cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biological Behavior of Canine Acanthomatous Ameloblastoma Assessed With Computed Tomography and Histopathology: A Comparative Study:

Canine acanthomatous ameloblastoma (CAA) appears to have variable biological behavior with some tumors presenting with slow growth and minimal bone loss while others grow rapidly and cause severe cancellous and cortical bone destruction. The primary aim of the study is to elucidate if variations (grades) of CAA can be identified based on both histological and diagnostic imaging indices, and to compare markers of more aggressive behavior between these 2 commonly used diagnostic tools. This study evaluated 45 cases of CAA and confirmed that there is high degree of variability in tumor invasiveness as measured with computed tomography, with predominantly intraosseous tumors being significantly associated with more invasive behavior. However, the analysis also identified that there was very little correlation between computed tomographic and histological appearance of the tumor. CAA tends to have a highly uniform and predictable histological pattern, with tumors that aggressively invade bone (as seen on CT) not showing features of atypia that might be helpful in predicting the biological behavior of the neoplastic cells. Thus, reliance on diagnostic imaging as a measure of biological behavior is recommended for treatment planning as well as possible creation of a variant/grading scheme. Prospective studies are required to evaluate if differing variants of CAA as based on diagnostic imaging should be treated differently, and how this would affect long term clinical outcome.
Periodic and Intermittent Fasting in Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of death globally. Nutrition plays a central role in CVD risk by affecting aging, adiposity, glycemia, blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, and other risk factors and can affect CVD risk not only based on calorie intake and dietary composition but also the timing and range of meals. This review evaluates the effects of fasting, fasting-mimicking diets, and time-restricted eating on the reduction of CVD risk factors and provides initial data on their potential to serve as CVD prevention and treatment therapies. Intermittent fasting (IF), time-restricted eating (TRE), prolonged fasting (PF), and fasting-mimicking diets (FMD) show promise in the reduction of CVD risk factors. Results on IF, TRE, PF, and FMD on CVD risk factors are significant and often independent of weight loss, yet long-term studies on their effect on CVD are still lacking. Coupling periodic and prolonged, or intermittent and more frequent cycles of fasting or fasting-mimicking diets, designed to maximize compliance and minimize side effects, has the potential to play a central role in the prevention and treatment of CVD and metabolic syndrome.
Who is Afro-Chilean? Authenticity struggles and boundary making in Chile’s northern borderland

Research on Afrodescendant ethnic renewal in Latin America has mostly focused on how identities become politicized as Afrodescendants demand legal recognition, affirmative action policies and multi...
Novel Algorithms for Lp-Quasi-Norm Principal-Component Analysis

We consider outlier-resistant Lp-quasi-norm (p ≤ 1) Principal-Component Analysis (Lp-PCA) of a D-by-N matrix. It was recently shown that Lp-PCA (p ≤ 1) admits an exact solution by means of combinatorial optimization with computational cost exponential in N. To date, apart from the exact solution to Lp-PCA (p ≤ 1), there exists no converging algorithm of lower cost that approximates its exact solution. In this work, we (i) propose a novel and converging algorithm that approximates the exact solution to Lp-PCA with significantly lower computational cost than that of the exact solver, (ii) conduct formal complexity and convergence analyses, and (iii) propose a multi-component solver based on subspace-deflation. Numerical studies on matrix reconstruction and medical-data classification illustrate the outlier resistance of Lp-PCA.
The power of shareholder votes: Evidence from uncontested director elections

Abstract This paper asks whether dissent votes in uncontested director elections have consequences for directors. We show that contrary to popular belief based on prior studies, shareholder votes have power and result in negative consequences for directors. Directors facing dissent are more likely to depart boards, especially if they are not lead directors or chairs of important committees. Directors facing dissent who do not leave are moved to less prominent positions on boards. Finally, we find evidence that directors facing dissent face reduced opportunities in the market for directors. We also find that the effects of dissent votes go beyond those of proxy advisor recommendations.
BLOOD QUANTUM IN SCOTT MOMADAY’S THE NAMES

The semiotics of blood quantum in Scott Momaday’s memoir, The Names, is interpreted regarding its role as a signifier of American Indian survival and resistance in the context of his introspective concept of mythopoetic blood memory. Article visualizations:
In vivo studies of the role of SecA during protein export in Escherichia coli.

