cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Production of Aspartic Acid and Enzymatic Alteration in Pyruvate Kinase Mutants of Brevibacterium flavum

A pyruvate kinase-lacking mutant of Brevibacterium flavum produced 22.6 g/liter of l-aspartic acid with glutamic acid as a by-product, when cultured for 48 hr in a medium containing 100 g/liter of glucose. The production clearly depended on the amount of biotin added. This strain, 70, was derived by several steps of mutation from wild strain 2247 producing glutamate, successively via a citrate synthase-defective glutamate auxotroph, strain 214, a prototrophic revertant, strain 15-8, producing 10 g/liter of l-aspartic acid, and an S-(2-aminoethyl)-l-cysteine-resistant mutant, strain 1-231, having low pyruvate kinase and homoserine dehydrogenase and producing lysine. Strain 70, a methionine-insensitive revertant from strain 1-231, had a normal level of homoserine dehydrogenase but no pyruvate kinase. Its citrate synthase activity was about half that of the wild strain at saturated concentrations of the substrates with Michaelis constants for oxalacetate and acetyl-CoA of 110 and 6 times as high as those of ...
Effect of Serum Hyperosmolality on Morphometry of Healthy Human Sural Nerve

Fascicles of human sural nerve, fixed by immersion in isosmolar 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution and in isosmolar osmium tetroxide and embedded in epoxy, undergo a 10% shrinkage in area when compared with cryostal sections. By contrast, fascicles fixed in hyperosmolar solutions (whether 5.6% glutaraldehyde solution or 2.5% glutaraldehyde raised to the same level of hyperosmolality with sucrose) undergo a 43% shrinkage in area. Axis cylinders of myelinated fibers undergo a selective and severe shrinkage and assume noncircular shapes, the shapes allowing the transverse area to decrease when the perimeter remains unchanged. These studies raise the intriguing question of whether interstitial hyperosmolality in metabolic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, or in uremia may cause osmotic axonal shrinkage, altered transverse fiber shape, and abnormality of function and structure of nerve.
Uniqueness and nonuniqueness for positive radial solutions of Δu+f(u,r)=0

On considere le probleme de l'unicite pour les solutions positives du probleme de Dirichlet non lineaire Δu+f(u,|x|)=0 dans Ω, u/ ∂Ω =0, Ω est une boule ou un anneau de R n et f≥0 est superlineaire en u et satisfaisait f(0,|x|)=0
Polyfluorophores on a DNA Backbone: Sensors of Small Molecules in the Vapor Phase

Vapors of small molecules are under widespread study in natural signalling, environmental monitoring, industrial quality control, and in medicine.[1–3] In the last few decades, advances in chemistry and material science have enabled the development of chemical sensors of such volatile organics,[4–7] in which conjugated polymers and cross-reactive chemical sensor arrays are the most widespread sensor types. Among them, optical vapor sensing arrays based on luminescence (including fluorescence) and absorbance have become essential.[8–13] In the recent past, colorimetric detection of volatile organics using crossreactive chemical sensors have been demonstrated in multiple applications.[14–16] Although absorbance–based methods for vapor detection have shown good success, fluorescence-based methods may offer some advantages, such as high sensitivity and low background. For example, the detection of vapors of nitroaromatics with conjugated polymers and bio-polymers has showed very high sensitivity.[17–23] Notably, much of the
Reconstruction of the Midface and Maxilla

The maxilla and midface have an important aesthetic and functional role. Their reconstruction after surgical ablation is a complex problem. The historical development of reconstruction of the midface, classification systems of maxillary defects, and descriptions of reconstructive options are presented.
Risk assessment of highway bridges under multiple hazards

The aim of this paper is to provide a rational framework for the quantitative risk assessment of highway bridges under multiple hazards. Risk is a crucial indicator to be considered when managing structures of great importance such as highway bridges. It associates the consequences of a structural failure or malfunction with the probability of bridge failure. Time-dependent total risk is computed and the effect of structural redundancy is investigated and implemented. The proposed framework includes the estimation of the effects of multiple common hazards such as abnormal traffic loads, environmental attacks, scour, and earthquakes. The failure probabilities associated with the considered hazards are evaluated separately using different approaches. Time-dependent failure probabilities, hazard functions, and probability density functions of the time-to-failure are also assessed for each hazard. These assessments contribute to the evaluation of risk considering the traffic flow and the local economy at the ...
Detection of abrupt motion in DCE-MRI

