cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Single muscle fiber contractile properties in adults with muscular dystrophy treated with MYO-029

Myostatin inhibitors are being investigated as treatments for myopathies. We assessed single muscle fiber contractile properties before and after 6 months of study drug in 6 patients with facioscapulohumeral, Becker, and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. Five of the patients received MYO-029, a myostatin inhibitor, and 1 received placebo. The chemically skinned single muscle fiber preparation was used to measure single fiber force, specific force, maximum unloaded shortening velocity, power, and specific power in type I and IIa fibers from each subject. In 4 of 5 patients who received MYO-029, improvement was seen in single muscle fiber contractile properties; thus, there may be a beneficial effect of myostatin inhibition on muscle physiology at the cellular level. No improvement was seen in the patient who received placebo. This finding may be clinically relevant in spite of the fact that quantitative muscle strength measurements in our patients did not improve. Further studies of myostatin inhibition as a treatment for muscular dystrophy are warranted, and single muscle fiber contractile studies are a useful assay for muscle function at the cellular level.
Smoking, diabetes, and blood cholesterol differ in their associations with subclinical atherosclerosis: The Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Previous reports suggest that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) is associated with atherosclerosis plaque initiation while cigarette smoking is more associated with plaque progression. The role of diabetes in plaque initiation and progression is not clear. The aim of this study was to confirm and extend these findings. Among 6384 men and women aged 45-84 free of clinical cardiovascular disease, subclinical atherosclerosis severity was classified on the basis of ultrasound measures of carotid stenosis and thickness and the ankle-brachial blood pressure index of lower extremity arterial disease. Carotid plaques were classified as echolucent or echogenic. Distensibility was calculated from the change in carotid diameter over the cardiac cycle. The smoking association with minimal, moderate, and more severe disease was progressive, estimated as equivalent to LDLc effects of 40, 85 and 238 mg/dl respectively. LDLc was relatively more associated with echolucent plaques; smoking with echogenic plaques. Diabetes was associated with carotid stiffness, whereas smoking was associated with greater distensibility. The results, together with pathological literature, suggest that LDLc may be of key importance both in plaque initiation and vulnerability to rupture, whereas smoking may relate to plaque progression to thicker, more fibrous lesions. Diabetes contributes uniquely to arterial stiffness.
Rabbit reticulocyte double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase and the hemin-controlled translational repressor phosphorylate the same Mr 1500 peptide of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha.

The inhibition of polypeptide chain initiation that occurs when rabbit reticulocyte lysate is incubated in the absence of hemin [ l--5] or in the presence of a low level (1 O-l 00 ng/ml) of dsRNA [ 1,6-81 appears to be mediated by the phosphorylation of the iW, 35 000 (a) subunit of eIF-2, the initiation factor that promotes binding of Met-tRNAf to 40 S ribosomal subunits [9-l 31, but involves the action of two distinct protein kinases [14]. The inhibitor formed in the absence of hemin (HCR) occurs in the post-ribosomal supernate, is rapidly activated by incubation with NEM [ 151, and is associated with the autophosphorylation of a M, 90 000-100 000 protein [1,16-191, whereas the dsRNA-activated protein kinase (ds1) is found in the ribosomal fraction,is activated by dsRNA, and is associated with the phosphorylation of a M, 67 000 protein(s) [ 1,7,8,20]. Peptide analyses of elF-2cu, phosphorylated either by HCR or dsI, have shown a similar pattern of phosphopeptides suggesting that these two protein kinases phosphorylate the same site or sites [20-231. When eIF-2ol, phosphorylated by HCR, is subjected to exhaustive trypsin digestion, almost all the phosphate can be localized to a single, M, 1500 peptide [24];we report here that this same single peptide is phosphorylated by dsl.
Determinants and regulating processes in bronchial hyperreactivity

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) can be considered as a feature of asthma, although only a loose relationship is present with symptoms and severity of the disease. Epidemiology of BHR may inform about determining factors in BHR and its role as a risk factor. BHR is found already at a young age, mostly diminishes with age, and increases in many asthmatic patients after midlife. Genetic determinants are suggested by familial segregation and twin studies. Allergy, respiratory infections, and cigarette smoking are found to induce increase in BHR and to modify its degree at the long run. The mechanisms in BHR are being unraveled gradually. A chronic inflammation with an important role for eosinophils, mast cells, and others, is thought to modify bronchial mechanisms, such as smooth muscle, epithelium, and autonomic systems. Growing evidence supports that T lymphocytes are implicated and may determine many of the inflammatory cells, such as eosinophils, neutrophils, and mast cells.
Application of modern radiative transfer tools to model laboratory quartz emissivity

