cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transport of vitamin B12 into mouse leukemia cells.

Abstract Transport of [ 57 Co]cyanocobalamin (vitamin B 12 ) into L1210 murine leukemia cells, mediated by transcobalamin-II, is a biphasic process. The primary step, which occurs very rapidly (within the first minute), appears to involve binding of the B 12 -transcobalamin complex to the external membrane of the cells; at 37 °C and pH 7.3, apparent K m and V values are 180 pM and 5.9 pmol/min/10 9 cells, respectively. This step is relatively insensitive to temperature, has an apparent p K a of 6.0, and is inhibited by EDTA; Ca 2+ or Mg 2+ can reverse the inhibition. The slower secondary step appears to involve translocation of the vitamin into the cell; V for this step is 0.4 pmol/min/10 9 cells. Temperature and pH optima are 30 ° and 6.5−7.0, respectively. This step is stimulated by glucose and inhibited by cyanide, arsenite, arsenate, p -chloromercuriphenylsulfonate and dinitrophenol. Labeled B 12 in an amount corresponding to that taken up in the initial step can be released by: (a) resuspending the cells in a B 12 -free medium; (b) addition of unlabeled B 12 -transcobalamin-II; and (c) addition of EDTA. The material released is chromatographically and functionally identical with B 12 -transcobalamin-II.
Micromechanisms of fatigue crack growth in a single crystal Inconel 718 nickel-based superalloy

The fatigue crack growth behavior of an experimental, single crystal alloy, of equivalent nominal chemical composition to Inconel 718 is presented. Fracture modes under cyclic loading were determined by scanning electron microscopy. The results of the fractographic analyses are presented on a fracture mechanism map that shows the dependence of the fatigue fracture mechanisms on the maximum stress intensity factor, K[sub max], and the stress intensity factor range, [Delta]K. Crack-tip deformation mechanisms associated with fatigue crack growth were studied using transmission electron microscopy. The relative effects of [Delta]K and K[sub max] on the fatigue crack growth behavior of this material are discussed within the context of a two-parameter crack growth law. The influence of grain boundaries on the fatigue crack growth resistance of materials such as Inconel 718 is also discussed in light of the results of this investigation.
RNA Polymerase II Transcription: Structure and Mechanism

A minimal RNA polymerase II (pol II) transcription system comprises the polymerase and five general transcription factors (GTFs) TFIIB, -D, -E, -F, and -H. The addition of Mediator enables a response to regulatory factors. The GTFs are required for promoter recognition and the initiation of transcription. Following initiation, pol II alone is capable of RNA transcript elongation and of proofreading. Structural studies reviewed here reveal roles of GTFs in the initiation process and shed light on the transcription elongation mechanism. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: RNA Polymerase II Transcript Elongation.
Ex vivo and in vivo gene transfer to the peritoneal membrane in a rat model

The efficacy of peritoneal dialysis (PD) depends on preserving the structural integrity and dialysing capacity of the peritoneal membrane. Membrane structure and function can change on PD, resulting in decreased membrane performance and possible discontinuation of PD as a treatment modality. We hypothesized that a gene therapy strategy might be an innovative and promising approach to maintaining membrane integrity and dialysing capacity in the PD population. We have characterized two methods of genetic modification of the peritoneal membrane in a rat model to test the feasibility of this approach. In ex vivo gene transfer, mesothelial cells are isolated from the peritoneal membrane, genetically modified in culture and subsequently re-implanted back onto the peritoneal membrane of syngeneic recipients. In in vivo gene transfer, genetic modification of the membrane is accomplished in situ through adenovirus-mediated delivery of the genetic material into the peritoneal cavity. The peritoneal membrane can be genetically modified to produce factors that may be of therapeutic value in maintaining the fibrinolytic balance in the peritoneal cavity, moderating peritoneal inflammation, and studying the development of peritoneal fibrosis. These models provide a basis for studying the contribution of specific molecules to peritoneal membrane physiology. Optimally, they will be paired with other PD-relevant model systems to understand peritoneal physiology, identify ways to prevent membrane damage, and maintain dialysing performance. While gene transfer can be used as a tool to understand the individual roles of factors or pathways in peritoneal membrane physiology, it can also be developed as a therapy platform for improving membrane characteristics and enhancing the therapy of peritoneal dialysis.
AFLP and SCAR Markers Linked to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Resistance in Tobacco