Dynamic Contrast Enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) is being increasingly used as a method for studying the tumor vasculature. It is also used as a biomarker to evaluate the response to anti-angiogenic therapies and the efficacy of a therapy. The uptake of contrast in the tissue is analyzed using pharmacokinetic models for understanding the perfusion characteristics and cell structure, which are indicative of tumor proliferation. However, in most of these 4D acquisitions the time required for the complete scan are quite long as sufficient time must be allowed for the passage of contrast medium from the vasculature to the tumor interstitium and subsequent extraction. Patient motion during such long scans is one of the major challenges that hamper automated and robust quantification. A system that could automatically detect if motion has occurred during the acquisition would be extremely beneficial. Patient motion observed during such 4D acquisitions are often rapid shifts, probably due to involuntary actions such as coughing, sneezing, peristalsis, or jerk due to discomfort. The detection of such abrupt motion would help to decide on a course of action for correction for motion such as eliminating time frames affected by motion from analysis, or employing a registration algorithm, or even considering the exam us unanalyzable. In this paper a new technique is proposed for effective detection of motion in 4D medical scans by determination of the variation in the signal characteristics from multiple regions of interest across time. This approach offers a robust, powerful, yet simple technique to detect motion.
Economic Globalization and the Future of Black America

This article assesses the African American experience with economic globalization—the increasing tendency for goods and services consumed in the United States to be produced offshore in countries l...
Simultaneous development of pheochromocytomas in prepubertal siblings with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome***

We report 2 siblings with a known von Hippel-Lindau mutation who simultaneously developed asymptomatic pheochromocytomas at significantly younger ages than are typically seen in this setting.
Regulating Cybersecurity: Institutional Learning or a Lesson in Futility?

On 22 November 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the latest version of mandatory cybersecurity regulations for the bulk electric system--known as Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards. The CIP standards are relatively unique: they are developed through an unusual model of industry-led regulation that places industry, and not federal regulators, at the center of regulatory design and enforcement. The CIP regulations have received a significant amount of criticism. Critics argue that the regulations are incomplete at best and irreparably flawed at worst. The author examines the lessons we can learn from the CIP standards and poses a provocative question: Are the regulations actually a secret success?
Hubble Space Telescope optics: problems and solutions

The Hubble Space Telescope suffers from spherical aberration caused by a spacing error in the null lens used to fabricate and test the primary mirror. Corrective optics must be installed on-orbit in order to enable many key programs. An analysis of imaging data obtained on-orbit gives the same results as measurements on the faulty ground test apparatus, so such optics can be designed with confidence. The assumed conic constant on the primary mirror for all the corrective optics, -1.0139(5), is consistent with measurements by four major independent methods. Aligning the new optics will be very demanding, because of the large slope of the wavefront to be corrected. If the images are to be diffraction limited, the pupil at the corrective element must be aligned to better than one percent of its diameter. Some other residual effects of the spherical aberration will remain after installation of the corrective optics, primarily in the pointing and collimation of the telescope.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Experimental Study to Improve the Focalization of a Figure-Eight Coil of rTMS by Using a Highly Conductive and Highly Permeable Medium

A method to improve the focalization of the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation figure-eight coil in a magnetic stimulation is presented in this paper. For the purpose of reducing the half width of the distribution curve, while improving the ratio of positive to negative electric field, a shield plate with a window and a magnetic conductor were adopted. The shield plate, which was made of highly conductive copper, focused the magnetic field into a smaller area. The magnetic inductor, which was made of highly permeable soft magnetic ferrite, strengthened the magnetic field. A group of experiments was conducted to validate the focalizing effect. Experimental results showed that the negative peak and the half width of the distribution curve reduced by using the shield plate and the magnetic conductor. Especially for to the Magstim 70 mm double coil, when the shield window was 30 × 60 mm, the ratio of positive to negative electric field could be increased 109%, while the half width of the distribution curve could be reduced about 55%.
MIS: Malicious Nodes Identification Scheme in Network-Coding-Based Peer-to-Peer Streaming

Network coding has been shown to be capable of greatly improving quality of service in P2P live streaming systems (e.g., IPTV). However, network coding is vulnerable to pollution attacks where malicious nodes inject into the network bogus data blocks that are combined with other legitimate blocks at downstream nodes, leading to incapability of decoding the original blocks and substantial degradation of network performance. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to limiting pollution attacks by rapidly identifying malicious nodes. Our scheme can fully satisfy the requirements of live streaming systems, and achieves much higher efficiency than previous schemes. Each node in our scheme only needs to perform several hash computations for an incoming block, incurring very small computational latency. The space overhead added to each block is only 20 bytes. The verification information given to each node is independent of the streaming content and thus does not need to be redistributed. The simulation results based on real PPLive channel overlays show that the process of identifying malicious nodes only takes a few seconds even in the presence of a large number of malicious nodes.
Vitamins in control of lymphocyte migration.