[1] Planetary remote sensing of regolith surfaces requires use of theoretical models for interpretation of constituent grain physical properties. In this work, we review and critically evaluate past efforts to strengthen numerical radiative transfer (RT) models with comparison to a trusted set of nadir incidence laboratory quartz emissivity spectra. By first establishing a baseline statistical metric to rate successful model-laboratory emissivity spectral fits, we assess the efficacy of hybrid computational solutions (Mie theory + numerically exact RT algorithm) to calculate theoretical emissivity values for micron-sized α-quartz particles in the thermal infrared (2000–200 cm−1) wave number range. We show that Mie theory, a widely used but poor approximation to irregular grain shape, fails to produce the single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter needed to arrive at the desired laboratory emissivity values. Through simple numerical experiments, we show that corrections to single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter values generated via Mie theory become more necessary with increasing grain size. We directly compare the performance of diffraction subtraction and static structure factor corrections to the single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, and emissivity for dense packing of grains. Through these sensitivity studies, we provide evidence that, assuming RT methods work well given sufficiently well-quantified inputs, assumptions about the scatterer itself constitute the most crucial aspect of modeling emissivity values.
Distant friends and nearby enemies: The politics of legislative coalition formation*

It is usually thought that a coalition leader in a legislature will construct coalitions of legislators who are ‘close’ to each other in the policy space. However, if there is some ‘status quo’ or other reversion point that will hold if the coalition leader fails to construct a winning coalition, a counter-intuitive result about the nature of these coalitions emerges: the coalition leader may be forced to construct a coalition which includes legislators who are ‘distant’ from him and which excludes legislators who are ‘close’ to him.
Cost-Effectiveness of 10 Strategies for Managing Suspected Central Venous Catheter-Related Infections † 897

Cost-Effectiveness of 10 Strategies for Managing Suspected Central Venous Catheter-Related Infections † 897
Sublethal Effects of Pentachlorophenol in Abalone (Haliotis rufescens) Veliger Larvae as Measured by 31P-NMR☆

Toxicity tests with larval marine organisms are widely used as water quality-monitoring tools. Often employing a single morphological endpoint, they provide only limited insight into toxic action mechanisms. Since mechanistic observations can provide more sensitive endpoints of toxicity, the goal of this study was to modify existing in vivo (31)P-NMR techniques to evaluate the effects of pentachlorophenol (PCP) on high-energy phosphates in veliger larvae of the red abalone (Haliotis rufescens), a species and life stage commonly used in developmental toxicity tests. Fluxes of phosphoarginine (PA), nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs), sugar phosphates (SPs), and inorganic phosphate (P(i)), as well as in intracellular pH (pH(i)), were monitored via NMR using a flow-through exposure system. The exposure protocol included 1 h of clean seawater, 2 h of PCP (1.2 mg L(-1)) exposure, and 2 h of recovery in clean seawater. During PCP exposure, veligers displayed maximum declines in PA and NTP resonance intensities to 38+/-10% (P 0.05 for all values), while pH(i) increased to 7.08+/-0.11. When compared with adult abalone, veliger larvae responded similarly to PCP, differing mainly in their rapid recovery (2 h for larvae versus 6 h adults) and more severe acidification (a 0.08 pH unit decline versus a 0.03 pH unit decline). This report describes an application of NMR for small (> or =200 micro) marine organisms using commonly available vertical-bore NMR magnets; it should prove adaptable for use with other similar larval forms.
Postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptor stimulation increases motor activity in the 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat: implications for treating Parkinson's disease.

We have shown that the 5-HT1A agonist R-(+)-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin [R-(+)-8-OHDPAT] enhances motor activity in the monoamine-depleted rat, an acute model of Parkinson’s disease. The present work extends these findings by investigating motor effects of R-(+)-8-OHDPAT in the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat, a chronic model of Parkinson’s disease. The objectives of the present study were to assess the motor response to R-(+)-8-OHDPAT in rats with unilateral destruction of the nigrostriatal dopamine system and to determine the involvement of postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors in this response. Rotational behavior after R-(+)-8-OHDPAT was investigated in rats that received 6-hydroxydopamine unilaterally into the median forebrain bundle 2 weeks before testing. A dose of 0.3 mg/kg subcutaneously (s.c.) R-(+)-8-OHDPAT induced significant ipsilateral turning in unilateral 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Pretreatment with the selective 5-HT1A antagonist N-[2-[4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-N-2-pyridinyl-cyclohexanecarboxiamide maleate (WAY-100635, 0.1 mg/kg, s.c.) blocked turning. Blockade of 5-HT synthesis and 5-HT depletion caused by the tryptophan hydroxylase inhibitor dl-p-chlorophenylalanine did not decrease R-(+)-8-OHDPAT-induced turning. Finally, a subset of animals were tested for their turning response to the dopamine agonist apomorphine after tests with R-(+)-8-OHDPAT had been completed. Correlation analysis indicated no relationship existed between the turning response to apomorphine and the turning response to R-(+)-8-OHDPAT. R-(+)-8-OHDPAT induces ipsilateral turning in unilateral 6-OHDA lesioned rats by stimulating postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors, not by altering 5-HT synthesis and release. The mechanism underlying the motor effects of R-(+)-8-OHDPAT appears to differ from classic dopaminergic anti-parkinsonian agents suggesting that 5-HT1A agonists might prove useful adjunctive therapy in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
A Reexamination of Congressional Primary Turnout

