cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Not plants or animals: a brief history of the origin of Kingdoms Protozoa, Protista and Protoctista.

In the wake of Darwin’s evolutionary ideas, mid-nineteenth century naturalists realized the shortcomings of the long established two-kingdom system of organismal classification. Placement in a natural scheme of Protozoa, Protophyta, Phytozoa and Bacteria, microorganisms that exhibited plant-like and animal-like characteristics but obviously differed in organization from larger plants and animals, challenged traditional classification. The attempts of naturalists to classify these organisms outside the constraints of the plant and animal kingdoms led to concepts of additional kingdoms (Protozoa, Protista, Protoctista, etc.) to accommodate the nature of these organisms as not true plants or animals.
Time-dependent changes in polypeptide and translatable mRNA levels caused by NaCl in barley roots

The effect of salt stress on polypeptide and translatable mRNA levels was examined in roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. CM 72). A salt-shock time course (200 mM NaCl added to the nutrient solution of 5-day old seedlings for up to 24 h) and a 6-day salt treatment (seedlings grown in nutrient solution containing 200 mM NaCl for 6 days) were compared. Roots of intact seedlings were labeled in vivo with [35S]-methionine. Poly(A)+ RNA was isolated and assayed in an in vitro translation system. The changes in the levels of the labeled polypeptides and translation products were analyzed following separation on two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels. Over the salt-shock time course, the majority of the changes in polypeptides and translation products were quantitative, as were the changes at 6 days. Qualitative changes occurred during the salt-shock time course, but were not observed at 6 days. The levels of polypeptides and translation products differed at each point of the salt-shock time course and at 6 days. In addition, changes were observed at the shortest time points examined, indicating a rapid response to salt.
Computer-assisted judgment: Defining strengths and liabilities.

Clinicians often fail to recognize limitations in their own subjective judgments, make use of well-developed mechanical-prediction methods, or carefully evaluate which computer-based aids warrant their consideration. This article addresses issues regarding computer-based test interpretations (CBTIs) and computer-based decision making. Comments highlight conclusions reached by other contributors to this Special Section, additional literature bearing on these observations, and implications for consumers of computer-assisted techniques and researchers developing or evaluating these methods. The future of computer-assisted assessment depends on educating clinicians and researchers to be better consumers of existing as well as emerging technologies in this domain.
Effects of a Frictional Interface on the Load Diffusion from a Broken Filament in a Fibrous Composite

The effects of a frictional interface on the load diffusion from a broken fiber to the surrounding matrix material and the extent of debonding near the fiber break in a single-fiber reinforced composite of infinite extent are studied by using the finite element method. The normal and shear stresses on the interface, the extent of the slip zone and the axial load of the fiber are evaluated for different frictional coefficients and material parameters for both the fiber and the matrix. A shear-lag analysis is also carried out to obtain a closed form approximate solution of the fiber load diffusion problem. The extent of the slip zone and the stresses predicted by the shear-lag model are compared with the finite element method results.
Application of Wavelet Array Denoising to ESPRIT Algorithm

ESPRIT algorithm has been widely used in direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation problem. It degrades greatly in the presence of spatially correlated noises and closely spaced DOA's, and/or at low SNR. Filters are often used to harness the performance degradation because they can recover the signal from its noisy observation. Though Wiener filter is the optimal filter, it requires the knowledge of second-order statistics of the signals and noises, which is difficult to obtain in non-wide-sense stationary signals and noises. Wavelet array denoising has been introduced to ESPRIT method in this paper to provide a possible filtering method in spatially correlated noises. The proposed approach denoises the snapshots of each sensor in parallel and applies conventional ESPRIT algorithm to the denoised data matrix. Simulation results show that by using the proposed approach, we can gain advantages of estimation root mean square error (RMSE) reduction and resolution enhancement.
Numerical singularities in many-body moments expansions

Abstract It is well known that connected moments expansions when used to approximate the ground-state energy of Hamiltonian systems may suffer from extraneous singularities in various regions of parameter space. In this brief Letter a numerical investigation is presented to study an approximation scheme developed by Ullah to avoid the singularities found in moments expansions. Specifically, we study the single-impurity Wolff model as well as the 32-site Anderson lattice.
Fourier-based design of acoustic strain rosettes

The paper reports on the design of surface acoustic wave strain sensing devices based on a Fourier approach. A patterned sensing surface acts as a narrow band filter for surface acoustic waves. The center frequencies vary as functions of the amount of strain present in the sensing area, and can be thus used to estimate the surface strain. The design of the sensing pattern in the Fourier space allows the selection of multiple sensing frequencies and for their shifting characteristics to be related to the three components of strain, i.e. two normal and one shear. The result is a surface acoustic wave strain gauge that acts as a strain rosette. The design procedure formulates the problem in the wavenumber domain, whereby the radiation characteristics of the sensing surface in response to an incident broadband surface wave are selected to ensure sensitivity to all three strain components. The concept is first illustrated for a one-dimensional pattern, whose radiation characteristics are governed by a simple, scalar, grating equation. The design approach is then extended to a two-dimensional pattern to demonstrate the ability to simultaneously measure all three surface strain components. The rosette-like operation of the considered strain sensor is demonstrated through numerical simulations conducted on an elastic surface subjected to a pre-imposed strain state. Eventually, the multi-band filtering properties of the proposed sensor patterning are evaluated experimentally by means of a Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV).
Mercury accumulation in trout of southern Missouri.

