cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The relationship between social support and suicide risk in a national sample of ethnically diverse sexual minority women

This study examined the relationship between three types of social support and suicidal ideation and lifetime attempts among a national sample of ethnically diverse sexual minority women (SMW). Participants (N = 150) completed measures of social support and suicidal ideation/attempts. After controlling for socioeconomic status, social support explained 12.3% of the variance in past suicidal ideation and 10.7% in lifetime suicide attempts. Social support from family and significant other were both inversely associated with suicidal ideation, and social support from family inversely with lifetime attempts. Interventions that strengthen family relationships could be a buffer of suicidality in this population.
Genetic and Morphological Variation Among Geographical Populations of the Range Caterpillar, Hemileuca oliviae (Lepidoptera, Saturniidae)

Three geographic isolates of the range caterpillar, Hemileuca oliviae Cockerell, from Chihuahua, Mexico, and New Mexico, were compared by electrophoretic analysis of ten enzymatic proteins and measurements of male wings and genitalia. Nei's index of genetic identity for Raton (northeastern New Mexico), Vaughn (central New Mexico), and Chihuahua (Mexico) samples ranged from 0.985 to 0.999, indicating a high degree of similarity among all populations. Mean heterozygosity ranged from 0.029 to 0.156; the Chihuahuan populations were consistently the highest and the Raton population consistently the lowest. Morphological results were variable, Chihuahuan specimens having significantly larger wings but smaller length/width ratio values than the New Mexican specimens. Genitalia measurements averaged consistently larger in the Raton population. We conclude the populations are conspecific.
Presence of Histamine in the Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix

Consumption of bluefish ( Pomatomus saltatrix ) has been epidemiologically implicated and confirmed by laboratory analyses as a cause of scombroid food poisoning. An examination of marketable bluefish filets in the State of Connecticut found over 6.5% of the filets had histamine levels indicative of decomposition. No direct correlation of the presence of histidine decarboxylating bacteria and levels of histamine was found. The bluefish should be recognized as a food capable of causing scombroid poisoning.
Socioeconomic origins of deans at America's elite medical schools: should these leading programs weigh deans' social class background information as a diversity criterion?

AbstractPurposeAmerican higher education is committed to diversity, saying it enhances the learning environment. Medical schools weigh applicants' socioeconomic origins when deciding admissions, fostering higher attendance by students from the working and poverty classes, historically underrepresent
Short-Range Ordering by Displacement of Tl and O Atoms in Tl2CaBa2cu2O8 Studied by Pair Distribution Function and Rietveld Analysis

Atomic pair distribution function analysis has demonstrated displacements of Tl and O atoms within the Tl-O layers with shortrange ordering of lower symmetry than the crystallographic lattice. Two models have been proposed for these displacements. Rietveld analysis neither confirms nor contradicts these models. Temperature-dependent PDF measurements show changes in local structure correlating with temperature.
Urological Implications of the Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome

A significant number of children with the Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome are prone to the development of nephroblastomas and adrenal carcinomas. Renomegaly, a prolonged tubular blush on excretory urography similar to that of medullary sponge kidney, and previously undescribed caliceal diverticula may be observed. Diligent followup is mandatory to detect early neoplasia. Suggestions are detailed based on reported case management.
Friend or Foe? A Small Business Success Story of Collaborating with Competitors Using Social Media

The purpose of this paper is to share the social media success story of Lexington Beerworks, a craft beer taproom located in Lexington, KY. As the paper will delineate, Lexington Beerworks’ success stems from some conventional social media usage similar to Blakeman and Brown’s (Bull Am Soc Inf Sci Technol 37(1):47–50, 2010) recommendation; however, a great deal of Lexington Beerworks’ social media success is a result of unconventional use of social media, particularly its collaboration with its main competitors.
Optimal profile for concave slopes under static and seismic conditions

This study presents a methodology to determine the stability and optimal profile for slopes with concave cross section under static and seismic conditions. Concave profiles are observed in some nat...
The Transfer of Britain’s Imperial Capital: ‘A Bold Stroke of Statesmanship’

The building of a new capital in India was the key to Britain’s new imperial vision. It served not only as an important symbol of a new direction in British India but as the mechanism by which the Government of India extricated itself from previous colonial blunders that had energized anti-colonial resistance to British rule. This is clearly seen in the original debates concerning the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi and the related reunification of Bengal in 1911. The building of a new capital helped conceal the Government of India’s previous inability to master Bengal’s anti-colonial movement while at the same time safely relocating ultimate authority within the British colonial administration. As such, the decision to build a new capital reflected tension between the need to silence Indian agitation through the vehicle of political reform and the requirement that Britain maintain its position of paramount power in India.
Substrate bias dependent leakage in LDD MOSFETs

