cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of systemic endocannabinoid CB-1 receptor antagonism in the acquisition and expression of fructose-conditioned flavor–flavor preferences in rats

Abstract Rats learn to prefer a flavor mixed into a fructose–saccharin solution over a different flavor mixed into a saccharin-only solution which is considered to be a form of flavor–flavor conditioning. Fructose-conditioned flavor preferences are impaired by systemic dopamine D1 and to a lesser degree, D2 receptor antagonism as well as by NMDA, but not opioid, receptor antagonism. Given the emerging role of the endocannabinoid system in mediating hedonically-driven food intake, the present study examined whether systemic administration of the inverse CB-1 receptor agonist, AM-251 would alter fructose-conditioned flavor preferences. In Experiment 1, food-restricted rats were trained over 10 sessions (30 min/day) to drink a fructose–saccharin solution mixed with one flavor (CS+/Fs) and a less-preferred saccharin-only solution mixed with another flavor (CS−/s). Subsequent two-bottle tests with the two flavors in saccharin (CS+/s, CS−/s) occurred 15 min following counterbalanced pairs of AM-251 doses of 0, 0.1, 1 or 3 mg/kg. Preference for CS+/s over CS−/s following vehicle treatment (74%) was significantly reduced by the 0.1 (67%) and 1 (65%) AM-251 doses, whereas CS+/s, but not CS−/s intake was significantly reduced by the 1 and 3 mg/kg AM-251 doses. In Experiment 2, rats received systemic injections of AM-251 (1 mg/kg) or vehicle prior to the 10 CS+/Fs and CS−/s training sessions. In subsequent two-bottle tests (drug-free) the AM-251 and control groups displayed similar preferences for the CS+ flavor (66% vs. 69%). Experiment 3 demonstrated that AM-251 significantly decreased chow intake (24 h), and 1-h intakes of fructose–saccharin and saccharin-only solutions in ad libitum-fed rats. These data indicate that functional CB-1 receptor antagonism significantly reduces the expression, but not the acquisition of fructose-conditioned flavor–flavor preferences. The endogenous endocannabinoid system is therefore implicated in the maintenance of this form of learned flavor preferences.
Use of NMR to study serpin function.

Abstract Two-dimensional heteronuclear [ 1 H, 15 N] single quantum correlation NMR spectra of serpins show dramatic changes between native and loop-inserted conformations, making them very sensitive reporters of the serpin conformation. Much of the spectral overlap that arises when all amides are 15 N labelled can be removed by use of selective labelling of a single type of amino acid, such as alanine. The method allows ready determination of whether loop insertion is present, and to what extent, as well as providing information on motional freedom of components of the complex and of the reactive center loop. With label introduced separately into the proteinase, information can also be obtained on the conformational changes brought about in that moiety by complex formation. In addition, with the use of cryoprobes, high field spectrometers, TROSY-based signal detection and deuteration, samples as small as 1–2 mg can easily be examined, making it applicable to a wide range of serpins, including those that can only be expressed in mammalian cells.
Sodium stabilization of dinucleotide multiplexes in the gas phase

The aggregation and conformations of sodiated dinucleotides were studied in the gas phase. MALDI was used to generate [M − (n − 1)H + nNa]+ ions, yielding single-strand ions having n = 1–3, duplex ions with n = 1–7 and triplex ions with n = 3–10. Collision cross-sections of each sodiated complex were measured in helium using ion mobility based methods and compared to calculated cross-sections of theoretical structures generated by molecular mechanics/dynamics calculations. Three distinct single-strand conformers were observed: one with the nucleobases stacked, one with the planes oriented perpendicular to each other and one with the bases coplanar to each other. One conformer is observed for all of the duplexes except dTG·dTG, dGT·dGT and dTT·dTT (in which two conformers are observed depending on whether the guanine or thymine bases stack). For low values of n, the Na+ ions cluster around the two deprotonated phosphates. However, as n increases, the Na+ ions become more dispersed along the duplex. One conformer is also observed for all of the triplexes. For n = 3–6, three Na+ ions and the three phosphates form a quasi-planar ring with the additional Na+ ions resting above, below and in the middle of the ring. Cytosine and thymine also coordinate to the Na+ ions but adenine and guanine prefer to stack and do not coordinate to the Na+ ions in the ring. The addition of the seventh to tenth Na+ ions breaks the sodium-phosphate ring and the Na+ ions become scattered around the triplex. Differences between experimental and theoretical cross-sections (averaged over the lowest 5 kcal mol−1 structures) of each sodiated complex fell between 1–2%.
The N-Terminal Region of the Murine Coronavirus Spike Glycoprotein Is Associated with the Extended Host Range of Viruses from Persistently Infected Murine Cells