Using original data and ordinary least squares regression analysis, this article examines primary turnout for elections to the House of Representatives in 1992 and 1994. These data are compared to earlier estimates of primary turnout that used a substitute measure. The author finds that the previous measure biased regression coefficients, inaccurately estimating the impact of political party and overestimating the influence of some variables while failing to capture the effects of others. Future research ought to rely on the new measure, used here, because substantive conclusions drawn from analyses that use the old measure are in jeopardy.
Derivation of current/voltage characteristics for graded heterojunctions

Current/voltage characteristics for graded heterojunctions are derived from an extension of the theoretical model for graded-gap semiconductors.
Spectroscopic Instruments for Airborne Measurements of Atmospheric Trace Gases

Investigators at the National Center for Atmospheric Research have developed and deployed a state-of-the-art instrument based upon difference frequency generation absorption spectroscopy to carry out such investigations on various airborne platforms.
Early life conditions of overall and cause-specific mortality among inner-city African Americans

Objectives. We examined how early life conditions influence midlife overall and cause-specific mortality in a community cohort of disadvantaged African Americans. Methods. Using a prospective design, we assessed first-grade children and their teachers and families when children were 6 years old, with follow-up at ages 16, 32, and 42 years. We obtained information on death from family members, neighbors, and the National Death Index (NDI). We conducted a survival analysis and competing risk analysis to examine early life predictors of mortality. Results. Of 1242 participants, 87 (7%) had died by 2004. In multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, males who lived in foster care and females with lower math grades in first grade were more likely to die by age 42 years. In multivariate competing risks analysis, hospitalization by the time of first grade was related to mortality from acute and chronic illness. Male gender, being in foster care, and aggressive behavior in first grade were related to mortality from drug use, violence, or suicide. Conclusions. Early classroom, environmental, and family-level interventions are potentially beneficial in reducing later overall and cause-specific mortality. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 18, 2013: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301228). Language: en
Cross-platform expression microarray performance in a mouse model of mitochondrial disease therapy

Abstract Microarray expression profiling has become a valuable tool in the evaluation of the genetic consequences of metabolic disease. Although 3′-biased gene expression microarray platforms were the first generation to have widespread availability, newer platforms are gradually emerging that have more up-to-date content and/or higher cost efficiency. Deciphering the relative strengths and weaknesses of these various platforms for metabolic pathway-level analyses can be daunting. We sought to determine the practical strengths and weaknesses of four leading commercially available expression array platforms relative to biologic investigations, as well as assess the feasibility of cross-platform data integration for purposes of biochemical pathway analyses. Methods: Liver RNA from B6. Alb/cre , Pdss2 loxP/loxP mice having primary coenzyme Q deficiency was extracted either at baseline or following treatment with an antioxidant/antihyperlipidemic agent, probucol. Target RNA samples were prepared and hybridized to Affymetrix 430 2.0, Affymetrix Gene 1.0 ST, Affymetrix Exon 1.0 ST, and Illumina Mouse WG-6 expression arrays. Probes on all platforms were re-mapped to coding sequences in the current version of the mouse genome. Data processing and statistical analysis were performed by R/Bioconductor functions, and pathway analyses were carried out by KEGG Atlas and GSEA. Results: Expression measurements were generally consistent across platforms. However, intensive probe-level comparison suggested that differences in probe locations were a major source of inter-platform variance. In addition, genes expressed at low or intermediate levels had lower inter-platform reproducibility than highly expressed genes. All platforms showed similar patterns of differential expression between sample groups, with ‘steroid biosynthesis' consistently identified as the most down-regulated metabolic pathway by probucol treatment. Conclusions: This work offers a timely guide for metabolic disease investigators to enable informed end-user decisions regarding choice of expression microarray platform best-suited to specific research project goals. Successful cross-platform integration of biochemical pathway expression data is also demonstrated, especially for well-annotated and highly expressed genes. However, integration of gene-level expression data is limited by individual platform probe design and the expression level of target genes. Cross-platform analyses of biochemical pathway data will require additional data processing and novel computational bioinformatics tools to address unique statistical challenges.
A Method for Prediction of the Locations of Linker Regions within Large Multifunctional Proteins, and Application to a Type I Polyketide Synthase

Multifunctional proteins often appear to result from fusion of smaller proteins and in such cases typically can be separated into their ancestral components simply by cleaving the linker regions that separate the domains. Though possibly guided by sequence alignment, structural evidence, or light proteolysis, determination of the locations of linker regions remains empirical. We have developed an algorithm, named UMA, to predict the locations of linker regions in multifunctional proteins by quantification of the conservation of several properties within protein families, and the results agree well with structurally characterized proteins. This technique has been applied to a family of fungal type I iterative polyketide synthases (PKS), allowing prediction of the locations of all of the standard PKS domains, as well as two previously unidentified domains. Using these predictions, we report the cloning of the first fragment from the PKS norsolorinic acid synthase, responsible for biosynthesis of the first isolatable intermediate in aflatoxin production. The expression, light proteolysis and catalytic abilities of this acyl carrier protein–thioesterase didomain are discussed.
Nonlinear discriminant adaptive nearest neighbor classifiers