Abstract A study of mercury accumulation in trout taken from the trout parks and streams of southern Missouri is presented. Mercury in trout is determined by digestion in nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and potassium permanganate, followed by reduction and aeration for measurement by cold vapor atomic absorption. The mercury accumulation in trout collected and analyzed in this project ranged from 0.1 to 0.3 ppm of mercury (μg of mercury/g of tissue). Previous analysis of trout collected in the mid- to late 1940s from the same areas indicated mercury accumulations of approximately 3 ppm. Over the past 25 years, there appears to be a decrease in mercury found in trout of southern Missouri.
Extended finite element method for cohesive crack growth

The extended finite element method allows one to model displacement discontinuities which do not conform to interelement surfaces. This method is applied to modeling growth of arbitrary cohesive cracks. The growth of the cohesive zone is governed by requiring the stress intensity factors at the tip of the cohesive zone to vanish. This energetic approach avoids the evaluation of stresses at the mathematical tip of the crack. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by simulations of cohesive crack growth in concrete.
Self-deception is adaptive in itself

Von Hippel & Trivers reason that the potential benefits of successfully deceiving others provide a basis for the evolution of self-deception. However, as self-deceptive processes themselves provide considerable adaptive value to an individual, self-deception may have evolved as an end in itself, rather than as the means to an end of improving other-deception.
Experimental evidence supporting two-mechanism critical heat flux

Abstract Critical heat flux (CHF) experiments were performed in a high pressure, forced convection, boiling water facility employing flowing sodium as the heating medium. Water pressure ranged from 7.0 to 15.3 MPa, and the water mass flux ranged from 0.72 to 3.2 Mg/m2s. Measurements were made of temperature fluctuations in the test section tube wall, adjacent to the transition boiling region downstream of CHF, with two thermocouples diametrically opposed at the same axial position. The temperature recordings indicated an abrupt change in hydrodynamic flow structure occurring at the same critical heat flux values where previously obtained CHF data exhibited abrupt changes in trend from heat flux dependent to heat flux independent. These results strongly support the two CHF mechanisms hypothesis and the associated CHF data trend representation for empirical curve fits to CHF data.
Increased fatality and difficult diagnosis of inhospital acute myocardial infarction: Comparison to lower mortality and more easily recognized pre-hospital infarction

We studied 510 patients in the Columbia, South Carolina metropolitan area with documented acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 1978 to investigate differences in clinical characteristics and outcome between patients who experienced AMI while inside the hospital (IN-AMI) and those who experienced AMI outside the hospital environment (EX-AMI). Mortality for IN-AMI patients (66%) was significantly higher (p less than 0.0001) than for EX-AMI patients (22%), and remained higher (p less than 0.05) even after exclusion of high-risk IN-AMI patients (surgical patients, those with serious underlying noncardiac illness, and those with underlying cardiac illness as the reason for hospital admission). Medical IN-AMI patients experienced fewer typical forms of AMI symptoms (p less than 0.05) and did not reach an intensive care unit significantly sooner than did EX-AMI patients. Time from onset of AMI symptoms to death was not significantly different between IN-AMI and EX-AMI groups (p = 0.22). Therefore AMI occurring during hospitalization was associated with poor early prognosis even after exclusion of high-risk patients. These results emphasize the need for improved approaches to prevention, identification, and management of AMI patients.
Mössbauer effect in dehydrated sodium nitroprusside

Abstract Mossbauer spectra were obtained for hydrated and dehydrated sodium nitroprusside absorbers at room and lower temperatures. Some of the absorbers were heated at temperatures between 82 and 186°C for various lengths of time before the spectra were taken. The largest changes in the isomer shift and quadrupole splitting were noted after the absorbers had been heated to temperatures above 100°C.
Simplified quantum well infrared photodetectors

Quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIP) have been developed rapidly and large QWIP arrays with 256x256 and 640x480 elements have been demonstrated. But they all use quantum well structures that consist of3O to 50 periods which have a relatively small conversion efficiency due to the small optical gain. In this paper, a high performance quantum well infrared photodetector consisting of only three quantum wells is presented which shows very large conversion efficiencies up to 29% at a bias voltage -0.8V and peak wavelength 8.5gm. A high strain twostack, two-color QWIP consists of three wells in each stack is also presented here for MWIR and LWIR detection. The MWIR stack has employed 35% of indium in the InGaAs well which not only achieved peak wavelength at 4.3j.tm, but also obtained very high peak responsivity of 0.37A/W. Keywords: QWIP, intersubband transition, conversion efficiency, high strain
A Dream Deferred or Realized: The Impact of Public Policy on Fostering Black Homeownership in New York City Throughout the 1990's