SecA is found in Escherichia coli both tightly associated with the cytoplasmic membrane where it functions as a translocation ATPase during protein export and free in the cytosol (R. J. Cabelli, K. M. Dolan, L. Qian, and D. B. Oliver, J. Biol. Chem. 266:24420-24427, 1991; D. B. Oliver and J. Beckwith, Cell 30:311-319, 1982; W. Wickner, A. J. M. Driessen, and F.-U. Hartl, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 60:101-124, 1991). Here we show that SecA can be immunoprecipitated from the cytosol in complex with both fully elongated and nascent species of the precursor of maltose-binding protein, an exported, periplasmic protein. In addition, under conditions in which the distribution of SecA between the cytosolic and membrane-bound states changes from that normally observed, the distribution of precursor maltose-binding protein changes in parallel. These results support the idea that cytosolic SecA plays a role in export. With the aim of determining the roles of the multiple binding sites for ATP on SecA, we compared the export defect in a culture of E. coli expressing a temperature-sensitive allele of secA with the defect in a culture treated with sodium azide. The results indicate that the mutational change and treatment with sodium azide inhibit export by affecting different steps in the cycle of ATP binding and hydrolysis by SecA. Images
Cell Size Control

Growth in biological systems is defined as the accumulation of mass, which leads to an increase in size. In this article, we discuss how cells, organs, and organisms normally control growth, and how deregulated growth can lead to a variety of pathological conditions. Keywords: growth; protein synthesis; TOR; growth factors; growth hormone; hypertrophy
Comparative genomics with maize and other grasses: from genes to genomes!

Of all the major plant groups, the grasses, with the complete genomes of five species, are the best positioned to take advantage of comparative genomics to obtain insight into functional genetic elements. Of all the grasses, maize is the best characterized in terms of genetics, development, and evolution. We provide several examples of how the web-based comparative genomics system CoGe may be used to aid in the interpretation of the maize genome sequence. These examples include verifying gene models, identifying differences between genome assemblies, identifying conserved non-coding sequences, identifying syntenic regions between species and polyploidies, and identifying homeologs within maize and orthologs between maize and other grass genomes. In addition, a comprehensive list of orthologous gene sets is provided between maize and Sorghum, foxtail millet, rice, and Brachypodium.
Statistical inference in behavior analysis: Useful friend

Single-subject and statistical inference are virtually identical. With both techniques change is inferred when variability across conditions is sufficiently large to accommodate variability within conditions, replication is the final arbiter of whether change is likely to occur by chance, a large effect size is preferred to a small consistent difference, there are similar threats to internal validity, and generalizability of results is valued. Knowing how to use statistical inferential procedures would make behavior analysts more methodologically sophisticated. It would also help them to critically evaluate research in other areas of psychology, obtain research grants, and publish their research in diverse outlets, which would help others to see behavior-analytic work.
Buoyant Density Studies on Natural and Synthetic Deoxyribonucleic Acids in Neutral and Alkaline Solutions

Abstract Equilibrium buoyant density centrifugation studies in CsCl and Cs2SO4 solutions (both neutral and alkaline) were performed on 11 DNA polymers and 12 naturally occurring DNA's. For the polymers, no apparent relationship exists between DNA nucleotide composition and the extent of density change on alkaline titration. Thus it is not possible to predict the nucleotide composition of a natural single-stranded DNA from its shift in buoyant density. Large decreases in buoyant density were found on alkaline titration of some DNA polymers in Cs2SO4 solution. Also, natural DNA's show a net density decrement due to alkaline titration. Contrastingly, in CsCl solutions, only buoyant density increases were observed.
Inhibitors of chemical carcinogenesis.

Publisher Summary Chemical carcinogens play a very significant role in the etiology of cancer in man. This chapter describes a number of compounds that have the capacity to inhibit the neoplastic effects of chemical carcinogens when administered either prior to exposure to the carcinogen or at the same time. The carcinogens have a common reactive form—namely, a positively charged electrophilic species that binds to macromolecules. Most of the inhibitors are synthetic compounds and exhibit great diversity of chemical structures. The chapter emphasizes on two groups of inhibitors that have relatively low toxicity. The first group includes antioxidants and some related compounds. These were initially selected for investigation because of the possibility that they can have a scavenging effect on reactive carcinogenic species. This group of inhibitors exerts an inhibitory effect when administered shortly before the carcinogen around 2-4 hours. The second group includes compounds that have as a common property the capacity to alter the activity of the microsomal mixed-function oxidase system. Most of these compounds induce an increase in mixed function oxidase activity and have a maximum effectiveness when administered 24 -48 hours prior to challenge by the carcinogen. The chapter also discusses test systems used for studying the inhibitors of chemical carcinogenesis and outlines their mechanism of action.
Models for Volcanic Processes in Long Valley California: Testing by Continental Drilling

The occurrence of a local magnitude ML = 5. 8 earthquake on the Wheeler Crest fault on 4 October 1978 (Fig. 1) signaled the onset of significant seismic activity in the Long Valley, California, volcanic region.
Phosphorylation of Xenopus cyclins B1 and B2 is not required for cell cycle transitions.