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is a serious disease in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). The breeding line 'Polalta' contains a single dominant gene conferring resistance to TSWV that was introgressed from N. alata Link & Otto. The resistance is tightly associated with an abnormal plant type, however, and traditional backcrossing has been ineffective in producing normal plants with TSWV resistance. A potential strategy to overcome this problem is to use molecular markers to select against alien chromatin in backcross progeny. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technology and bulked segregant analysis were applied to identify markers linked to the resistance gene. The DNA bulks from susceptible and resistant doubled haploid lines derived from a cross between susceptible cultivar K326 and Polalta were analyzed to identify linked markers. An F 2 population and the doubled haploids were used to construct a 2.5-cM map of this locus containing 17 coupling phase and seven repulsion phase markers. By selecting for resistant plants with an improved plant type and marker profile in a BC 3 population, four plants were identified that were missing 1 to 14 of the AFLP markers associated with the alien chromatin, demonstrating that rare recombination events can be identified. Four AFLP fragments were successfully converted to sequence characterized amplified region markers suitable for large-scale screening. This approach may facilitate development of TSWV-resistant tobacco cultivars.
Protective Effect of β-Carotene against Lethal Photosensitization by Hæmatoporphyrin

THE carotenoid pigments of certain bacteria can protect the micro-organisms against lethal photosensitization by visible light in the presence of the dye, toluidine blue1,2. Since mice can also be lethally sensitized to visible light by the administration of haematoporphyrin intraperitoneally, it seemed likely that injection of the carotenoid pigment, (β-carotene, would protect against the lethal photosensitization.
Differences in kinetics of pure and soil-adsorbed toluene in orally exposed male rats.

Assessment of health risk following exposure to chemically contaminated soil has primarily utilized results from studies conducted with pure chemicals. However, complex interactions with soil may alter the way in which a chemical subsequently interacts with the body. This study was conducted to determine if adsorption to either of two New Jersey soils qualitatively or quantitatively altered the way in which toluene is absorbed, distributed, metabolized or excreted by the body following oral exposure. Adult, male rats were gavaged with an aqueous suspension of14C-toluene in the presence or absence of either an Atsion (sandy soil) or a Keyport soil (clay soil). Both soils reduced the peak plasma concentration of radioactivity, while sandy soil also reduced the time to reach peak vs toluene alone. Clay soil produced a statistically significant decrease in the half-life (t1/2) of elimination of radioactivity from plasma vs toluene alone. However, neither soil altered the area under the plasma radioactivity-time curve (AUC) vs toluene alone. Three-h post administration, stomach and fat contained the highest concentrations of radioactivity. No differences were detected in the tissue concentrations of radioactivity between the treatment groups. Urine was the primary excretion route of radioactivity in all treatment groups with lesser amounts excreted in expired air and negligible amounts in feces during the 48 h following exposure. Unmetabolized toluene represented >98.8% of radioactivity in expired air of all treatment groups. Clay soil produced a statistically significant decrease in the excretion of radioactivity in expired air at the 0–1, 0–12, 0–24 and 0–48 h periods vs toluene alone. While the excretion of radioactivity in expired air during the 0–12 h period was similar for toluene in the presence or absence of sandy soil, sandy soil did significantly reduce excretion during the 0–1 and 2–6 h periods and significantly increase excretion during the 1–2 h period vs toluene alone. Hippuric acid was the major metabolite detected in the urine of all treatment
Intracellular Infection and the Carrier State

The evidence summarized in this article is sufficient to support conclusions as follows. 1) Antibiotics penetrate rapidly into mammalian cells and inhibit multiplication of susceptible microbes within the cell as promptly and effectively as they inhibit multiplication of such microbes outside the cell. This is consistent with clinical experience. 2) Death of individual organisms inside mammalian cells bathed in medium containing antibiotics continues over several weeks but may not proceed pari passu with time. This observation supports the as yet meager clinical data, which suggest that eradication of the typhoid carrier state may be accomplished through antibiotic therapy, provided (i) the proper antibiotic is selected; (ii) it is administered in amounts sufficient to obtain continuous suppression of growth of intracellular organisms; and (iii) the regimen is maintained for 2 or 3 weeks. 3) The actual cause of death and destruction of intracellular microbes in treated cells remains an enigma. To attribute this to inanition or senescence of the organisms, without describing mechanisms, is to avoid the issue. The hypotheses dealing with inactivation of intracellular microbes by intracellular antimicrobial substances and antibodies deserve to be explored. 4) Evidence from the ward and laboratory suggests that infected cells can clear themselves of invading pathogens and recover. Although antibiotics have played the major role in demonstrating this in the laboratory, it is possible that they do nothing more than hold the intruders in abeyance while natural defense mechanisms of the cell gain the upper hand. Certainly such cellular mechanisms must provide a potent force for survival; otherwise, why would 98 percent of typhoid patients fail to become chronic carriers? 5) The continued study of infections, including the carrier state, with a view to understanding the abnormalities created by the multiplying intracellular microbe and the means by which the cell corrects these and eliminates the intruder, should open new vistas in chemotherapy and immunology.
Expression of p53 and human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen with inhibition of apoptosis in HHV-8-associated malignancies.