A new leakage mechanism that is a strong function of substrate bias has been observed on lightly doped drain (LDD) MOSFETs. The substrate bias dependence on this drain-to-substrate leakage current is shown to be related to the formation of sidewall spacers. Devices with a conventional oxide spacer exhibit substrate-bias-dependent leakage with a wide variation in leakage characteristics. Devices with a disposable spacer, however, do not exhibit such leakage and have a small variation in leakage characteristics. The deleterious leakage characteristics observed with conventional oxide spacers are caused by defects produced in the silicon along the spacer edge during spacer formation. These defects can be avoided with a spacer formation process that does not etch into silicon in the source/drain regions. >
Web Appendix for 'Pass-Through, Public Trading, and the Dubious Obstacle of Inside Basis Adjustments'

This document contains the web appendix referenced in the paper “Pass-Through, Public Trading, and the Dubious Obstacle of Inside Basis Adjustments”, which is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2968794.
Contribution Towards a Phenomenological Approach to Business Ethics

There is a crisis in business ethics. In part, this crisis stems from the prevailing method of applying ethical theories to business issues. In most cases, applied business ethics extracts the basic principles from an ethical theory – usually Aristotle’s virtue ethics, Kant’s metaphysics of morals, or Mill’s utilitarianism – and uses these concepts as so many tools with which to solve managerial problems. Instrumentalism is a valid approach to such problems, and it would be absurd to suggest that ethical theories from the history of philosophy should be used only by philosophers who have understood them within their historical, socioeconomic and cultural contexts. However, applied ethics takes it for granted that economic problems have emerged and are recognized by those who would apply these ethical theories to solve them. The preface to most major philosophical works is spent making the argument that such recognition has been lacking, and that a new philosophical method is required to find the solution to a moral, ethical, religious, scientific or political problem. In short, the crisis in business ethics is also caused by economic theories that distort economic experience and thereby hide phenomena that would otherwise demand ethical clarification. Philosophy can mitigate this crisis by explaining the metaphysical, epistemological and methodological context for the theoretical tools business people use to make business decisions. The science responsible for manufacturing these tools is economics; and in this essay, I will apply the philosophy of Edmund Husserl to the economic theory of Joseph Schumpeter in order to explain how economic theory based on empiricist philosophical principles produces concepts that distort our experience of the economy. In particular, I will show that Schumpeter’s empiricist epistemology causes him to mistake his own theoretical constructions for the real economy and its processes. In turn, I will illustrate how Alan Greenspan distorts economic realities when employing Schumpeter’s concept of “creative destruction.” The purpose of this analysis is to show how the science of economics can create a fundamental disconnect between the economy as it is lived by those within it and the economy as it appears to people whose experience is refined by economic theory.
Becoming Divine or A Becoming Divine: Approaching the Divine Feminine in Mormonism Through Insights From Tibetan Buddhism

In order to articulate a more complex and well-rounded model for female becoming divine within Mormonism, and in an effort to better understand the nature of human potential and reaching toward divinity for both men and women, I turn to a tradition outside of the west, utilizing teachings from Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhist teachings provide insight for an avenue toward becoming divine that is reminiscent of the Aristotelian notion of becoming as progression, yet not according to the notion of progression in the conventional sense of the word. In the Buddhist model there is less of a building toward divinity, and more of a recognition of or a reliance upon the awareness of a divinity within. Incorporating insights from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition as they relate to the divine feminine within Mormonism will help bring clarity concerning the human potential, not so much to use a model outside oneself in creating the appearance of a becoming divine, but instead to recognize and re-assert the significance of LDS doctrine concerning the divine nature of humankind; that is to recognize the absolute and inherent divinity within.
Dose-finding study for praziquantel therapy of Schistosoma haematobium in Coast Province, Kenya.

Abstract To assess the efficacy of low dose praziquantel regimens in comparison with standard 40 mg/kg dosing in the treatment of urinary schistosomiasis, a random allocation dose-finding trial was performed in children and adults from a Schistosoma haematobium endemic region in Coast Province, Kenya. Following an initial screening, 280 individuals with ≥50 eggs/10 ml urine were randomly assigned to receive either 10, 20, 30, or 40 mg/kg of the drug in a single oral dose. Two to three months later, cure rates of 26%, 68%, 78%, and 84% were found for the 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg doses, respectively. The results of 10 mg/kg oral dosing were significantly worse than for all other doses in terms of cure rate and of post-treatment prevalence of morbidity. The 40 mg/kg dosing resulted in a significantly higher cure rate than the 20 mg/kg doses; nevertheless, there was no significant difference between 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg doses in terms of mean post-treatment intensity of infection or post-treatment prevalence of hematuria or proteinuria. For large-scale control programs, oral 20 mg/kg praziquantel therapy for urinary schistosomiasis may prove as effective as the standard oral 40 mg/kg dosing for control of infection-associated morbidity and reduction of parasite transmission.
Assessing the Appearance and Fluorescence of Resin-Infiltrated White Spot Lesions With Caries Detection Devices.