Nearest neighbor classifiers are one of most common techniques for classification and ATR applications. Hastie and Tibshirani propose a discriminant adaptive nearest neighbor (DANN) rule for computing a distance metric locally so that posterior probabilities tend to be homogeneous in the modified neighborhoods. The idea is to enlongate or constrict the neighborhood along the direction that is parallel or perpendicular to the decision boundary between two classes. DANN morphs a neighborhood in a linear fashion. In this paper, we extend it to the nonlinear case using the kernel trick. We demonstrate the efficacy of our kernel DANN in the context of ATR applications using a number of data sets.
Isolation of a deep-sea barophilic bacterium and some of its growth characteristics

A bacterium, a spirillum, has been isolated from a deep-sea sample and has been found to grow optimally at about 500 bars and 2° to 4°C. These conditions are similar to those prevailing at the 5700-meter depth from which the sample was collected. The organism grows at these pressures and temperatures with a generation time of between 4 and 13 hours; at atmospheric pressure and 2° to 4°C, the generation time is about 3 to 4 days.
Knowledge and Subjunctive Conditionals

What relation must hold between a fact p and the corresponding belief that p for the belief to amount to knowledge? Many authors have recently proposed that the relation can be captured by subjunctive conditionals. In this paper I critically evaluate the main proposals along those lines.
From clinical insights to new therapies.

there was a very positive response to the special call, Metabolic Syndrome, appearing in this issue of the American Journal of Physiology–Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology . This is an opportunity to look back at the important studies related to this topic that have appeared in
Finite element analysis of tube stability in deep water

Abstract In this paper, computational techniques for the analysis of tube stability in deep water are outlined and applications to pipelines and tubular members of offshore structures are discussed. Results are presented on buckle propagation and arrest in pipelines. Also, the role of external pressure on the axial and bending capacities of tubular members is examined.
Benchmarking of Optical Dimerizer Systems

Optical dimerizers are a powerful new class of optogenetic tools that allow light-inducible control of protein-protein interactions. Such tools have been useful for regulating cellular pathways and processes with high spatiotemporal resolution in live cells, and a growing number of dimerizer systems are available. As these systems have been characterized by different groups using different methods, it has been difficult for users to compare their properties. Here, we set about to systematically benchmark the properties of four optical dimerizer systems, CRY2/CIB1, TULIPs, phyB/PIF3, and phyB/PIF6. Using a yeast transcriptional assay, we find significant differences in light sensitivity and fold-activation levels between the red light regulated systems but similar responses between the CRY2/CIB and TULIP systems. Further comparison of the ability of the CRY2/CIB1 and TULIP systems to regulate a yeast MAPK signaling pathway also showed similar responses, with slightly less background activity in the dark observed with CRY2/CIB. In the process of developing this work, we also generated an improved blue-light-regulated transcriptional system using CRY2/CIB in yeast. In addition, we demonstrate successful application of the CRY2/CIB dimerizers using a membrane-tethered CRY2, which may allow for better local control of protein interactions. Taken together, this work allows for a better understanding of the capacities of these different dimerization systems and demonstrates new uses of these dimerizers to control signaling and transcription in yeast.
Comments on Shrank et al., focus group findings about the influence of culture on communication preferences in end-of-life care.

To the Editors:—Shrank et al.1 have published interesting data about culture-based preferences for end-of-life care discussions. The data suggest that Euroamericans (EAs) and African Americans (AAs) alike value patient autonomy, advance directives, and input from various health professionals. Further, EAs want only “closest” family members in on decision making, seek technical guidance, base decisions on quality of life, and trust health professionals. In contrast, AAs want family and friends in on decision making, seek spiritual guidance, base decisions on possible miracles and protecting life, and distrust health professionals. Yet one comment by the authors surprises us: “… this is the first study to explore patient preferences (about) end-of-life discussions, with a focus on … cultural differences …” Actually, we have already published such data, even in this journal.2,3,4 Many of our data are corroborated by those of Shrank and colleagues. Like them, we found that EAs and AAs believe in patient choice, advance directives, and family participation in decisions. Both groups believe that advance directives improve the chances that patient choices will be honored, and want a particular family member as a proxy. Euroamericans tend to trust that health professionals honor patients' wishes and to refuse life support based on quality-of-life considerations (including functional outcome and hospitalization requirements for aggressive care). In contrast, AAs tend not to trust that health professionals honor patients' wishes and to request life support for as long as possible.2 But our data differ from those of Shrank and colleagues in important ways. Unlike them, we found that EAs prefer to talk about death beforehand; AAs do not.4 Euroamericans also tend to believe that they can control treatment and, thus, want to express their wishes to physicians. In contrast, AAs tend to believe that the health care system—not patients—controls treatment and, thus, hesitate to express their wishes to physicians.2 We also found important gender differences. Specifically, more women than men in both ethnic groups trust the health care system to empower patients and respect their wishes.3 Taken together, all four articles1,2,3,4 reveal general (but not necessarily uniform) preferences within ethnic groups and genders. Knowing these preferences gives health professionals a place to start end-of-life care discussions. Yet the greatest challenge is recognizing variation within groups and avoiding harmful stereotyping. We welcome future contributions by Shrank and colleagues and others to this important field.
The energetic cost of induced fit catalysis: Crystal structures of trypsinogen mutants with enhanced activity and inhibitor affinity