Localized vitamin metabolism by dendritic cells generates homing cues that direct lymphocytes to specific tissues. Gut tropism is linked to vitamin A and now epidermal skin tropism is linked to vitamin D processing.
The jelly canal marker of polarity for sea urchin oocytes, eggs, and embryos

Abstract The jelly coat of a sea urchin egg possesses a narrow conical channel which identifies the animal pole. This rarely seen structure was first reported by Boveri in 1901 and is easily demonstrated by immersing freshly ovulated eggs into an ink suspension. The jelly canal, as this feature is called, fills with ink particles as the jelly swells. The jelly canal occurs on full-sized primary oocytes and unfertilized eggs. When filled with ink it serves as a useful marker of the animal pole during fertilization and early development when it is not otherwise visible. A common synonym for the jelly canal is ‘micropyle’, but this is a misnomer because sperm do not selectively pass through it for fertilization. The presence of the jelly canal on oocytes suggests how it might form and does not prove that the animal-vegetal polar axis in sea urchin eggs is defined before meiotic maturation.
Indira Gandhi: Personality, Political Power and Party Politics

Marxists depict Indira Gandhi as a representative of the capitalist class who used populist rhetoric to advance the interests of the ruling elites. While following a psycho-analytical approach, the non-Marxist group attributes Indira Gandhi's drive for power to her early adolescent experience. A realistic assessment is possible by stressing the interaction between personality and social milieu. Decline of middle class idealism, ascendance of amoral politics and the rise of new social groups helped Indira Gandhi to personalize political power through the use of different ideological symbols and slogans. In this process she wrecked the Congress party, repudiated the longstanding practice of inter-party democracy and drove the opposition parties and regional leaders to adopt confrontationist politics leaving behind a fractured polity.
Empirical bayes rules for selecting good populations

Abstract : A problem of selecting populations better than a control is considered. When the populations are uniformly distributed, empirical Bayes rules are derived for a linear loss function for both the known control parameter and the unknown control parameter cases. When the priors are assumed to have bounded supports, empirical Bayes rules for selecting good populations are derived for distributions with truncation parameters (i.e. the form of the pdf is f(x/theta) = Pi(x)ci(theta)I(O, theta)(x)). Monte Carlo studies are carried out which determine the minimum sample sizes needed to make the relative errors less than epsilon for given epsilon-values. (Author)
Please Touch: Object Properties that Invite Touch

Touch has received increasing interest in marketing, given research indicating that contact with products influences evaluation and the tendency to purchase. However, little is known from the marketing or psychophysical literature about visible attributes of objects that elicit touch for hedonic purposes. In these studies, participants rated the tendency of pictured objects to invite touch, or “touch-ability.” Rated touch-ability varied reliably with structural attributes of objects, and the structural influences were distinct from those on other ratings such as attractiveness and apparent expense. Although the trends varied across object sets, touch-ability generally declined as surface textures became markedly rough and shape complexity became extreme. Holding stimulus factors constant, touch-ability also varied with the specific hand movements that were anticipated. Finally, mean touch-ability ratings were correlated across participants with the “Need for Touch” scale, which measures an individual's tendency to touch products. The studies point to touch-ability as a potential factor that might be incorporated into product design.
ABO mismatched platelet transfusions in trauma patients

In the study by Nascimento and colleagues,[1][1] the patients who received increased plasma and platelet transfusions had greater mortality due to bleeding (22%) than the control group (9%), albeit not statistically significantly so. Nonetheless, it raises the question of whether the plasma and
The vibrations of certain one-, two-, and three-dimensional lattices

Abstract The “Lagrange's Equations with Extra Forces” technique is applied to vibrational problems of certain lattice types. Justification is obtained for some of the “boundary” assumptions usually made in the study of large crystals. In the limit of large numbers of particles closed expressions are obtained for the normal frequencies for the linear chain of identical point masses with nearest and next nearest neighbor coupling, the linear chain of alternating point masses with nearest and next nearest neighbor coupling, and a special type of two and three dimensional lattice.
Long-term potential of in situ chemical reduction for treatment of polychlorinated biphenyls in soils