BACKGROUND Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) cells express human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)–encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) (open reading frame [ORF] 73 protein), suggesting that LANA plays an important role in the pathogenesis of HHV-8–associated malignancies. Recently, the binding of LANA to p53 was demonstrated in vitro. In the current study, the authors investigated the association between p53 and LANA expression with apoptosis in HHV-8–associated malignancies in vivo. METHODS Twenty-six cases of KS, 1 case of HHV-8–associated solid lymphoma, 2 PEL cell lines, and an HHV-8–associated lymphoma engrafted in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice were examined. Immunohistochemistry using the catalyzed signal amplification system was employed to detect LANA and p53 on paraffin embedded tissues and the immunofluorescence technique was used on cell lines. To detect apoptosis, the TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) method was used. For mutation analysis of p53, exons 5–9 of the p53 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and examined by direct sequencing. RESULTS Immunohistochemistry revealed that LANA and p53 were expressed in the tumor cells of all these specimens, and apoptotic cells were rarely detected in them using the TUNEL method. Immunofluorescence assay revealed that LANA colocalized with p53 in the nuclei of PEL cells. Sequencing analysis indicated that there was no mutation in the deduced amino acid sequences of p53 in KS tissues. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest colocalization of p53 and LANA and the inhibition of apoptosis in HHV-8–associated malignancies in vivo, supporting the results found in vitro that p53 inhibition by LANA suppresses cell death, as reported previously. These results also suggest that the p53 pathway is crucial in the pathogenesis of HHV-8–associated malignancies. Cancer 2001;92:3076–84. © 2001 American Cancer Society.
Mathematics achievement and gender: A longitudinal study of selected cognitive and affective variables [grades 6–12]

This study examined the relationship of selected cognitive and affective variables to mathematics achievement for a random sample of 60 students as they progressed through 6th, 8th,10th and 12th grades. A consistent gender difference was found for stereotyping mathematics as a male domain. No consistent significant gender difference between means was found for spatial skills, verbal skill or mathematics achievement. Confidence, verbal skill and spatial visualization were each consistently positively correlated with mathematics achievement for both males and females. No gender difference was found for these correlations. However, spatial skills alone were found to be consistent significant predictors of mathematics achievement for females each year of the study, but not for males. Verbal skill was a consistent significant predictor of mathematics achievement for males, but not for females. The results of this study could lead to a reevaluation of the hypothesis that spatial skills help boys achieve in mathematics.
Trace-element fractionation by impact-induced volatilization; SIMS study of lunar HASP samples

Impact is a dominant process acting on the surfaces of planetary bodies and is the major process that modifies the physical and chemical nature of planetary materials on atmosphere-free bodies once volcanic activity has ceased. Elements with relatively high volatilities are readily mobilized during impact. HASP (high alumina, silica poor) compositions are thought to be generated by impact-induced volatilization processes on the moon. The high Al/Si ratio of HASP is believed to be the result of preferential loss of SiO 2 relative to Al 2 O 3 . Here we report SIMS analyses for HASP glass beads and devitrified glasses from the Apollo 14 regolith to assess the behavior of Li, Be, B, REE, Sr, Y, and Zr during impact events. We compare the behavior of these trace elements to the behavior of major and minor elements analyzed by the electron microprobe. The HASP samples we studied fall into two compositional groups with one group apparently derived from KREEPy lunar lithologies and the other from anorthosite. The KREEPy HASP beads have an estimated mass loss of 28% compared to their KREEPy protolith. We estimate that 44% of SiO 2 and 35% of FeO were lost during impact-induced volatilization. The mass loss estimate for the anorthositic protolith to produce anorthositic HASP is more uncertain because of the uncertainty of the protolith composition. However, an estimate of approximately 25% appears reasonable with 38% loss of silica. Clearly, impact processes, in the early stages of planetary evolution, are important in the modification of geochemical signatures, and ordinarily geochemically coherent elements may be decoupled because of different volatilities.
IL-17 receptor and its functional significance in psoriatic arthritis

To delineate the functional significance of IL-17 Receptor (IL-17RA) and characterize the IL-17 producing T cell (Th17) subpopulation in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Mononuclear cells from blood and synovial fluid (SF) were obtained from PsA (n=20), rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n=20) and osteoarthritis (OA, n=20) patients. Synoviocytes (FLS) were isolated from the synovium of RA (n=5), PsA (n=5) and OA (n=5) patients. IL-17RA expression in FLS was identified by western blotting (WB) and flowcytometry. T lymphocytes derived from the SF of these patients were studied to identify and phenotype the Th17 cells. The functional significance of IL-17RA was determined by evaluating its regulatory role on the production of proinflammatory cytokines and endopeptidase. IL-17RA expression was found to be significantly higher in FLS of RA (15.7%±4.9) and PsA (4.5%±0.9) in comparison to OA (1.14%±0.9). Western blot analyses showed that the relative intensity (RI) of IL-17RA protein was higher in RA and PsA compared to OA (Fisher exact, P<0.01). A significant enrichment of IL-17-producing CD4+ T cells (7.9%±2.8) was observed in the SF of PsA patients compared to that of OA patients (P<.001). Compared to OA-FLS, recombinant IL-17 induced higher levels of IL-6, IL-8, and MMP-3 production in PsA-FLS. Blockage of IL-17RA with an anti-IL-17RA antibody inhibited the production of IL-6, IL-8, and MMP-3. This is the first report to demonstrate the functional significance of IL-17RA in PsA. Results of this study support the hypothesis that IL-17RA blocking antibodies have the potential to be a therapeutic option for psoriatic arthritis.
Time-Split versus Process-Split Coupling of Parameterizations and Dynamical Core