Clinical Relevance Fluorescent camera caries detectors can be used to assess the effectiveness of resin infiltration in improving the optic properties of white spot lesions. Clinicians can use a fluorescent camera to demonstrate early lesions to patients.
Conclusion: The Only Way to Keep the Sky from Falling Is…

Killer asteroids, trips to Mars, Russian satellites arcing across the sky: we’ve come a long way from the debates over John Quincy Adams’s “light-houses of the sky” — or even Vannevar Bush’s National Science Foundation. Big Science has learned well how to obtain funding for even outlandish-sounding projects. But there also exists a counter-tradition of constitutionalist skepticism that views both National Defense Education Acts (NDEAs) and Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) — not to mention the National Education Association — with a critical eye. That tradition has become a distinctly minority affair, but in the coming age of missions to Mars and planetary defense schemes, we may need it more than ever. The time has come to hear from the Frank Jewetts again.
Effect of adsorbent heterogeneity on performance of a PSA process for bulk gas separation: a parametric simulation

The effect of adsorbent heterogeneity on the performance of an adiabatic pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process for separation of bulk C2H4 from an inert gas (helium) using the BPL carbon as the adsorbent was numerically estimated employing a detailed mathematical model for the process. The heterogeneous Toth model was used to describe the equilibrium adsorption isotherms for C2H4 and a linear driving force model was used to describe the adsorbate mass transfer rate in the simulation. The variations in the isosteric heat of adsorption of C2H4 with adsorbate loading was included in the simulation. The study indicates that adsorbent heterogeneity negatively affects the key process performance variables by increasing the bed size factor and reducing the helium recovery. Actual performance data for a PSA process using a bench or pilot scale unit is required to reliably estimate the complexity introduced by adsorbent heterogeneity.
What Makes Association Members Donate More? Factors Influencing Members’ Donation Amount in Membership-Based Professional Associations

As charitable donations account for a significant amount of the revenue of professional associations, such associations can benefit greatly from a better understanding of the factors that influence the amount of money that members donate. Using data collected from six professional associations, this study examines the factors affecting association members’ donation amounts. A survey of 2156 members was conducted to investigate the potential factors. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that after controlling for sociodemographic factors, face-to-face solicitation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, membership length, and recommendation intention significantly influence the donation amount among members. This study offers more comprehensive explanations for the factors that influence members’ donation amounts and provides potential strategies to maximize donations from members.
Integration of Syrian Refugees in Turkey: Understanding the Educators’ Perception

The main objective of this research is to analyze the perception of pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards Syrian refugee children, who migrated to Turkey after the outbreak of the war in Syria. A factorial design is used to compare the independent and interactive effects of pre-service teachers’ attitudes on Syrian refugees. Participants consisted of 353 senior-level university students. This study finds that there are no significant differences between teachers’ ethnicities and gender on Syrian refugees. The research indicates that integration of refugee children into national education system is crucial; however, the training and education system lacks the philosophy associated with refugees, integration, and multiculturalism.
Parental Responsiveness Toward GLB Children: Impact on Mental Health Two Years Later

Few studies have examined parental variables in relation to GLB youth outcomes. This study aimed to establish the reliability and validity of observational codes that examined parental acceptance, emotional support, and ambivalence, and to examine the impact of these parental variables on GLB youth internalizing and externalizing problems, substance use problem severity, and GLB negative identity. Participants included 36 GLB parent-youth dyads at baseline, and out of those, 27 completed the two year follow-up. Results provided support for the reliability and validity of the observational codes. Parental ambivalence was positively correlated to youth-report of parental rejection, but was unrelated to parents' self-reports of rejection. Additionally, parental acceptance of sexual orientation at baseline was inversely related to GLB youth externalizing symptoms two years later, and parental emotional support was inversely related to GLB youth internalizing symptoms and substance use problem severity; however, there were no associations with GLB negative identity. Parental ambivalence was not related to longitudinal outcomes. The results of this study have implications for interventions targeting GLB youth and their parents.
Risk Factors for a False-Negative Examination in Complete Upper Extremity Nerve Lacerations.

Background: Many patients with complete nerve lacerations after upper extremity trauma have a documented normal peripheral nerve examination at the time of initial evaluation. The purpose of this s...
rf surface impedance of a two-band superconductor

In this paper, we extend the Mattis-Bardeen theory to obtain the surface impedance of a two-band superconductor, and apply it to magnesium diboride (${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$) for radiofrequency (rf) superconductivity applications. The numerical results for ${\mathrm{MgB}}_{2}$ are in good agreement with the previously published experimental results. The surface impedance properties are clearly dominated by the smaller gap, significantly limiting utility in the 10-20 K regime that might otherwise have been attractive.
Factors associating with surgical site infection following operative management of malleolar fractures at an urban level 1 trauma center.