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are well-known for being hydrophobic and persistent in the environment. Although many treatment approaches have been demonstrated to result in degradation of PCBs in water or water/cosolvent systems, few examples exist where such approaches have been applied successfully for PCB degradation in soil-water systems. A possible explanation for the limited treatment of PCBs in soil-water systems is that reactants that are capable of degrading PCBs in the aqueous phase are unlikely to persist long enough to achieve meaningful treatment of slowly-desorbing PCBs associated with the soil phase. To investigate this explanation, laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate chemical reductants, including zero valent metals, palladium (Pd) catalyst, and emulsified zero valent iron (EZVI), for dechlorination of PCBs in the presence and absence of soil. In the absence of soil, Pd-catalyzed treatments (Pd with electrolytic ZVI or iron/aluminum alloy) achieved rapid destruction of a model PCB congener, 2-chlorobiphenyl, with half-lives ranging from 43 to 110 min. For treatment of soils containing Aroclor 1248 at an initial concentration of approximately 1,500 mg kg(-1), Pd-catalyzed treatments achieved no measurable enhancement over the background PCB depletion rate (i.e., that measured in the untreated control) of 5.3 mg kg(-1)week(-1). In the presence of soils, EZVI was the only approach evaluated that resulted in a clear enhancement in PCB dechlorination rates. EZVI achieved PCB concentration reductions of greater than 50% at an average rate of 19 mg kg(-1)week(-1). The results suggest that slow PCB desorption limits treatment effectiveness in soils.
Nitric Oxide Conversion and Ozone Synthesis in a Shielded Sliding Discharge Reactor with Positive and Negative Streamers

Positive and negative streamer discharges in atmospheric pressure air were generated in a shielded sliding discharge reactor at operating voltages as low as 5 kV for a gap length of 1.6 cm. In this reactor, electrodes are placed on top of a dielectric layer and one of the electrodes, generally the one on ground potential, is connected to a conductive layer on the opposite side of the dielectric. The energy per pulse, at the same applied voltage, was more than a factor of seven higher than that of pulsed corona discharges, and more than a factor of two higher than that of sliding discharges without a shield. It is explained on the basis of enhanced electric fields, particularly at the plasma emitting electrode. Specific input energy required for 50 % removal from ~1,000 ppm initial NO could be reduced to ~18 eV/molecule when ozone in the exhaust of negative streamers was utilized. For sliding discharges and pulsed corona discharges this value was ~25 eV/molecule and it was 35 eV/molecule for positive shielded sliding discharges. Also, the ozone energy yield from dry air was up to ~130 g/kW h and highest for negative streamer discharges in shielded sliding discharge reactors. The high energy density in negative streamer discharges in the shielded discharge reactor at the relatively low applied voltages might not only allow expansion of basic studies on negative streamers, but also open the path to industrial applications, which have so far been focused on positive streamer discharges.
Flashlamp Pumping Of Slab Lasers

We review the application of flashlamps to the optical pumping of slab laser devices. In particular, pumping configurations, operating regimes, and the impact of well-known flashlamp performance limitations will be reviewed. The operation of slab laser devices in the stress-limited and pump-limited regimes will be delineated. We also present for the first time a theory of flashlamp failure based upon Wiebull fracture statistics and derive expressions for the thermally induced and hoop stress components in the wall of flashlamps.
Cultural impacts on macrophytes in the Yahara lakes since the late 1800s

Abstract Vegetation changes in the Yahara lakes around Madison, Wisconsin, USA, are evaluated using historical data. Present vegetation is less diverse and less extensive, produces less biomass and is composed of more disturbance tolerant species than it was 80–100 years ago. Many changes are related to human impacts that began about 150 years ago which directly altered plant habitat, decreased water clarity, were toxic to plants, removed plant biomass or reproductive structures, or resulted from exotic invaders. The impacts are interrelated and overlap in time and space so change did not occur from simple cause and effect relationships. However, cumulative effects of the impacts are very evident. Management recommendations are made that are applicable to North American lakes with a similar history.
Synthesis and Magnetic and Structural Characterization of the First Homoleptic Lanthanide β-Ketoiminate

Unusual thermal robustness is exhibited by a homoleptic ytterbium complex, which sublimes intact at temperatures in excess of 500 °C/760 Torr. Employment of a (N)-nPr substituted ketoiminate ligand provides notable metal encapsulation and ensures substantial air stability and vapor-phase integrity. The octahedral coordination sphere of the metal center is observed as a meridinal (O3,N3) arrangement.
Is Acetylcholine the Trophic Neuromuscular Transmitter

THE IMMEDIATE effect of denervation of skeletal muscle is motor paralysis. Over the longer term, denervation leads to a series of alterations in the morphology, physiology, and metabolism of muscle which have been termed "atrophic." 1,2 It is clear that the motor nerves alone supply the "trophic influence" which is capable of preventing these changes, while the sensory and sympathetic innervation play no significant role. 3-5 The question of how the nerves exert this effect remains of paramount importance. The weight of present evidence suggests that neither conduction of motor nerve impulses nor mechanical work of muscle are the factors necessary to prevent denervation atrophy of skeletal muscle. Elimination of conducted nerve impulses by various experimental techniques 6-8 fails to reproduce fully the effects of denervation, provided that the motor nerves remain anatomically and functionally connected to the muscle. Furthermore, relieving skeletal muscle of its work load (for example,
Combining renormalization group and multigrid methods