Abstract Simulations are compared to determine the effect of the details of the coupling of the parameterization suite with the dynamical core on the simulated climate. Simulations based on time-split and process-split couplings are compared to a simulation with the original version of the NCAR Community Climate Model–3 (CCM3), which is a mixture of the two approaches. In the process-split coupling, the two components are based on the same state and their tendencies are added to produce the updated state. In the time-split coupling, the two components are calculated sequentially, each based on the state produced by the other. Overall the differences between simulations produced with the various coupling strategies are relatively small. Thus, with the time step used in the CCM3, the different time truncation errors introduced by the different coupling strategies have less effect on simulations than other arbitrary aspects of the model design. This does not imply that the time truncation errors are insignif...
Patients with generalised epilepsy have a higher white blood cell count than patients with focal epilepsy

Background Immunological alterations have been noted following seizures in the acute period, however little is known about the effect of type and severity of epilepsy on leukocyte count in the absence of seizures.
Interframe coding of magnetic resonance images

Presents a new interframe coding method for medical images, in particular magnetic resonance (MR) images. Until now, attempts in using interframe redundancies for coding MR images have been unsuccessful. The authors believe that the main reason for this is twofold: unsuitable interframe estimation models and the thermal noise inherent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The interframe model used here is a continuous affine mapping based on (and optimized by) deforming triangles. The inherent noise of MRI is dealt with by using a median filter within the estimation loop. The residue frames are quantized with a zero-tree wavelet coder, which includes arithmetic entropy coding. This particular method of quantization allows for progressive transmission, which aside from avoiding buffer control problems is very attractive in medical imaging applications.
Insulin and glucagon relationships during aging in man

To determine if the glucoregulatory hormones, insulin and glucagon, are altered with aging inman, 44 healthy volunteers, 22-81 yr of age, were evaluted by measurement of basal levels of glucose, insulin, and glucagon in relationship to their fat mass. In addition, the secretory capacities of the alpha and beta cells were assessed by measurement of the amounts of glucagon and insulin released after intravenous administration of glucose and arginine, respectively. Although no significant differences in weight could be distinguished longitudinally, the percentage adiposity was found to increase with age. Basal concentrations of glucose, glucagon, and insulin were not appreciably altered as a function of advancing years. After intravenous glucose, the glucose disappearance rate (Kg) was significantly slower in the elderly in comparison with the young, yet no differences in glucose-induced release were found. Similarly, insulin responses after arginine infusion between young and old were indistinguishable. The release of glucagon in response to arginine infusion was not perceptibly altered during aging. Thus, despite a decline in Kg with advanging age in this healthy population, gross changes in insulin and glucagon release were not apparent. We infer from bese data that decreased carbohydrate tolerance accompanying aging in some populations may be due to factors other than abnormalities in secretion of insulin and glucagon.
Pore fluid constraints on deep ocean temperature and salinity during the Last Glacial Maximum

Pore water records of δ^(18)O and [Cl] from ODP Site 1063A on the Bermuda Rise constrain the change in seawater δ^(18)O and salinity from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Holocene to be 0.75±0.05‰ and 2.5±0.1% respectively. Coupled with a measured benthic foraminiferal δ^(18)O change, this result means that bottom waters were 4.6±0.8°C cooler than the Holocene at the LGM and therefore at or near the seawater freezing point. Coupled δ^(18)O and chlorinity results give an extrapolated mean ocean LGM to Holocene change in δ^(18)O of 0.95±0.09‰. These data also constrain the past southern source deep‐water salinity to be 35.76±0.04 psu, which is within error of the mean deep ocean value for this time.
Synthesis and radiation behavior of perfluoroaromatic polysiloxanes

In a study aimed at the development of a polymeric material stable to the space radiation environment, the synthesis and properties of two new perfluoroaromatic polysiloxanes have been investigated. Di(pentafluorophenyl)diethoxysilane and pentafluorophenyltriethoxysilane have been prepared via Grignard synthesis from pentafluorobromobenzene and tetraethoxysilane. By hydrolytic polymerization of these intermediates, polydi(pentafluorophenyl)siloxane and polypentafluorophenylsilsesquioxane have been synthesized. The effect of ultraviolet and low-energy proton (solar wind) irradiation in high vacuum has been determined in a space-environment-simulation facility. These polymers possess excellent resistance to low-energy proton irradiation but are less stable to ultraviolet irradiation. It is suggested that the enhanced polarization of the carbon–silicon bond due to the strong inductive effect of the pentafluorophenyl groups is responsible for the relatively low ultraviolet and thermal stability of the perfluoroaromatic polysiloxanes.
Proximity of intracellular regulatory networks to monotone systems

