cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Constructing Southeast Asian security: the pitfalls of imagining a security community and the temptations of orthodoxy

At the ninth summit of the Association of South‐East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October 2003, the organisation's leaders declared their intention of transforming ASEAN into a security community. In making the case that ASEAN has functioned as a realist security institution since its inception in 1967, this article argues that the theoretical literature underpinning the ASEAN security community idea is characterised by significant conceptual and empirical flaws. First, a number of problems surround the variables—either norms or identity—that are used to explain the emergence of a putative security community among the ASEAN states. Second, critical issues in the ASEAN security community literature include the tautological nature of the arguments and a failure to rule out alternative explanations. Third, from an empirical perspective, the nascent ASEAN security community has arguably never existed.
Use of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis for detection of mutation and prospective diagnosis in late onset ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.

Abstract Ornithine transcarbamylase (ornithine carbamoyl-transferase, EC 2.1.3.3) deficiency is an X-linked inborn error of metabolism with considerable phenotypic variability in affected males. Using a combination of the polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), we defined a mutation in a family in whom affected males have significant residual enzyme activity. A C → T change in the first nucleotide of codon 277 resulted in the substitution of a tryptophan for an arginine at amino acid 245 of the mature protein. This change appears to represent a deleterious mutation rather than a polymorphism on the basis of several factors: the change occurs at a highly conserved arginine residue, significant size and change differences exist between arginine and tryptophan, and this change was not seen on DGGE screening of 26 unrelated individuals representing 43 chromosomes. Diagnosis of an at-risk male newborn in this family was performed using direct mutational analysis. In families with partial enzyme deficiencies in whom biochemical data may be difficult to evaluate, direct detection of mutations at the OTC locus permits definitive diagnosis. This represents the first description of a mutation in late onset OTC deficiency and demonstrates direct mutational analysis by DGGE for prospective diagnosis in a genetic disorder.
New Paradigm for Sizing Riparian Buffers to Reduce Risks of Polluted Storm Water: Practical Synthesis

Riparian buffers are commonly promoted to protect stream water quality. A common conceptual assumption is that buffers “intercept” and treat upland runoff. As a shift in paradigm, it is proposed instead that riparian buffers should be recognized as the parts of the landscape that most frequently generate storm runoff. Thus, water quality can be protected from contaminated storm runoff by disassociating riparian buffers from potentially polluting activities. This paper reviews and synthesizes some simple engineering approaches that can be used to delineate riparian buffers for rural watersheds based on risk of generating runoff. Although reference is made to specific future research that may improve the proposed methods for delineating riparian buffers, the approaches described here provide planners and engineers with a set of currently available scientifically defensible tools. It is recommended that planners and engineers use available rainfall and stream discharge data to parameterize the buffer-sizing ...
Role of natural killer cytotoxic factors in the mechanism of target-cell killing by natural killer cells

Studies on the mechanism of cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) have suggested a stimulus-secretion model and implicated a role of soluble cytotoxic mediators. Our studies in the natural killer (NK) system provide several lines of evidence for the involvement of natural killer cytotoxic factors (NKCF) in NK CMC and led to the development of a model for the NK lytic mechanism. This model delineates several interactions between NK cells and targets that are deemed necessary to achieve target-cell lysis. The first stage is the interaction of the effector with the target cell, resulting in contact and adhesion. This is presumably mediated by NK recognition structures and target-cell structures. Following binding, the target cell stimulates the NK cell to release NKCF. This step is functionally distinct from the initial effector-target binding. The trigger mechanism for release of NKCF appears to be dependent on protein kinase C. The released NKCF binds to NKCF binding sites on the target cell followed by "processing" or "internalization" and, ultimately, resulting in cell death. This model has been shown to be useful in investigating the mechanism of defective NK activity in certain disease states. Biochemical analysis and comparative studies suggest that NKCF is a distinct molecule from other cytotoxins studied to date. The studies in the NK CMC system supporting a role of cytotoxic mediators also suggest a possible role for cytotoxic factors in other cytotoxic systems. Furthermore, the selective susceptibility to lysis of tumor or infected cells by NKCF suggests a possible role of their effectiveness in in vivo therapy.
Functional heterologous expression and purification of a mammalian methyl-CpG binding domain in suitable yield for DNA methylation profiling assays.