Objectives To identify comorbidities and injury characteristics associated with surgical site infection (SSI) following internal fixation of malleolar fractures in an urban level 1 trauma setting. Design Retrospective. Setting Level 1 trauma center. Patients/Participants Seven-hundred seventy-six consecutive patients with operatively managed malleolar fractures from 2006 to 2016. Intervention Open reduction internal fixation. Main Outcome Measurements Superficial SSI (erythema and drainage treated with oral antibiotics and wound care) or deep SSI (treated with surgical debridement and antibiotics). Results Fifty-six (7.2%) patients developed SSI, with 17 (30%) of these being deep infections. An a-priori power analysis of n = 325 (α=0.05, β=0.2) was tabulated for differences in univariate analysis. Univariate analysis identified categorical associations (P < .05) between SSI and diabetes mellitus, drug abuse, open fracture, and renal disease but not tobacco abuse, body mass index, or neuropathy. Multivariate logistic regression identified categorical associations between diabetes (OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.3), drug abuse (OR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.2-12.7), open fracture (OR = 4.1, 95% CI: 1.3-12.8), and renal disease (OR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4-5.0) and any (superficial or deep) SSI. A separate multivariate logistic regression analysis found categorical associations between deep SSI requiring reoperation and diabetes (OR = 4.4, 95% CI: 1.6-12.2) and open fracture (OR = 4.1, 95% CI: 1.3-12.8). Furthermore, American society of anesthesiologists classification (ASA) Class 4 patients were (OR = 9.2, 95% CI: 2.0-41.79) more likely to experience an SSI than ASA Class 1 patients. Conclusions Factors associated with SSI following malleolar fracture surgery in a single urban level 1 trauma center included diabetes, drug abuse, renal disease, and open fracture. The presence of diabetes or open type fractures were associated with deep SSI requiring reoperation. Level of Evidence Level 3 prognostic: retrospective cohort study.
Not the garden hose instability: Wavelength selection in a buckling garden hose

We consider sinusoidal undulations which appear on certain garden hoses under normal use. We propose a model, using linear elasticity, explaining this phenomenon, and make a connection with biological structures as well as self-buckling. We compare observations with model predictions and suggest potential applications in the area of shape-changing materials.
AI-Infused Collaborative Inquiry in Upper Elementary School: A Game-Based Learning Approach.

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a technology that is profoundly reshaping society and enabling rapid improvements in science, engineering, and mathematics, as well as information technology itself. This has generated increased demand for fostering an AI-literate populace as well as a growing recognition of the importance of promoting K-12 students’ awareness and interest in AI. Although efforts are be-ginning to incorporate AI learning within K-12 education, there is little research exploring how to introduce students to AI and how to support teachers to integrate AI learning experiences in their classrooms. This is especially true at the elementary school level. A particularly promising approach for providing effective and engaging AI learning experiences for elementary students is game-based learning. In this paper, we explore how to introduce AI-infused collaborative inquiry learning into upper elementary school (student ages 8 to 11) using game-based learning. To ground the work in the realities of elementary school classrooms, we present insights from interviews with elementary school teachers to under-stand how best to support them in integrating AI into their classrooms. We then present the design of PrimaryAI, a game-based learning environment that supports rich problem-based learning activities within upper elementary classrooms centered on AI applied toward solving life-science problems. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges we face in bringing AI-infused collaborative inquiry learning to upper elementary students.
Experiences of Beauty via Art and Erotic Experiences of Beautiful People: The Connection Between Aesthetics and Ethics in Plato

My goal in this chapter is to consider Plato’s aesthetic theory and his conception of the role that aesthetic experience plays in moral reformation. I argue that beauty plays two roles in Plato’s general theory of moral progress: (1) Some experiences of beauty via art can be used in moral training; that is, these experiences can be used to promote the kind of training that Plato suggests should take place during the beginning stages of education in the Republic. This is an affective kind of training, whereby a person learns to feel appropriately toward appropriate things. Experiences of beauty via art have the capacity to influence a person’s character, and they can, in turn, help give rise to appropriate behavior. (2) An erotic experience of a beautiful person, as it is described in the Symposium and Phaedrus, is a more profound sort of experience. This kind of experience can be distinguished from (1) in that it adds a higher kind of cognitive component which is lacking in (1). In (1), cognition is involved (cognition is involved in all affection), but only as perception-based thought, which merely has access to appearances. Some erotic experiences of beautiful people, on the other hand, provide an insight into the nature of true value and a certain kind of vision. They lead to the knowledge of true Beauty and illuminate the value of the life lived by the lover of wisdom. Therefore, erotic experiences of beautiful people promote increased moral understanding as opposed to affective training.
Dryland Climatology: The Mediterranean lands