Abstract The cdc2 kinase and B-type cyclins are known to be components of maturation- or M-phase-promoting factor (MPF). Phosphorylation of cyclin B has been reported previously and may regulate entry into and exit from mitosis and meiosis. To investigate the role of cyclin B phosphorylation, we replaced putative cdc2 kinase phosphorylation sites in Xenopus cyclins B1 and B2 by using oligonucleotide site-directed mutagenesis. We found that Ser-90 of cyclin B2 and Ser-94 or Ser-96 of cyclin B1 are the main phosphorylation sites both in functional Xenopus egg extracts and after phosphorylation with purified MPF in vitro. Microtubule-associated protein (MAP) kinase from Xenopus eggs phosphorylated cyclin B1 significantly at Ser-94 or Ser-96, whereas it was largely inactive against cyclin B2. The substitutions that ablated phosphorylation at these sites, however, resulted in no functional differences between mutant and wild-type cyclin, as judged by the kinetics of M-phase degradation, induction of mitosis in egg extracts, or induction of oocyte maturation. These results indicate that the phosphorylation of Xenopus B-type cyclins by cdc2 kinase or MAP kinase is not required for the hallmark functions of cyclin.
Factor Analysis of Multiple Measures of Hand Use in Captive Chimpanzees: An Alternative Approach to the Assessment of Handedness in Nonhuman Primates

We tested whether chimpanzee handedness could be characterized as either unidimensional or multidimensional when considered across multiple measures of hand use. We determined for each of 6 different tasks in a sample of 105 captive chimpanzees hand preferences, and subjected the individual hand preference scores to a factor analysis. Five of the 6 tasks loaded on two separate factors that accounted for 54% of the variance. To assess population-level handedness, we calculated handedness indices for the loadings on each factor, for the item loadings across all factors, and for all tasks including ones that did not load on any factor. There is significant population-level right handedness for all 4 indices, which suggests that chimpanzee handedness is multidimensional and not task specific.
A probabilistic approach to distributed clock synchronization

A probabilistic method is proposed for reading remote clocks in distributed systems subject to unbounded random communication delays. The method can achieve clock synchronization precisions superior to those attainable by previously published clock synchronization algorithms. The method can be used to improve the precision of both internal and external synchronization algorithms. The approach is probabilistic because it does not guarantee that a processor can always read a remote clock with an a priori specified precision; however, by retrying a sufficient number of times, a process can read the clock of another process with a given precision with a probability as close to one as desired. An important characteristic of the method is that, when a process succeeds in reading a remote clock, it knows the actual reading precision achieved. The use of the remote clock reading methods is illustrated by presenting a time service which maintains externally (and, hence, internally) synchronized clocks in the presence of process, communication, and clock failures. >
Eye movement patterns in REM sleep

Abstract Eye movements in 6 healthy men and women were studied for recurrent patterns during REM sleep. The REM periods of noctural polysomnograms, on 2 consecutive nights, were analyzed in each subject. A discrete scale from 1 to 8 was used to record each eye position. The total number of recorded eye positions for the 2 nights of testing varied from 1314 to 3006. The distributions of eye movement were similar for males and females, for both nights of testing for each subject, among individual REM periods, and between subjects. This was in spite of marked differences in the number and length of REM period, and in the number of eye movements per minute of REM sleep. In 5 of 6 subjects there was a marked tendency for the eyes to move between the 2 opposite lateral positions. Regardless of the eye position, the opposite movement was generally most likely, with an underlying tendency to return to the most opposite of the two lateral positions. In the remaining subject the opposite movement was also favored, but in this subject eye movements were more likely to be vertical rather than horizontal. Our data suggest that eye movements in REM sleep are organized in complex recurring patterns, with marked similarities between subjects. The significance of these patterns and the significance of deviations from these patterns require further study.
Leukemia-associated antigen-specific T-cell responses following combined PR1 and WT1 peptide vaccination in patients with myeloid malignancies.

We describe the safety and immunogenicity of a combined vaccine of 2 leukemia-associated antigenic peptides, PR1 and WT1. Eight patients with myeloid malignancies received one subcutaneous dose each of PR1 and WT1 vaccines in Montanide adjuvant, with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Patients were reviewed weekly for 4 weeks to monitor toxicity and immunologic responses. Toxicity was limited to grades 1 to 2. Using peptide/HLA-A*0201 tetramers and intracellular interferon-γ staining, CD8+ T cells against PR1 or WT1 were detected in 8 of 8 patients after a single vaccination. To monitor the kinetics of vaccine-induced CD8+ T-cell responses and disease regression after vaccination, absolute PR1 and WT1+CD8+ T-cell numbers and WT1 expression were studied weekly after vaccination. Responses occurred as early as 1 week after vaccination. After vaccination, the emergence of PR1 or WT1+CD8+ T cells was associated with a decrease in WT1 mRNA expression as a marker of minimal residual disease, suggesting a vaccine-driven antileukemia effect. Conversely, loss of response was associated with reappearance of WT1 transcripts (P < .01). This is the first demonstration that a combined PR1 and WT1 vaccine is immunogenic. These results support further studies of combination immunization strategies in leukemia patients. This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00313638.
Arabian Sea Cooling: A Preliminary Heat Budget

Abstract To assess the importance of possible feedbacks between ocean and atmosphere in the Arabian Sea, we computed a preliminary heat budget for the upper ocean layer. The observed total heat loss during the Southwest Monsoon between April and August is essentially balanced by three phenomena: positive heat gain from the atmosphere, negative northward heat flux across the equator, and heat loss due to upwelling along the coasts of East Africa and Arabia. Upwelling constitutes the dominant factor and the question is discussed as to which processes replenish the cold upwelled water on a seasonal time scale. The average annual heating rate above and beyond seasonal fluctuations is found to be 24 W m−2. This net heat input must be compensated by ocean currents. The manner in which the ocean accomplishes this remains to be clarified.
The Enkephalin System in the Rat Anterior Pituitary:Regulation by Gonadal Steroid Hormones and Psychotropic Drugs

