cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The flash hydropyrolysis and methanolysis of coal with hydrogen and methane

Abstract The process of flash pyrolysis consists of rapidly heating a carbonaceous material to elevated temperatures ( ⩾10 4 ° Cs 1 usually to temperatures above 700°C) with either a reactive or nonreactive gas, allowing reaction to take place at elevated temperature for short periods of time (⩽10 s) and quickly cooling ( ⩾10 2 ° C s 1 ) the reaction system to terminate the reaction. The carbonaceous material is depolymerized into short chain and smaller light molecules which can, at the elevated temperature, react with each other or react with the pyrolyzing gas, and upon fast cooling, the lighter products are stabilized preventing repolymerization and char formation. When hydrogen is used as the pyrolyzing gas, the process is referred to as flash hydropyrolysis (FHP). When methane is used, the reaction is referred to as flash methanolysis (FM). The process can also be extended to steam, which is then referred to as flash hydrolysis.
Cancer-Associated Mutants of RNA Helicase DDX3X Are Defective in RNA-Stimulated ATP Hydrolysis.

The DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX3X is frequently mutated in pediatric medulloblastoma. We dissect how these mutants affect DDX3X function with structural, biochemical, and genetic experiments. We identify an N-terminal extension (“ATP-binding loop”, ABL) that is critical for the stimulation of ATP hydrolysis by RNA. We present crystal structures suggesting that the ABL interacts dynamically with ATP and confirming that the interaction occurs in solution by NMR chemical shift perturbation and isothermal titration calorimetry. DEAD-box helicases require interaction between two conserved RecA-like helicase domains, D1 and D2 for function. We use NMR chemical shift perturbation to show that DDX3X interacts specifically with double-stranded RNA through its D1 domain, with contact mediated by residues G302 and G325. Mutants of these residues, G302V and G325E, are associated with pediatric medulloblastoma. These mutants are defective in RNA-stimulated ATP hydrolysis. We show that DDX3X complements the growth defect in a ded1 temperature-sensitive strain of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, but the cancer-associated mutants G302V and G325E do not complement and exhibit protein expression defects. Taken together, our results suggest that impaired translation of important mRNA targets by mutant DDX3X represents a key step in the development of medulloblastoma.
Duverger and the Study of Semi-Presidentialism

Maurice Duverger must be credited with the invention of the term semi-presidentialism. Although his conceptualization has not always been precise and impeccable, his analyses of semi-presidentialism in several political systems have been very influential. Interestingly, however, the French community of political scientists and constitutional scholars has substantially rejected semi-presidentialism as the definition to be applied to the Fifth French Republic. In this article, first, I review the statements and the interpretations given by the most important French scholars. Then, I give an account of the reasons why Duverger's semi-presidentialism has received a by far better audience in Italy and why French-type semi-presidentialism remains alive as an institutional option for the reform of the Italian political system.
Antibody formation in persistent tolerant infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus.

Antibody to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus has been detected by the fluorescent antibody technique in mice in a state of persistent tolerant infection.
Effects of substituents on synthetic analogs of chlorophylls. Part 2: Redox properties, optical spectra and electronic structure.

The optical absorption spectra and redox properties are presented for 24 synthetic zinc chlorins and 18 free base analogs bearing a variety of 3,13 (β) and 5,10,15 (meso) substituents. Results are also given for a zinc and free base oxophorbine, which contain the keto-bearing isocyclic ring present in the natural photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to probe the effects of the types and positions of substituents on the characteristics (energies, electron distributions) of the frontier molecular orbitals. A general finding is that the 3,13 positions are more sensitive to the effects of auxochromes than the 5,10,15 positions. The auxochromes investigated (acetyl > ethynyl > vinyl > aryl) cause a significant redshift and intensification of the Qy band upon placement at the 3,13 positions, whereas groups at the 5,10,15 positions result in much smaller redshifts that are accompanied by a decrease in relative Q y intensity. In addition, the substituent-induced shifts in first oxidation and reduction potentials faithfully track the energies of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO), respectively. The calculations show that the LUMO is shifted more by substituents than the HOMO, which derives from the differences in the electron densities of the two orbitals at the substituent sites. The trends in the substituent-induced effects on the wavelengths and relative intensities of the major features (B y , Q x , Qy) in the near-UV to near-IR absorption bands are well accounted for using Gouterman's four-orbital model, which incorporates the effects of the substituents on the HOMO-1 and LUMO+1 in addition to the HOMO and LUMO. Collectively, the results and analysis presented herein and in the companion paper provide insights into the effects of substituents on the optical absorption, redox and other photophysical properties of the chlorins. These insights form a framework that underpins the rational design of chlorins for applications encompassing photomedicine and solar-energy conversion.
Bearing Damping: A Simple, Inexpensive Experiment in System Dynamics