Homeownership disparities between blacks and whites have been a persistent feature of American life. For example, in 1950 the black homeownership rate stood at 63 percent of the total homeownership rate, and nearly a half century later, in 1996, the black homeownership rate stood at 67 percent of the national homeownership rate (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001a). Although there may not be consensus among social scientists that housing discrimination continues to play a role in racial homeownership disparities, a vast majority of social scientists would not dispute the historical role of housing discrimination, and during the late 1980’s and 1990’s policymakers acted under the implicit assumption that discrimination was a driving force behind the black–white disparities in homeownership. This paper seeks to explore how policies of the 1990’s that were designed, in part, to combat mortgage lending discrimination affected black–white homeownership disparities in New York City (NYC). Because of its large presence of immigrants, concentrating on NYC allows us to decipher the effects of nativity on homeownership. Moreover, the U.S. Bureau of the Census (2001c) conducted the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS) of approximately 18,000 units in 1991, 1993, 1996, and 1999, which conveniently allows us to track homeownership trends over the 1990’s.
Environmental complexity modulates growth of granule cell dendrites in developing but not adult hippocampus of rats

Abstract The dendritic fields of hippocampal dentate gyrus granule cells were studied in Golgi-stained brains of rats placed in complex or isolated environments for 4 weeks after weaning or for 12 weeks in adulthood (beginning at 145 days of age). Rats placed in the complex environment at weaning had more lower-order dendritic branching by two measures and wider dendritic fields compared to rats reared in isolation. Rats reared socially and placed as adults in complex or isolated environments did not differ on any granule cell measures. The results are compatible with reports of the behavioral effects of environmental complexity, with prior studies of rearing complexity effects upon subcortical anatomy and chemistry, and with studies of hippocampal development, and they suggest a possible sensitive period for the effects of rearing complexity upon hippocampal dentrate gyrus organization.
The Opioid Prescription Epidemic and the Role of Emergency Medicine

INTRODUCTION Prescription medication overdoses are now the leading cause of death because of injury, with deaths from drug overdose increasing consecutively from 1999 to 2010. During this time, the sale of opioid analgesics increased 4-fold, and it is estimated that 6.8 to more than 12 million Americans receive prescription drugs every year nonmedically, namely, either without a prescription or the intent of relieving pain. Opioid abuse is of particular concern in the practice of emergency medicine, but there are competing concerns for providers in the emergency department (ED). Guidelines can play a critical role in reducing adverse events and rates of addiction with respect to opioid prescribing. Other useful tools are prescription drug monitoring programs, which are databases that track patients’ controlled substance prescriptions and may help reduce inappropriate prescribing; however, legal and technological reforms to increase access to and efficacy of the databases are needed. Finally, although there is some education in pain management at both the medical school and residency level, the current epidemic calls for an urgent enhancement over what currently exists. We hypothesize that a combination of policy and education reforms will result in decreased rates of opioid abuse, misuse, and death.
China' Urban Transition

China's role as the world's largest country and global manufacturing behemoth commands attention, along with apprehension over tremors arising from its complex rural-urban adjustments. John Friedmann, a well-known, retired UCLA urban and regional planner, wrote this book for the people he represents: intelligent, interested nonspecialists. He succeeds admirably with an amply illustrated volume of 128 pages, accompanied by copious notes and references revealing his academic background. A few geographers are included in his readings, although they are greatly outnumbered by historians and sociologists. Covering the post-Mao period from 1980 to 2005, Friedmann focuses on the varieties of urban processes and outcomes across China that he sees as compellingly huge and important for the future. The following section summarizes the book's main chapters, concluding with a discussion of some of the most important points he considers.
Integrated rural development: Additional lessons from Nicaragua

Abstract Integrated rural development (IRD) projects represented a significant proportion of international donor funded programs in low income countries during the 1970s. This paper briefly reviews the IRD literature and evaluates the Nicaraguan IRD program funded by the Agency for International Development. Important lessons learned from this IRD case study include the necessity of applying modern management techniques in development programs, the vital need for appropriate technologies, the organizational difficulties of institutional coordination and the precarious position of requiring social and economic reforms during project implementation. The author concludes that IRD programs often are inappropriate for low income countries. Scarce developmental resources would be more productive if they were concentrated on one or two key developmental constraints.
Renal Transplantation After Previous Pediatric Heart Transplantation