Abstract DNA methylation is a major epigenetic modification in mammalian cells, and patterns involving methylation of cytosine bases, known as CpG methylation, have been implicated in the development of many types of cancer. Methyl binding domains (MBDs) excised from larger mammalian methyl-CpG-binding proteins specifically recognize methyl-cytosine bases of CpG dinucleotides in duplex DNA. Previous molecular diagnostic studies involving MBDs have employed Escherichia coli for protein expression with either low soluble yields or the use of time-consuming denaturation–renaturation purification procedures to improve yields. Efficient MBD-based diagnostics require expression and purification methods that maximize protein yield and minimize time and resource expenditure. This study is a systematic optimization analysis of MBD expression using both SDS–PAGE and microscopy and it provides a comparison of protein yield from published procedures to that from the conditions found to be optimal in these experiments. Protein binding activity and specificity were verified using a DNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and final protein yield was improved from the starting conditions by a factor of 65 with a simple, single-step purification.
A 10 year climatology of cloud fraction and vertical distribution derived from both surface and GOES observations over the DOE ARM SPG site

Analysis of a decade of ARM radar-lidar and GOES observations at the SGP site reveal that 0.5 and 4-hr averages of the surface cloud fraction correspond closely to 0.5deg and 2.5deg averages of GOES cloudiness, respectively. The long-term averaged surface and GOES cloud fractions agree to within 0.5%. Cloud frequency increases and cloud amount decreases as the temporal and spatial averaging scales increase. Clouds occurred most often during winter and spring. Single-layered clouds account for 61.5% of the total cloud frequency. There are distinct bimodal vertical distributions of clouds with a lower peak around 1 km and an upper one that varies from 7.5 to 10.8 km between winter and summer, respectively. The frequency of occurrence for nighttime GOES high-cloud tops agree well with the surface observations, but are underestimated during the day.
High-resolution structure of Ascaris trypsin inhibitor in solution: direct evidence for a pH-induced conformational transition in the reactive site

Abstract Background The Ascaris trypsin inhibitor (ATI) is a member of a new family of serine protease inhibitors isolated from the helminthic worm Ascaris lumbricoides var suum . This family comprises five chymotrypsin/elastase inhibitors and one trypsin inhibitor. Members are characterized by the presence of five disulfide bonds (two of which are located on either side of the reactive site) in a single small protein domain of 61–62 residues. Results The solution structure of ATI has been determined at pH 2.4 and pH 4.75 by NMR spectroscopy. Iterative refinement permitted the unambiguous assignment of the pairing of the five disulfide bridges (Cys5–Cys38, Cys15–Cys33, Cys18– Cys29, Cys22–Cys60, and Cys40–Cys54) which were previously unknown. The structure includes four short β -strands arranged in two approximately perpendicular β -sheets. The reactive site loop is bounded by two disulfide bridges (Cys15– Cys33 and Cys18–Cys29) and is part of the long loop (residues 15–25) connecting strands β 1 and β 2. Comparison of the nuclear Overhauser enhancement data at the two pH values revealed significant differences centered around the reactive site. While the reactive site at pH 2.4 closely resembles that of other protease inhibitors, at pH 4.75 the reactive site loop undergoes a major conformational rearrangement involving the ψ backbone torsion angles of the P 2 , P 1 and P 1 ′ residues (residues 30–32). This is associated with a change in the positions of the side chains of Arg31 and Glu32. Conclusions The overall three-dimensional structure of ATI posesses an unusual fold and, with the exception of the reactive site, shows no similarity to other serine protease inhibitors. The observation that the reactive site of the low pH form of ATI is similar to that of other serine proteases suggests that this is the active form of the protein.
Recovery of high temperature deformed Ni-Al alloys

The flow-stress recovery of two high purity nickel aluminium alloys, containing zero and 5vol% γ′ (Ni3Al), deformed at 735° C has been studied for recovery times ranging from 0.1 to 100 h. Results show that the presence of a finely dispersed second phase does inhibit the recovery rate following high-temperature deformation. For short recovery times, t<5 h, neither alloy obeys the predictions of the diffusion-controlled dislocation networkgrowth recovery model. For longer times, the recovery of the solid solution alloy does agree with the model while that of the precipitation-hardened alloy continues to deviate. The short-time recovery tests were used to obtain values for the recovery rate, r=dσi/dt and these values of r are used to predict values of the hardening rate, h=dσi/d∈, from the relation $$\dot \in _s = r/h$$ where $$\dot \in _s $$ is the steady-state creep rate. The values of h obtained in this manner are in reasonable agreement with expected values, i.e. h ∼ μ/100 where μ is the shear modulus. Electron microscopy observations on as-deformed and recovered samples show good agreement between the measured changes in flow stress and the observed variations in dislocation density.
Elucidating the Role of Myosin Pseudo-Phosphorylation in a Novel Rescue Mouse Model of Cardiomyopathy