Bearings commonly are modeled as a linear viscous element. This behavior is easily confirmed with a simple, inexpensive experiment using only a wristwatch and a bicycle equipped with a speedometer. With the bicycle inverted so that its rear wheel is free to spin, this experiment involves observing and recording the variation of the angular velocity of the rear wheel as it decelerates from some initial speed. This experiment is a group activity, requiring teamwork to record the data by hand. From the data recorded and an estimate of the moment of inertia of the wheel, students determine the time constant of the system, the degree to which first-order response is exhibited by the system, and the equivalent damping coefficient for the bearings that support the rear wheel. Because of the familiarity of the components of the system being examined, the simplicity of the experiment, the teamwork required in the experiment, and the high degree of agreement between the analytical predictions and the experimental results, this experiment is an excellent experiment in system dynamics.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Phosphorylation of Claudin-3 at Threonine 192 by cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Regulates Tight Junction Barrier Function in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Claudins are integral membrane proteins essential in the formation and function of tight junctions (TJs). Disruption of TJs, which have essential roles in cell permeability and polarity, is thought to contribute to epithelial tumorigenesis. Claudin-3 and -4 are frequently overexpressed in ovarian cancer, but the molecular pathways involved in the regulation of these proteins are unclear. Interestingly, several studies have demonstrated a role for phosphorylation in the regulation of TJ complexes, although evidence for claudin phosphorylation is scarce. Here, we showed that claudin-3 and -4 can be phosphorylated in ovarian cancer cells. In vitro phosphorylation assays using glutathione S-transferase fusion constructs demonstrated that the C terminus of claudin-3 is an excellent substrate for cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identified a PKA phosphorylation site at amino acid 192 in the C terminus of claudin-3. Overexpression of the protein containing a T192D mutation, mimicking the phosphorylated state, resulted in a decrease in TJ strength in ovarian cancer cell line OVCA433. Our results suggest that claudin-3 phosphorylation by PKA, a kinase frequently activated in ovarian cancer, may provide a mechanism for the disruption of TJs in this cancer. In addition, our findings may have general implications for the regulation of TJs in normal epithelial cells.
Alkaline opening of imidazole ring of 7-methylguanosine. 1. Analysis of the resulting pyrimidine derivatives☆

Abstract Column chromatography and spectroscopy have been employed in analyzing pyrimidine derivatives obtained from alkaline-treated 7-methylguanosine (7-meGuo). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that the alkaline generated products consist predominantly of two forms of ring opened 7-methylguanine (rom 7 Gua) in equal amounts. Material from both Dowex 50 and Sephadex LH-20 columns was readily resolvable into two HPLC peaks. The species in one peak appears to be composed of formylated and that in the other of deformylated rom 7 Gua. The presence of a deformylated species is supported by the absence of radioactivity in one of the two peaks obtained when ring opened [8- 14 C]guanosine was analyzed by HPLC. The formylated species was retained on the liquid chromatography column for 8 min with a 3% methanol, 0.01 M NH 4 H 2 PO 4 (pH 5.1) solvent and for 6 min with a 6% methanol, 0.01 N NH 4 H 2 PO 4 (pH 5.1) solvent system; the deformylated species was retained for 6.3 min with the first solvent and 4.5 min with the second solvent. Subsequent to Dowex 50 chromatography in an ammonium formate solvent, about 90% of the material was formylated. When stored at 24°C for 72 h in a solvent without formate ions, the material was shown by HPLC to consist of equal amounts of the formylated and deformylated species. These results indicate that the two species of rom 7 Gua are in equilibrium. The rom 7 Gua excised from DNA by formamidopyrimidine (FAPy)-DNA glycosylase was shown to coelute with the formylated species.
10.4.3 Putting Leadership into Systems Engineering–A Model for Systems Engineering Leadership Development

Systems Engineers, at all experience levels, need to be capable in more than the field of Systems Engineering. They require solid leadership competencies in order to gain essential support within an engineering or program team, properly influence the technical and programmatic direction, and achieve the best program outcome. Therefore, as a Systems Engineer advances (and in order to advance) in their career, the importance of being and demonstrating performance as an effective leader should increase. This paper is based on direct observations where weaknesses in leadership skills were noted in engineers. A structured leadership development program for systems engineers is providing the necessary competencies to perform in their work environment. The case study highlights the need for increased emphasis on systems engineering leadership training and provides a leadership development model. Survey results and findings provided validate the program's performance towards its objective.
Serratamolide as a novel hemolytic factor produced by Serratia marcescens