Overview and general geography Strictly speaking, the Mediterranean lands are those bordering the Mediterranean Sea separating Africa and Europe (Fig. 17.1). This includes southern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa north of the Sahara. The essence of a “Mediterranean-type climate” is one with mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers. This description best fits regions near the Mediterranean Sea, semi-arid steppes with mean annual rainfall on the order of 100–350 mm. Further south and east are true deserts, where only slight to moderate rains occur during the cool season. The demarcation between desert and semi-arid steppe is roughly 70–100 mm, the lower threshold for rainfed vegetation. The largest are the Saharan, Arabian and the Negev deserts. In these deserts winters can become quite cold and summers are dry but can be unbearably hot. This chapter considers all of the arid and semi-arid portions of the Mediterranean countries, as far south as the southern limit of the winter rainfall regime. For the sake of convenience, the summer rainfall region of the southern Arabian Peninsula is also included here. The Mediterranean of southern Europe is predominantly subhumid and is hence omitted. The information and data in this chapter come primarily from the Meteorological Office (1962), Dubief (1963), LeHouerou (1986), Orshan (1986), and Takahashi and Arakawa (1981). Littman and Berkowicz (2008) also provide an excellent review.
Design and tuning of importance-based fuzzy logic controller for a flexible-link manipulator

Fuzzy logic control presents a computationally efficient and robust alternative to conventional controllers for many systems. This paper presents a distributed fuzzy logic controller (FLC) structure for a flexible-link manipulator based on evaluating the importance degrees of the output variables of the system. The two velocity variables, which have higher importance degrees, are grouped together as the inputs of the Velocity FLC. The two displacement variables, which have lower importance degrees, are used as the inputs of the Displacement FLC. The outputs of those two FLCs are summed up to control the joint of the flexible link. The fuzzy rules of the distributed importance-based FLCs are written based on the expert knowledge, and the parameters of the membership functions of the two FLCs are tuned using nonlinear programming. The distributed importance-based FLC structure is further compared with two other commonly used structures: a Linear Quadratic Regulator and a distributed PD-like FLC. The robustness of the three controllers are tested and compared under various conditions.
Modeling of parasitic phenomena in trench technology

The paper describes SPICE modeling of a substrate PNP transistor in a bipolar technology that makes use of trench isolation. This parasitic transistor gives rise to a significant increase of the collector current in measured output characteristics at about Vce=−2V. Measured Gummel plots also showed non-standard behavior at Vce > −2V. A physical basis of the electrical behavior was determined and captured by a SPICE macro model.
A contactless detector for tremors

This paper presents a contactless method to sense rest tremors of hands using a magnetic induction sensor. This tool can quantitatively document tremor motion characteristics of patients for diagnosis of essential tremors or early Parkinson's disease. The tremor signals can be analyzed in the time, frequency and time-frequency domains. Interferences from voluntary movements between 0 and 2 Hz were separated from the original signals. Various pathological frequency bands were segmented according to the clinical features of the tremors. Signal energies of the pathological frequency segments could be used for identifying tremor symptoms quantitatively.
Novel Transporters for Enzyme Replacement Therapy (LB148)

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are inherited metabolic diseases caused by a deficiency in degradative enzymes that reside in lysosomes. A few of these disorders can be treated by enzyme replacement th...
Conformational Variability of Solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Structures

In structure determination by X-ray crystallography and solution NMR spectroscopy, experimental data are collected as time and ensemble-averages. Thus, in principle, appropriate time and ensemble-averaged models should be used. Refinement of an ensemble of conformers rather than one single structure against the experimental NMR data could, however, result in overfitting the data because of the significantly increased number of parameters. To avoid overfitting, complete cross-validation, which provides an unbiased measure of the fit, has been applied to nuclear Overhauser effect derived distance refinement. Using two synthetic test cases, a correlation was demonstrated between the cross-validated measure to the fit (defined in terms of root-mean-square deviations from the distance restraints and number of violations) and the number of models that best reproduce the conformational variability in solution. A new method, based on a probability map, has been used to generate good representations of the resulting ensembles of structures. The method has also been applied to observed NMR data for two proteins, interleukin 4 and interleukin 8. For interleukin 4, cross-validation indicates that a single-conformer model gives the most accurate representation of the structure, whereas conventional measures of fit between the experimental data and those calculated from the model decrease when increasing the number of conformers, indicating overfitting. For interleukin 8, complete cross-validation predicts a twin-conformer model to be the most faithful representation of the experimental data. Two distinct conformations for the loop formed by residues 16 to 22 emerge from the family of twin-conformer structures. The putative alternate conformation of the loop is not observed in the crystal structure of interleukin 8. However, because of crystal packing contacts in this region this does not necessarily exclude the presence of the alternate conformation in solution. The twin-conformer model is supported by observed chemical exchange line broadening for the amide of His 18 obtained by15N relaxation studies. This region has also been implied to be involved in receptor binding.f2
Production-inventory systems in stochastic environment and stochastic lead times