This study focuses on a novel rescue mouse model generated to test the effect of regulatory light chain (RLC) phosphorylation on a diseased cardiac phenotype. Pseudo-phosphorylation of the D166V (aspartic acid to valine) mutation shown to be associated with a malignant phenotype of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC) was examined. Transgenic (Tg) mice carrying the D166V mutation demonstrated severe functional and physiological abnormalities and a significant decrease in endogenous RLC phosphorylation compared with Tg-WT mice. These detrimental phenotypes were partially rescued by either myosin light chain kinase-induced phosphorylation or by using phosphomimic (S15D) D166V-RLC exchanged in porcine cardiac muscle preparations. Transgenic rescue mice carrying the S15D-D166V mutation have been generated and subjected to functional measurements. Myofibrillar ATPase assays performed on Tg-S15D-D166V vs. Tg-D166V and Tg-WT mice cardiac samples showed a pseudo-phosphorylation rescue of an abnormal increase in calcium sensitivity (hallmark of FHC) caused by the D166V mutation. A D166V-induced decrease in maximal ATPase activity was also reversed in Tg-S15D-D166V mice. Similarly, maximal force and myofilament Ca2+-sensitivity, that were largely compromised in Tg-D166V skinned muscle fibers, were improved in the rescue mice and brought to the level observed in Tg-WT. Histopathological analyses of heart sections from age and gender matched mice from all groups demonstrated an approximately four-fold decrease in the extent of fibrosis in the rescue mice compared to Tg-D166V. The beneficial effects of S15D on the function of the D166V hearts were confirmed in vivo by invasive hemodynamics. Results from this study emphasize the significance of RLC phosphorylation in alleviating an FHC induced phenotype and could be used in the development of therapeutic interventions to restore the normal cardiac function.Supported by NIH-HL108343 and HL071778.
Manifold unwrapping using critical surfaces

Natural high dimensional data distributions often exhibit clear low-dimensional underlying structures, sometimes referred to as the underlying manifold. In general such underlying low-dimensional surfaces may have complicated shapes and may have to be defined locally at best. Under the premise that d-dimensional critical surfaces of a probability density function (pdf) over Rn provide a natural skeleton for the data, we propose that local nonlinear coordinate transformations to unwrap the so-called manifold are based on curvilinear coordinate systems defined in a manner that is consistent with the critical surfaces. Specifically, we provide a convenient characterization of all critical surfaces in the form of the zero level set of the determinant of a matrix we introduce. This allows the characterization of the underlying manifold using only the gradient and Hessian of the pdf. Especially for the family of distributions in the form of exponential of polynomials, we show that this determinant expression is a polynomial, hence the underlying critical surfaces are zero level sets of a polynomial, and that the factorization of this polynomial will lead to a suitable curvilinear coordinate system. We demonstrate the use of these concepts in globally and locally unwrapping distributions from the family of exponential of polynomials.
Directional Orientation of Carbon Nanotubes on Surfaces Using a Gas Flow Cell

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are aligned with controlled orientation on surfaces from a droplet of nanotube suspension under gas flow. The alignment of SWNTs on surfaces is dictated by the direction of gas flow. Orthogonally aligned arrays of SWNTs have also been fabricated in a two-step process. Studies of fluid motion within droplets in the flow cell indicate that alignment is likely due to the circulation of SWNTs in the suspension droplet. The gas flow alignment method offers a facile system for generating oriented nanotubes on surfaces, and this approach may find use in SWNT nanodevice fabrication.
Risk factor and industry effects in the cross-country comovement of momentum returns

Abstract This paper examines the sources of cross-country comovement of momentum returns over the 1975–2004 period. Using data on more than 17,000 individual firms across 100 industries from 40 countries, we document the profitability of country-neutral individual firm, industry, and industry-adjusted return momentum. We show that country-neutral momentum returns are significantly correlated across countries, the correlation is time-varying, and that comovement among industries cannot explain the comovement of country-neutral momentum returns. However, we find that standard risk factor models do explain a significant portion of the cross-country comovement of momentum returns, even though they do not explain average momentum returns.
Preparation and use of fibrin glue in surgery

Fibrin glue (FG) is used to control bleeding, to adhere tissues together, and to seal tissue defects. FG is prepared from platelet-rich plasma or by mixing concentrated fibrinogen solutions with thrombin. Concentrated fibrinogen solutions are produced by cryoprecipitation or by chemical precipitation of plasma. The literature on FG preparation is reviewed in order to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the different products reported and to summarize the clinical applications. It is concluded that additional studies are needed to fully evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of fibrinogen concentrated using cryoprecipitation and chemical precipitation and that specific advantages exist for use of both pooled homologous and autologous blood.
Selective area metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy of gallium arsenide on silicon

Abstract The selective area, metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy of gallium arsenide on silicon substrates was investigated. Low-temperature arsenic passivation of the silicon surface was realized at 650 °C. A two-step growth method was used to deposit the GaAs films with an optimum nucleation temperature of 400 °C. Layers nucleated at 350 °C or below were found to be polycrystalline whereas those nucleated at 400 °C and above were single crystal. The X-ray diffraction full-width-at-half-maximum decreased from 890 to 775 arcsec for a 1.0-μm-thick GaAs layer grown on unpatterned versus patterned Si (1 0 0) wafers. The 77 K photoluminescence peak position was 1.489 and 1.498 eV for a 1.0-μm-thick GaAs layer on unpatterned and patterned substrates, respectively. Based on the photoluminescence peak shift, we find that selective area growth of GaAs on Si improves film crystallinity while reducing the in plane strain in the film by 35%.
Event Ordering in Live-Cell Imaging Determined from Temporal Cross-Correlation Asymmetry