Although murine coronaviruses naturally infect only mice, several virus variants derived from persistently infected murine cell cultures have an extended host range. The mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) variant MHV/BHK can infect hamster, rat, cat, dog, monkey, and human cell lines but not the swine testis (ST) porcine cell line (J. H. Schickli, B. D. Zelus, D. E. Wentworth, S. G. Sawicki, and K. V. Holmes, J. Virol. 71: 9499-9507, 1997). The spike (S) gene of MHV/BHK had 63 point mutations and a 21-bp insert that encoded 56 amino acid substitutions and a 7-amino-acid insert compared to the parental MHV strain A59. Recombinant viruses between MHV-A59 and MHV/BHK were selected in hamster cells. All of the recombinants retained 21 amino acid substitutions and a 7-amino-acid insert found in the N-terminal region of S of MHV/BHK, suggesting that these residues were responsible for the extended host range of MHV/BHK. Flow cytometry showed that MHV-A59 bound only to cells that expressed the murine glycoprotein receptor CEACAM1a. In contrast, MHV/BHK and a recombinant virus, k6c, with the 21 amino acid substitutions and 7-amino-acid insert in S bound to hamster (BHK) and ST cells as well as murine cells. Thus, 21 amino acid substitutions and a 7-amino-acid insert in the N-terminal region of the S glycoprotein of MHV/BHK confer the ability to bind and in some cases infect cells of nonmurine species.
Multiscale Nested Simulations of Rayleigh–Taylor Instabilities in Ionospheric Flows

Nested numerical simulations of ionospheric plasma density structures associated with nonlinear evolution of the Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability in equatorial spread F (ESF) are presented. The numerical implementation of the nested model uses a spatial discretization with a C grid staggering configuration where normal velocities of ions and electrons are staggered one-half grid length from the density of charged particles. The advection of charged particles is computed with a fifth order accurate in space weighted essentially nonoscillatory (WENO) scheme. The continuity equation is integrated using a third-order Runge–Kutta (RK) time integration scheme. The equation for the electric potential is solved at each time step with a multigrid method. For the limited area and nested simulations, the lateral boundary conditions are treated via implicit relaxation applied in buffer zones where the density of charged particles for each nest is relaxed to that obtained from the parent domain. The high resolution in targeted regions offered by the nested model was able to resolve secondary RT instabilities, and to improve the resolution of the primary RT bubble compared to the coarser large domain model. The computational results are validated by conducting a large domain simulation where the resolution is increased everywhere.
Air-sea CO2 fluxes on the U.S. South Atlantic Bight : Spatial and seasonal variability

[1] The partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in surface seawater on the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) of the United States was measured during six cruises from January 2005 to May 2006. The high-resolution pCO2 data allow us to create the first maps of the sea surface pCO2 over the SAB for all seasons. Contrary to an earlier study that was based on limited spatial and seasonal coverage, this study shows that the SAB is a net sink of atmospheric CO2 on an annual basis (−0.48 ± 0.21 mol m−2 a−1). The inner shelf is a source of +1.20 ± 0.24 mol m−2 a−1, while the middle and outer shelves are sinks of −1.23 ± 0.19 and −1.37 ± 0.21 mol m−2 a−1, respectively. Seasonally, the SAB shifts from a sink for atmospheric CO2 in winter to a source in summer. The annual cycle of sea surface temperature plays a dominant role in controlling the seasonal variation of the pCO2. Wind speeds are seasonally anti-correlated with the air-sea pCO2 differences, and this is an important factor in contributing to the net annual air-sea CO2 exchange. Factors related to the estimates of CO2 fluxes in the coast ocean, such as the choice of wind speeds, the correction of gas transfer equations with nonlinearity coefficients, the effect of diel variations of pCO2, the spatial extrapolation of the pCO2 to the nearshore area, and the seasonal interpolation are also discussed.
Separable cooperative and localized translational motions of water confined by a chemically heterogeneous environment.