We consider a production-inventory system where the production and demand rates are modulated by a finite state Continuous Time Markov Chain (CTMC). When the inventory position (inventory on hand --- backorders+inventory on order) falls to a reorder point r, we place an order of size q from an external supplier. We consider the case of stochastic leadtimes, where the leadtimes are i.i.d. exponential(μ) random variables, and orders may or may not be allowed to cross. We derive the distribution of the inventory level, and analyze the long run holding, backlogging, and ordering cost rate per unit time. We use simulation to study the sensitivity of the system to the distribution of the lead times.
Interplay of IscA and IscU in biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters

Increasing evidence suggests that sulfur in ubiquitous iron-sulfur clusters is derived from L-cysteine via cysteine desulfurases. In Escherichia coli, the major cysteine desulfurase activity for biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters has been attributed to IscS. The gene that encodes IscS is a member of an operon iscSUA, which also encodes two highly conserved proteins: IscU and IscA. Previous studies suggested that both IscU and IscA may act as the iron-sulfur cluster assembly scaffold proteins. However, recent evidence indicated that IscA is an iron-binding protein that can provide iron for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly in IscU (Ding, H., Harrison, K., and Lu, J. (2005) J. Biol. Chem. 280, 30432-30437). To further elucidate the function of IscA in biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters, we evaluate the iron-sulfur cluster binding activity of IscA and IscU under physiologically relevant conditions. When equal amounts of IscA and IscU are incubated with an equivalent amount of ferrous iron in the presence of IscS, L-cysteine and dithiothreitol, iron-sulfur clusters are assembled in IscU, but not in IscA, suggesting that IscU is a preferred iron-sulfur cluster assembly scaffold protein. In contrast, when equal amounts of IscA and IscU are incubated with an equivalent amount of ferrous iron in the presence of IscS and dithiothreitol but without L-cysteine, nearly all iron is bound to IscA. The iron binding in IscA appears to prevent the formation of the biologically inaccessible ferric hydroxide under aerobic conditions. Subsequent addition of L-cysteine efficiently mobilizes the iron center in IscA and transfers the iron for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly in IscU. The results suggest an intriguing interplay between IscA and IscU in which IscA acts as an iron chaperon that recruits "free" iron and delivers the iron for biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters in IscU under aerobic conditions.
The Sustained Attention Test: A Measure of Attentional Disturbance

Abstract The Sustained Attention Test is a vigilance task designed to assess the ability of individuals with schizophrenia to sustain attention to visual stimuli. The task requires the subject to attend to two vertically adjacent squares on a computer monitor. Each square changes color at random intervals. The subject's task is to respond when the two adjacent squares become the same color. The resulting data provide a straightforward assessment of sustained attention, and are not confounded by processes such as perceptual organization, working memory, or context processing, which are required by many other vigilance tasks. The Sustained Attention Test had high test–retest reliability in a sample of chronic schizophrenia patients. In addition, test indices were strongly correlated with Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test indices of immediate memory span and total learning, and with learning and skill acquisition in a social skills training group. The Sustained Attention Test may be a useful tool for screening schizophrenia patients to determine who may be best able to attend to and learn new information in psychosocial treatments.
Role of protein synthesis and ninhydrin‐positive substances in acclimation of Paramecium tetraurelia to high NaCl

Paramecium tetraurelia, stock 51s, will not survive if shifted from normal medium to medium with 80–100 mM NaCl. But, if first kept in medium with 50 mM NaCl for at least 45–60 min, cells survive in medium with 80–100 mM NaCl. After shifting to medium with 50 mM NaCl, cells increase internal levels of ninhydrin-positive substances (NPS) for the first 30 min, then decrease them again over the next 90 min. Total internal osmolarity probably remains constant over this 90 min since contractile vacuole output is constant. Treatment with the protein synthesis inhibitor G418 (geneticin) prevents acclimation in cells in 50 mM NaCl, but does not prevent the changes in NPS levels. Thus NPS are not sufficient to account for acclimation, nor is there evidence that they are required.
Post-release survival of surf scoters following an oil spill: an experimental approach to evaluating rehabilitation success.

Abstract Birds are often the most numerous vertebrates damaged and rehabilitated in marine oil spills; however, the efficacy of avian rehabilitation is frequently debated and rarely examined experimentally. We compared survival of three radio-marked treatment groups, oiled, rehabilitated (ORHB), un-oiled, rehabilitated (RHB), and un-oiled, non-rehabilitated (CON), in an experimental approach to examine post-release survival of surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) following the 2007 M/V Cosco Busan spill in San Francisco Bay. Live encounter-dead recovery modeling indicated that survival differed among treatment groups and over time since release. The survival estimate (±SE) for ORHB was 0.143 ± 0.107 compared to CON (0.498 ± 0.168) and RHB groups (0.772 ± 0.229), suggesting scoters tolerated the rehabilitation process itself well, but oiling resulted in markedly lower survival. Future efforts to understand the physiological effects of oil type and severity on scoters are needed to improve post-release survival of this species.
Differentiating mild and recovered stutterers from nonstutterers