The regulation of pituitary enkephalin system by gonadal steroid hormones and psychotropic drugs was studied. A distinct sex-related difference of (Met5)- and (Leu5)- enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (ME-LI and LE-LI, respectively) was found in the anterior lobe but not in the neurointermediate lobe. Levels of ME-LI and LE-LI in the anterior pituitary of male rats were 4.8- and 6.2-fold as much as those of female rats, respectively. Estradiol administration caused a marked decrease of ME-LI and LE-LI only in the anterior lobe of male rats whereas dihydrotestosterone treatment significantly increased the level of ME-LI in the anterior lobe of female rats. Castration of male rats decreased both ME-LI and LE-LI only in the anterior lobe, and the diminished levels of both peptides were partially restored by the administration of dihydrotestosterone. On the other hand, ovariectomy caused a significant increase in both ME-LI and LE-LI in the anterior lobe of female rats, and this increase was completely prevent...
Physical, Social, and Perceived Availabilities of Alcohol and Last Month Alcohol Use in Rural and Small Urban Communities

This study seeks to provide a greater understanding of the factors that determine the perceived availability of alcohol and its role in predicting adolescents’ alcohol use. Participants were 151,703 7th–12th grade students (50% female) from a sample of 219 rural communities across the United States, with oversampling for predominantly Mexican-American and African-American communities. Multilevel analysis was used to estimate the perceived availability of alcohol as a function of physical and social availability measures and individual and community-level control variables. Physical availability was measured as the number of alcohol outlets in the community and whether beer and wine were sold in non-liquor stores. Social availability measured the availability of alcohol from social or family groups. Last month alcohol use was then estimated as a function of physical, social and perceived availabilities and control variables. Physical availability had little relationship to perceived availability or recent alcohol use while social availability was a strong predictor of both. Perceived availabilities at the individual and community levels were significant in predicting last month alcohol use. The findings suggest that altering both perceived and actual availability of alcohol can potentially have strong effects on the levels of adolescent alcohol use.
Comparison of the Newtonian and general relativistic orbits of a point mass in an inverse-square law force field.

Newtonian and general relativistic orbits of point mass in inverse square law force field, noting radar determination of spacecraft orbits
Automating Knowledge Acquisition and Refinement for Decision Support: A Connectionist Inductive Inference Model*

An important application of expert systems technology is to provide support for nonstructured decision making. Usually, nonstructured decision making is characterized by heavy reliance on heuristic knowledge, which is very difficult to articulate or document, and therefore traditional knowledge acquisition approaches are not very successful. The quality and effectiveness of an expert system supporting unstructured decision making is affected when traditional knowledge acquisition approaches are used. To alleviate this problem a model is proposed that combines inductive inference and neural network computing, and an example is presented that illustrates the potential of this model in unstructured decision support.
Fat oxidation in black and white youth: a metabolic phenotype potentially predisposing black girls to obesity.

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity is higher in Blacks with racial divergence in adiposity in girls starting during adolescence. Our hypothesis is that in Black children, puberty associated increase in fat oxidation is diminished and could play a role in predisposing to fat accretion triggered during puberty. Thus, we examined the relationships between race, pubertal development, and postabsorptive fat oxidation in youth. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional design of healthy Black (n = 50) and white (n = 51) youth. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) and substrate oxidation rate were measured after an overnight fast with indirect calorimetry. Body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results and Discussion: Within each race, RMR (kcal/kg fat free mass · min) was lower (puberty effect; P < 0.05) in the pubertal vs. prepubertal group independent of gender. In girls, RMR was lower (race effect; P < 0.05) in Blacks vs. whites. In girls but not boys, Blacks had lower (race e...
C pigment locus mutants of the fowl produce enzymatically inactive tyrosinase-like molecules.

Three albino mutants of the fowl were tested for tyrosinase activity. Two of these mutants (c and ca) are alleles at the autosomal C locus, while the third mutant (sal) is sex-linked. Both the standard type, E, and sal are tyrosinase positive whereas the two C mutants are tyrosinase negative. Anti-chicken tyrosinase mouse serum was produced and all four genotypes were found to have cross-reacting material to this antiserum. Tyrosinase from the standard type was isolated and its location on denaturing two-dimensional gels determined. A co-migrating series of spots was found within the protein pattern of both the standard type and the tyrosinase positive albino, sal. The same pattern of spots was also observed for c and ca with no apparent change in either the pI or the molecular weight. Transmembrane blots also showed spots that reacted with anti-tyrosinase serum in all four genotypes and that migrated to the same location as that of standard tyrosinase. It is proposed that both c and ca are CRM+ mutants which produce tyrosinase-like molecules that are inactive due to a change that is electrophoretically and antigenically “silent”.
TCT-824 Patent Hemostasis Rapid Deflation Technique to Reduce Radial Artery Occlusion