At this conference it is hardly necessary to remind you that faster computers by themselves are unlikely to satisfy our needs for improved methods to simulate quantum field theory. Similarly in statistical physics and optimization theory even «simple» problems such as the Ising spin glass and the travelling salesman defy massive simulations. Brute force is not only unaesthetic, it is inadequate. On the other hand, it is necessary to consider new algorithms that are compatible with the architecture of the new generation of vector supercomputers and massively parallel arrays. The fastest and most efficient computing machinery will require codes with large numbers of independent concurrent computations
Proton-Proton Bremsstrahlung at 65 MeV

Proton-proton bremsstrahlung cross sections were measured for final-state proton angles of (20\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 20\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}), (20\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 26\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}), (23\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}), (25\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 25\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}), (25\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 35\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}), (26\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 35\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}), (26.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 26.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}), and (30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}). Differential cross sections as a function of $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray angle were extracted from four sets of data. A theoretical prediction of the (30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, 30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}) angular distribution, averaged over the azimuthal acceptance of the counters, agrees well with the experimental result. Total cross sections were obtained at all pairs of angles mentioned and were used to estimate the coplanar cross sections. The coplanar cross sections agree with results of a model-independent soft-photon calculation. They are smaller than predictions made with either a hard-core potential or a momentum-dependent potential, but they favor the latter.
An Efficient Method for Modeling Radiative Transfer in Multicomponent Gas Mixtures With Soot

An efficient approach for predicting radiative transfer in high temperature multicomponent gas mixtures with soot particles is presented. The method draws on the previously published multiplication approach for handling gas mixtures in the spectral line weighted-sum-of-gray-gases (SLW) model. In this method, the gas mixture is treated as a single gas whose absorption blackbody distribution function is calculated through the distribution functions of the individual species in the mixture. The soot is, in effect, treated as another gas in the mixture. Validation of the method is performed by comparison with line-by-line solutions for radiative transfer with mixtures of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide with a range of soot loadings (volume fractions). Comparison is performed also with previously published statistical narrow band and classical weighted-sum-of-gray-gases solutions.
Instrumentation to Monitor Transient Developing Periodic Flow in Newtonian Slurries

This paper describes measurement techniques developed and applied to assess solids mobilization and mixing of Newtonian slurries that are subjected to transient, periodic, developing flows. Metrics to characterize mobilization and mixing are the just suspended velocity (UJS) and the cloud height (HC). Two ultrasonic instruments to characterize intermittent mixing of slurries were developed and deployed to measure related metrics: the thickness of the settled bed (used to determine mobilization) and the concentration within the cloud as a function of elevation [C(Z)]. A second method measured average density and monitored the concentration within the cloud using a continuous, circulating sample line with an inline Coriolis meter to measure bulk density. Testing focused on mixing vessels using intermittent jet mixers oriented vertically downward. Descriptions of the instruments and instrument performance are presented. These techniques were an effective approach to characterize mixing phenomena, determine mixing energy required to fully mobilize vessel contents, and to determine mixing times for process evaluation.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
JC Virus: An oncogenic virus in animals and humans?

JC virus (JCV) is a human polyomavirus of the Polyomaviridae family, which also includes BK virus and simian vacuolating virus 40 (SV40). JC virus was first isolated in 1971 from the brain of a patient with Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML). Like other polyomaviruses, JCV has a restricted host range. The virus infects the majority of the human population with seroconversion occurring during adolescence. JCV has a limited and specific tissue tropism infecting the kidney and oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS). Initial JCV infection is generally asymptomatic in immunocompetent hosts, and it establishes a persistent infection in the kidney and possibly bone marrow. In immunocompromised individuals JCV can cause a lytic infection in the CNS and lead to development of the fatal, demyelinating disease PML. The name polyoma is derived from the Greek terms: poly, meaning many, and oma, meaning tumors, owing to the capacity of this group of viruses to cause tumors. JCV inoculation of small animal models and non-human primates, which are not permissive to a productive JCV infection, leads to tumor formation. Given the ubiquitous nature of the virus and its strong association with cancer in animal models, it is hypothesized that JCV plays a role in human cancers. However, the role for JCV in human cancers and tumor formation is not clear. Some researchers have reported an association of JCV with human cancers including brain tumors, colorectal cancers, and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, while other groups report no correlation. Here, we review the role of JCV in cancers in animal models and present the findings on JCV in human cancers.
The effect of variable environments on polymorphism at loci with several alleles I. A symmetric model

Much of the extant polymorphism has been attributed to spatial and temporal variation among selection regimes. Analysis of models entailing two alleles at a single locus has demonstrated that polymorphism may result from variation among selection regimes which prescribe monomorphism if constant. This relationship is studied in the context of several alleles at a locus.
Mill's Poet-Philosopher, and the Instrumental-Social Importance of Poetry for Moral Sentiments

No man was ever yet a great poet, without being at the same time a profound philosopher. For Poetry is the blossom and the fragrancy of all human knowledge, human thoughts, human passions, emotions...
Expression of Golli mRNA during development in primary immune lymphoid organs of the rat.