Networks that contain only sign-consistent loops, such as positive feedforward and feedback loops, function as monotone systems. Simulated using differential equations, monotone systems display well-ordered behaviour that excludes the possibility for chaotic dynamics. Perturbations of such systems have unambiguous global effects and a predictability characteristic that confers robustness and adaptability. The authors assess whether the topology of biological regulatory networks is similar to the topology of monotone systems. For this, three intracellular regulatory networks are analysed where links are specified for the directionality and the effects of interactions. These networks were assembled from functional studies in the experimental literature. It is found that the three biological networks contain far more positive ‘sign-consistent’ feedback and feedforward loops than negative loops. Negative loops can be ‘eliminated’ from the real networks by the removal of fewer links as compared with the corresponding shuffled networks. The abundance of positive feedforward and feedback loops in real networks emerges from the presence of hubs that are enriched with either negative or positive links. These observations suggest that intracellular regulatory networks are ‘close-to-monotone’, a characteristic that could contribute to the dynamical stability observed in cellular behaviour.
A dialectical methodology for decision support systems design

The multi-perspective decision-making paradigm is extended to include a dialectical process to assist in developing decision support systems (DSSs) in "wicked" situations with much conflict among stakeholder groups. A dialectical methodology is proposed and applied to a wicked decision problem, namely urban infrastructure management, in order to illustrate the model. The dialectical analysis highlights conflicts among stakeholders and helps to focus DSS design attention on areas that may be problematic during implementation.
LIFESPAN AND BUDDING POTENTIAL OF LEMNA AS A FUNCTION OF AGE OF THE PARENT– A GENEALOGIC STUDY

Summary Experiments tested claims that, in Lemna, increasing age of the parent reduces lifespan and reproductivity of the offspring. Successive cultures of nth buds (‘nth-bud lines’, n= 1–10), and also of late-buds and last-buds, were observed for size and number of the buds they produced, and lifespan. Advancing age of the parent frond affected bud size, but had little or no effect on either lifespan or budding capacity of the offspring. First, second, and third buds of all lines were larger than their parents; successive buds then decreased in size approximately linearly with bud number or time of separation. Small, late buds, as parents, have smaller buds than do their early siblings. Numbers of buds produced by late buds, as parents, differ little from the numbers produced by their earlier siblings. Both groups vary randomly; together, their productivity is well represented by a normal distribution curve. Lifespans of early and late buds do not, on the average, differ markedly. ‘Survival curves’ indicate that early buds are more likely to survive into middle age (to produce nine-ten buds), but late buds are more likely to survive into very old age and to produce thirteen-fifteen buds. Bud production by late offspring is somewhat slower than that by early offspring.
Overview of Cryptosporidium Presentations at the 10th International Workshops on Opportunistic Protists

It has been over 100 years since the discovery of Cryptosporidium in the stomachs of house mice by the prominent American microbiologist Ernest E. Tyzzer in 1907 (58) and over 30 years since the identification of Cryptosporidium as a human pathogen in 1976 (38, 40). Cryptosporidiosis remains an important opportunistic pathogen in human immunodeficiency virus-positive persons. This is due largely to the limited use of highly active antiretroviral therapy in developing countries and the lack of an effective drug against the parasite in immunocompromised persons. Recent research efforts in cryptosporidiosis are directed largely at characterizations of environmental ecology, infection source, and risk factors using molecular diagnostic tools, identifications of parasite-unique biochemical and metabolic pathways for drug development, and elucidations of immune responses and pathogenesis. These efforts have been greatly facilitated by the recent completion of whole-genome sequencing of Cryptosporidium parvum, Cryptosporidium hominis, and Cryptosporidium muris. The 26 research studies presented at the 10th International Workshop on Opportunistic Protists (IWOP-10) clearly reflected the current trends in cryptosporidiosis research.
Determining the position of a robot using a single calibration object

A procedure for determining the position uniquely, of a mobile robot in a three-dimensional space is presented. The method consists of viewing a single sphere with horizontal and vertical calibration great circles and computing distance and elevation and azimuth angles with respect to the sphere. The method is simple and provides good results as long as the sphere is projected onto a large portion of the image plane. Results using simulated and actual data are presented.
Politics, Popery, and Property: A Comment on North and Weingast