We use the temporal asymmetry of the cross-correlation function to determine the temporal ordering of spatially localized cellular events in live-cell multichannel fluorescence imaging. The analysis is well suited to noisy, stochastic systems where the temporal order may not be apparent in the raw data. The approach is applicable to any biochemical reaction not in chemical equilibrium, including protein complex assembly, sequential enzymatic processes, gene regulation, and other cellular signaling events. As an automated quantitative measure, this approach allows the data to be readily interpreted statistically with minimal subjective biases. We first test the technique using simulations of simple biophysical models with a definite temporal ordering. We then demonstrate the approach by extracting the temporal ordering of three proteins—actin, sorting nexin 9, and clathrin—in the endocytic pathway.
Purging inbreeding depression and the probability of extinction: full-sib mating

Inbreeding depression has been a topic of interest in recent years from a number of perspectives, particularly in the captive breeding of endangered species. Generally, the goal of captive breeding is to avoid the detrimental effects of inbreeding depression and to retain genetic variation for future adaptation. However, an important component of another suggested approach to captive breeding is to purge rapidly the population of its genetic load so that its long-term fitness is not compromised. I have examined the effectiveness of purging the genetic load by documenting both the reduction in inbreeding depression and the increase of the probability of extinction when there is continous full-sib mating. When the genetic load is the result of- lethals, the inbreeding depression is quickly purged without a high probability of extinction, except when the total genetic load is high. On the other hand, if the load is due to detrimentals of relatively small effect, the genetic load becomes fixed, the mean fitness is reduced, and the probability of extinction may be greatly increased. In other words, the success of such a programme to purge genetic load without an increase in the probability of extinction is highly dependent, upon the genetic basis of inbreeding depression, information that is not readily available for most species.
Theory of femtosecond transient exciton bleaching and recovery in the optical Stark effect

Numerical solutions of the full semiconductor Bloch equations for femtosecond pump-probe excitation are presented. Transient absorption oscillations, optical Stark effect and ultrafast bleaching and recovery of the exciton are reported. A transient population build-up and decay on the time-scale of the pump-pulse is calculated.
Role of 4-hydroxynonenal in stress-mediated apoptosis signaling

In this mini review we summarize recent studies from our laboratory, which show the involvement of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) in cell cycle signaling. We demonstrate 4-HNE induced apoptosis in various cell lines is accompanied with c-Jun-N-terminal kinase and caspase-3 activation. Cells exposed to mild, transient, heat or oxidative stress acquire capacity to exclude intracellular 4-HNE at a faster rate by inducing hGST5.8 which conjugate 4-HNE to GSH, and RLIP76 which mediates the ATP-dependent transport of the GSH-conjugate of 4-HNE. The cells preconditioned with mild transient stress acquire resistance to H(2)O(2) and 4-HNE induced apoptosis by excluding intracellular 4-HNE at an accelerated pace. Furthermore, a decrease in intracellular concentration of 4-HNE achieved by transfecting cells with mGSTA4-4 or hGSTA4-4 results in a faster growth rate. These studies strongly suggest a role of 4-HNE in stress mediated signaling.
Sex Differences in Memory Estimates for Pictures and Words with Multiple Recall Trials

Undergraduate students (23 men and 23 women) provided memory performance estimates before and after each of three recall trials involving 80 stimuli (40 pictures and 40 words). No sex differences were found across trials for the total recall of items or for the recall of pictures and words separately. A significant increase in recall for pictures (not words) was found for both sexes across trials. The previous results of Ionescu were replicated on the first and second recall trials: men underestimated their performance on the pictures and women underestimated their performance on the word items. These differences in postrecall estimates were not found after the third recall trial: men and women alike underestimated their performance on both the picture and word items. The disappearance of item-specific sex differences in postrecall estimates for the third recall trial does not imply that men and women become more accurate at estimating their actual performance with multiple recall trials.
Coarse Woody Debris following Fire and Logging in Wyoming Lodgepole Pine Forests

The accumulation and decomposition of coarse woody debris (CWD) are processes that affect habitat, soil structure and organic matter inputs, and energy and nutrient flows in forest ecosystems. Natural disturbances such as fires typically produce large quantities of CWD as trees fall and break, whereas human disturbances such as timber harvesting remove much of the CWD. Our objective was to compare the amount of CWD removed and left behind after clear-cutting to the amount consumed and left behind after natural fires in Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine. The masses of fallen logs, dead-standing trees, stumps, and root crowns more than 7.5 cm in diameter were estimated in clear-cut and intact lodgepole pine forests in Wyoming and compared to estimates made in burned and unburned stands in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), where no timber harvesting has occurred. Estimates of downed CWD consumed or converted to charcoal during an intense crown fire were also made in YNP. No significant differences in biomass of downed CWD more than 7.5 cm in diameter were detected between burned stands and those following a single clear-cut. However, the total mass of downed CWD plus the mass of snags that will become CWD was nearly twice as high in burned stands than in clear-cuts. In YNP, approximately 8% of the downed CWD was consumed by fire and an additional 8% was converted to charcoal, for an estimated loss of about 16%. In contrast, approximately four times more wood (70%) was removed by clear-cutting. Considering all CWD more than 7.5 cm in diameter that was either still present in the stand or removed by harvesting, slash treatment, or burning, clear-cut stands lost an average of 80 Mg ha−1 whereas stands that burned gained an average of 95 Mg ha−1. Some CWD remains as slash and stumps left behind after harvesting, but stands subjected to repeated harvesting will have forest floor and surface soil characteristics that are beyond the historic range of variability of naturally developing stands.
Gene Mapping and Cystic Fibrosis

