growth demonstrated that two amino acids, cysteine and tryptophan, were absent. Further analysis of the membrane proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis demonstrated that there were proteins unique to a particular phase of growth as well as differences in the amount of specific proteins from the various growth phases. In addition, membranes isolated from exponential-phase cultures contained a higher percentage of peripheral protein than did stationary-phase membranes. There also appeared to be an increase in the amount of outer surface proteins during this growth phase. The phosphorus content of the membranes increased during the stationary phase of growth, whereas the sugar composition remained constant. The only sugar found under various conditions of growth in any of the strains was glucose. Total fatty acid content and the mole percent composition of various fatty acids did not change in the different phases of growth. However, the mole percent composition of fatty acids in the membranes of various group A streptococci did differ between strains. Therefore, these results provide evidence that the composition of membranes of S. pyogenes does not remain constant throughout the growth phases of the culture. Images
Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side of the Pacific

China and the U.S. look to each other’s educational systems as they try to balance individualism and collectivism, ability and effort, and grade school and college rigor.
Nitrided gate oxides for 3.3-V logic application: reliability and device design considerations

Device characteristics and reliability in a 3.3-V logic CMOS technology with various gate oxidation and nitridation processes are described. The technology was designed to extend 3.3-V devices to the ultimate dielectric reliability limit while maintaining strict manufacturing cost control. A nitrided gate oxide provided the means to maintain hot-electron reliability at the level of the previous iteration, but at higher performance and lower processing cost. Conventional furnace processes in nitrous and nitric oxide, high-pressure oxidation in oxygen and nitrous oxide, and rapid-thermal processes using nitrous and nitric oxide were investigated. We found that the concomitant variations in fixed charge and thermal budget have a significant influence on both n-FET and p-FET device parameters such as threshold voltage, carrier mobility, and inverse short-channel effect (ISCE). Reliability effects, such as charge to breakdown (QBD), hot-electron degradation, and negative-bias temperature instability (NBTI) were examined and correlated with the nitrogen profile in the gate dielectric. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) profiles were used to characterize the oxidation techniques and to correlate gate dielectric composition to the parametric and reliability parameters.
So Many Languages, So Little Time

What's up and coming in the programming language arena? A rudimentary analysis of the 200+ sessions' titles and abstracts at OOPSLA 07 (22nd Int'l Conf. Object-Oriented Programming, Systems, Languages, and Applications) provides a rough idea of what's happening with object-oriented, functional, dynamic, and domain-specific languages.
Impact of intensive professional development on teachers' use of sheltered instruction with students who are English language learners

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of professional development on teachers' use of sheltered instruction. The participants included 23 teachers from the same elementary school who participated in all components of the study over a span of two years. Teachers demonstrated increased knowledge of sheltered instruction as measured through structured interviews. Teachers also increased their use of sheltered instruction as measured by classroom observations. Results from this study contribute to the research base on the impact of quality professional development in improving teachers' use of instructional techniques, and add to the paucity of research specifically focused on the improvement of instruction for English language learners.
Development of the trappe force field for ammonia

The transferable potentials for phase equilibria (TraPPE) force field is extended through the development of a non-polarizable five-site ammonia model. In this model, the electrostatic interactions are represented by three positive partial charges placed at the hydrogen position and a compensating partial charge placed on an M site that is located on the C 3 molecular axis and displaced from the nitrogen atom toward the hydrogen atoms. The repulsive and dispersive interactions are represented by placing a single Lennard–Jones site at the position of the nitrogen atom. Starting from the five-site model by Impey and Klein ( Chem. Phys. Lett. 1984 , 104 , 579), this work optimizes the Lennard–Jones parameters and the magnitude of the partial charges for three values of the M site displacement. This parameterization is done by fitting to the vapor–liquid coexistence curve of neat ammonia. The accuracy of the three resulting models (differing in the displacement of the M site) is assessed through computation of the binary vapor–liquid equilibria with methane, the structure and the dielectric constant of liquid ammonia. The five-site model with an intermediate displacement of 0.08 A for the M site yields a much better value for the dielectric constant, whereas differences in the other properties are quite small.
The effect of collisions on vibrational energy distribution in polyatomic molecules