In a recent article Douglass North and Barry Weingast offered an intriguing interpretation of political and economic institutional change in seventeenth-century England.' Their central point is that the institutional arrangements that constrain government action have important implications for individual property rights and for the development of markets. They illustrate this argument using the example of constitutional change during the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent development of public and private capital markets in England. I wish to discuss certain of the limitations to the North-Weingast argument. North and Weingast assert that the development of markets is heavily influenced by the extent to which rulers abide by the rules that govern economic exchange.2 Economic growth is reduced if rulers can unilaterally alter property rights whenever it suits them. Growth is enhanced if property rights are secure. Political institutions determine the extent to which rulers can revise property rights and hence also determine the trajectory of economic growth. They do this by structuring the incentives that face a ruler. Does a sovereign have an incentive to renege on his or her obligations, or is it in the sovereign's interest to live up to them? In the former situation, property rights will likely be violated. In the latter, they are secure. North and Weingast apply this argument to the case of seventeenth-century England. They argue that political institutions changed during the Glorious Revolution in such a way as to alter fundamentally the incentives faced by English monarchs. They pay particular attention to capital markets and to public indebtedness since "capital markets are especially sensitive to the security of property rights."3 Capital markets serve as a kind of litmus test. Before 1688 Stuart monarchs were frequently tempted to alter the terms of loans unilaterally, to grant monopolies, and to impose new taxes in order to solve their financial problems.4 This demonstrated their willingness to alter property rights in their favor. After 1688 constitutional changes shifted the position of the Crown relative to Parliament in such a way as to reduce the incentive to alter property rights. Parliamentary supremacy was established, Parliament gained a central role in public finances, various prerogative powers were eliminated or curtailed, and the judiciary gained its independence from the Crown.5 The wealth holders represented by Parliament gained greater control over the government, enhancing the security of their property rights. Public creditors were now assured that the terms of their loans would be honored. The result was a tremendous development in the system of public finance, with more money being borrowed at lower rates of interest. North and Weingast summarize the develop-
Higher-Harmonic-Control Algorithm for Helicopter Vibration Reduction Revisited

The higher-harmonic-control (HHC) algorithm is examined from a control theory perspective. A brief review of the history and variants of HHC is given, followed by a careful development of the algorithm. An analytic convergence and robustness analysis is then performed. Online identification with the adaptive variant of the algorithm is also addressed. A new version of the algorithm, relaxed HHC, is introduced and shown to have beneficial robustness properties. Some numerical results comparing these variants of the HHC algorithm applied to helicopter vibration reduction are also presented. The results presented unify and extend previous work on the higher-harmonic-control algorithm.
Injury-Induced HDAC5 Nuclear Export Is Essential for Axon Regeneration

Reactivation of a silent transcriptional program is a critical step in successful axon regeneration following injury. Yet how such a program is unlocked after injury remains largely unexplored. We found that axon injury in peripheral sensory neurons elicits a back-propagating calcium wave that invades the soma and causes nuclear export of HDAC5 in a PKCμ-dependent manner. Injury-induced HDAC5 nuclear export enhances histone acetylation to activate a proregenerative gene-expression program. HDAC5 nuclear export is required for axon regeneration, as expression of a nuclear-trapped HDAC5 mutant prevents axon regeneration, whereas enhancing HDAC5 nuclear export promotes axon regeneration in vitro and in vivo. Components of this HDAC5 pathway failed to be activated in a model of central nervous system injury. These studies reveal a signaling mechanism from the axon injury site to the soma that controls neuronal growth competence and suggest a role for HDAC5 as a transcriptional switch controlling axon regeneration.
Optimization of silicon technology for the IBM system z9

IBM 90-nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology was used for the key chips in the System z9TM processor chipset. Along with system design, optimization of some critical features of this technology enabled the z9TM to achieve double the system performance of the previous generation. These technology improvements included logic and SRAM FET optimization, mask fabrication, lithography and wafer processing, and interconnect technology. Reliability improvements such as SRAM optimization and burn-in reliability screen are also described.
Obesity in Urban Women: Associations with Sleep and Sleepiness, Fatigue and Activity

Abstract Background African-American women (AAW) have the highest prevalence of obesity and therefore are at greater risk for obesity-related symptoms and diseases. Obese individuals frequently report poorer sleep quality, more daytime sleepiness, more severe fatigue, and higher physical inactivity than normal weight individuals. The relationships among these variables have not been well-characterized in obese, urban-dwelling, AAW. Methods This descriptive, correlational study examined the relationships among sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, level of physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) in AAW living in an urban setting. A convenience sample of 69 young adult women with a BMI of greater than 30 kg/m 2 completed measures of sleep quality, sleepiness, fatigue severity, sense of community, and physical activity. Further analysis was done to determine if any of the study variables predicted level of physical activity. Findings There was a strong and significant correlation between BMI and overall fatigue severity and a significant, negative correlation between BMI and physical activity performance. BMI was significantly correlated with sleep latency but not global sleep quality. There were significant relationships between fatigue severity and poorer global sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. Multiple regression analysis showed BMI and age accounted for a significant amount of the variance in physical activity. Conclusions Higher BMI was associated with significant fatigue. Fatigue severity was associated with poorer global sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and a sense of community. Higher BMI may be a barrier to having an active lifestyle.
Fusion-protein truncation provides new insights into leukemogenesis.