Background Nephrotoxicity related to calcineurin inhibitors is a known complication after pediatric heart transplantation. Subsequent renal transplantation can be undertaken in advanced cases. An understanding of this strategy is important as many centers are advocating various renal-sparing immunosuppressive regimens—potentially at the cost of increasing heart allograft rejection. Methods We reviewed the Organ Procurement Transplant Network database to determine the outcome for renal transplantation after pediatric heart transplantation between October 1987 and January 2007. Combined primary heart and kidney transplants were not included in the analysis. Results During the period of study, 45 subjects underwent renal transplantation. The mean age at renal transplant was 19.7 ± 6.1 years. Mean interval from primary heart transplantation to renal transplantation was 11.0 ± 4.2 years. At time of renal transplantation, 35 subjects (78%) were receiving dialysis. The majority of subjects (54%) received a kidney from a deceased donor. Mean 1- and 5-year survival after renal transplantation was 91% at both time-points. This survival rate was not significantly different from that of a matched cohort of pediatric heart transplant recipients who did not require renal transplantation (hazard ratio 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.08 to 1.35, p = 0.12). Conclusions Intermediate-term survival for patients who undergo renal transplantation after previous pediatric heart transplantation is favorable.
Characterization of small intestinal mucus glycoproteins from pigs of various ages.

Abstract 1. 1. The mucus from 2-day-old and 3-week-old pigs was separated into polymeric mucus glycoprotein, degraded mucus glycoprotein subunit, and low-molecular-weight glycoprotein. 2. 2. The low-molecular-weight glycoprotein fraction contained significant amount of mannose. 3. 3. The degraded mucus glycoprotein subunit and the low-molecular-weight glycoprotein decreased in the mucus from older pigs.
Endothelial Dysfunction in Patients With Heart Failure: Relationship to Disease Severity

Abstract Background: Heart failure is associated with abnormal endothelium-dependent vasodilation. However, the relationship of this abnormality to heart failure severity has not been well defined. Methods and Results: We used strain-gauge plethysmography to assess forearm blood flow (FBF) responses to endothelium-dependent, endothelium-independent, and reactive hyperemic stimuli in normal subjects (n=29) and in patients with mild(n=26) and severe (n=41) heart failure. FBF responses to intra-arterial methacholine (0.3, 1.5, 3.0 μ g/min) were significantly ( P μ g/min) were significantly reduced in mild (2.4±0.3, 6.7±1.1, and 11.9±2.0, P P P Conclusion: Impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation is present and near maximum in mild heart failure. Endothelial dysfunction may be an early finding in human heart failure.
Security Dimension of Post-conflict Recovery: Nepal's Experience in Disarmament and Demobilisation of People's Liberation Army Fighters

Disarmament and demobilisation of ex-combatants often involve politicised sequence of activities, and, in turn, they can affect national and local politics and the peace process in question in one way or other. Understanding the interface between transitional politics, and disarmament and demobilisation of ex-combatants is, therefore, vital to explore scope and limitation of how ex-combatants are managed as part of post-conflict recovery in a post-conflict society. Building on this proposition, this paper investigates the impacts of transitional politics to disarmament and demobilisation (D&D) of the Maoist ex-combatants as part of management of the Maoist arms and armies in Nepal. Analysing how a consensus-based political culture between major political parties, including the Maoists, which was a driving force behind the peace negotiation, deteriorated over time, and further exploring strategic needs and interests of key political actors towards D&D, this paper shows that disarmament of the Maoists People's Liberation Army followed a “blanket disarmament” approach which had limitations to fully disarm the force. Similarly, demobilisation process appeared to be encampment of the force rather than complete demobilisation. This paper warns that faulty disarmament and demobilisation in Nepal can have serious security implications in future.
Neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer: Enhanced prediction of progression after radical prostatectomy

Abstract It is controversial whether neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation in adenocarcinoma of the prostate is associated with more aggressive behavior. Most studies included patients with tumors of a wide range of grades and stages and an end point of disease-specific survival, a relatively insensitive marker of progression. The authors studied completely embedded radical prostatectomy specimens from 104 patients with clinically organ-confined carcinoma and no history of adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy. Progression was marked by a serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration ⩾ 0.2 ng/mL. Seventysix men did not progress, with a mean follow-up period of 8.0 years (range = 7 to 10 years). Forty-eight men progressed at a mean time after surgery of 3.6 years (range = 1 to 8 years). Twenty-one percent of the tumors were organ confined: 79% had capsular penetration. Seminal vesicles and lymph nodes were negative in all cases. A representative section through the main tumor mass was stained for chromogranin A. Reactive neoplastic cells were counted subjectively as well as individually enumerated. Gleason grade, pathological stage, and degree of NE differentiation all correlated with progression. Only grade and extent of NE differentiation predicted progression in a multivariate analysis. NE differentiation did not correlate with stage or grade. Extent of NE differentiation separated patients (59 cases) with tumors of Gleason sum ⩽ 6 into groups with high and low risks for progression ( P
The systemic arterial pattern of the guinea pig: The pelvis and pelvic limb

The systemic arterial pattern of 59 guinea pigs was examined by dissection, angiography, or corrosion casting. The blood supply to the pelvis and the pelvic limbs arises as two terminal branches of the aorta, the right and left common iliac arteries, and each of these divides into external and internal iliac arteries. Their pattern of distribution resembles a typical mammalian pattern. The external iliac artery passes throught the body wall to supply the pelvic limb and the internal iliac artery is distributed primarily to the pelvic region and its viscera.
Paget's disease is associated with changes in the immunohistochemical distribution of noncollagenous matrix proteins in bone.