Purpose The Serratia marcescens bacterium causes vision-threatening keratitis, life-threatening hospital acquired infections and contaminates contact lens cases. The goal of this study was to identify a hemolytic factor produced by keratitis isolates and laboratory strains of S. marcescens. Methods Hemolysis was measured using sheep and mouse erythrocytes. S. marcescens was mutated with a mariner transposon. Hemolysin defective mutants were isolated on blood agar plates. Transposon insertion sites were mapped by marker rescue and sequencing. Complementation analysis was performed with plasmids. Serratamolide was extracted with ethyl acetate and purified by preparative HPLC and verified as pure with high-resolution mass spectroscopy (HR-MS) and 1H NMR analysis. Cytotoxicity to human airway and ocular epithelial cells was performed using Alamar Blue viability dye. The presence of swrW in ocular isolates was determined using PCR. Results Mutation of the swrW gene conferred a hemolysis defect that was complemented by the wild-type swrW gene on a plasmid. The SwrW protein catalyzes production of the cyclic lipopeptide serratamolide. Purified serratamolide was hemolytic to mammalian erythrocytes, and cytotoxic to human airway and ocular cells in vitro. The swrW gene was found in the majority of contact-lens associated keratitis isolates. Conclusion Serratamolide is a novel hemolysin produced by S. marcescens ocular isolates and may contribute to the ability of contact lens associated bacteria to cause infections.
Delamination in elastic shear deformable circular layers

This work extends the analytical solution of an interface crack in straight layered structures to circular layered structures. A small segment at the vicinity of an interface crack tip in a circular laminated beam is analyzed by a novel shear deformable bi-layered circular beam theory. Two concentrated forces are found existing at the crack tip due to the requirement of the equilibrium condition. Closed-form solution of the total energy release rate of the interface crack is obtained as the half of the product of the concentrated forces and the corresponding displacement gradient discontinuities at the crack tip. Closed-form expressions of the mode I and II components of the energy release rate are also obtained by global and local methods. Numerical verifications are conducted by analyzing the interlaminar delamination of a circular beam with an edged crack and comparing with the baseline results obtained through finite element analysis. Excellent agreements between the present method and finite element analysis on the predictions of total energy release rate and mode partition verify the accuracy and efficiency of the present solution.
Successive cyclicity in the grammar and the parser

Abstract Four experiments studied the comprehension of sentences with relations between empty positions and phrases displaced from these positions (“gaps” and 'fillers). Evidence from self-paced reading and end-of-sentence acceptability judgement tasks confirms previous research indicating that the parser prefers to assign an identified filler as the argument of a verb immediately, rather than waiting to check the input for a lexical item of the expected category. We propose that the parser follows an “active filler strategy” which ranks the option of a gap above other options in the domain of an identified filler. The preference for gap over lexical item was evidenced even when a clause boundary separated filler and gap, but the need in this case to carry a filler across a clause boundary created substantial processing difficulty. We propose that, in processing a “long” movement (across more than one clause), the parser must assign the filler to a special “non-argument” position in a successive cylic fas...
Relations of Emergent Literacy Skill Development with Conventional Literacy Skill Development in Korean.

The present study investigated relative contributions of initial status and growth rates of emergent literacy skills (i.e., phonological awareness, letter-name knowledge, vocabulary, and rapid serial naming) to initial status and growth rates of conventional literacy skills (i.e., word reading, pseudoword reading, and spelling) for young Korean children. A total of 215 four-year-old children were followed for approximately 15 months. Results showed (1) consistent effects of letter-name knowledge, phonological awareness, and rapid serial naming on conventional literacy skills, and (2) the importance of children’s initial level in the emergent literacy skills for achieving conventional literacy skills. These results are discussed in light of characteristics of the Korean language and writing system.
Computation of forced convection in slow flow through ducts and packed beds—II velocity profile in a simple cubic array of spheres

Abstract The velocity profile is calculated for slow three-dimensional flow through a simple cubic array of spheres. The velocity is represented by stream-function expansions which directly satisfy the equation of continuity and the no-slip conditions. The problem is solved by a variational principle which gives a lower bound on the total flow rate. The computed bound is within 0·2 per cent of the experimental results of Martin et al .[6].
Role of collector and frother, and of hydrophobicity/oleophilicity of pyrite on the separation of pyrite from coal by flotation

Abstract The effect of dodecane and three different alcoholic frothers [n-butylalcohol, n-hexylalcohol and methylisobutylcarbinol (MIBC)], on the flotation separation of pyrite from Pittsburgh No. 8 coal was investigated. Addition of dodecane resulted in a decrease of selectivity and this was attributed on the basis of the induction time measurements to the smaller difference between the oleophilicities of coal and pyrite than the difference between their hydrophobicities. The results of induction time measurements also showed pyrite to be hydrophilic at the air-water interface and hydrophobic at the oil-water interface. Frother consumption was found to be dependent on the molecular weight and chemical structure with MIBC, the larger and more complex one, being the most effective. However, the frother type was found to have no measurable effect on the separation itself of pyrite and non-pyritic minerals from coal.
Longitudinal functional recovery after geriatric cardiac surgery.