AML1-ETO (also known as RUNX1-ETO) is the fusion-protein transcription factor product of the 8;21 translocation. The translocation is present in up to 40% of leukemias of the French-American-British M2 subtype and is one of the most common events associated with myeloid leukemia. Clarifying the role of AML1-ETO in leukemogenesis has been difficult because the expression of the oncoprotein is not sufficient to cause disease. The challenge is reflected by the number of models that have been devised to study AML1-ETO in mice. In this issue of PNAS, Zhang and colleagues (1) advance the understanding of AML1-ETO another step with the discovery that a C-terminal truncation mutation produces penetrant leukemia. The earliest attempts to model AML1-ETO-associated leukemia in mice showed that the oncoprotein has detrimental developmental effects when expressed during embryogenesis (2, 3). The phenotype of the AML1-ETO knock-in embryos strongly resembled AML1 knockout embryos. The similarity provided compelling in vivo evidence supporting the hypothesis that AML1-ETO interferes with AML1. Although the embryonic lethal phenotype of the AML1-ETO knock-in was a temporary setback in the production of a leukemia model, the observations provided important clues to the action of AML1-ETO. Subsequent mouse models were engineered to bypass the embryonic lethality of AML1-ETO. Transgenic models, inducible systems, and bone marrow transplant strategies for expressing AML1-ETO were unable to reliably produce leukemia in mice even after 24 months (4–7). However, the failure to cause leukemia was extremely enlightening. When stem cells were transduced with AML1-ETO and transplanted into lethally irradiated recipient animals, the stem cell compartment expanded dramatically (6). Similarly, direct targeting of AML1-ETO expression to stem cells by using the SCA-1 promoter enhanced myeloid progenitor expansion (7). These experiments suggested that AML1-ETO could promote the expansion of a compartment that ultimately would acquire additional “hits” leading to disease. In …
Accurate application progress analysis for large-scale parallel debugging

Debugging large-scale parallel applications is challenging. In most HPC applications, parallel tasks progress in a coordinated fashion, and thus a fault in one task can quickly propagate to other tasks, making it difficult to debug. Finding the least-progressed tasks can significantly reduce the effort to identify the task where the fault originated. However, existing approaches for detecting them suffer low accuracy and large overheads; either they use imprecise static analysis or are unable to infer progress dependence inside loops. We present a loop-aware progress-dependence analysis tool, Prodometer, which determines relative progress among parallel tasks via dynamic analysis. Our fault-injection experiments suggest that its accuracy and precision are over 90% for most cases and that it scales well up to 16,384 MPI tasks. Further, our case study shows that it significantly helped diagnosing a perplexing error in MPI, which only manifested at large scale.
The lineage-defining factors T-bet and Bcl-6 collaborate to regulate Th1 gene expression patterns

The T-box transcription factor T-bet is important for the differentiation of naive CD4+ T helper cells (Th cells) into the Th1 phenotype. Much is known about T-bet’s role as a transcriptional activator, but less is known about the mechanisms by which T-bet functionally represses alternative Th cell genetic programs. In this study, we first identify Socs1, Socs3, and Tcf7 (TCF-1) as gene targets that are negatively regulated by T-bet. Significantly, T-bet’s role in the repression of these genes is through a direct interaction with their promoters. Consistent with this, we identified two T-bet DNA-binding elements in the Socs1 promoter that are functionally used to down-regulate transcription in primary Th1 cells. Importantly, T-bet’s novel role in transcriptional repression is because of its ability to physically associate with, and functionally recruit, the transcriptional repressor Bcl-6 to a subset of promoters. Furthermore, T-bet functionally recruits Bcl-6 to the Ifng locus in late stages of Th1 differentiation to repress its activity, possibly to prevent the overproduction of IFN-γ, which could result in autoimmunity. Collectively, these data establish a novel mechanism for T-bet–mediated gene repression in which two lineage-defining transcription factors, one a classical activator and one a repressor, collaborate to promote and properly regulate Th1 development.
Critical care of the severely injured child

It is the responsibility of the surgeon committed to care of these critically injured patients to understand the nature of injuries being treated, and to orchestrate this treatment in a manner that maximizes recovery, avoids unnecessary morbidity, and assures the injured child the best quality of life humanly possible.
Conventional and Microwave Heating of Beef: Use of Plastic Wrap1

Until recently, heat has been the usual direct energy source for cooking. Microwave energy has become available through the use of electronic ovens. The development of plastic wraps that can be used in oven cookery led to a study of the effects of these on cooking losses and other characteristics of beef roasts cooked by microwave and by heat energy. Twenty-four choice semitendinosus muscles were divided into anterior and posterior sections, and each was allocated to one of four cooking methods: conventional electric oven, meat uncovered; conventional oven, meat tied in modified polyester sleeve; microwave oven, meat uncovered; microwave oven, meat tied in polyester sleeve. A randomized incomplete block design was used and replicated 12 times. Cooking times were significantly less and cooking losses greater for roasts cooked by microwave than by conventional heating. Use of polyester wrap increased the cooking losses for both heating methods. The change in percent total solids with cooking was greater for roasts cooked electronically than for roasts cooked conventionally. Shear force was not affected by any of the four cooking methods. Penetrometer readings ranged from highest for uncovered roasts to lowest for covered roasts in the conventional oven. Of taste panel scores, only the scores for external color differed significantly.
Measurement of vibratory motions of gears supported by compliant shafts