ABSTRACT The recent molecular cloning of the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis illustrates the importance of human gene mapping to clinical medicine. Identification of a 3bp detection (ΔCF 508 ) in the majority of cystic fibrosis patients will result in more accurate DNA- based diagnostic testing in cystic fibrosis families, as well as providing clues to the basic molecular defect and its relationship with alterations of anion transport in cystic fibrosis epithelial cells.
Opinion Paper: Euronet and its Effects on the U.S. Information Market

The startup of Euronet in 1979 may eventually result in increased hourly charges to U.S. on-line users. This would arise from a drain-off of European business; access for Europeans to U.S. data processors has been made artificially expensive by the telecommunication charge established by the Postal and Telecommunications Administrations of the European Economic Community countries. Since the major data bases on the Euronet system will be U.S. produced, a plea is made for concerted effort by U.S. data producers and users to assure competitive communication rates in Europe.
History dependence, memory and metastability in electron glasses

We discuss the history dependence and memory effects which are observed in the out-of-equilibrium conductivity of electron glasses. The experiments can be understood by assuming that the local density of states retains a memory of the sample history. We provide analytical arguments for the consistency of this assumption, and discuss the saturation of the memory effect with increasing gate voltage change. This picture is bolstered by numerical simulations at zero temperature, which moreover demonstrate the incompressibility of the Coulomb glass on short timescales.
Novel sst2-Selective Somatostatin Agonists. Three-Dimensional Consensus Structure by NMR

The 3D NMR structures of six octapeptide agonist analogues of somatostatin (SRIF) in the free form are described. These analogues, with the basic sequence H-DPhe/Phe2-c[Cys3-Xxx7-DTrp8-Lys9-Thr10-Cys14]-Thr-NH2 (the numbering refers to the position in native SRIF), with Xxx7 being Ala/Aph, exhibit potent and highly selective binding to human SRIF type 2 (sst2) receptors. The backbone of these sst2-selective analogues have the usual type-II' beta-turn reported in the literature for sst2/3/5-subtype-selective analogues. Correlating the biological results and NMR studies led to the identification of the side chains of DPhe2, DTrp8, and Lys9 as the necessary components of the sst2 pharmacophore. This is the first study to show that the aromatic ring at position 7 (Phe7) is not critical for sst2 binding and that it plays an important role in sst3 and sst5 binding. This pharmacophore is, therefore, different from that proposed by others for sst2/3/5 analogues.
CHANGES IN RAILROAD RATES SINCE THE STAGGERS ACT

Abstract The railroad industry was substantially deregulated by the Staggers Act in 1980. While railroad rates, as measured by industry-wide revenue per ton-mile, declined since that time, it is unclear why rates declined. Changes in commodity mix, length of haul, shipment size, lading weight, equipment ownership, railroad costs, competition from other modes, and demand for railroad transportation have all played some role. This paper assesses the importance of each of these factors in explaining the decline in railroad rates since the Staggers Act. After controlling for changes in commodity mix, the analysis indicates that shippers received nearly $28 billion per year in rate reductions as a result of changes that took place between 1982 and 1996. The reduction in productivity-adjusted railroad costs explains almost 90% of the reduction in railroad rates, with other factors playing much lesser roles.
Graft copolymerization of acrylic acid on to acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer and thermal analysis of the copolymers

The graft copolymerization of acrylic acid on to acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (ABS) was studied by the use of the anthracene photosensitized formation of hydroperoxides in the butadiene portion of the polymer. The variables that were investigated include concentration of anthracene, concentration of acrylic acid, time of reaction, time of irradiation, and temperature. The grafting reaction proceeds quite similarly to previously reported work on methacrylic acid grafting. The thermal degradation of the copolymers has been studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The amount of non-volatile residue is always less than that expected for acrylic acid and is slightly greater than the expectation for sodium acrylate. In order for grafting to offer thermal protection, an adherent and thermally insulating layer is required. In the acrylic acid system, unlike the methacrylic acid system, the graft layer is not adherent and does not offer thermal protection.
Free-standing tetracene single crystal field effect transistor