In the present study, a diagnostic battery that included an interview scale (the Ease of Speech Production Scale, or ESPS) and two experimental perturbation tasks (a tongue twister task and a timed story construction task) was administered to 20 control speakers and 18 mild or recovered adults who stutter. The primary purpose of the study was to determine if this battery was successful at discriminating the mild and recovered adults who stutter from the control cases in this sample. Results indicated that the total score from the ESPS scale in combination with one of the perturbation task variables (off-target responses in a tongue twister task) was the best predictor of group membership in a preliminary predictive discriminant analysis, accurately classifying 94% of the persons who stutter and 95% of the control speakers. The ESPS total score, by itself, was almost as effective as the two-variable (best-fitting) model, accurately classifying 89% of the adults who stutter and 90% of the control cases. These findings suggest that a carefully constructed diagnostic interview has the potential to accurately discriminate mild and recovered stutterers who present few or no overt dysfluencies from nonstuttering control subjects. The ability to classify mild and recovered stutterers is particularly important for genetic and epidemiological research because these studies require the ability to assess the lifetime status of a large number of individuals, many of whom have recovered with or without formal treatment.
Studies on protein multimers. V. Further characterization of beta-galactosidase self-association behavior with observations on apparent specific volume.

β-Galactosidase from E. coli dissociates readily in commonly used buffer systems except at pH values close to the isoelectric point. Dissociation of the tetramer to the monomer does not result, per se, in a substantial change in the value of the apparent specific volume. In contrast, dissociation of very dilute protein solutions such as those produced at the meniscus in high speed sedimentation equilibrium runs, or dissociation of protein at low ionic strength, does lead to monomeric forms with a lower apparent specific volume. The ϕ2value of the monomer formed in 90% glycerol changes markedly on transfer from aqueous buffer to 99.8% D2O. The dissociation of the tetrameric form of β-galactosidase in aqueous buffer is minimized by 99.8% D2O.
Hyperplane initialized local search for MAXSAT

By converting the MAXSAT problem to Walsh polynomials, we can efficiently and exactly compute the hyperplane averages of fixed order k. We use this fact to construct initial solutions based on variable configurations that maximize the sampling of hyperplanes with good average evaluations. The Walsh coefficients can also be used to implement a constant time neighborhood update which is integral to a fast next descent local search for MAXSAT (and for all bounded pseudo-Boolean optimization problems.) We evaluate the effect of initializing local search with hyperplane averages on both the first local optima found by the search and the final solutions found after a fixed number of bit flips. Hyperplane initialization not only provides better evaluations, but also finds local optima closer to the globally optimal solution in fewer bit flips than search initialized with random solutions. A next descent search initialized with hyperplane averages is able to outperform several state-of-the art stochastic local search algorithms on both random and industrial instances of MAXSAT.
A new approach to inhomogeneous cosmologies: Intrinsic symmetries. II. Conformally flat slices and an invariant classification

We continue our analysis of space–times with intrinsic symmetries, by specializing to the case where the matter moves orthogonally to a family of conformally flat hypersurfaces. In so doing, we obtain a characterization of the Szekeres inhomogeneous cosmological models as being those (perfect fluid) solutions of Einstein’s equations with conformally flat comoving slices whose second fundamental form and Ricci tensor possess two equal eigenvalues. An invariant characterization of these models is thereby obtained, and they are then classified in an invariant way.
Olfactory coding by Lepidopterous larvae

Extracellular electrophysiological recording from olfactory receptors in the antennae of tobacco hornworm larvae (Manduca sexta (Johan.)) has revealed that cells respond differentially to different odors by changing latency, rate of increase of frequency of firing, rate of adaptation, and alternation of frequency increase and decrease. The resulting temporal patterns of spike activity could function as a code to allow for discrimination among various plant odors. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG OLFAKTORISCHE CODIERUNG BEI RAUPEN Extrazellulare elektrophysiologische Erregungsableitungen von Geruchsrezeptoren in den Antennen von Tabakschwarmer-Raupen (Manduca sexta (Johan.)) ergaben, das die Zellen auf verschiedene Duftstoffe unterschiedlich mit Anderung der Latenzzeit, der Zunahmerate der Erregungsfrequenz, der Anpassungsrate sowie der Anderung der Frequenz-Zunahme und -Abnahme reagieren. Die sich daraus ergebenden Zeitmuster der Spike-Aktivitat konnten als Code dienen und so die Unterscheidung zwischen verschiedenen Pflanzenduften ermoglichen.
Future prospects for oncolytic therapy

Viruses have been engineered to replicate selectively in cancer cells, based on a number of innovative principles. Several of these viruses have entered clinical trials and have proven relatively safe, and have shown evidence of efficacy. However, further research is required to enable these agents to function systemically. This might involve attempts to suppress immune responses to virus antigens, and re-targeting of viruses to favor tumor infection and increased potency. When these barriers are overcome, oncolytic viruses could enter the mainstream of clinical oncology.
Latino Political Connectedness and Electoral Participation