In this paper, an improved accelerometer-based method is proposed for measurement of motions of parallel-axis gears in torsional, translational and rotational directions. This method uses a family of triaxial accelerometers that are mounted on a shaft flange next to the gears at a given radius. Acceleration signals from the accelerometers are processed using a novel formulation to quantify the motions of a gear in the torsional, rotational (rocking), transverse (line-of-action and off-line-of-action) and axial directions. This measurement system is applied to example spur and helical gear pairs held by shafts having different bending compliances. The experimental results indicate that the proposed accelerometer-based measurement methodology is effective in measuring not only the torsional motions but also the other types of translational, rotational and axial motions of a gear as well as the dynamic transmission error. They also point to the influence of the shaft flexibility on gear vibration amplitudes in these directions.
Monitoring software using property-aware program sampling

Monitoring and profiling programs provides us with opportunities for its further analysis and improvement. Typically, monitoring or profiling, entails program to be instrumented to execute additional code that collects the necessary data. However, a widely-understood problem with this approach is that program instrumentation can result in significant execution overhead. A number of techniques based on statistical sampling have been proposed to reduce this overhead. Statistical sampling based instrumentation techniques, although effective in reducing the overall overhead, often lead to poor coverage or incomplete results. The contribution of this work is a profiling technique that we call property-aware program sampling. Our sampling technique uses program slicing to reduce the scope of instrumentation and slice fragments to decompose large program slices into more manageable, logically related parts for instrumentation, thereby improving the scalability of monitoring and profiling techniques. The technical underpinnings of our work include the notion of slice fragments and an efficient technique for computing a reduced set of slice fragments.
Phosphoketolase pathway contributes to carbon metabolism in cyanobacteria

Central carbon metabolism in cyanobacteria comprises the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle, glycolysis, the pentose phosphate (PP) pathway and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Redundancy in this complex metabolic network renders the rational engineering of cyanobacterial metabolism for the generation of biomass, biofuels and chemicals a challenge. Here we report the presence of a functional phosphoketolase pathway, which splits xylulose-5-phosphate (or fructose-6-phosphate) to acetate precursor acetyl phosphate, in an engineered strain of the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis (ΔglgC/xylAB), in which glycogen synthesis is blocked, and xylose catabolism enabled through the introduction of xylose isomerase and xylulokinase. We show that this mutant strain is able to metabolise xylose to acetate on nitrogen starvation. To see whether acetate production in the mutant is linked to the activity of phosphoketolase, we disrupted a putative phosphoketolase gene (slr0453) in the ΔglgC/xylAB strain, and monitored metabolic flux using (13)C labelling; acetate and 2-oxoglutarate production was reduced in the light. A metabolic flux analysis, based on isotopic data, suggests that the phosphoketolase pathway metabolises over 30% of the carbon consumed by ΔglgC/xylAB during photomixotrophic growth on xylose and CO2. Disruption of the putative phosphoketolase gene in wild-type Synechocystis also led to a deficiency in acetate production in the dark, indicative of a contribution of the phosphoketolase pathway to heterotrophic metabolism. We suggest that the phosphoketolase pathway, previously uncharacterized in photosynthetic organisms, confers flexibility in energy and carbon metabolism in cyanobacteria, and could be exploited to increase the efficiency of cyanobacterial carbon metabolism and photosynthetic productivity.
Fuming Acid Based Decapsulation Process for Copper-Aluminum Wirebond System Molded With Different EMCs

Decapsulation is one of the very powerful technique in failure analysis process. During this process, die and first level interconnects are exposed by dissolving molding compound around them using variety of methods. Typically decapsulation formulation uses red fuming nitric acid at elevated temperatures. This technique work for traditional Gold wire bonds, but does not work for its new alternative Copper. Gold, being inert metal does not react with acid. Copper on the other hand; tends to react with fuming nitric acid, and dissolves rapidly into acid. It is important to develop acid chemistry that can be successfully used to perform decapsulation of Cu-Al incorporated packages for different EMC’s.In this paper, decap process based on combination of red fuming nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid at elevated temperatures is presented. Reduction in wire diameter was monitored for all devices. For some devices decap process was evaluated based on comparison of WB shear strength of decaped part with unmolded part. SEM was used extensively to track down degradation of copper wires. These tests were performed on packages with different EMC’s, wire diameters, pad thickness and some active dies.Statistical principal components regression model has been developed correlating the decapsulation process parameters with the post decap wire diameter reduction. Principal component regression in conjunction with stepwise regression has been used to identify the influential variables, and to remove the multicollinearity between the predictor variables. Principal component analysis which combines two correlated variables into a single factor is a widely used image processing technique for pattern recognition and image compression. The post molded packages have then used to assess the effect of various decapsulation treatments.Copyright © 2015 by ASME