Achieving patent hemostasis after transradial catheterization is the most important factor in reducing radial artery occlusion (RAO) and is limited by larger sheaths and antithrombotic agents. We sought to evaluate a novel deflation technique to achieve patent hemostasis and reduce RAO. 115
Effect of hollow sphere size and size distribution on the quasi-static and high strain rate compressive properties of Al-A380–Al2O3 syntactic foams

Metal matrix syntactic foams are promising materials for energy absorption; however, few studies have examined the effects of hollow sphere dimensions and foam microstructure on the quasi-static and high strain rate properties of the resulting foam. Aluminum alloy A380 syntactic foams containing Al2O3 hollow spheres sorted by size and size range were synthesized by a sub-atmospheric pressure infiltration technique. The resulting samples were tested in compression at strain rates ranging from 10−3 s−1 using a conventional load frame to 1720 s−1 using a Split Hopkinson Pressure-bar test apparatus. It is shown that the quasi-static compressive stress–strain curves exhibit distinct deformation events corresponding to initial failure of the foam at the critical resolved shear stress and subsequent failures and densification events until the foam is deformed to full density. The peak strength, plateau strength, and toughness of the foam increases with increasing hollow sphere wall thickness to diameter (t/D) ratio. Since t/D was found to increase with decreasing hollow sphere diameter, the foams produced with smaller spheres showed improved performance. The compressive properties did not show measurable strain rate dependence.
Electroanalytical Applications of Pulse Polarography and Voltammetry

Some resent developments in the applications of pulse polarography and pulse voltammetry are discussed, with emphasis on techniques which avoid problems associated with the capacitative background current in pulse polarography.
Molecular Characterization of At5PTase1, an Inositol Phosphatase Capable of Terminating Inositol Trisphosphate Signaling

The inositol triphosphate (IP3)-signaling pathway has been associated with several developmental and physiological processes in plants, but we currently know little about the regulation of this pathway. Inositol 5′ phosphatases (5PTases) are enzymes that remove a 5′ phosphate from several potential second messengers, including IP3. In catalyzing the removal of a 5′ phosphate from second messenger substrates, 5PTases can act to terminate signal transduction events. We describe the molecular analysis of At5PTase1, a 5PTase gene from Arabidopsis. When expressed transiently in Arabidopsis leaf tissue or ectopically in transgenic plants, At5PTase1 allowed for the increased hydrolysis of I(1,4,5)P3 and I(1,3,4,5)P4 substrates. At5PTase1 did not hydrolyze I(1)P, I(1,4)P2, or PI(4,5)P2 substrates. This substrate specificity was similar to that of the human Type I 5PTase. We identified 14 other potential At5PTase genes and constructed an unrooted phylogenetic tree containing putative Arabidopsis, human, and yeast 5PTase proteins. This analysis indicated that the Arabidopsis 5PTases were grouped in two separate branches of the tree. The multiplicity of At5PTases indicates that these enzymes may have different substrate specificities and play different roles in signal termination in Arabidopsis.
A survey of intestinal helminths among children of different social communities in Madras, India

Abstract Approximately 500 children from five social communites in Madras, Tamilnadu, India were surveyed for intestinal helminth infection. The results of the survey indicated that the extent and degree of helminth infections vary significantly (p
Modeling the Tertiary Creep Damage Behavior of a Transversely-Isotropic Material Under Multiaxial and Periodic Loading Conditions

Despite the advent of single crystal turbine blades, the aerospace and industrial gas turbine industries have continued to use directionally-solidified turbine blades due to higher manufacturing yields. These transversely-isotropic turbine blades are subjected to high temperature multiaxial cyclic loading conditions which lead to complex creep strain histories. Few tensor-based constitutive models have been developed that accurately model creep-damage behavior. This paper describes an anisotropic tertiary creep damage model for transversely-isotropic materials. The model is a tensorial expansion of the Kachanov-Rabotnov isotropic creep damage formulation. The analytical techniques required to determine the associated material constants are derived and demonstrated. The model is shown to accurately model a directionally-solidified Ni-base superalloy. A parametric study under biaxial and hydrostatic loading is conducted and the resulting creep strain tensor is evaluated. A series of periodic loading simulations are conducted to examine the stress-strain behavior and damage evolution during ratcheting.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Properties of WNK1 and Implications for Other Family Members