Paget's disease of bone is characterized histologically by abnormal architecture of bone matrix. Extensive areas of woven bone and numerous scalloped cement lines occur as a result of increased irregular remodeling. Noncollagenous proteins (NCP) play an important role in the organization and mineralization of bone matrix and promote distinct cell-matrix interactions necessary for normal remodeling. To gain insight into the pathological changes in the biochemical composition of Pagetic bone, the distribution of NCPs in the calcified matrix of bone from patients with known Paget's disease was compared to that of bone from normal healthy volunteers. Undecalcified plastic-embedded sections of bone were stained immunohistochemically using antibodies generated against several NCPs. In Pagetic and normal bone a similar distribution of osteopontin was observed at cement (reversal) lines, whereas significant differences were observed in the distribution of osteopontin in the matrix immediately adjacent to Haversia...
A major human arsenic metabolite, dimethylarsinic acid, requires reduced glutathione to induce apoptosis

Inorganic arsenicals are important environmental toxicants and carcinogens in humans. In mammals, including humans, inorganic arsenicals often undergo methylation, forming compounds such as dimethyarsinic acid (DMA). Recent evidence indicates DMA is a complete carcinogen in rodents while evidence for inorganic arsenicals as carcinogens in rodents remains equivocal. Thus, we studied the molecular mechanisms of in vitro cytolethality of DMA compared to that of the trivalent inorganic arsenical, sodium arsenite, using a rat liver epithelial cell line (TRL 1215). Arsenite was very cytotoxic in these cells (LC(50) = 35 microM after 48 h of exposure). With arsenite exposure, most dead cells showed histological and biochemical evidence of necrosis. Arsenite cytotoxicity increased markedly when cellular GSH was depleted with the glutathione synthase inhibitor, L-buthionine-[S,R]-sulfoximine (BSO). In contrast, DMA was nearly 3 orders of magnitude less cytotoxic (LC(50) = 1.5 mM) although evidence showed the predominating form of death was apoptosis. Surprisingly, GSH depletion actually decreased DMA-induced apoptosis. A glutathione scavenger, diethyl maleate (DEM), and a glutathione reductase inhibitor, carmustine, also prevented DMA-induced apoptosis. These data indicate that DMA requires intracellular GSH to induce apoptosis. Ethacrynic acid (EA), an inhibitor of glutathione S-transferase (GST) that catalyzes GSH-substrate conjugation, acivicin, an inhibitor of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) which catalyzes the initial breakdown of GSH-substrate conjugates, and aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA), an inhibitor of beta-lyase which catalyzes the final breakdown of GSH-substrate conjugates, all were effective in suppressing DMA-induced apoptosis. These findings indicate that DMA likely is conjugated in some form with GSH, and that it is this conjugate that induces apoptosis during subsequent metabolic reactions.
Associative holographic memory with feedback using phase-conjugate mirrors

We describe an all-optical associative memory system that uses a holographic data base. Phase-conjugate mirrors are used to provide optical feedback, thresholding, and gain. Analysis and preliminary experiments are discussed.
Responses of nuclear glucose-6-phosphatase to diabetes and to hydrocortisone administered to normal and diabetic rats differ from those of the microsomal enzyme

The effect of alloxan-diabetes, and of pharmacological doses of hydrocortisone administered to normal and diabetic rats, on carbamyl phosphate:glucose phosphotransferase and D-glucose-6-phosphate phosphohydrolase (EC 3.1.3.9) activities of isolated hepatic nuclei and microsomes were studied by assay at pH 7 in the absence and presence of deoxycholate. Hormonally related alterations both in activity levels and in the activation by the detergent (i.e. latency) of activities of the two cellular structural elements differed significantly. Most strikingly, (a) a 3--4-fold increase in the levels of activities of nuclei was seen in response either to diabetes or to hydrocortisone administered to normal rats whether or not detergent was added to preparations prior to assay; (b) the normally low degree of stimulation by detergent of activities of nuclei was unaltered in diabetes, and (c) administration of the glucocorticoid to diabetic rats decreased activity levels and increased their activation by detergent. Directly contrasting responses were noted with isolated microsomal preparations. Fundamental differences in the enzymes in these two organelle preparations are thus demonstrated. It appears that both synthetic and hydrolytic activities of this enzyme of nuclei may be manifest in the presence of requisite substrates, and that activities of this organelle may become increasingly prominent under certain hormonally perturbed conditions.
Bimolecular processes in a low-density oxygen discharge