Abstract The gene-of-the-oligodendrocyte lineage (Golli)–MBP transcription unit contains three Golli-specific exons together with eight exons of the “classical” myelin basic protein (MBP) gene, yielding alternatively spliced proteins which share amino acid sequence with MBP. Unlike MBP, a late antigen expressed only in the nervous system, Golli gene products are expressed pre- and post-natally at many sites. In this study, we determined the sequence of Golli in rat by RT-PCR and 5′ RACE and showed that Golli sequences are expressed in primary lymphoid organs as early as e16.5, which could explain the anergic rat T cell response we previously observed in Golli-induced meningitis.
Role of G proteins in mouse egg activation: stimulatory effects of acetylcholine on the ZP2 to ZP2f conversion and pronuclear formation in eggs expressing a functional m1 muscarinic receptor.

Abstract Sperm-mediated egg activation may be analogous to ligand-mediated signal transduction through G protein-coupled receptors. We investigated this possibility in the mouse egg by microinjecting mouse oocytes with an m1 muscarinic receptor mRNA. Following oocyte maturation in vitro, the metaphase II-arrested eggs were treated with acetylcholine and its effect was examined on zona pellucida modifications and pronuclear formation, which are end points of early and late egg activation, respectively. Treatment of these eggs with acetylcholine reveals that both the ZP2 to ZP2 f conversion and pronuclear formation occur. Atropine and microinjected GDPβS block the acetylcholine-induced ZP2 conversion, suggesting that the acetylcholine effects are mediated via a functional G protein-coupled m1 receptor. The acetylcholine-induced ZP2 conversion, however, is not inhibited by pertussis toxin under conditions in which greater than 90% of the endogenous G i is inactivated by ADP ribosylation. The presence of a pertussis toxin-insensitive G protein, G q , is detected by immunoblotting; this G protein could be a candidate to mediate the pertussis toxin-insensitive effects of acetylcholine. Results of these experiments are consistent with the hypothesis that receptor-mediated G protein activation may play a role in egg activation.
Some Results on the Tukey-Mclaughlin and Yuen Methods for Trimmed Means when Distributions are Skewed

In applied work, distributions are often highly skewed with heavy tails, and this can have disastrous consequences in terms of power when comparing groups based on means. One solution to this problem in the one-sample case is to use the TUKEY and MCLAUGHLIN (1963) method for trimmed means, while in the two-group case YUEN's (1974) method can be used. Published simulations indicate that they yield accurate confidence intervals when distributions are symmetric. Using a Cornish-Fisher expansion, this paper extends these results by describing general circumstances under which methods based on trimmed means can be expected to give more accurate confidence intervals than those based on means. The results cover both symmetric and asymmetric distributions. Simulations are also used to illustrate the accuracy of confidence intervals using trimmed means versus means.
Convergence Variability and Population Sizing in Micro-Genetic Algorithms

The issues of micro-genetic algorithm (micro-GA) convergence, population size, internal variability, and performance are examined. Procedures are developed to determine best population size when micro-GAs are used for optimization of real-world problems. Results show that the best population size cannot be determined before convergence has occurred and that convergence may occur without reaching an optimal solution. To determine the best population size, this article proposes the use of consistency of the final fitness values in addition to the fitness value at convergence. Internal variability must be considered in finding the best population size, and that best population size depends on the level of computational resources used. Smaller populations with generous computational resources performed as good as and sometimes better than larger populations. Midsized populations consistently exhibited lower variation in fitness value. For a given population size, the increase in fitness value may not be worth the added computation cost beyond a certain point. Three approaches are proposed to determine the best population size: (1) a random selection approach, (2) a detailed approach, and (3) a simplified approach. We used the detailed approach with our traffic problem and found that, with sufficient computational resources, the micro-GA performed best with population size around the square root of the string length. We tested this proposition on standard simple and deceptive problems and found it to hold true.
Phenotypic variation in respiratory metabolism and complementation of murine hepatic mitochondria

Genetically standardized inbred mice exhibit interstrain differences in hepatic mitochondrial respiration rate, respiratory control, efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation with Krebs cycle substrates, and quantity of protein in the mitochondrial fraction. Mitochondria of females of strains with positive combining ability for postweaning growth mixed in vitro show complementation for respiratory traits. Mitochondria of males when mixed do not exhibit complementation. Mitochondria isolated from female mice respire more rapidly, are more tightly coupled and have higher phosphorylation efficiencies compared to those from male mice across all strains assayed. Direct evaluation of androgen effects on mitochondrial respiratory capacity supported this conclusion.
Clinical utilization of sialochemistry in Sjögren's syndrome.