We report quasi-elastic neutron scattering experiments at two resolutions that probe timescales of picoseconds to nanoseconds for the hydration dynamics of water, confined in a concentrated solution of N-acetyl-leucine-methylamide (NALMA) peptides in water over a temperature range of 248 K to 288 K. The two QENS resolutions used allow for a clean separation of two observable translational components, and ultimately two very different relaxation processes, that become evident when analyzed under a combination of the jump diffusion model and the relaxation cage model. The first translational motion is a localized β-relaxation process of the bound surface water, and exhibits an Arrhenius temperature dependence and a large activation energy of ∼8 kcal mol−1. The second non-Arrhenius translational component is a dynamical signature of the α-relaxation of more fluid water, exhibiting a glass transition temperature of ∼116 K when fit to the Volger Fulcher Tamman functional form. These peptide solutions provide a novel experimental system for examining confinement in order to understand the dynamical transition in bulk supercooled water by removing the unwanted interface of the confining material on water dynamics.
Modal Control of Underactuated Systems

This work addresses the modal control of underactuated mechanical systems, whereby the number of actuators is less than the degree-of-freedom of the underlying mechanical system. The performance of the control system depends on the structure of the feedback gain matrix, that is, the coupling between sensors and actuators. This coupling is often not arbitrary, but the topology of the sensor-actuator network can be a fixed constraint of the control system. This work examines the influence of this structure on the performance of the overlying control system.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Resection of a cervical dumbbell schwannoma with stabilization through a single stage extended posterior approach

Dumbbell tumors of the cervical spine can present considerable management challenges related to adequate exposure of both intraspinal and paraspinal tumor components, potential injury to the vertebral artery, and spinal stability. This video demonstrates the microsurgical removal of a large cervical dumbbell schwannoma with instrumented fusion via a single stage extended posterior approach. The video shows patient positioning, tumor exposure, and the sequence and techniques of tumor resection, vertebral artery identification and protection, and dural repair. The video can be found here: http://youtu.be/3lIVfKEcxss.
That Should Be Me: How Minority CEOs Get Blamed for Low Firm Performance by Other CEOs & Journalists

This study explores the potential for social discrimination in the attributions that top executives make about the performance of other firms with minority CEOs in their communications with journal...
PSO-Based Multi-Criteria Economic Dispatch Considering Wind Power Penetration Subject to Dispatcher's Attitude

Significant attention has been paid to the renewable energy resources such as wind power in recent years. It has potential benefits in curbing emissions and reducing the consumption of irreplaceable fuel reserves. However, the penetration of wind power into traditional fuel-based generation systems will also have some implications such as security concerns due to its unpredictable nature. Thus, in economic power dispatch with wind power penetration, a reasonable tradeoff between system risk and operational cost is desired. In this paper, a bi-objective economic dispatch problem considering wind penetration is formulated, which treats economic and security impacts as conflicting objectives. Different fuzzy membership functions are used to reflect the dispatcher's attitude toward the wind power penetration. A modified multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is adopted to develop a power dispatch scheme which is able to achieve compromise between economic and security requirements. Numerical simulations including sensitivity analysis are reported based on a typical IEEE test power system to show the validity and applicability of the proposed approach.
An Interaction between the N-terminal Region and the Core Domain of Yeast TFIIB Promotes the Formation of TATA-binding Protein-TFIIB-DNA Complexes

The general transcription factor IIB (TFIIB) plays an essential role in transcription of protein-coding genes by eukaryotic RNA polymerase II. We previously identified a yeast TFIIB mutant (R64E) that exhibited increased activity in the formation of stable TATA-binding protein-TFIIB-DNA (DB) complexes in vitro. We report here that the homologous human TFIIB mutant (R53E) also displayed increased activity in DB complex formation in vitro. Biochemical analyses revealed that the increased activity of the R64E mutant in DB complex formation was associated with an altered protease sensitivity of the protein and an enhanced interaction between the N-terminal region and the C-terminal core domain. These results suggest that the intramolecular interaction in yeast TFIIB stabilizes a productive conformation of the protein for the association with promoter-bound TATA-binding protein.
Competitive manufacturing through total productive maintenance