The contribution of induced fit to enzyme specificity has been much debated, although with little experimental data. Here we probe the effect of induced fit on enzyme specificity using the trypsin(ogen) system. BPTI is known to induce trypsinogen to assume a trypsinlike conformation. Correlations are observed between BPTI affinity and the values of kcat/Km for the hydrolysis of two substrates by eight trypsin(ogen) variants. The slope of both correlations is −1.8. The crystal structures of the BPTI complexes of four variant trypsinogens were also solved. Three of these enzymes, K15A, ΔI16V17/D194N, and ΔI16V17/Q156K trypsinogen, are 10- to 100-fold more active than trypsinogen. The fourth variant, ΔI16V17 trypsinogen, is the lone outlier in the correlations; its activity is lower than expected based on its affinity for BPTI. The S1 site and oxyanion hole, formed by segments 184A–194 and 216–223, are trypsinlike in all of the enzymes. These structural and kinetic data confirm that BPTI induces an active conformation in the trypsin(ogen) variants. Thus, changes in BPTI affinity monitor changes in the energetic cost of inducing a trypsinlike conformation. Although the S1 site and oxyanion hole are similar in all four variants, the N-terminal and autolysis loop (residues 142–152) segments have different interactions for each variant. These results indicate that zymogen activity is controled by a simple conformational equilibrium between active and inactive conformations, and that the autolysis loop and N-terminal segments control this equilibrium. Together, these data illustrate that induced fit does not generally contribute to enzyme specificity.
31P NMR and viscometric studies of the interaction of meso-tetra(4-N-methyl-pyridyl)porphine and its Ni(II) and Zn(II) derivatives with DNA

Abstract The interactions of meso-tetra(4-N-methylpyridyl) porphine (TMPyP) and its Zn(II) and Ni(II) derivatives with DNA have been investigated by 31 P NMR and viscometric titrations. TMPyP and its Ni derivative increase the viscosity of linear DNA, cause unwinding and reverse coiling of superhelical DNA, and induce a separate downfield peak in the 31 P NMR spectrum of DNA. The Zn derivative slightly decreases the viscosity of linear DNA, does not unwind superhelical DNA, and does not give a downfield NMR peak. The main DNA 31 P NMR signal is shifted slightly upfield on either the addition of TMPyP or the Ni compound. These results indicate that TMPyP and the Ni(II), but not the Zn(II), derivative bind to DNA by interacalation.
Atrial fibrillation and dementia

Emerging evidence has shown a consistent association between AF and risk of dementia, including Alzheimer׳s disease. It is likely that a constellation of various mechanisms combine to cause dementia in AF patients. Both AF and dementia share multiple common risk factors, and as such these may be targets of early prevention strategies to reduce risk. In patients with AF, choices regarding type and duration of anticoagulation as well as rhythm- and rate-control strategies can influence dementia risk.
Particulate air pollution, systemic oxidative stress, inflammation, and atherosclerosis

Air pollution has been associated with significant adverse health effects leading to increased overall morbidity and mortality of worldwide significance. Epidemiological studies have shown that the largest portion of air pollution-related mortality is due to cardiovascular diseases, predominantly those of ischemic nature. Human studies suggest an association with atherosclerosis and increasing experimental animal data support that this association is likely to be causal. While both gasses and particles have been linked to detrimental health effects, more evidence implicates the particulate matter (PM) components as major responsible for a large portion of the proatherogenic effects. Multiple experimental approaches have revealed the ability of PM components to trigger and/or enhance free radical reactions in cells and tissues, both ex vivo as well as in vivo. It appears that exposure to PM leads to the development of systemic prooxidant and proinflammatory effects that may be of great importance in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. This article reviews the epidemiological studies, experimental animal, and cellular data that support the association of air pollutants, especially the particulate components, with systemic oxidative stress, inflammation, and atherosclerosis. It also reviews the use of transcriptomic studies to elucidate molecular pathways of importance in those systemic effects.
Equilibrium and steady-state flow properties of a suspension of freely rotating chains

Abstract Properties of dilute solutions of macromolecules modeled by Kirkwood-Riseman chains are obtained from kinetic theory. Equilibrium results obtained from kinetic theory are compared with “random walk” values. Although the equilibrium distribution function is quite different from the “random walk” distribution, the equilibrium configuration-averaged properties agree closely. Elongational viscosity and molecular extension are aslo determined as a function of the elongation rate. The effects of chain stiffness on rheological properties are also examined by comparing results of the Kirkwood-Riseman and Kramers chains.
RPE65 operates in the vertebrate visual cycle by stereospecifically binding all-trans-retinyl esters.