Abstract We have fabricated and studied field effect transistors (FETs) on the optically transparent free-standing organic single crystals of tetracene. These FETs exhibit effective hole channel mobility μ eff up to 0.15 cm 2 /Vs and on–off ratios up to 2×10 7 . Using measured values of μ eff , thermal activation energy, and a simple model, we deduce an intrinsic free carrier mobility in the range of tens of cm 2 /Vs, similar to that found in pentacene crystals. These values should be considered only as a rough indication of achievable mobilities in samples much purer than those presently studied. The obtained results show the possibility of FET behavior in transparent crystals with low intrinsic carrier density.
Model polyurethane networks prepared from poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(tetramethylene oxide)

Abstract Polyurethane elastomers of known degrees of cross-linking were prepared from hydroxylterminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO) chains having numberaverage molecular weights in the range 880–6820 g mol −1 . The chains were end-linked into “model” trifunctional networks using a specially prepared aromatic triisocyanate. The networks thus obtained were studied with regard to their stress-strain isotherms in both the unswollen and swollen states, in elongation at 25°, and with regard to their equilibrium swelling in benzene at 57.9°. Values of the modulus in the limit at high deformation were in good agreement with corresponding results previously obtained on trifunctional networks of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Since PEO has a much higher value of the plateau modulus in the uncross-linked state, this agreement indicates that inter-chain entanglements do not contribute significantly to the equilibrium modulus of an elastomeric network. These values of the high deformation modulus are also in good agreement with recent molecular theories as applied to the non-affine deformation of a “phantom” network. The swelling equilibrium results were in very good agreement with the new theory of network swelling developed by Flory.
High-efficiency protein synthesis from T7 RNA polymerase transcripts in 3T3 fibroblasts.

Abstract After NIH3T3 cells constitutively expressing T7 RNA polymerase were transfected (+Ca · phosphate) with a circular DNA containing the firefly luciferase(Luc)-encoding gene ( luc ) 3′ to the encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus 5′-untranslated sequence and T7 promoter, Luc protein comprising approx. 20% of total cellular protein was obtained. After similar transfection of an analogous construct containing the lacZ gene into the same cell line, at least 50% of the cells produced β-galactsidase. Fibroblasts lipofected with uncapped RNA transcripts containing EMC sequence expressed the reporter genes as efficiently as capped transcripts. A novel approach was used to generate RNA transcripts containing poly(A) at its very 3′ end. RNA from a luc vector with a poly(A) sequence at the very 3′ end produced 20-fold more Luc than the RNA from the same vector with an additional 3′ nonpoly(A) sequence. These results suggest that this T7 RNA polymerase expression system will be useful for the efficient production of proteins in mammalian cells.
An Instrument for Determining Single and Multiple Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Lifetimes

A Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Lifetime Spectrometer (RTPLS) capable of resolving multicomponent intensity decays into separate lifetimes is described. Careful blank subtraction facilitated by a reproducible chopped-xenon arc source and data reduction with the use of nonlinear least-squares reconvolution are major features of the RTPLS. The performance and limitations of the RTPLS were evaluated with synthetic data and prepared samples. Better than 2% RSD was attained for multiple determinations of a single sample. 4-amino-1-naphthalenesulfonate, sodium salt and 2-naphthalenesulfonate, sodium salt both exhibit decays resolvable into two lifetimes when they are coadsorbed with Nal onto filter paper. The approximate ratio of the lifetimes is 1 to 10, and the shorter component is proposed to be a charge transfer complex between the analyte and Nal.
Gene expression in precursor cells of prostate cancer associated with activin by combination of subtractive hybridization and microarray technologies.

Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) is considered the pre-malignant stage of prostate carcinoma, but little is known of its initiation and evolution. The identification of genes associated with these precursors of prostate cancer may elucidate the pathways of the early oncogenesis of this disease. Previously, we have reported that activin, a member of the TGFβ superfamily, acted as an inhibitory growth factor in prostate cancer. We used laser capture microdissection, mRNA-library amplification (RNA-PCR), subtractive hybridization, and complementary DNA microarray to examine gene expression profiles in activin-positive PIN, compared with activin-negative PIN. Subtractive hybridization showed that 28 genes were differentially expressed (13 and 15 genes were up- and down-regulated, respectively). Microarray analysis identified 29 and 56 more genes (4 times) up- and down-regulated, respectively, suggesting that DNA microarray is a more effective method in screening gene profiles. We have validated the known genes identified by both subtractive hybridization and microarray technologies, using Northern blot analysis in the mRNA libraries generated from cells microdissected from pathological slides. We have successfully showed that at least 13 genes are involved in activin-associated PIN. The evaluation of candidate genes that emerge from these experiments provides a rational approach to investigate those genes significant in evolution from PIN to prostate carcinoma.
Nitrogen on rhenium observed with the field emission microscope