Abstract Background Impaired functional and cognitive status is an important outcome for older adults undergoing major cardiac surgery. We conducted this pilot study to gauge feasibility of assessing these outcomes longitudinally, from preoperatively up to two time points postoperatively to assess for recovery. Methods We interviewed patients aged ≥65 y preoperatively and repeated functional and cognitive assessments at 4–6 wk and 4–6 mo postoperatively. Simple unadjusted linear regression was used to test whether baseline measures changed at each follow-up time point. Then we used a longitudinal model to predict postoperative recovery overall, adjusting for comorbidity. Results A total of 62 patients (age 74.7 ± 5.9) underwent scheduled cardiac surgery. Preoperative activities of daily living (ADL) impairment was associated with poorer functional recovery at 4–6 wk postoperatively with each baseline ADL impairment conferring recovery of 0.5 fewer ADLs (P Conclusions A preoperative and postoperative evaluation of function and cognition was integrated into the surgical care of older patients. Preoperative impairments in ADLs may be a means to identify patients who might benefit from careful postoperative planning, especially in terms of assistance with self-care during the first 4–6 wk after cardiac surgery.
Effects of electrolyte and pH on the behavior of cross-linked films of ferrocene-modified poly(ethylenimine)

Ferrocene redox polymers based on the coupling of ferrocenecarboxaldehyde to both linear and branched poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) have been prepared to investigate the effects of pH, electrolyte, and cross-linking on electron charge transport and film swelling. The redox behavior of both ferrocene-modified linear PEI and ferrocene-modified branched PEI was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, while electron diffusion coefficients reported for PEI-based redox polymers were determined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In phosphate solutions at pH>7, cross-linked films of both redox polymers exhibited multiple redox wave behavior and were unstable. In contrast, in non-phosphate solutions, cross-linked films exhibited stable electrochemical behavior and fast electron transfer in solutions with pH<11. Gel swelling experiments suggested that the multiple wave behavior and instability exhibited in either phosphate solutions or at high pH in non-phosphate solutions were related to a combination of film collapse and electrolyte binding within the hydrogel. The electron diffusion coefficients for these polymers are on the order of 10-8 (mol cm(-2) s(-1/2)), which are approximately 40 times greater than other ferrocene-modified polymers. Incorporation of the enzyme, glucose oxidase, into these films demonstrated that these redox polymers were able to electrically communicate with the enzyme's flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) redox centers. Glucose sensors based on these films exhibited enzyme saturation current densities that ranged from 240 to 480 microA/cm2 in response to glucose, which were dependent upon the supporting electrolyte and pH. The sensitivity of these sensors at 5 mM glucose ranged from 10 to 48 microA.cm(-2).mM(-1).
Assessment of Crack Initiation in Tire Synthetic Rubber by Residual Strength Method

Classically, fatigue analysis such as Miner’s Rule is a representation of the “Residual Strength” method; however it is typically applied to relatively brittle materials using the methods of elasticity. We propose a fatigue-based “Residual Strength” method for synthetic rubber materials used in tire production. We model progressive but very slow cumulative damage by using constant strain rate behavior of the neat material, and material subjected to fatigue loading and by assessing the differences in failure stress and strain values as well as resilience and toughness values. Results are planned to be reflected to S-N curves. Our method will serve as an accurate predictive durability tool for tires build using different materials, fillers, reinforcements and different manufacturing methods.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Leadership Strategies for Legislative Party Cohesion

N o ONE DOUBTS that leadership is important in producing legisI lative party cohesion, but there is little in the literature of political science about how leaders build cohesion. More than a decade ago, Duane Lockard showed that party cohesion in the Connecticut General Assembly was remarkably strong; he posited centralized organization, interparty competition, ideological similarities, and discipline as the major bases of party control.' The topic of this article is the political strategies party leaders use to transform these bases into party votes, and why these strategies succeed. It draws on data from a session of the Connecticut House of Representatives during which both cohesion and leadership activity were in full display. Despite the emergence, in recent research, of the legislator as an active, sentient being (rather than a passive register of pressures),2 not much is known about legislators' party orientations. For example, in their four-state study of The Legislative System, based on interviews with almost all the members of both houses in each state, John C. Wahlke, Heinz Eulau, William Buchanan and Leroy C. Ferguson find that "the party man may act independently and the independent may yet be more or less of a party man," "The role of 'party man' is a highly ambiguous one," and "The line between a 'party man' and an 'independent' or a 'maverick' is a tenu-
Identification of a gene encoding a putative phosphotransferase system enzyme IIBC in Listeria welshimeri and its application for diagnostic PCR

Aims: To identify a Listeria welshimeri-specific gene that can be used for identification of this species by PCR. Methods and Results: Through comparative analysis of genomic DNA from Listeria species using dot blot hybridization, an L. welshimeri-specific clone was isolated that contained a gene segment whose translated protein sequence is similar to enzyme IIBC from phosphotransferase systems in other bacteria. Using oligonucleotide primers derived from this L. welshimeri-specific clone, a 608-bp fragment was amplified from L. welshimeri genomic DNA and not from other Listeria species or other Gram-negative and Gram-positive species. Conclusion and Significance: The PCR employing L. welshimeri-specific primers shows promise as a useful method for differentiating L. welshimeri from other Listeria species and related bacteria.
Attaining specified reliability in component design: a stochastic approximation approach