RPE65 is a major protein of unknown function found associated with the retinyl pigment epithelial (RPE) membranes [Hamel, C. P., Tsilou, E., Pfeffer, B. A., Hooks, J. J., Detrick, B., and Redmond, T. M. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 15751-15757; Bavik, C. O., Levy, F., Hellman, U., Wernstedt, C., and Eriksson, U. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 20540-20546]. RPE65 knockouts fail to synthesize 11-cis-retinal, the chromophore of rhodopsin, and accumulate all-trans-retinyl esters in the RPE. Previous studies have also shown that RPE65 is specifically labeled with all-trans-retinyl ester based affinity labeling agents, suggesting a retinyl ester binding role for the protein. In the present work, we show that purified RPE65 binds all-trans-retinyl palmitate (tRP) with a K D = 20 pM. These quantitative experiments are performed by measuring the quenching of RPE65 fluorescence by added tRP. The binding for tRP is highly specific because 11-cis-retinyl palmitate binds with a K D = 14 nM, 11-cis-retinol binds with a K D = 3.8 nM, and all-trans-retinol (vitamin A) binds with a K D = 10.8 nM. This stereospecificity for tRP is to be compared to the binding of retinoids to BSA, where virtually no discrimination is found in the binding of the same retinoids. This work provides further evidence that RPE65 functions by birding to and mobilizing the highly hydrophobic all-trans-retinyl esters, allowing them to enter the visual cycle.
DEVELOPMENT AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF A HIGH-PROTEIN, VITAMIN-FORTIFIED FRUIT ROLL-UP FOR CHILDREN WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common genetic disease in the United States. The high protein, vitamin-fortified fruit roll-up was developed to help children with cystic fibrosis by providing a children's snack that is tailored to meet their special nutritional needs. Benefits of the fruit roll-up are that it contains soy protein and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, andK). In addition, it may reduce the number of pills taken daily, thereby facilitating psychological ease for the children and families of children with CF. The fruit roll-up was developed over a two year time period. During that time several challenges were overcome, including finding the upper limit of soy protein isolate that could be successfully incorporated into the formulation. The high protein, vitamin-fortified fruit roll-up was evaluated based on its sensory qualities (appearance, taste, texture, smell, and overall quality) by CF patients at Hershey Medical Center. A nine-point hedonic scale was used for evaluation. Children in the study generally accepted the fruit roll-up.
ROLE OF THE THYROID AND ANTERIOR PITUITARY GLANDS IN THE MAINTENANCE OF THE HARDERIAN GLANDS OF THE RAT

The Harderian gland, a retro-orbital gland, is present in reptiles, amphibians and in many species of mammals, but not in man. It assumes relatively large size in rats (Venable and Grafflin, 1940) and in guinea pigs, where it has received most study. It is a distinctive gland because of its high porphyrin and fat content. Little is known in regard to endocrine influences on this gland. Smelser (1943) and Pochin (1945) have shown that intact or thyroidectomized guinea pigs treated with anterior pituitary extracts develop hypertrophy of the Harderian glands, suggesting a role of the anterior pituitary in their maintenance. During the course of studies in experimental exophthalmos in rats (Boas and Scow, 1954), it was observed that the Harderian glands atrophied following either thyroidectomy or hypophysectomy. Studies were therefore carried out in an attempt to assess the roles of the thyroid, pituitary and other endocrine glands in controlling the Harderian gland in the rat.
Identification of candidate Drosophila olfactory receptors from genomic DNA sequence.

We have taken advantage of the availability of a large amount of Drosophila genomic DNA sequence in the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project database (∼1/5 of the genome) to identify a family of novel seven transmembrane domain encoding genes that are putative Drosophila olfactory receptors. Members of the family are expressed in distinct subsets of olfactory neurons, and certain family members are restricted to distinct portions of the olfactory system. This pattern of expression has interesting similarities to and differences from the expression patterns observed for olfactory receptors in vertebrates. The Drosophila olfactory system is simpler than mammalian systems, yet it is complex enough to present a fascinating system in which to study neural information processing. Moreover, the powerful genetic manipulations available in Drosophila, when combined with electrophysiological and behavioral analyses, make this an attractive model system in which to study olfactory discrimination.
Child abusers' perceptual responses to newborn infant cries varying in pitch

Abstract Twenty abusive and 20 comparison parents rated three groups of infant cries that varied in the amount of high-pitched hyperphonation contained in the acoustic structure. Analyses showed that as the amount of hyperphonation increased across groups of cries, cries were rated by both groups of parents as more likely to lead to the future abuse of the infant. Abusive parents found hyperphonated cries, but not phonated cries, to be more similar to their own abused infant's cries than comparison parents. Attributions regarding whether each cry was from an infant who had previously been abused were then experimentally manipulated and cries were rated on live perceptual scale items. Abusive and comparison parents found hyperphonated cries to be generally more distressing, sick, and urgent than cries with less hyperphonation. Attributing the cry to a previously abused infant, however, resulted in the infant being perceived as generally sounding more sick and less spoiled. Phonated and partially hyperphonated cries were regarded as more arousing and distressing when attributed to abused infants. Unlike comparison parents, abusive parents did not differentiate between phonated and partially hyperphonated cries on ratings of urgency but found hyperphonated cries to be particularly urgent. Crying is discussed as one part of the infant's behavioral repertoire that may contribute to the development of physically abusive parent-infant interactions.
Classifying Semantic Relations in Bioscience Texts