Abstract We approach the problem of the effect of collisions on infrared absorption by an experimental and modeling study of a well-understood system, absorption of CO 2 laser radiation by cold CF 4 . The spectroscopy, collisional energy transfer rates, and laser characteristics are all known. We conclude that the dominant collisional processes that influence the vibrational energy distribution during infrared laser absorption are rotational energy transfer-rotational relaxation and pressure broadening.
Shadowing of an Inhomogeneous Plane Wave by an Edge

When an inhomogeneous plane wave or other type of evanescent field in a lossless medium strikes a large opaque object, the boundary of the shadow zone is displaced from the familiar geometric optical location for non-evanescent fields. This change is attributable to the complex propagation direction of evanescent waves. To study the mechanism of shadow formation, and indeed the significance of a shadow zone when the incident evanescent field may be weaker than diffracted fields generated by the obstacle, the problem of inhomogeneous plane diffraction by a perfectly conducting semi-infinite screen is investigated. By a careful asymptotic treatment and error analysis of the known exact solution, the location of the shadow boundary is determined, as is the transition region surrounding it wherein the field cannot be separated into incident and diffracted constituents. It is found that for strongly evanescent fields, the shadow boundary and transition zones differ markedly from those for a homogeneous plane wave. Effects of losses in the medium are also considered.
Effect of drug treatment during work release on new arrests and incarcerations

Abstract Nearly 1,300 drug involved prisoners from the Delaware correctional system were followed for up to five years after release. Those who had participated in a work release therapeutic community treatment program, compared to a similar group in regular work release, were significantly less likely to have had a new arrest, or to have returned to incarceration, and had significantly longer times before arrest or return to custody, even when controlling for demographic differences and differences in criminal, drug use, and employment histories. In addition to the treatment effects, new arrests were most strongly related to criminal history, while return to incarceration was associated more generally with drug use and demographic differences. Those with a more extensive criminal history showed particular benefits from the treatment program, and those older from participating in aftercare following treatment.
An accurate method for computer-generating tungsten anode x-ray spectra from 30 to 140 kV.

A tungsten anode spectral model using interpolating polynomials (TASMIP) was used to compute x-ray spectra at 1 keV intervals over the range from 30 kV to 140 kV. The TASMIP is not semi-empirical and uses no physical assumptions regarding x-ray production, but rather interpolates measured constant potential x-ray spectra published by Fewell et al. [Handbook of Computed Tomography X-ray Spectra (U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1981)]. X-ray output measurements (mR/mAs measured at 1 m) were made on a calibrated constant potential generator in our laboratory from 50 kV to 124 kV, and with 0-5 mm added aluminum filtration. The Fewell spectra were slightly modified (numerically hardened) and normalized based on the attenuation and output characteristics of a constant potential generator and metal-insert x-ray tube in our laboratory. Then, using the modified Fewell spectra of different kVs, the photon fluence phi at each 1 keV energy bin (E) over energies from 10 keV to 140 keV was characterized using polynomial functions of the form phi (E) = a0[E] + a1[E] kV + a2[E] kV2 + ... + a(n)[E] kVn. A total of 131 polynomial functions were used to calculate accurate x-ray spectra, each function requiring between two and four terms. The resulting TASMIP algorithm produced x-ray spectra that match both the quality and quantity characteristics of the x-ray system in our laboratory. For photon fluences above 10% of the peak fluence in the spectrum, the average percent difference (and standard deviation) between the modified Fewell spectra and the TASMIP photon fluence was -1.43% (3.8%) for the 50 kV spectrum, -0.89% (1.37%) for the 70 kV spectrum, and for the 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140 kV spectra, the mean differences between spectra were all less than 0.20% and the standard deviations were less than approximately 1.1%. The model was also extended to include the effects of generator-induced kV ripple. Finally, the x-ray photon fluence in the units of photons/mm2 per mR was calculated as a function of HVL, kV, and ripple factor, for various (water-equivalent) patient thicknesses (0, 10, 20, and 30 cm). These values may be useful for computing the detective quantum efficiency, DQE(f), of x-ray detector systems. The TASMIP algorithm and ancillary data are made available on line at http:/(/)www.aip.org/epaps/epaps.html.
Quantitative evaluation of flow computations by rainbow schlieren deflectometry