Abstract The adsorption of nitrogen on rhenium was observed with a field emission microscope. Nitrogen decreases the work function of rhenium but also decreases the pre-exponential term of the Fowler-Nordheim expression. The result is a small decrease in emission with nitrogen adsorption. Surface migration could not be directly observed because desorption precedes it. There are two chemisorbed binding states associated with nitrogen on rhenium. The first is little stronger than physisorbed but accounts for most of the nitrogen in a saturated layer at 50 °K. The second is inferred from small pattern changes above 750 °K. The weakly bound state probably consists of a number of states with a distribution of desorption energies.
Therapeutic Effects of Ribavirin Given by the Intraperitoneal or Aerosol Route Against Influenza Virus Infections in Mice

Abstract Ribavirin (1-β-d-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) is an effective antiviral agent against type A influenza infection of mice. Therapy was most effective when administered as a small-particle aerosol early in the infection. Treatment was also effective by either the intraperitoneal or aerosol route in mice with histological evidence of pneumonia. Ribavirin increased the percent survival, lowered lung virus titers, and decreased the development of lung pathology when therapy was initiated at 6 h as a small-particle aerosol. There was no evidence of pulmonary toxicity or immunosuppressive effects.
A SERS study of the molecular structure of alkanethiol monolayers on Ag nanocubes in the presence of aqueous glucose.

We report progress towards the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) characterization of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on uniform Ag nanocubes. This study quantifies changes in the SAMs induced by the presence of aqueous glucose. The SAMs were prepared from dodecanethiol and they were representative of highly ordered monolayers as indicated by SERS analysis. We examined the SAMs’ response to glucose and observed conformational changes in the alkanethiolate SAMs. Analysis of the trans and gauche bands as well as the C–H stretching modes of the SAMs suggests that the analyte–SAM interactions were superficial and there was no penetration for the glucose molecules into the monolayers.
Slavery: a dual-equilibrium model with some historical examples

What sustains slavery, and why at critical junctures—the fall of the Roman Empire, the early modern expansion of plantation agriculture, the later phases of the industrial revolution, the totalitarian regimes of the 1930s—has it often expanded or contracted so rapidly? Why have elites sometimes been united, but sometimes violently divided, over the choice between free and servile labor? Why has slavery usually been ended by legal prohibition rather than voluntary abandonment? An extremely simple dual-equilibrium picture can illuminate how, when, and with whose support slavery is introduced or abolished. Internal divisions over slavery are likely to be most intense as a society approaches either of these “tipping points.” The most striking example, explored fleetingly here, is the US Civil War.
In Vitro Selection of RNA Specifically Cleaved by Bacteriophage T4 RegB Endonuclease

T4 RegB endonuclease specifically cleaves at -GGAG- sites in several early T4 messages, rendering them nonfunctional. Not all -GGAG- sites are processed equally by RegB; those found at the Shine−Dalgarno sequences and in intercistronic regions are processed with higher efficiency than the -GGAG- sites located in coding regions. The low activity of RegB observed in vitro is enhanced by 1−2 orders of magnitude by the Escherichia coli ribosomal protein S1. We have used SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) on a combinatorial RNA library to obtain molecules that are specifically cleaved by T4 RegB endonuclease in the presence of S1. The sequences obtained contain the required -GGAG- tetranucleotide and were unusually enriched in adenosine and cytosine nucleotides. No consensus structure or sequence motif other than -GGAG- was conserved among the selected molecules. The majority of the RNAs are entirely dependent on S1 for RegB-catalyzed cleavage; however, a few RNAs are found to be...
Age‐related deterioration of pyramidal cell basal dendrites in rat auditory cortex

The basal dendritic trees of layer V pyramidal cells in the rat auditory cortex were examined quantitatively in a group of 3-month-old and a group of 34- and 36-month-old rats. Two forms of analysis were used on the Golgi preparations: (1) the number of intersections between the basal dendrites and a series of concentric circles whose common center lies over the perikaryon center, and (2) the number of dendritic branches, by order, per neuron. The data indicate that in the old animals the density of the dendritic tree has decreased significantly within a radius of about 150mu of the perikaryon, yet the extent of the dendritic domain has not changed appreciably. Analysis of the dendritic branching suggests that there has been a deterioration not only in the peripheral branches of the dendritic tree, but also that entire dendrites have been lost. This loss of primary branches was confirmed through the reconstruction of layer V neuronal perikarya and their proximal dendrites from 1-mu plastic serial sections of auditory cortex. Concomitant with the loss of dendrites which accompanies advancing age is a tendency for the perikaryon to be smaller, but not distorted, in the old animals.
SCMP: A Single-chip Message-passing Parallel Computer

As technology improves and transistor feature sizes continue to shrink, the effects of on-chip interconnect wire latencies on processor clock speeds will become more important. In addition, as we reach the limits of instruction-level parallelism that can be extracted from application programs, there will be an increased emphasis on thread-level parallelism. To continue to improve performance, computer architects will need to focus on architectures that can efficiently support thread-level parallelism while minimizing the length of on-chip interconnect wires. The SCMP (Single-Chip Message-Passing) parallel computer system is one such architecture. The SCMP system includes up to 64 processors on a single chip, connected in a 2-D mesh with nearest neighbor connections. Memory is included on-chip with the processors and the architecture includes hardware support for communication and the execution of parallel threads. Since there are no global signals or shared resources between the processors, the length of the interconnect wires will be determined by the size of the individual processors, not the size of the entire chip. Avoiding long interconnect wires will allow the use of very high clock frequencies, which, when coupled with the use of multiple processors, will offer tremendous computational power.
Fluorokinase and pyruvic kinase.