In the design, manufacture and maintenance of components, particular attention is paid to component reliability R, the probability that the strength X of a component will exceed a stress Y to which it will be subjected. The problem addressed here is the design (or redesign) of a compoFent to meet a specified reliability R*. While certain characteristics of the random variables X and Y are assumed (symmetry of X about a unique median for example) it is not assumed that the form of the distribution of (X,Y) is known, nor that X and Y are independent. A design is recomnended based on a variation of the stochastic approximation procedure due to Dupac and Kral (1972) which in general estimates recursively the root of a regression curve assuming both independent and dependent regression variables are subject to experimental error.
Establishing the Triplet Nature of the Genetic Code

In 1961, Crick, Barnett, Brenner, and Watts-Tobin (Crick et al., 1961) designed an elegant experimental strategy to determine the nature of the genetic code. Remarkably, they reached the correct conclusion despite the absence of technology to analyze and compare DNA and protein sequences.
Polyhedra faster than spheres

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a new and efficient technique for discrete element modelling using non-convex polyhedral grain shapes. Design/methodology/approach – The efficiency of the technique follows from the use of grains that are dilated versions of the basic polyhedral grain shapes. Dilation of an arbitrary polyhedral grain is accomplished by placing the center of a sphere of fixed radius at every point on the surface. The dilated vertices become sphere segments and the edges become cylinder segments. The sharpness of the vertices and edges can be adjusted by varying the dilation radius. Contacts between two dilated polyhedral grains can be grouped into three categories; vertex on surface, vertex on edge, and edge on edge, or in the grammar of the model, sphere on polygonal surface, sphere on cylinder, and cylinder on cylinder. Simple, closed-form solutions exist for each of these cases. Findings – The speed of the proposed polyhedral discrete element model is compared to similar...
Integral domains in which each non-zero ideal is divisorial

Let D be an integral domain with identity having quotient field K. A non-zero fractional ideal F of D is said to be divisorial if F is an intersection of principal fractional ideals of D[4; 2]. Equivalently, F is divisorial if there is a non-zero fractional ideal E of D such thatDivisorial ideals arose in the investigations of Van der Waerden, Artin, and Krull in the 1930's and were called v-ideals by Krull [9; 118]. The concept has played an important role in the development of multiplicative ideal theory.
External metrology truss technology demonstration (KITE)

To achieve micro-arcsecond astrometry, SIM's external metrology system must track the relative changes of three baseline vectors with a precision of tens of picometers over a one-hour time scale. The Kite testbed is designed to be the technology demonstration for a picometer-class external metrology truss. Four fiducials, two simple corner cubes and two triple corner cubes, ar arranged in a planar parallelogram configuration to allow a redundant measurement of truss deformations by six metrology gauges placed between the fiducials. Each metrology gauge is capable of 20-pm relative metrology accuracy and 10-μm absolute metrology accuracy, using a beam launcher capable of self-alignment at the arcsecond level. The Kite demonstration involves the articulation of one of the corner cubes to simulate SIM instrument geometrical changes while various performance metrics are evaluated based on the readings of the individual metrology gauges. The test performance metric compares the direct measurement of length changes by one metrology gauge against the computed estimate for the same based on the other five gauges.
Effect of carbenoxolone sodium on steroid-induced sodium transport in the toad bladder: Further studies

Abstract The licorice derivative, carbenoxolone sodium, is a potent inhibitor of the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. When this enzyme is suppressed or is absent, endogenous glucocorticoids induce mineralocorticoid-like sodium retention by the kidney. Carbenoxolone sodium administered in vivo to an adrenalectomized rat has also recently been shown to enhance the mineralocorticoid response to submaximal concentrations of aldosterone, deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and 11-dehydrocorticosterone (compound A). In the present studies conducted on the urinary bladder isolated from the Dominican toad, Bufo marinus , a concentration of carbenoxolone sodium shown previously to increase glucocorticoid-induced sodium transport (2.5 × 10 −5 M) did not appear to alter the response to submaximal concentrations of aldosterone 10 −8 M, DOC 10 −7 M, or compound A 10 −5 M. These findings are consistent with the view that in the whole animal carbenoxolone sodium may modify additional steroid metabolic pathways and/or physiological processes in several organs to produce the enhanced renal response to mineralocorticoids and compound A.
Digital image restoration by exposure-splitting and registration

With the explosion of digital imaging systems, high image noise levels, particularly motion blur and sensor noise, limit the applications of mobile cameras. In this paper, a novel restoration approach is developed. By uniformly splitting the exposure time and averaging the multiple under-exposed captures, a single image is obtained in which both types of noise are mitigated. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate the successful image restoration under various exposure conditions. Exposure-splitting is further optimized to fully recover the image quality under severe motion blur. This technique can be easily implemented into contemporary digital imaging systems.
Endocrine relationship in males of a relatively infertile strain of White Leghorn fowls.