When excited by a microwave discharge, pairs of gaseous oxygen molecules radiate strong luminescence and display bimolecular oscillatory transitions. At low pressures the intensities of both processes have an unusual density dependence, increasing with decreasing density, indicating molecular competition between radiative and nonradiative decay schemes. The data provide the first direct observation of a weakly bound ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$-${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ structure.
Substrate Recognition Reduces Side-Chain Flexibility for Conserved Hydrophobic Residues in Human Pin1

Pin1 is a peptidyl-prolyl isomerase consisting of a WW domain and a catalytic isomerase (PPIase) domain connected by a flexible linker. Pin1 recognizes phospho-Ser/Thr-Pro motifs in cell-signaling proteins, and is both a cancer and an Alzheimer's disease target. Here, we provide novel insight into the functional motions underlying Pin1 substrate interaction using nuclear magnetic resonance deuterium ((2)D) and carbon ((13)C) spin relaxation. Specifically, we compare Pin1 side-chain motions in the presence and absence of a known phosphopeptide substrate derived from the mitotic phosphatase Cdc25. Substrate interaction alters Pin1 side-chain motions on both the microsecond-millisecond (mus-ms) and picosecond-nanosecond (ps-ns) timescales. Alterations include loss of ps-ns flexibility along an internal conduit of hydrophobic residues connecting the catalytic site with the interdomain interface. These residues are conserved among Pin1 homologs; hence, their dynamics are likely important for the Pin1 mechanism.
Adoption of Workplace Substance Abuse Prevention Programs: Strategic Choice and Institutional Perspectives

We considered the role of strategic choice and institutional factors in influencing how managers have addressed workplace substance abuse. Substance abuse prevention program adoption was examined i...
Poly(arylene ether sulfone)s containing pendant sulfonic acid groups as membrane materials for direct methanol fuel cells

Abstract A series of poly(arylene ether sulfone)s containing pendant sulfonic acid groups have been prepared by an aromatic substitution polymerization reaction using 4,4-difluorodiphenylsulfone, 6,7-dihydroxy-2-naphthalenesulfonate, and various hydroxyl terminated monomers in the presence of potassium carbonate. The synthesized sulfonated polymers have been characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, ion exchange capacity, thermogravimetric analysis, and proton conductivity measurements. With a molecular weight of 50,000–59,000 g/mol and an ion exchange capacity of ∼1.17 meq./g, these polymers are thermally stable up to 250 °C. They are found to exhibit better performance at 65 and 80 °C in direct methanol fuel cells than Nafion 115 membrane despite lower proton conductivity due to a significantly lower methanol crossover.
Effect of altitude on male parental expenditure in Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides): are higher-altitude males more attentive fathers?

Male investment of time and energy in caring for offspring varies substantially both between and within bird species. Explaining this variation is of long-standing interest to ornithologists. One factor that may affect male care is breeding site altitude, through its effects on climate. The harsher, less predictable abiotic conditions at higher altitudes are hypothesized to favour increased male investment of time and energy in offspring care. We tested this hypothesis by comparing male parental behaviour in Mountain Bluebirds (Sialia currucoides) nesting at 1500 and 2500 m a.s.l. in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, USA. We compared rates of prey delivery to nestlings at these two altitudes at two times: 1–2 days after hatching, when females spend much of their time brooding young, and 12–13 days later, when brooding has ended and nestling energy demands are peaking. High-altitude males fed nestlings 18 and 28% more often than low-altitude males early and later in the nestling stage, respectively, but only the difference in late-stage feeding rates were significant. Like males, females at the high site also fed nestlings significantly more often than females at the low site later in the nestling stage (45% difference in feeding rates). Consequently, the proportion of all feeding trips made by males at the high site (40%) did not differ significantly from that at the low site (44%). Parents at the high altitude may feed nestlings more often to compensate for their greater thermoregulatory costs. Parents may also be attempting to assist nestlings in storing fat and/or attaining a large size and effective homeothermy as quickly as possible to enhance nestling ability to survive bouts of severe weather which are common at high altitudes.
Work in progress: In their own words — How “changemakers” talk about change

We present preliminary work on “change knowledge” through a study investigating what exemplar “changemakers” understand about the process of undergraduate STEM education transformation.
Experimentally induced distraction impacts cognitive but not emotional processes in think-aloud cognitive assessment

Studies have examined the impact of distraction on basic task performance (e.g., working memory, motor responses), yet research is lacking regarding its impact in the domain of think-aloud cognitive assessment, where the threat to assessment validity is high. The Articulated Thoughts in Simulated Situations think-aloud cognitive assessment paradigm was employed to address this issue. Participants listened to scenarios under three conditions (i.e., while answering trivia questions, playing a visual puzzle game, or with no experimental distractor). Their articulated thoughts were then content-analyzed both by the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) program and by content analysis of emotion and cognitive processes conducted by trained coders. Distraction did not impact indices of emotion but did affect cognitive processes. Specifically, with the LIWC system, the trivia questions distraction condition resulted in significantly higher proportions of insight and causal words, and higher frequencies of non-fluencies (e.g., “uh” or “umm”) and filler words (e.g., “like” or “you know”). Coder-rated content analysis found more disengagement and more misunderstanding particularly in the trivia questions distraction condition. A better understanding of how distraction disrupts the amount and type of cognitive engagement holds important implications for future studies employing cognitive assessment methods.
Enhanced optimisation-based inverse kinematics methodology considering joint discomfort