Rainbow schlieren deflectometry, a line-of-sight optical measurement technique, was used to evaluate computations of steady nonreaeting and reacting flows in axisymmetric systems. The nonreacting flow was that of an isothermal helium jet discharged vertically in air, and the reacting flow was that of a hydrogen jet diffusion flame. The computed results were processed to obtain a color schlieren image for direct visual comparison with the corresponding experimental color schlieren image. The computed and measured angular deflections of light rays were also compared. In addition, the computed field distributions of scalar flow properties including the refractive index, species concentration, and temperature were compared quantitatively by inverting the experimental schlieren measurements. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the rainbow schlieren technique in evaluating the physical models used for flow computations
HPLC with Electrochemical and Fluorescence Detection of the OPA/2-Methyl-2-propanethiol Derivative of Fumonisin B1

Abstract The o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) derivative of fumonisin B1 was prepared in the presence of 2-methyl-2-propanethiol (tert-butyl thiol). A hydrodynamic voltammogram for the derivative indicated that the optimum voltage for maximum electrochemical response was ±0.7 V. The electrochemical response of the OPA/tert-butyl derivative was unstable. However, the fluorescence response was found to be stable for over an hour after an initial 30 minute reaction time. The minimum detectable limit (MDL) of the OPA/tert-butyl derivative using fluorescence detection was 30 ng/ml as compared to 250 ng/ml for electrochemical detection.
From 3-algebras to Δ-groups and symmetric cohomology

We introduce Δ-groups and show how they fit in the context of lattice field theory. To a topological space M we associate a Δ-group Γ(M). We define the symmetric cohomology HSn(G,A) of a group G with coefficients in a G-module A. The Δ-group Γ(M) is determined by the action of π1(M) on π2(M) and an element of HS3(π1(M),π2(M)).
Evaluating the quality of conformation sampling methods using experimental residual dipolar coupling data

Many computational approaches have been developed and used for sampling protein conformations near the native state. However, it has been difficult to evaluate the quality of the conformations sampled or to compare them among the various sampling schemes. In this work, we develop a novel method for evaluating the quality of conformation ensembles and apply it to evaluate ubiquitin conformations generated from four widely-used conformation sampling approaches, namely, MD simulation, Elastic Network Model (ENM), CONCOORD, and tCONCOORD. We choose ubiquitin because there exists abundant experimental residual dipolar coupling (RDC) data on this protein. RDC data contains rich ensemble-averaged information about a given protein and thus provide tight constraints that can be used for probing what conformations should make up the protein ensemble. Our results demonstrate that the conformations generated by MD simulations are the best among all sampling methods. Specifically, MD simulation performs significantly better than the other methods in capturing the side chain motions. The backbone flexibility modeled and sampled by tCONCOORD comes quite close, with CONCOORD and ENM trailing behind.
Probing for DNA damage with β-hairpins: Similarities in incision efficiencies of bulky DNA adducts by prokaryotic and human nucleotide excision repair systems in vitro