Over a period of 15 years, one strain of White Leghorns (C) at this laboratory has been consistently less fertile than two other strains (K and S) although all three have been maintained under identical conditions. The birds of the three strains are intermingled in the incubators and brooders, on the rearing range, and in the laying houses. During the breeding season, representatives of the infertile strain are given the same kinds of breeding pens as the others, and in the same buildings. Since the environment is uniform for all three strains, it is clear that the consistently low fertility of Strain C is genetically determined. From 1943 to 1953 the average fertility of all eggs incubated from cockerel- test matings (i.e., no prior information regarding the fertility of the birds used) in Strains C, K, and S was 64, 91, and 86%, respectively.
CHROMATOGRAPHY OF SOYBEAN PROTEINS ON HYDROXYLAPATITE.

Abstract Ultracentrifugation resolved water-extractable soybean proteins into four fractions of 2S, 7S, 11S, and 15S. Chromatography on hydroxylapatite with potassium phosphate gradients (0.03–0.5 M) at pH 7.6 yielded four major fractions, A, B, C, and D. Fraction A was eluted with the starting buffer (0.03 M); the other fractions were eluted under influence of the gradient. Ultracentrifugal compositions in decreasing order of relative amounts were Fraction A, 2S; Fraction B, 2S and 7S; Fraction C, 11S, 7S, 15S, and 2S; and Fraction D, 7S, 11S, and 15S. Soybean protein fractions also chromatographed included isoelectrically precipitated globulins, whey proteins, cold-insoluble fraction, crystalline trypsin inhibitor, and hemagglutinin.
Education in administration. Trends in MSN/MBA and MSN in nursing administration.

Avenues for the preparation of nurses who wish to pursue administrative careers continue to be debated. The author reports changes in the numbers and enrollments of master of science in nursing/master of business administration (MSN/MBA) programs as well as trends in MSN in nursing administration programs since 1993. Respondents to a survey of all U.S. nursing graduate programs indicated that both types of programs have undergone substantial changes on a variety of measures. The author considers these results in suggestions for building new approaches to administrative preparation.
Drosophila dicer-2 cleavage is mediated by helicase- and dsRNA termini-dependent states that are modulated by Loquacious-PD

In previous studies we observed that the helicase domain of Drosophila Dicer-2 (dmDcr-2) governs substrate recognition and cleavage efficiency, and that dsRNA termini are key to this discrimination. We now provide a mechanistic basis for these observations. We show that discrimination of termini occurs during initial binding. Without ATP, dmDcr-2 binds 3' overhanging, but not blunt, termini. By contrast, with ATP, dmDcr-2 binds both types of termini, with highest-affinity binding observed with blunt dsRNA. In the presence of ATP, binding, cleavage, and ATP hydrolysis are optimal with BLT termini compared to 3'ovr termini. Limited proteolysis experiments suggest the optimal reactivity of BLT dsRNA is mediated by a conformational change that is dependent on ATP and the helicase domain. We find that dmDcr-2's partner protein, Loquacious-PD, alters termini dependence, enabling dmDcr-2 to cleave substrates normally refractory to cleavage, such as dsRNA with blocked, structured, or frayed ends.
Is it ethical for a medical practice to dismiss a family based on their decision not to have their child immunized

The parents' decision not to have their child immunized stirs up much controversy in the public sector and in the healthcare arena. Much debate surrounds not just the parents' choice but also the practitioner's decision to refuse care based on their refusal. This article presents a common and increasing scenario faced in pediatric practices and explores the ethical implications that it poses for the healthcare provider.
Automatic Detection and Extraction of Tolerance Stacks in Mechanical Assemblies

Tolerances are specified by a designer to allow reasonable freedom by a manufacturer for imperfections and inherent variability without compromising performance. It takes knowledge and experience to create a good tolerance scheme. It is a tedious process driven by the type of parts, their features and controls needed for each one of them. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which GDT we call them Direction of Control (DoC). Then we can create the GD&T schema, allocate tolerance values, and prepare it for tolerance evaluation. In this paper, we present an approach to automatically identify the dimensional loops based on assembly requirements. Assignment of tolerance values will be covered in future works as it is based on design function.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Role of proteases in host cell invasion by Toxoplasma gondii and other Apicomplexa

The process of invasion by apicomplexan parasites is a carefully coordinated process involving the regulated release of specialized secretory organelles. Several lines of evidence suggest that proteases are critical for the assembly and trafficking of organellar content proteins. Further, invasion is accompanied by cleavage and shedding of secreted proteins as host cell invasion occurs. Recent studies in Toxoplasma gondii and other Apicomplexa have led to the identification of proteases that may mediate these processing events. Among these are subtilases, subtilisin-like serine proteinases that have essential roles in processing of secreted proteins in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Other studies suggest that cysteine proteinases or rhomboid proteases, a newly described class of serine proteinases, may be important. In addition to providing insights into the invasion process, characterization of invasion proteases may lead to identification of novel targets for antiparasitic chemotherapy.
Flow and Heat Transfer in an Internally Ribbed Duct With Rotation: An Assessment of Large Eddy Simulations and Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Simulations