Abstract 1. 1. The enzyme catalyzing the CO2-dependent phosphorylation of fluoride by adenosine triphosphate to yield monofluorophosphate, an activity referred to as “fluorokinase,” has been isolated in crystalline form from rabbit muscle extracts. The crystalline enzyme has been found to possess considerable pyruvic kinase activity. 2. 2. A number of observations including (a) constancy of pyruvic kinase to “fluorokinase” activity ratio throughout purification and on repeated recrystallization; (b) similar ratio of the two activities for preparations purified by different methods either for pyruvic kinase or for “fluorokinase” activity; (c) requirement of K+ and same broad nucleotide specificity for the two activities (reaction with the nucleoside di- or triphosphates of adenosine, guanosine, uridine, cytidine, and inosine); and (d) inhibition of fluorophosphate formation by phosphoenolpyruvate and by pyruvate, suggest that both the pyruvic kinase and “fluorokinase” reactions are catalyzed by one and the same protein. 3. 3. The possible mechanism of the essentially irreversible “fluorokinase” reaction is discussed.
Estimating a-priori Unknown 3D Axially Symmetric Surfaces from Noisy Measurements of Their Fragments

In this paper, we present a computationally efficient technique for solving the difficult problem of estimating the global shape of a ceramic pot from measurements of its fragments. Each unknown pot is modeled as a surface of revolution, i.e., a 3D line-- the central axis of the pot -- and a 2D profile curve with respect to that axis. For each fragment, a probabilistic distribution is estimated which models both the geometric shape of the fragment and the variability of the estimated fragment shape. Estimation of the global pot shape is then a Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) problem where we seek the values of the Euclidean transformation parameters that maximize the joint probability of the matched fragments? axis/profile-curvemodels (which includes the additional constraint that the matched fragments must share a common central axis). This is a new type of curve-analysis problem and our solution is a new and effective approach applicable for generic constrained 2D curve alignment and for modeling of 3D axially-symmetric surfaces and for comparing geometric models which may correspond over a subset of the complete model.
Some Considerations on the Nature of Social Structure and Model Building: A Critique of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Edmund Leach

THAT branch of anthropology, or rather that anthropological approach, which is known today as social anthropology has a long and intricate genealogy that goes back to the 18th century French philosophers Montesquieu and Rousseau, to the encyclopedists, and so forth. The approach to the study of society initiated by these men was kept alive in the 19th century by people of such diverse interests as "sociologists," philosophers, "economists," and "scientists," such as Spencer, Comte, Saint Simon, Adam Smith, and so on. This intellectual tradition culminated in the so-called French sociological school, which began in the late 19th century with Emile Durkheim as its most important and original exponent. Implicit in this approach is the holistic idea that societies are not random associations of persons, but are well ordered systems with built-in dynamic mechanisms, very much like the combustion engine of a motor car. However, modern anthropologists do not speak of societies as being systems, but as "having structures." Thus, the term "social structure" is used by most social anthropologists, and occasionally by many who do not call themselves such (they prefer to use "social organization"), with reference to a set of problems that have to do mainly with the description, analysis, and ultimate explanation of social life.
POWER7: verification challenge of a multi-core processor

Over the years functional hardware verification has made significant progress in the areas of traditional simulation techniques, hardware accelerator usage and last but not least formal verification approaches. This has been sufficient to deal with the additional design content and complexity increase that has been happening at the same time. For POWER7, IBM's first high end 8-core microprocessor, these incremental improvements in verification have been deemed not to be enough by themselves, because the chip was not just a remap of an existing design with more cores. The infrastructure on the chip had to be changed significantly, while at the same time the business side requested a shorter development cycle with perfect quality but without growing the team. Looking at these constraints a two phase approach seemed to be the only solution. This paper commences with the highlights of the first phase, where improvements to the existing process have been identified. This includes topics ranging from enhanced test case generation, over advancements in structural checking to the extensions of the formal verification scope both in property checking and sequential equivalence checking. At the same time, the paper describes the second phase which has targeted the exploitation of synergy across the various verification activities. The active interlock between simulation, formal verification and the design has helped to reduce workload and improved the project schedule. And the usage of coverage in holistic way from unit level simulation to acceleration has led to new innovations and new insight, which improved the overall verification process. Finally, an outlook on future challenges and future trends is given. Categories and Subject Descriptors B.6.3 [Logic Design]: Design Aids — Verification. General Terms Verification