WNKs are large serine/threonine protein kinases structurally distinct from all other members of the protein kinase superfamily. Of the four human WNK family members, WNK1 and WNK4 have been linked to a hereditary form of hypertension, pseudohypoaldosteronism type II. We characterized the biochemical properties and regulation of WNK1 that may contribute to its physiological activities and abnormal function in disease. We showed that WNK1 is activated by hypertonic stress in kidney epithelial cells and in breast and colon cancer cell lines. In addition, hypotonic stress also led to a modest increase in WNK1 activity. Gel filtration suggested that WNK1 exists as a tetramer, and yeast two-hybrid data showed that the N terminus of WNK1 (residues 1-222) interacts with residues 481-660, which includes the WNK1 autoinhibitory domain and a C-terminal coiled-coil domain. Although cell biological studies have suggested a functional interaction between WNK1 and WNK4, we found no evidence of stable interactions between these kinases. However, WNK1 phosphorylated both WNK4 and WNK2. In addition, the WNK1 autoinhibitory domain inhibited the catalytic activity of these WNKs. These findings suggest potential mechanisms for interconnected regulation of WNK family members.
Diagonal pivoting for partially reconstructible Cauchy-like matrices, with applications to Toeplitz-like linear equations and to boundary rational matrix interpolation problems

Abstract In an earlier paper we exploited the displacement structure of Cauchy-like matrices to derive for them a fast O ( n 2 ) implementation of Gaussian elimination with partial pivoting. One application is to the rapid and numerically accurate solution of linear systems with Toeplitz-like coefficient matrices, based on the fact that the latter can be transformed into Cauchy-like matrices by using the fast Fourier, sine, or cosine transform. However, symmetry is lost in the process, and the algorithm given is not optimal for Hermitian coefficient matrices. In this paper we present a new fast O ( n 2 ) implementation of symmetric Gaussian elimination with partial diagonal pivoting for Hermitian Cauchy-like matrices, and show how to transform Hermitian Toeplitz-like matrices to Hermitian Cauchy-like matrices, obtaining algorithms that are twice as fast as those in the earlier work. Numerical experiments indicate that in order to obtain not only fast but also numerically accurate methods, it is advantageous to explore the important case in which the corresponding displacement operators have nontrivial kernels; this situation gives rise to what we call partially reconstructible matrices, which are introduced and studied in the present paper. We extend the transformation technique and the generalized Schur algorithms (i.e., fast displacement-based implementations of Gaussian elimination) to partially reconstructible matrices. We show by a variety of computed examples that the incorporation of diagonal pivoting methods leads to high accuracy. We focused in this paper on the design of new numerically reliable algorithms for Hermitian Toeplitz-like matrices. However, the proposed algorithms have other important applications; in particular, we briefly describe how they recursively solve a boundary interpolation problem for J -unitary rational matrix functions.
Contributions of the Farm Bill on Fish and Wildlife

This issue of the Wildlife Society Bulletin contains 11 papers on the effects of United States Department of Agriculture Farm Bill programs on fish and wildlife habitat conservation. The conservation provisions of the Farm Bill were started in 1985 and have continued to grow and diversify to address a variety of conservation issues on private lands. Heard et al. (2000) and Haufler (2005) summarized information on Farm Bill wildlife benefits that has been documented in the
Effects of water temperature on mucous cell distribution in channel catfish epidermis: a factor in winter saprolegniasis

Abstract The influence of an acute drop in water temperature on channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) mucous cell distribution in the epidermis was examined. Channel catfish were subjected to a water temperature drop from 22 to 10° C in 24 h and sampled for histological examination of the epidermis at regular intervals. Three days after the drop in water temperature, there was a marked decrease in the number of mucous cells in the outermost (superficial) portion of the epidermis. The number of mucous cells returned to normal levels after fish were maintained at 10° C for 6 days. If catfish were subjected to the temperature drop and also challenged with Saprolegnia , mucous cells in the superficial epidermis did not recover to normal levels but continued to decline from day 3 until the fish subsequently died from saprolegniasis. These results may explain the dry skin appearance characteristic of catfish exhibiting winter saprolegniasis. Furthermore, since Saprolegnia cysts are normally shed in sloughed mucus, low temperature-induced mucus loss may explain how Saprolegnia cysts attach and infect catfish skin to result in disease. These results also reinforce the notion that an intact external mucus layer is the first line of defence against infectious disease in fish.
K-Ras mutant fraction in A/J mouse lung increases as a function of benzo[a]pyrene dose.

K-Ras mutant fraction (MF) was measured to examine the default assumption of low-dose linearity in the benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) mutational response. Groups of 10 male A/J mice (7- to 9-weeks old) received a single i.p. injection of 0, 0.05, 0.5, 5, or 50 mg/kg B[a]P and were sacrificed 28 days after treatment. K-Ras codon 12 TGT and GAT MFs in lung DNAs were measured using Allele-specific Competitive Blocker-PCR (ACB-PCR). The K-Ras codon 12 TGT geometric mean MF was 3.88 × 10−4 in controls, indicating an average of 1 mutation in every ∼1,288 lung cells. The K-Ras codon 12 TGT geometric mean MFs were as follows: 3.56 × 10−4; 6.19 × 10−4; 2.02 × 10−3, and 3.50 × 10−3 for the 0.05, 0.5, 5, and 50 mg/kg B[a]P treatment groups, respectively. The 5 and 50 mg/kg dose groups had TGT MFs significantly higher than did controls. Although 10−5 is considered as the limit of accurate ACB-PCR quantitation, K-Ras codon 12 GAT geometric mean MFs were as follows: 8.38 × 10−7, 1.47 × 10−6, 2.19 × 10−6, 5.71 × 10−6, and 8.99 × 10−6 for the 0, 0.05, 0.5, 5, and 50 mg/kg B[a]P treatment groups, respectively. The K-Ras TGT and GAT MFs increased in a B[a]P-dose-dependent manner, with response approximately linear over the 0.05 to 5 mg/kg dose range. K-Ras MF increased with B[a]P adduct burden measured for identical doses in a separate study. Thus, ACB-PCR may be useful in characterizing the shape of a dose-response curve at low doses and establishing relationships between DNA adducts and tumor-associated mutations. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 2010. Published 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy for complex oxide interfaces

Cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (XSTM) is developed for studying the interfaces of the complex oxide heterostructures. Since most of the complex oxide materials have a perovskite structure, which does not have cleavage plane, it posed an experimental challenge for utilizing STM on the fractured surfaces. A well-controlled method for fracturing non-cleavable materials was developed by using the common subtrate: Nb-doped SrTiO 3 (Nb:STO). Through systematically studies on the control of the fracturing conditions, on the tip-sample interactions and on the resulting fractured surfaces of Nb:STO, atomic flat terraces are routinely created and stable measurements are achieved. By harnessing the well-controlled fracturing method and the well-controlled tip conditions to a thin film system, La 2/3 Ca 1/3 MnO 3 /Nb:STO (LCMO/Nb:STO), XSTM as well as the ability of cross-sectional scanning tunneling spectroscopy (XSTS) directly revealed the band diagram mapping across the interface. The novel developed, well-controlled XSTM/S for the interfaces of complex oxide heterostructures opened a door for accurate determination of local electronic properties across and at the interface.
Phase distribution and associated mechanical property distribution in silicon carbide particle-reinforced aluminium fabricated by liquid metal infiltration

The reaction between silicon carbide and aluminium to form silicon and Al4C3 in SiC particle-reinforced aluminium fabricated by liquid aluminium infiltration was most severe near the original interface between liquid aluminium and the SiC preform. This resulted in the highest concentration of Al4C3 and the lowest concentrations of silicon and SiC in the part of the composite near this interface. In particular, the silicon concentration was highest in the bottom centre of the composite when infiltration occurred from the top, because silicon diffused toward the surrounding aluminium melt before solidification. These non-uniform phase distributions, as measured by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, did not cause any non-uniform shear strength distribution. However, excessive reaction between SiC and aluminium, as observed for an infiltration (=mould=liquid metal) temperature of 780° C, caused the tensile strength to decrease. In the case where a steel mould was used during infiltration at 780° C, iron-containing precipitates, such as ternary Al-Fe-Si, were observed in the part of the composite within 5 mm from the above-mentioned interface; their formation was related to the silicon out-diffusion in the form of liquid Al-Si; they caused the shear strength to be lower in this part of the composite; larger such precipitates (up to 100 μm) were observed in the excess aluminium adjacent to the cast composite. For pure aluminium as the infiltrating metal, the optimum infiltration temperature for the highest tensile strength was 700° C. An infiltration temperature of 670° C resulted in incomplete infiltration, which was more severe when a steel mould rather than a graphite mould was used because of the higher thermal conductivity of the former.
Rubidium in Psychiatry: Research Implications

A brief overview of the use of rubidium in affective disorders and schizophrenia is presented. Although antidepressant action of rubidium has not been supported by adequate number of controlled studies, its potential contribution to psychiatry warrants further investigations. Endogenous rubidium may be a useful research tool in the future psychopharmacological studies of affective disorders.
Incorporating SIMPLE REMINISCENCE TECHNIQUES Into Acute Care Nursing Practice

Under normal circumstances, individuals perceive the world around them in terms of overlapping--interacting past, present, and future time orientations. When individuals experience overwhelming stress, normal coping skills cease to be effective and this time orientation schema has a tendency to disorganize into its constituent spheres. The overlap and interaction of the spheres disappears. Individuals focus exclusively on the present sphere and lose the abilities to use coping skills which were successful in the past and to make reasonable projections about the future. Simple Reminiscence, an activity in which individuals look back at past experiences which they perceive as positive and meaningful, is one nursing intervention that RNs can use to help the client reclaim an effective past, present, future time orientation. Questioning the client about past experiences, effectively listening to what the client has to say, and using effectual time management skills are some techniques which RNs can use to incorporate Simple Reminiscence interventions into acute care nursing practice. These interventions will encourage the client to perceive stressful situations in terms of overlapping past, present, and future time spheres and consequently cope more effectively with stress.
Exploring two-dimensional electron gases with two-dimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy