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is an important prokaryotic and eukaryotic defense mechanism that removes a large variety of structurally distinct lesions in cellular DNA. While the proteins involved are completely different, the mode of action of these two repair systems is similar, involving a cut-and-patch mechanism in which an oligonucleotide sequence containing the lesion is excised. The prokaryotic and eukaryotic NER damage-recognition factors have common structural features of β-hairpin intrusion between the two DNA strands at the site of the lesion. In the present study, we explored the hypothesis that this common β-hairpin intrusion motif is mirrored in parallel NER incision efficiencies in the two systems. We have utilized human HeLa cell extracts and the prokaryotic UvrABC proteins to determine their relative NER incision efficiencies. We report here comparisons of relative NER efficiencies with a set of stereoisomeric DNA lesions derived from metabolites of benzo[a]pyrene and equine estrogens in different sequence contexts, utilizing 21 samples. We found a general qualitative trend toward similar relative NER incision efficiencies for ∼65% of these substrates; the other cases deviate mostly by ∼30% or less from a perfect correlation, although several more distant outliers are also evident. This resemblance is consistent with the hypothesis that lesion recognition through β-hairpin insertion, a common feature of the two systems, is facilitated by local thermodynamic destabilization induced by the lesions in both cases. In the case of the UvrABC system, varying the nature of the UvrC endonuclease, while maintaining the same UvrA/B proteins, can markedly affect the relative incision efficiencies. These observations suggest that, in addition to recognition involving the initial modified duplexes, downstream events involving UvrC can also play a role in distinguishing and processing different lesions in prokaryotic NER.
Connecting girls and science: A feminist teacher research study of a high school prenatal testing unit

In this article, I explore how a dozen high-school sophomore girls expressed their relationship to and understanding of prenatal testing, and its possible place in their lives and in the lives of others, in the context of a short unit on prenatal testing during a semester-long course in human genetics. The data come from an assignment designed to help students bring their understanding of prenatal testing into the realm of personal choice, as well as practice applying the science of chromosomal inheritance. Difference feminism is used to develop themes evident in these girls' talk about prenatal testing. The instructional choices made were based on difference feminism, which implies that girls would be interested in science that connects to human bodies, children, and traditional women's responsibilities. This claim is elaborated on and applied by this study, in which I concentrate on the question: How can difference feminism help us better to hear and comprehend high school girls' relationships with reproductive technology, their own bodies, and their own lives? I propose that focusing on girls' lives and knowledge is a way to consider alternatives in curricular content, in addition to helping us learn how to help more girls connect with science. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 877–896, 1998.
Effect of pH on infectivity and morphology of ecotropic moloney murine leukemia virus.

A number of factors affect the infectivity of retroviruses. The effect of pH on infectivity and morphology of ecotropic moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV) was determined in this work. The ecotropic MoMuLVs were found to remain infectious at a narrow pH range from 5.5 to 8.0. Our experiments indicated that the viruses were inactivated swiftly at lower or higher pH. Within 5 min of exposure to pH 4 about 95% of the viruses lost infectiousness. The viruses were completely inactivated after exposure to pH 11 for 5 min. The inactivation of MoMuLV was irreversible. Electron microscopy revealed that ecotropic MoMuLV remained round-shaped at pH between 7.0 and 5. They became irregular with a convex head at pH < 4. At pH 2, virtually all virion particles were penetrated by stains, causing the accumulation of heavy metals inside the particles. The penetration of heavy metal inside the particles indicated the disassociation of the lipid bilayer of the viruses at low pH. A FACS-based screening strategy for selecting high-titer retrovirus producing cell lines is also presented in this report.
Drug adsorption efficacy of commercial activated charcoal tablets in vitro and in man

The in vitro adsorption characteristics and the inhibitory effect on drug absorption in man of commercial activated charcoal tablets and activated charcoal powder were determined, using phenylpropanolamine as the test drug. The rate and extent of drug adsorption on charcoal in tablets in vitro were much lower than on the charcoal powder. Under the conditions of the study, equal doses of charcoal tablets and powder reduced phenylpropanolamine absorption in healthy adult volunteers by 48 and 73%, respectively.
13C NMR Assignments of the Antimalarials, Chloroquine, 4-Methylprimaquine, 5-Methoxy-4-methylprimaquine and 5-Methoxyprimaquine