Sialochemistry was performed on the stimulated parotid secretion of a group of patients with Sjogren's syndrome (SS) having a Grade 4 lymphocytic infiltrate of their minor labial salivary glands and a normal control group. Parameters examined included flow rate, and concentration of sodium, potassium, chloride, urea, calcium, phosphate, total protein, IgA, IgG. albumin, amylase and lactoferrin. Although all SS patients had virtually no parotid secretion in the absence of stimulation, with a gustatory stimulation, 40% of the patients with SS had a relatively normal parotid flow rate, when compared with the control group. The SS patients, regardless of flow rate, exhibited a highly significant (p less than 0.01) elevation in the concentration of sodium, chloride, IgA, IgG, and lactoferrin and a significant (p less than 0.05) increase in albumin concentration, when compared with the control group. The phosphate level was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) in SS patients than in the control group. The elevated IgA in SS was almost all 11S, in contrast to parotitis where 7S was a major contributor. In view of the variation in flow rate in SS patients chemical quantitation of selected salivary components can be a valuable aid in the differential diagnosis of this disease and in monitoring patients over time.
How Rural Criminology Informs Critical Thinking in Criminology

Over the past quarter century, a growing volume of rural-focused criminological work has emerged. In this article, the literature related to three rural criminological issues are examined and discussed in terms of their lessons for critical criminology. Research on rural communities and crime is examined as a way to criticize and challenge mainstream criminological theories and concepts like social disorganisation and collective efficacy, and to remind critical criminologists of the importance for developing critical perspectives for place-based or ecological theories of crime. Agricultural crime studies are discussed in terms of the need to develop a critical criminology of agriculture and food. Finally, criminological studies of rural ‘others’ is used to show the need for critical criminologists to give greater analytic attention to divisions and marginalities of peoples living in smaller and more isolated places based on gender, race, and lifestyles, among other factors.
A new class of catalysts: palladium metal supported on phosphinated inorganic oxides

Abstract Modification of silica, alumina, or silica-magnesia by attachment of pendant organophosphines gave phosphinated oxides which on treatment with Na2PdCl4 and heating gave black, catalytically active species shown to be metallic Pd supported on these modified oxides, and not supported Pd: phosphine complexes. The pendant phosphine groups interact with the Pd metal to influence the olefin hydrogenation activity and to markedly decrease the double bond isomerization capability of these catalysts.
Singlet oxygen production by lactoperoxidase: Halide dependence and quantitation of yield☆

Abstract Chemiluminescence at 1268 nm was used to measure singlet oxygen production in the lactoperoxidase(hydrogen peroxide)halide systems. The use of a liquid-nitrogen-cooled germanium detector permitted the measurement of singlet oxygen production rates as low as 30 nmol min−1. Under optimal conditions using bromide ion as a substrate, lactoperoxidase produced singlet oxygen in stoichiometric amounts consistent with the mechanism. The oxidized bromine species, tribromide ion, bromine and hypobromous acid, were not significant final reaction products. No 1268 nm chemiluminescence was detected with chloride ion or iodine ion. Lactoperoxidase does not oxidize chloride ion. The absence of 1268 nm chemiluminescence does not rule out some singlet oxygen production in the lactoperoxidase(hydrogen peroxide)iodide system, since iodine is known to quench single oxygen.
Cardenolide fingerprint of monarch butterflies reared on common milkweed,Asclepias syriaca L.