This paper presents an optimisation-based inverse kinematics (IK) method to compute realistic joint angles from marker-based positional data of a highly redundant three-dimensional digital human model. The effects of skin movement artefact and spine-shoulder joint coupling are alleviated by augmenting the optimisation problem with a skeletal discomfort function which is applied to the spine-shoulder-neck region only. The discomfort function ensures natural movement and avoids extreme joint motion. A key feature of the proposed error-minimisation-based method is that the error of the joint centre positions are not only minimised in the objective function, but also considered in the constraints so that the motion capture motion can be tracked more accurately. The methodology is demonstrated by three numerical examples, including vehicle-braking, throwing, and sprinting. The results showed that the proposed method is approved to be numerically stable and efficient to convert the motion capture data into joint space for a large-scale digital human model. Finally, the IK results are verified with the Visual3d software from C-motion.
Spontaneous myocarditis mimicking human disease occurs in the presence of an appropriate MHC and non-MHC background in transgenic mice.

Most individuals have viral infections at some point in their life, however, only few develop autoreactivity to cardiac myosin following infection resulting in myocarditis suggesting a genetic predisposition. Most mouse models of myocarditis are induced by viral infection or by immunization with cardiac myosin. We generated HLA-DR3.Aβo and HLA-DQ8.Aβo transgenic mice in NOD and HLA-DQ8.Aβo in B10 background to study spontaneous autoimmunity. A high mortality was observed in NOD.DQ8 female mice 16 weeks or older. Echocardiography showed marked systolic dysfunction. Histopathology of various organs revealed an enlarged heart with mononuclear infiltrate consisting of CD4 and Mac-1+ cells and myocyte necrosis. The autoimmunity was associated with the presence of spontaneous autoreactive T cells and antibodies to cardiac myosin. Serologically, mice were negative for all known mouse viruses. NOD.DR3.Aβo, the transgene negative littermates, NOD, and B10.DQ8 Aβo mice had no gross or microscopic cardiac pathology. Spontaneous cellular and humoral response to cardiac myosin suggest that NOD.DQ8 may harbor autoreative cells that can lead to spontaneous myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy. HLA-DQ8 is required for predisposition to the spontaneous autoreactivity while NOD background influences onset and progression of disease. This model of myocarditis occurs predominantly in female mice and may provide insight into the pathogenesis of heart disease in women.
Violence against women: Mental health effects. Part II. Conceptualizations of posttraumatic stress

Abstract A broad range of psychological aftereffects have been noted among women who have experienced male-perpetrated violence. These symptoms vary considerably among individuals, across social contexts, and across different types of violent encounters ( Coley & Beckett, 1988 ; Goodman, Koss, & Russo, 1992; Koss, 1988 ; Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980 ). Nevertheless, a remarkably consistent picture of the psychological sequelae of violence—particularly sexual and physical assault—emerges from the empirical and clinical literature ( Koss, 1988 ). In this article, we use the posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis—a frame that captures many of the disparate symptoms described by researchers—as a basis for exploring several conceptual models that have been developed to explain women's responses to violence.
Clinical Significance of Complement Deficiencies

The complement system is composed of more than 30 serum and membrane-bound proteins, all of which are needed for normal function of complement in innate and adaptive immunity. Historically, deficiencies within the complement system have been suspected when young children have had recurrent and difficult-to-control infections. As our understanding of the complement system has increased, many other diseases have been attributed to deficiencies within the complement system. Generally, complement deficiencies within the classical pathway lead to increased susceptibility to encapsulated bacterial infections as well as a syndrome resembling systemic lupus erythematosus. Complement deficiencies within the mannose-binding lectin pathway generally lead to increased bacterial infections, and deficiencies within the alternative pathway usually lead to an increased frequency of Neisseria infections. However, factor H deficiency can lead to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Finally, deficiencies within the terminal complement pathway lead to an increased incidence of Neisseria infections. Two other notable complement-associated deficiencies are complement receptor 3 and 4 deficiency, which result from a deficiency of CD18, a disease known as leukocyte adhesion deficiency type 1, and CD59 deficiency, which causes paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Most inherited deficiencies of the complement system are autosomal recessive, but properidin deficiency is X-linked recessive, deficiency of C1 inhibitor is autosomal dominant, and mannose-binding lectin and factor I deficiencies are autosomal co-dominant. The diversity of clinical manifestations of complement deficiencies reflects the complexity of the complement system.
Prolonged Exposure in the Treatment of PTSD Following an Apartment Fire