The dephasing of the Fermi edge singularity excitations in two modulation doped single quantum wells of 12 nm and 18 nm thickness and in-well carrier concentration of ∼4 × 1011 cm−2 was carefully measured using spectrally resolved four-wave mixing (FWM) and two-dimensional Fourier transform (2DFT) spectroscopy. Although the absorption at the Fermi edge is broad at this doping level, the spectrally resolved FWM shows narrow resonances. Two peaks are observed separated by the heavy hole/light hole energy splitting. Temperature dependent “rephasing” (S1) 2DFT spectra show a rapid linear increase of the homogeneous linewidth with temperature. The dephasing rate increases faster with temperature in the narrower 12 nm quantum well, likely due to an increased carrier-phonon scattering rate. The S1 2DFT spectra were measured using co-linear, cross-linear, and co-circular polarizations. Distinct 2DFT lineshapes were observed for co-linear and cross-linear polarizations, suggesting the existence of polarization dep...
Analysis of the cure kinetics of epoxy/imidazole resin systems

The reaction kinetics for the cure of epoxy resins with imidazoles were determined from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry studies. The diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A and phenyl glycidyl ether were cured with various concentrations of 2-ethyl-4-methyl-imidazole ranging from 4.0 to 100.0 mol %. The first step in the curing process is the formation of epoxide/imidazole adducts. These adducts initiate the etherification reaction which crosslinks the resin. The kinetics were determined and confirmed for both the adduct and the etherification reactions as a function of the imidazole concentration. A model was developed and used to predict the concentrations of the unreacted epoxide groups and the reaction products for a wide range of imidazole concentrations and cure temperatures.
Fear of physical response to exercise among overweight and obese adults

Regular physical activity has been shown to have significant impact on both physical and mental health; however, over half of adults in the US do not meet current recommendations for physical activity. Pain is one of the most commonly cited barriers to physical activity among adults. Fear of pain has been shown to have a significant correlation with pain-related disorders including back pain and arthritis, but no studies have examined the role that weight plays on these fears. We conducted three focus groups (n = 21) to explore the role of fear-avoidance beliefs related to exercise among a group of overweight and obese adults. Focus group members discussed their beliefs that overweight and obese adults have more exaggerated physical responses to exercises than normal weight adults. They also endorsed a belief that overweight and obese individuals interpret similar physical responses differently than normal weight individuals, and that these interpretations lead to fear that may result in exercise avoidanc...
ILLiad, CAS, Shibboleth, and PHP: the road to single sign-on

In 2010 the Interlibrary Loan department of the University of South Florida Tampa moved to unify its ILLiad sign-on practices and align with the University-wide objective toward a single sign-on environment. Initial plans to implement authentication with CAS evolved in response to obstacles and system failures and resulted in an ILLiad, Shibboleth, and CAS combination. This article reviews the migration project and its culmination in a successful, and unique, authentication assembly.
The contingency model of leadership effectiveness: some implications of its statistical and methodological properties.

The statistical and methodological adequacy of several aspects of Fiedler's (1967) contingency model of leadership effectiveness were considered. Data from several published studies were reanalyzed in order to accomplish this end. It was suggested that the use of rank order correlations instead of product moment correlations produces distortions related to sample size. LPC (least preferred coworker) was shown to be a reasonable predictor of group performance, but the model implies that LPC is unrelated to group performance under some conditions of situational favorableness. Problems with a multidimensional interpretation of LPC and a unidimensional interpretation of situational favorablness were discussed. Problems of research strategies used to test and validate the model were considered in terms of sample size, inclusion of nonsignificant results, the difficulty involved in adequately testing higher order interactions, and the inability to make between octant comparisons. It was concluded that the model is capable of directing meaningful research, but only as long as traditional research procedures designed to safeguard internal and external validity are carefully exercised.
Classifying Transfusions Related to the Anemia of Critical Illness in Burn Patients

Background Critically ill patients require transfusions because of acute blood loss and the anemia of critical illness. In critically ill burn patients, typically, no distinction is made between transfusions related to acute surgical blood loss and those related to the anemia of critical illness. We sought to identify the percentage of blood transfusions due to the anemia of critical illness and the clinical characteristics associated with these transfusions in severely burned patients.
Temperature-dependent hyperfine coupling constants of Mn2+ in flourides

Abstract The temperature dependence of hyperfine coupling constants of Mn 2+ in CaF 2 and BaF 2 were measured. Agreement between theory and experiment is excellent.
Social Psychology: Humanist Roots and Feminist Future:

The central theme of this article is that a feminist perspective is not only compatible with the history, objectives, and emphases of social psychology, but necessary for its continued vitality. In...
Mothers living apart from their children: A study in stress and coping

Following Darley's analysis of the implications for women of ascribed (e.g., motherhood) vs. achieved (e.g., career) roles, this study examined stress and coping in four areas. Seventeen women who lived apart from their children (noncustody) and fourteen women who lived with their children (custody) were interviewed. The stressfulness of the noncustody situation appeared in negative evaluations of women who do not have custody, in the difficulties of dealing with ex-husbands over custody, in the lack of support from family and sometimes friends, and in the lack of hopes for the future. Yet, mothers who lived apart from their children were as “fit” as mothers who lived with their children. Child custody appeared to be a fluid issue regardless of the current custody situation for both custody and noncustody mothers.