Large eddy simulations (LES) and unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations have been performed for flow and heat transfer in a rotating ribbed duct. The ribs are oriented normal to the flow and arranged in a staggered configuration on the leading and trailing surfaces. The LES results are based on a higher-order accurate finite difference scheme with a dynamic Smagorinsky model for the subgrid stresses. The URANS procedure utilizes a two equation k-e model for the turbulent stresses. Both Coriolis and centrifugal buoyancy effects are included in the simulations. The URANS computations have been carried out for a wide range of Reynolds number (Re = 12,500-100,000), rotation number (Ro=0-0.5) and density ratio (Δρ/ρ=0-0.5), while LES results are reported for a single Reynolds number of 12,500 without and with rotation (Ro=0.12, Δρ/ρ=0.13). Comparison is made between the LES and URANS results, and the effects of various parameters on the flow field and surface heat transfer are explored. The LES results clearly reflect the importance of coherent structures in the flow, and the unsteady dynamics associated with these structures. The heat transfer results from both LES and URANS are found to be in reasonable agreement with measurements. LES is found to give higher heat transfer predictions (5-10% higher) than URANS. The Nusselt number ratio (Nu/Nu 0 ) is found to decrease with increasing Reynolds number on all walls, while they increase with the density ratio along the leading and trailing walls. The Nusselt number ratio on the trailing and sidewalls also increases with rotation. However, the leading wall Nusselt number ratio shows an initial decrease with rotation (till Ro =0.12) due to the stabilizing effect of rotation on the leading wall. However, beyond Ro =0.12, the Nusselt number ratio increases with rotation due to the importance of centrifugal-buoyancy at high rotation.
Towards sub-millimeter accuracy in UWB positioning for indoor medical environments

Ultra wideband (UWB) positioning systems are increasingly used in indoor environments since commercial systems can provide 3-D accuracy of a few centimeters. Many applications exist in medicine for UWB positioning which includes tracking personnel, assets, and surgical navigation. We have designed a UWB positioning system with millimeter accuracy. Certain applications, including surgical navigation, have even more stringent accuracy requirements in the sub-millimeter range. Many challenges must be overcome to achieve sub-millimeter accuracy including indoor multipath interference, system clock jitter and drift, local oscillator phase noise, sampling-rate limitations, and phase center error. This paper discusses sub-millimeter accuracy in UWB positioning for medical applications and outlines key challenges faced in achieving it with our UWB positioning system. Solutions to these challenges are also outlined followed by a discussion of future work needed to integrate the entire system.
Death Valley, Drosophila, and the Devonian Toolkit

Most experiments on the flight behavior of Drosophila melanogaster have been performed within confined laboratory chambers, yet the natural history of these animals involves dispersal that takes place on a much larger spatial scale. Thirty years ago, a group of population geneticists performed a series of mark-and-recapture experiments on Drosophila flies, which demonstrated that even cosmopolitan species are capable of covering 10 km of open desert, probably in just a few hours and without the possibility of feeding along the way. In this review I revisit these fascinating and informative experiments and attempt to explain how—from takeoff to landing—the flies might have made these journeys based on our current knowledge of flight behavior. This exercise provides insight into how animals generate long behavioral sequences using sensory-motor modules that may have an ancient evolutionary origin.
Constructing Who We Are Online: One Word, One Friend at a Time

In online social networks, the lines between public and private and personal and professional are blurred (even blended) due to their “share and share alike” nature. Sharing user-posted content, su...
When Are Women More Effective Lawmakers Than Men

Previous scholarship has demonstrated that female lawmakers differ from their male counterparts by engaging more fully in consensus-building activities. We argue that this behavioral difference does not serve women equally well in all institutional settings. Contentious and partisan activities of male lawmakers may help them outperform women when in a polarized majority party. However, in the minority party, while men may choose to obstruct and delay, women continue to strive to build coalitions and bring about new policies. We find strong evidence that minority party women in the U.S. House of Representatives are better able to keep their sponsored bills alive through later stages of the legislative process than are minority party men, across the 93 rd 110 th Congresses (1973-2008). The opposite is true for majority party women, however, who counterbalance this lack of later success by introducing more legislation. Moreover, while the legislative style of minority party women has served them well consistently across the past four decades, majority party women have become less effective as Congress has become more polarized.
Use of desflurane during resection of phaeochromocytoma

A patient underwent elective removal of a phaeochromocytoma producing extremely high plasma concentrations of catecholamines. The new volatile agent, desflurane, was incorporated, in varying concentrations, into the general anaesthetic regimen.
Vagal-Sparing Esophagectomy