Monarch butterfly,Danaus plexippus (L.), larvae were collected during August 1983 from the common milkweed,Asclepias syriaca L., across its extensive North American range from North Dakota, east to Vermont, and south to Virginia. This confirms that the late summer distribution of breeding monarchs in eastern North America coincides with the range of this extremely abundant milkweed resource. Plant cardenolide concentrations, assayed by spectrophotometry in 158 samples from 27 collection sites, were biased towards plants with low cardenolide, and ranged from 4 to 229 μg/ 0.1 g dry weight, with a mean of 50 μg/0.1 g. Monarch larvae reared on these plants stored cardenolides logarithmically, and produced 158 adults with a normally distributed concentration range from 0 to 792 μg/0. l g dry butterfly, with a mean of 234 μg/0.1 g. Thus butterflies increased the mean plant cardenolide concentration by 4.7. The eastern plants and their resultant butterflies had higher cardenolide concentrations than those from the west, and in some areas monarchs sequestered more cardenolide from equivalent plants. Plants growing in small patches had higher cardenolide concentrations than those in larger patches, but this did not influence butterfly concentration. However, younger plants and those at habitat edges had higher cardenolide concentrations than either older, shaded, or open habitat plants, and this did influence butterfly storage. There were no apparent topographical differences reflected in the cardenolides of plants and butterflies. Twenty-eight cardenolides were recognized by thin-layer chromatography, with 27 in plants and 21 in butterflies. Butterflies stored cardenolides within the more polar 46% of the plantRd range, these being sequestered in higher relative concentrations than they occurred in the plants. By comparison with published TLC cardenolide mobilities, spots 3, 4, 9, 16, 24 or 25, 26, and 27, may be the cardenolides syrioside, uzarin, syriobioside, syriogenin, uzarigenin, labriformidin, and labriformin, respectively. Cochromatography with cardenolide standards indicated that desglucosyrioside did not occur in the plants but did occur in 70% of the butterflies, and aspecioside was in 99% of the plants and 100% of the butterflies. The polar aspecioside was the single most concentrated and diagnostic cardenolide in both plants and butterflies. ButterflyRd values were dependent on those of the plant, and both showed remarkable uniformity over the range of areas sampled. Thus contrary to previous reports,A. syriaca has a biogeographically consistent cardenolide fingerprint pattern. The ecological implications of this for understanding the monarch's annual migration cycle are significant.
Consumer Information Use Individual Versus Social Predictors

Explanations for information seeking are customarily sought on the level of personal characteristics such as education or uncertainty. This study em ploys a coorientation model in which explanation for communication be havior is achieved on the level of the person's interpersonal or social relations. The power of coorientational variables is tested and compared with the power of commonly used individual characteristics in predicting amounts and types of information sought by buyers of cosmetics.
Synthesis and properties of a photoaffinity probe for the glucagon receptor in hepatocyte plasma membranes.

Abstract The reaction of glucagon with 4-fluoro-3-nitrophenylazide has been shown to afford the photosensitive derivative, Nϵ-4-azido-2-nitrophenyl-glucagon. The structure and properties of this derivative were established by amino acid analysis, absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, deamination, Edman degradation and photolysis. This photoaffinity derivative of glucagon has been used to label specifically glucagon binding sites on hepatocyte plasma membranes.
Miniaturized surface-driven electrostatic positioners

A series of millimeter-sized, addressable linear and rotary surface-driven electrostatic positioners are currently being designed and fabricated. The major components of these positioners are a thin copper-coated glass epoxy stator board and a carbon-coated polymer film slider which is placed on top of the stator board. Using modified Printed Circuit Board technique, a group of conductive electrodes are linearly or radially arranged on the stator board. On application of an excitation voltage pattern to the stator electrodes, a mirror image of the stator electrical charges will be induced on the film slider. Sequential switching of the voltage pattern will lead to electrical charge interactions, resulting in continuous motion of the film slider. Compared to the electromagnetic counterparts, these electrostatics-based positioners do not require the conventional mechanical assembly of transmission gears and rails for operation, thus are compact in design and light in weight. The potential advantage of low manufacturing cost may help this new type of positioners find a wide range of industrial, military, and commercial applications.
Inhibition of bacterial and mammalian choline acetyltransferases by styrylpyridine analogues.

—Choline acetyltransferase was extracted from Lactobacillus plantarum by relatively gentle procedures involving penicillin treatment, osmotic shock and passage through a French pressure cell. After partial purification, the extract was compared with choline acetyltransferase of calf caudate nucleus for kinetic properties and response to a class of inhibitors which consists of analogues of styrylpyridine. Both enzymes obeyed a sequential mechanism with Michaelis constants for the bacterial enzyme, Km= 8 μm vs. acetyl-CoA and 0·44 mm vs. choline; and for the caudate nucleus enzyme, Km= 15 μm vs. acetyl-CoA and 0·8 mm vs. choline. Both were stabilized by dithiothreitol and EDTA. The extracts differed in that the bacterial enzyme was more labile and apparently was susceptible to conformational changes, which modified its response to the styrylpyridinetype inhibitors. The use of intact cells of Lactobacillus plantarum as an in vivo system for studying the inhibition of choline acetyltransferase by styrylpyridines was possible only for non-quaternary analogues, which exist as an equilibrium mixture of charged and uncharged species.