Abstract The 13C nmr assignments for the antimalarial drugs chloroquine, 4-methyl primaquine, 5-methoxy-4-methylprimaquine and 5-methoxyprimaquine were established. These assignments were based on comparison with those of primaquine, proton-coupled data, and selective long-range proton decoupling.
Water deprivation increases anterior hypothalamic norepinephrine metabolism in the rat

Abstract Rats were limited to 10 min of access to water per day. After 1 week, concentrations and rate of metabolism of dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine were determined in hypothalamic and limbic areas associated with regulation of water homeostatis. Chronic water deprivation caused hypovolemia, hypotension and ingestion of a large volume of water when water became available. Norepinephrine metabolism was consistently increased in samples containing the anterior hypothalamic nucleus, but no other catecholamine in any other brain area was significantly affected by the deprivation schedule. We conclude that the anterior hypothalamic nucleus is involved in the response to chronic disruption of water balance in the rat.
D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) allele and haplotype frequencies in alcohol dependent and control subjects: no association with phenotype or severity of phenotype.

Possible association between polymorphisms at the D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2) and alcohol dependence has been controversial since first proposed in 1990. The most studied polymorphisms to date are the TaqI “A” and “B” systems; they are unlikely to convey a physiological effect directly, and have not been demonstrated to be in linkage disequilibrium with any common polymorphism more likely to convey such an effect, in populations of European ancestry. A recently-described polymorphism in the promoter region of the DRD2 gene with possible effects on gene regulation is the first functional polymorphism described at this locus frequent enough in European-Americans (EAs) to have the potential to explain the positive findings. The goals of this study were to determine if we could replicate any previously reported associations, particularly with the “A” and “B” systems and alcohol dependence or severity of alcohol dependence, using a screened control group design. We also studied the promoter system, “D” system, and 3 locus haplotypes. To test the hypothesis of an association rigorously, we studied four DRD2 polymorphic systems in 160 EA alcohol dependent subjects and 136 screened EA control subjects. To increase our potential to detect association with other polymorphisms at the locus, we also constructed 3 locus haplotypes including the DRD2 “A,” “D,” and promoter systems in both samples. There were no significant differences in allele frequencies between alcohol dependent and screened control subjects for any of the four systems studied. There were also no differences in 3-locus haplotype frequencies between these groups. Analysis based on severity of alcohol dependence also yielded no significant association. The screened control allele frequencies did not differ from allele frequencies we reported previously in unscreened controls. Thus, we replicated previous findings of no association between DRD2 alleles and alcohol dependence. These results can now be extended to include haplotypes containing the possibly-functional promoter system polymorphism. Explanations previously offered to explain lack of association (regarding alcohol dependence severity, and use of screened vs. unscreened controls) were not validated. These results are consistent with no effect of DRD2 polymorphisms on behavioral phenotypes related to alcohol dependence.
Memory efficient parallel matrix multiplication operation for irregular problems

Regular distributions for storing dense matrices on parallel systems are not always used in practice. In many scientific applicati RUMMA) [1] to handle irregularly distributed matrices. Our approach relies on a distribution independent algorithm that provides dynamic load balancing by exploiting data locality and achieves performance as good as the traditional approach which relies on temporary arrays with regular distribution, data redistribution, and matrix multiplication for regular matrices to handle the irregular case. The proposed algorithm is memory-efficient because temporary matrices are not needed. This feature is critical for systems like the IBM Blue Gene/L that offer very limited amount of memory per node. The experimental results demonstrate very good performance across the range of matrix distributions and problem sizes motivated by real applications.
Stressful life experiences and peer externalizing behaviors mediate the relation between reduced family support and externalizing symptoms in low-income urban youth