This study examines the political attitudinal profile of Latinos in the contemporary United States and the implications of Latinos' political connectedness for their electoral participation. Relying on data from The Washington Post/Henry J. Kaiser Foundation/Harvard University National Survey on Latinos in America (1999), it considers Latinos' levels of efficacy, trust in government, civic duty, attention to politics, and strength of partisanship and whether these differ from those of Anglos. The study also assesses what factors structure these political attitudes and the impact of these attitudes on voter registration and turnout among the registered. Controlling for social location and circumstances, Latinos are distinctive in their political attitudinal profile. Hispanic Americans are more trusting of the federal government and more externally efficacious than are Anglos but also are associated with lower levels of internal efficacy and civic duty and pay less attention to politics. Attachment to a pol...
Modified electrodes for electrochemical detection in flowing streams

Abstract Chemically modified electrodes exhibit unique behavior which can greatly benefit electrochemical detection in flowing streams. A review of the development and applications of modified electrodes in flow analysis is presented. Detailed discussions are given for different surface-modification strategies employed in flow analysis. Special attention is paid to electrocatalytic surfaces that allow the use of lower operating potentials, permselective coatings that offer controlled access at the detector surface or the incorporation of biological entities that specifically recognize the analyte. Future prospects are examined.
On the smooth transfer conjecture of Jacquet–Rallis for n =3

We obtain a relative Shalika germ expansion of orbital integrals appeared in the relative trace formulae Jacquet–Rallis when n=3. This is the first example where there are infinitely many nilpotent orbits. As an application we can prove the smooth transfer conjecture of Jacquet–Rallis for n=3.
Determination of Glomerular Filtration Rate in Juvenile Kemp's Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) Using Iohexol Clearance, with Preliminary Comparison of Clinically Healthy Turtles vs. Those with Renal Disease

Abstract Glomerular filtration rates (GFR) were determined with the use of iohexol clearance testing for 17 clinically healthy, captive, juvenile Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) and three Kemp's ridley turtles with histopathologically confirmed renal disease. Iohexol was administered intravenously at 75 mg/kg, and blood was collected 4, 8, and 24 h after injection. Plasma iohexol concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, and GFR was calculated. Iohexol clearance rates for healthy turtles were 9–17.4 ml/kg/h (mean: 12.6, median: 13.2, standard deviation: 2.17), and those for renal disease turtles were 10.2, 3.0, and 9.2 ml/kg/h, respectively. Administration of intravenous iohexol to Kemp's ridley turtles appeared to be safe, as no adverse effects were detected. This study provides the first data for iohexol clearance in a chelonian species, and the first GFR data for Kemp's ridley turtles. Although the data are limited, this study suggests that iohexol clearance ...
Comparing Different NIRS Devices and their Sensors for Monitoring Regional Cerebral Oxygen Saturation in Neonates

Top of pageAbstract Background and aim: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-monitored regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) in neonates has been increasingly used to assess cerebral oxygen delivery and extraction. Consequently neonatal sensors were designed with their own algoritms to separate the signals of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin. However,published reference values are mostly based on studies using adult (conventional) sensors with different algoritms. To compare rScO2 values between the conventional NIRS-sensors of 3 different brands and those especially designed for use on the neonatal head. Methods: 56 neonates admitted to our NICU were included. rScO2‘s were measured left and right fronto-parietally with a conventional and neonatal sensor on each side for at least one hour. Then the sensors were switched to the opposite side and measurements were continued for at least another hour. Results: We found a significant correlation between conventional and neonatal sensors (p< 0.01-p< 0.001). However, Bland-Altman analysis showed a consistent difference between sensors from 8-to-13%, showing higher values obtained with the neonatal sensors. Conclusions: Although a good correlation between conventional and neonatal NIRS sensors was detected, reference values should be re-established when using newly designed neonatal sensors. Moreover rScO2 values in the higher range measured with neonatal sensors appeared to be less reliable which may be a problem in case of hyperoxia, which is in particular a problem in the extremely preterm neonate whose brain is prone for hyperoxic-induced brain damage.
Thermal treatment effects in SiC/Al metal matrix composites

A short-fibre-reinforced SiC/Al-7% Si-0.6% Mg composite has been subjected to thermal cycling and elevated temperature isothermal exposure treatments. The microstructure and residual mechanical properties have been determined as a function of these treatments. It was found that isothermal or cycling treatment at 350 °C caused severe room-temperature strength degradation while treatment at 525 °C caused little change. Strength changes are attributed principally to precipitation and dissolution effects and to transfer of magnesium from the matrix into the fibre/matrix interfacial reaction layer. There was no evidence of mechanical damage resulting from the cycling treatments.