A crucial step toward the goal of automatic extraction of propositional information from natural language text is the identification of semantic relations between constituents in sentences. We examine the problem of distinguishing among seven relation types that can occur between the entities "treatment" and "disease" in bioscience text, and the problem of identifying such entities. We compare five generative graphical models and a neural network, using lexical, syntactic, and semantic features, finding that the latter help achieve high classification accuracy.
Garnet compositions and their use as indicators of peraluminous granitoid petrogenesis — southeastern Arabian Shield

Garnet, an uncommon accessory mineral in igneous rocks, occurs in seven small peraluminous granitoid plutons in the southeastern Arabian Shield; textural equilibrium between garnet and other host granitoid minerals indicates that the garnets crystallized from their host magmas. Compositions of the garnets form three groups that reflect host-granitoid compositions, which in turn reflect source compositions and tectonic regimes in which the host magmas were generated. Garnets from the seven plutons have almandine-rich cores and spessartine-rich rims. This reverse zoning depicts host magma compositional evolution; i.e. rimward spessartine enrichment resulted from progressive, host-magma manganese enrichment. The garnets are heavy rare-earth element enriched; (Lu/La) N ranges from 13 to 355 and one of the garnets contains spectacularly elevated abundances of Y, Ta, Th, U, Zn, Zr, Hf, Sn, and Nb. Involvement of garnets with these trace element characteristics in magma genesis or evolution can have dramatic effects on trace element signatures of the resulting magmas. Other researchers suggest that Mn-enriched magmas are most conducive to garnet nucleation. Although the garnetiferous granitoids discussed here are slightly Mn enriched, other genetically similar peraluminous Arabian granitoids lack garnet; Mn enrichment alone does not guarantee garnet nucleation. The presence of excess alumina in the magma may be a prerequisite for garnet nucleation.
Interaction between a superconducting coil and the power electronics interface on a 100 MJ SMES system

Although numerous studies have focused on the connection of SMES to the utility power grid, fewer have addressed in detail the interactions between the power electronics interface and the SMES coil. While electromagnetic transient models are available from classical transformer studies, little work has been done on how these models apply to SMES coils. This paper presents the computer modeling of the interaction between a 100 MJ/100 MW LTS SMES coil now under construction and its power electronics interface. It is concluded that frequency domain modeling methods are applicable to study SMES coil-converter interactions and to recommend preferred operating frequencies of the power converter provided that certain characteristics unique to SMES systems are accounted for.
Biosynthesis, processing and transport of storage proteins and lectins in cotyledons of developing legume seeds

The storage proteins and lectins that accumulate in the protein bodies of developing legume cotyledons undergo a number of processing steps along the transport pathway from their site of synthesis to their site of deposition. The polypeptides are synthesized on polysomes attached to the endoplasmic reticulum. Synthesis of the polypeptides is always accompanied by the co-translational removal of a signal peptide. Those proteins that are glycoproteins in their mature form are co-translationally glycosylated with high-mannose oligosaccharide side chains. Co-translational sequestration into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum is followed by the formation of oligomers. Transport of these oligomers to the Golgi complex may occur via tubular connections between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi. In the Golgi complex some of the high-mannose side chains are modified by the removal of five to six mannosyl residues, and the addition of fucosyl and terminal N-acetylglucosaminyl residues. This phenomenon has so far been observed only for phytohaemagglutinin, the lectin of Phaseolus vulgaris. From the Golgi complex the storage proteins and lectins are transported to the protein bodies. This transport is mediated by small electron-dense vesicles. In the protein bodies two types of processing occur: proteolytic processing resulting in the formation of smaller polypeptides, and glycolytic processing resulting in the removal of the terminal N-acetylglucosaminyl residues from the modified carbohydrate side chains. All storage proteins and lectins undergo some of these processing steps, and specific examples are discussed in this paper.
Asymptotic Diophantine Approximations to E

—Schmidt5 proved that for almost all real numbers α, the number of solutions in integers p, q of the inequalities $$ \left| {q\alpha - p} \right| < 1/qand1\underline \leqslant q\underline \leqslant B$$ is asymptotic to a constant times log B. One might conjecture that the classical numbers (e.g., algebraic numbers, e, π) behave like almost all numbers. Machine computations’ were carried out for some of these numbers, and they seemed to bear out such a conjecture. Also, Lang3 has proved that the estimate is valid when α is a real quadratic irrationality.
Biomass production potential of grasslands in the oak savanna region of Minnesota, USA.