Barrett’s surveillance programs and more liberal use of upper endoscopy are leading to the identification of an increasing number of patients with high-grade dysplasia or early-stage esophageal adenocarcinoma. Although esophagectomy is curative in the majority of these patients, associated morbidity and mortality remains a hurdle for patient acceptance of the procedure. A vagal-sparing esophagectomy provides the benefit of complete esophageal resection while minimizing known morbidities associated with traditional esophagectomies. We have adopted this technique and to date nearly 150 patients with high-grade dysplasia and/or intramucosal cancer, or benign conditions including end-stage achalasia and reflux disease, have undergone an open or laparoscopic vagal-sparing procedure.
ERAP: ECC Based RFID Authentication Protocol

RFID tags are a new generation of small devices used for identification in many applications today. RFID authentication plays an important role in applications where security and privacy is a major concern. As an example, RFID has gained appreciation as an emerging technology to thwart counterfeiting problems. Public key cryptography (PKC) provides an impeccable solution to the counterfeiting problem. One recent family of public key cryptosystem is elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) which is a better choice than RSA cryptographic system because of its shorter key length. In this paper, we propose a secure, mutual offline authentication protocol which is based on ECC. Finally, we present security analysis of our proposed authentication protocol.
A novel comprehensive wave-form MS data processing method

Motivation: Mass spectrometry (MS) can generate high-throughput protein profiles for biomedical research to discover biologically related protein patterns/biomarkers. The noisy functional MS data collected by current technologies, however, require consistent, sensitive and robust data-processing techniques for successful biomedical application. Therefore, it is important to detect features precisely for each spectrum, quantify them well and assign a unique label to features from the same protein/peptide across spectra. Results: In this article, we propose a new comprehensive MS data preprocessing package, Wave-spec, which includes several novel algorithms. It can overcome several conventional difficulties. Wave-spec can be applied to multiple types of MS data generated with different MS technologies. Results from this new package were evaluated and compared to several existing approaches based on a MALDI-TOF MS dataset. Availability: An example of MATLAB scripts used to implement the methods described in this article, along with Supplementary Figures, can be found at http://www.vicc.org/biostatistics/supp.php. Contact: yu.shyr@vanderbilt.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
GeoWorlds: integrating GIS and digital libraries for situation understanding and management

Helping organizations to marshal, analyze, discuss, and act on all of the available information about a situation playing out over space and time is a critical problem. GeoWorlds (http://www.isi.edu/geoworlds) is a component-based information management system that addresses this issue. It brings together information analysis, retrieval and collaboration tools and integrates digital library, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensor data management technologies. It provides three key services: 1) rapidly assembling a custom repository of geographic information about a region, 2) bi-directionally linking it to collections of document-based information from the World-Wide Web, and 3) monitoring real-time sensor data for information that might change conclusions or decisions formed on the basis of this rich information set. GeoWorlds framework enables synchronous and asynchronous collaboration over finding, filtering, organizing and visualizing the needed information.
Prediction of the quasistatic planar motion of a contacted rigid body

Planning the motion of bodies in contact requires a model of contact mechanics in order to predict sliding, rolling, and jamming. Such a model typically assumes that the bodies are rigid and that tangential forces at the contacts obey Coulomb's law. Though, usually assumed to be constant, the static and dynamic coefficients of friction vary in space and time and are difficult to measure accurately. In this paper, we study a quasistatic, multi-rigid-body model for planar systems, in which the coefficients of friction are treated as independent variables. Our analysis yields inequalities defining regions in the space of friction coefficients for which a particular contact mode is feasible. The geometrical interpretation of these inequalities leads to a simple graphical technique to test contact mode feasibility. This technique is then used to generate a nontrivial example in which several contact modes are simultaneously feasible. Despite model ambiguity, there are factors which argue in favor of using a quasistatic, rigid-body model. This point is highlighted by the successful application of our results to the planning of two manipulation tasks. >
Autoregulatory control of E2F1 expression in response to positive and negative regulators of cell cycle progression

Both positive and negative signals govern the progression of cells from G1 into S phase, and a variety of data implicate the E2F transcription factor as a target for the action of one class of negative regulators, the Rb family of growth suppressors. We now find that the E2F1 gene, which encodes one of the components of E2F activity, is subject to autoregulatory control during progression from G0 to S phase and that this primarily reflects a negative control in G0 and early G1, a time when the majority of E2F activity exits as a complex with Rb family members. In addition, we find that deregulated expression of G1 cyclins in quiescent cells stimulates the E2F1 promoter and that this is augmented by coexpression of cyclin-dependent kinases in an E2F-dependent manner. We conclude that the E2F1 gene is a downstream target for G1 cyclin-dependent kinase activity, most likely as a consequence of phosphorylation of Rb family members, and that the autoregulation of E2F1 transcription may provide a sensitive switch for regulating the accumulation of E2F activity during the transition from G1 to S phase.