Family support, urban stressors, and peer behavior were examined in relation to externalizing symptoms in 605 predominantly low-income urban sixth through eighth grade adolescents. Mother and father support were each associated with lower levels of externalizing symptoms in both males and females. For males, father absence was associated with increased peer externalizing behavior and heightened rates of youth externalizing symptoms. Stress (in the form of major life events, daily hassles, and exposure to violence) and peer externalizing behavior were examined as mediators of the relation between parent support and youth externalizing symptoms. Increased stress exposure mediated the relation between weak mother and father support and youth externalizing symptoms. Additionally, for females, peer externalizing behavior mediated the relation between weak mother support and youth externalizing symptoms.
Buddhist Ethics and End-of-Life Care Decisions

Buddhism has grown in the United States in the past 50 years. Immigrants come following long traditions. American converts are more eclectic. The first Buddhist precept prohibiting harm to living things, the virtue of compassion, and the goal of a peaceful death provide guidance for ethical decision making regarding organ donation, withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, voluntary cessation of eating, physician aid in dying, and euthanasia. Concepts and views from three Buddhist traditions and views of master practitioners are presented. Case examples illustrate some of the differences within Buddhism. Suggestions for social workers are provided.
Predicting Adaption-Innovation Styles: Selected Demographic Characteristics and the Kirton Inventory

The accomplishments of groups responsible for problem-solving and decision-making are influenced in part by the resources contributed by individual members (2), including the personal resource of problem-solving style (7). According to the Kirton Adaption-Innovation theory, groups are best equipped when both the adaptive and innovative problem-solving styles are represented among their memberships (6). While less important in predicting innovative behavior than personality characteristics ( 3 ) and less closely associated with adaption-innovation scores than other personality measures (1, 4, 5 ) demographic characteristics may be the only information available to those who compose problem-solving groups. The present study was undertaken to identify demographic predictors of adaption-innovation styles which would facilitate balancing groups by problem-solving styles of individual members. The demographic characteristics included sex, age, racelethnicity, education, occupation, total family income, number of years on advisory committee for members of advisory groups for educational programs, and extent of participation in community organizations. The Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory and Personal Characteristics Profile were mailed individually to 326 members of advisory committees for public community colleges throughout the United States. Usable questionnaires were returned by 208 persons, or 63 8% of the original sample. When multiple regression analysis was applied, the combined characteristics explained about 8.0% of the variation in test scores. Their rather limited predictive power corroborates a fundamental assumption of the theory, which is that the problem-solving styles are distributed randomly
Population studies in fisheries biology.

THE analysis of populations of fish, chiefly in relation to age composition, has developed greatly since Peterson1 described his method of dissecting length-frequency curves. Such analysis makes use of the ability to identify the age of fish from certain structural features of scales, otoliths and similar structures, and is associated with the problem of measuring the rate of growth. For effective application, this work requires the employment of vigorous sampling techniques related to commercial and experimental operations, as described by Fridrickson2, Hodgson3 and Sette4,5. Analyses of this kind have been employed for the following purposes : (a) to compare stocks of different regions6; (b) to compare stocks at different times7 ; (c) to assess mortality-rates8. The first two have been employed chiefly in relation to the study of 'condition' of fisheries in connexion with the possibility of depletion. The latter use was developed by H. Thompson8 when, in working on haddock, he presented a technique for measuring recruitment into the fishable stock and for subsequent assessment of the effect upon the stocks of the strength of successive broods.
MOST HOMEOMORPHISMS WITH A FIXED POINT HAVE A CANTOR SET OF FIXED POINTS.

We show that, for any n ≠ 2, most orientation preserving homeomorphisms of the sphere S2n have a Cantor set of fixed points. In other words, the set of such homeomorphisms that do not have a Cantor set of fixed points is of the first Baire category within the set of all homeomorphisms. Similarly, most orientation reversing homeomorphisms of the sphere S2n+1 have a Cantor set of fixed points for any n ≠ 0. More generally, suppose that M is a compact manifold of dimension > 1 and ≠ 4 and \({\mathcal{H}}\) is an open set of homeomorphisms h : M → M such that all elements of \({\mathcal{H}}\) have at least one fixed point. Then we show that most elements of \({\mathcal{H}}\) have a Cantor set of fixed points.
A 13C nuclear magnetic resonance study of cyclobutadieneirontricarbonyl-substituted carbonium ions