Foa, Hembree, and Rothbaum’s Prolonged Exposure treatment manual has been found to be an effective treatment modality for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is comparable with other evidence...
Low temperature creep of hot-extruded near-stoichiometric NiTi shape memory alloy part I: Isothermal creep

Abstract This two-part paper is the first published report on the long term, low temperature creep of hot-extruded near-stoichiometric NiTi. Constant load tensile creep tests were conducted on hot-extruded near-stoichiometric NiTi at 300, 373 and 473 K under initial applied stresses varying between 200 and 350 MPa as long as 15 months. These temperatures corresponded to the martensitic, two-phase and austenitic phase regions, respectively. Normal primary creep lasting several months was observed under all conditions indicating dislocation activity. Although steady-state creep was not observed under these conditions, the estimated creep rates varied between 10 −10 and 10 −9 s −1 . The creep behavior of the two phases showed significant differences. The martensitic phase exhibited a large strain on loading followed by a primary creep region accumulating a small amount of strain over a period of several months. The loading strain was attributed to the detwinning of the martensitic phase whereas the subsequent strain accumulation was attributed to dislocation glide-controlled creep. An “incubation period” was observed before the occurrence of detwinning. In contrast, the austenitic phase exhibited a relatively smaller loading strain followed by a primary creep region, where the creep strain continued to increase over several months. It is concluded that the creep of the austenitic phase occurs by a dislocation glide-controlled creep mechanism as well as by the nucleation and growth of deformation twins.
A Cost-Effective Trace Gas Measurement Program for Long-Term Monitoring of the Stratospheric Circulation

A stratospheric trace gas measurement program using balloon-based sonde and AirCore sampler techniques is proposed as a way to monitor the strength of the stratospheric mean meridional or Brewer–Dobson circulation. Modeling work predicts a strengthening of the Brewer–Dobson circulation in response to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations; such a change will likely impact tropospheric climate. Because the strength of the Brewer–Dobson circulation is an unmeasureable quantity, trace gas measurements are used to infer characteristics of the circulation. At present, stratospheric trace gas measurements are sporadic in time and/or place, primarily associated with localized aircraft or balloon campaigns or relatively short-lived satellite instruments. This program would consist of regular trace gas profile measurements taken at multiple latitudes covering tropical, midlatitude, and polar regimes. The program would make use of the relatively low-cost AirCore and sonde techniques, allowing more frequent measur...
Mathematical modeling of emulsion copolymerization reactors: Experimental validation and application to complex systems

In this paper a mathematical model for emulsion copolymerization of several monomers in tank reactors, proposed recently by the authors (Saldivar et al., 1996), is first validated with experimental data obtained in our laboratory. Then, a systematic methodology for model validation is presented and illustrated with application to the system methyl methacrylate/styrene. The method of numerical solution of the model is also discussed and shown to be crucial for the successful application of the model to engineering and fundamental problems. Finally, the generality of the model is demonstrated by applying it to three illustrative problems: (i) simulation of complex dynamics in a flowsheet, (ii) simulation and comparison to experimental data for a semicontinuous system with a complex kinetic scheme, and (iii) start-up optimization in a flowsheet.
A method for selectively limiting lumen diameter in corrosion casting

Corrosion casting is a technique frequently used to evaluate the form and spatial relationship of three dimensional biological structures, such as vascular networks, in vitro [Scann. Microsc. 5 (1991) 1097; Schraufnagel, D.E. The lung microstructure. In: Motta, P.M., Murakami, T. Fujita, H. eds. Scanning Electron Microscopy of Vascular Casts: Methods and Applications. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 1992:123-137]. However, because corrosion casts tend to reproduce the complexity of surrounding vascular structures as well as the structures of interest, the use of this technique in highly complex vascular systems may obscure important changes such as A-V shunts because they may get lost among the myriad of capillaries. We developed a novel modification for creating vascular corrosion casts by utilizing polystyrene microspheres to selectively embolize normal capillary networks and thereby reduce the overall complexity of the cast. his technique may aid investigators in the evaluation of a variety of vascular beds and is useful in demonstrating non-capillary arteriovenous communications.
Comparison of Broadcasting Schemes for Infrastructure to Vehicular Communications

A large set of potential applications being designed for intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) depends on the broadcasting of information and control packets by roadside infrastructure points to vehicles in their vicinity. This paper considers the broadcast capacity of broadcast schemes and evaluates and compares the broadcast capacity of strategies based on time splitting, frequency splitting, and superposition coding. Frequency splitting is shown to always dominate time splitting, and the conditions under which superposition coding dominates the other two are derived. For these regimes, it is shown that the broadcast capacities associated with superposition coding are optimal. A proportionally fair algorithm for scheduling broadcast packets is then proposed, and its performance is compared against that of other schedulers.