Biomass harvested from grasslands formerly used for forage production or set aside for conservation has been identified as a potential source of bioenergy feedstocks. Our objective was to characterize yield and chemical composition of biomass harvested from existing grasslands in the oak savanna region of Minnesota and to determine whether aggregated soil properties and grassland type influence biomass yield and feedstock properties. The influence of soil type and dominant functional plant groups on biomass yield, theoretical ethanol yield, and mineral, ash, and lignocellulosic concentration was measured on biomass harvested from 32 grassland sites. Soils with high productivity ratings, as measured by the Minnesota Crop Productivity Index, produced 36 % more biomass than lower quality soils. Grasslands dominated by warm-season species produced 18 % more biomass than those dominated by cool-season species, when measured after senescence during the late-fall harvest time. Biomass harvested from sites dominated by cool-season grasses had higher N, Mg and Cl concentrations than those dominated by warm-season grasses, suggesting that such grasslands could have lower efficiency in thermochemical conversion processes and that repeated harvesting from such grasslands could remove nutrients from the systems. In addition, glucose and xylose concentrations were slightly higher in biomass from sites dominated by warm-season grasses, which resulted in an estimated additional 12 L Mg−1 of ethanol over those dominated by cool-season grasses. Combined with the greater yields, warm-season grasslands could produce an additional 376 L ha−1 year−1.
Processing, inversion, and interpretation of a 2D seismic data set from the North Viking Graben, North Sea

Simultaneous elastic impedance inversion is performed on the 2D North Viking Graben seismic data set used at the 1994 SEG workshop on amplitude variation with offset and inversion. P‐velocity (Vp), S‐velocity (Vs), density logs, and seismic data are input to the inversion. The inverted P‐impedance and S‐impedance sections are used to generate an approximate compressional‐to‐shear velocity ratio (Vp/Vs) section which, in turn, is used along with water‐filled porosity (Swv) derived from the logs from two wells, to generate fluid estimate sections. This is possible as the reservoir sands have fairly constant total porosity of approximately 28 ± 4%, so the hydrocarbon filled porosity is the total porosity minus the water‐filled porosity.To enhance the separation of lithologies and of fluid content, we map Vp/Vs into Swv using an empirical crossplot‐derived relation. This mapping expands the dynamic range of the low end of the Vp/Vs values. The different lithologies and fluids are generally well separated in t...
Quantifying livestock effects on bunchgrass vegetation with Landsat ETM+ data across a single growing season

Grassland systems provide important habitat for native biodiversity and forage for livestock, with livestock grazing playing an important role influencing sustainable ecosystem function. Traditional field techniques to monitor the effects of grazing on vegetation are costly and limited to small spatial scales. Remote sensing has the potential to provide quantitative and repeatable monitoring data across large spatial and temporal scales for more informed grazing management. To investigate the ability of vegetation metrics derived from remotely sensed imagery to detect the effect of cattle grazing on bunchgrass grassland vegetation across a growing season, we sampled 32 sites across four prescribed stocking rates on a section of Pacific Northwest bunchgrass prairie in northeastern Oregon. We collected vegetation data on vertical structure, biomass, and cover at three different time periods: June, August, and October 2012 to understand the potential to measure vegetation at different phenological stages across a growing season. We acquired remotely sensed Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus ETM+ data closest in date to three field sampling bouts. We correlated the field vegetation metrics to Landsat spectral bands, 14 commonly used vegetation indices, and the tasselled cap wetness, brightness, and greenness transformations. To increase the explanatory value of the satellite-derived data, full, stepwise, and best-subset multiple regression models were fit to each of the vegetation metrics at the three different times of the year. Predicted vegetation metrics were then mapped across the study area. Field-based results indicated that as the stocking rate increased, the mean vegetation amounts of vertical structure, cover, and biomass decreased. The multiple regression models using common vegetation indices had the ability to discern different levels of grazing across the study area, but different spectral indices proved to be the best predictors of vegetation metrics for differing phenological windows. Field measures of vegetation cover yielded the highest correlations to remotely sensed data across all sampling periods. Our results from this analysis can be used to improve grassland monitoring by providing multiple measures of vegetation amounts across a growing season that better align with land management decision making.
Derivation and Implementation of the Gradient of the R–7 Dispersion Interaction in the Effective Fragment Potential Method

The dispersion interaction energy may be expressed as a sum over R–n terms, with n ≥ 6. Most implementations of the dispersion interaction in model potentials are terminated at n = 6. Those implementations that do include higher order contributions commonly only include even power terms, despite the fact that odd power terms can be important. Because the effective fragment potential (EFP) method contains no empirically fitted parameters, the EFP method provides a useful vehicle for examining the importance of the leading R–7 odd power term in the dispersion expansion. To fully evaluate the importance of the R–7 contribution to the dispersion energy, it is important to have analytic energy first derivatives for all terms. In the present work, the gradients of the term E7 ∼ R–7 are derived analytically, implemented in the GAMESS software package, and evaluated relative to other terms in the dispersion expansion and relative to the total EFP interaction energy. Periodic boundary conditions in the minimum ima...