Abstract The 13 C NMR spectra of (hydroxymethyl)-, (α-hydroxyethyl)- and (α-hydroxybenzyl)cyclobutadieneiron tricarbonyl (in CDCl 3 ) and of their derived carbonium ions (in concentrated H 2 SO 4 ) are reported. The data suggest extensive donation of electron density from the metal, via the cyclobutadiene unit, to the exocyclic, electron-deficient carbon atom, thus giving highly stabilized carbonium ions.
Acidity Measurements on a Heteropolyacid Hydrate in Acetic Acid Solution: A Case of Three Hydrons Ionizing Independently, Rather Than Consecutively

Acidity measurements by 13C NMR spectroscopy with mesityl oxide (2) as indicator (the Δδ method) have been conducted on phosphotungstic acid, H3PW12O40(1) at various levels of hydration, H3PW12O40.xH2O (1b) in concentrated solution in acetic acid. Extrapolation to infinite dilution of indicator allowed the determination of the H0 acidity function. A comparison with the strong acids, sulfuric and perchloric, indicate that even in this solvent of low basicity the three hydrons of 1 dissociate independently, rather than consecutively as considered previously. The molecule of the heteropolyacid is thus equivalent to three molecules of strong acid in solution and behaves in essence like the solid acids, having acid sites of the same strength. Comparison with other acids has to be made at triple concentration of the latter and shows that the complex acid 1 is significantly stronger than perchloric acid, which in turn is stronger than sulfuric acid, as already known.
Minimum detection windows, PI-line existence and uniqueness for helical cone-beam scanning of variable pitch

The goal of this paper is to study Cone-beam CT scanning along a helix of variable pitch. First the rationale and applications in medical imaging of variable pitch CTreconstruction are explained. Then formulas for the minimum detection window are derived. The main part of the paper proves a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence and uniqueness of PI-lines inside this variable pitch helix. These results are necessary steps toward an exact reconstruction algorithm for helix scanning of variable pitch, generalizing Katsevich’s formula on constant pitch exact reconstruction. It is shown through an example that, when the derivative of the pitch function is not convex, or when the pitch function passes a inflection point and begins to slow down, PI-lines may be not unique near the rim of the helix cylinder. The conclusion is that the restriction on the pitch function is weaker, if the object is placed well within the helix cylinder and far from its rim, in order to preserve the uniqueness of PI-lines. If the object is near the rim, the restriction condition on the allowable pitch functions becomes stronger.
Overweight Men: clinical pregnancy after ART is decreased in IVF but not in ICSI cycles

Purpose To evaluate if elevated male body mass influences success after assisted reproductive technologies
Finite partitions of spheres

Abstract Let Sn be the unit sphere in En + 1; an (n − 1)-sphere in Sn is an intersection of Sn with a hyperplane. A theorem is proved on colorings of sphere which implies the Proposition: If B is an m-coloring of S2, for m ⩾ 6, B4-colors some 1-sphere. If B is an m-coloring of S3, m ⩾ 8; B 5-colors some 2-sphere.
Status of regulatory approval of biotechnology-derived plants and animals.

Abstract Development of new technology brings with it decisions regarding regulation to ensure safety in technology transfer. Properly formulated and administrated, such regulations can act as a catalyst for the transfer of new technology, not a barrier. Such regulations must be based on sound scientific principles, and are intended to provide protection for the public, engender public acceptance, and foster communication with the various segments of society. To develop this new technology in a safe and orderly manner field testing of the products/ organisms of biotechnology, especially genetic engineering, has been permitted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USD A). USD A permits certify the environmental safety of field testing of plants and microorganisms developed through the use of material derived from plant pests. Permits are issued based upon analyses of the biology of the organism, the affected environment, and the precautions taken to ensure environmental protection. Licenses for the use of...