The implementation of total productive maintenance (TPM) in component manufacturing at Intel Corporation is described. TPM originates from the fact that productivity, cost, inventory, production output, safety, and quality all depend on equipment performance. The goal of TPM is to eliminate equipment breakdowns and defects caused by the production process. TPM is aimed at increasing the overall effectiveness of the equipment through the lifetime of the equipment. It integrates all the departments and people in the factory and promotes preventive maintenance through autonomous small group activities. The Intel approach was aimed at applying the concepts of teamwork and participation without focusing on trying to restructure basic job functions. A key element in the program was the use of data driven decision making (D/sup 3/M) methods; D/sup 3/M methods stress that all activities can be quantified; that is, the benefit or cost of any particular program can be measured. It is concluded that the effect of the performance teams was outstanding. >
The OMSI/NSF Young Scholars Research Participation Program

Since 1989, 120 promising high school science students from throughout the U.S. have engaged in an intensive six-week residential summer program of research in geology, archaeology, or ecology as participants in the OMSI-NSF Young Scholars Research Participation Program, conducted by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry with funding from the National Science Foundation (Grant ESI-9452688). Based upon a demonstrated interest in science, an essay, recommendations from teachers and others, Young Scholars are selected from a pool of applicants nationwide. OMSI Young Scholars conduct research as members of a research team and as individuals and write a research paper, under the guidance of a research leader, an instructor, and logistic specialist.
Ulf waves upstream of the Venus bow shock: Properties of one-hertz waves

Pioneer Venus Orbiter data are used here to study the properties of a class of ULF upstream waves with relatively high observed frequencies. These waves show significant similarity to 'one-Hz' waves identified at earth in the ISEE 1 and 2 observations and the whistler waves identified earlier by IMP 6 observations. The waves appear almost immediately after the spacecraft crosses the magnetic field tangent line to the bow shock surface into the region of connected field lines. The wave amplitude decreases with distance from the shock measured along the magnetic field line. Group velocities calculated using the cold plasma dispersion relation indicate that the waves have sufficient upstream velocities to propagate form the shock into the solar wind. The totality of observations seem best explained by a source of right-handed whistler mode waves at the bow shock.
A method of modeling vertical fluid flow and solute transport in a GIS context

Abstract An irrigated agricultural area of 2350 ha in the San Joaquin Valley of California was used for assessing regional-scale vertical flow and solute transport. The study area was sufficiently large to show variability in salt-loading to the groundwater due to cropping and irrigation efficiency. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to store and manipulate a variety of data required for vertical transport modeling of water flow in the field area. Measured data included crop and irrigation schedules, daily evapotranspiration, soil type maps, and field sampling for determination of physical properties such as the saturation percentage and the gravimetric water content. A data classification scheme was developed consisting of four basic types of variables: (1) local variables for point data; (2) spatial variables for data having a constant value within a restricted domain such as an individual quarter-section; (3) derived variables being those selected based on a discrete value of another parameter (e.g. maximum root depth depends on the discrete variable, crop type), and (4) regional variables exhibiting a constant value over the entire study area. Each specific variable was classified utilizing the classification scheme and a relational database was created for all the data. From the data included in this database, calculations of fluid and solute transport were made at selected locations by a capacity-based, one-dimensional transport model. The results of a calculation were incorporated into the database for further manipulation and representation. A sample calculation was run for 315 locations within the field area to determine the spatial variation of salt-loading to the groundwater.
Paleolimnological records of climatic change in North America

Lacustrine fossil records provide long time series of data on limnological and climatic conditions; these data are useful for establishing natural patterns of climate variability and for generating testable hypotheses about atmospheric circulation and climate-ecosystem linkages. Shoreline features can indicate past lake-level fluctuations that may reflect changes in moisture balance, but often these records are discontinuous and are evidence of only extreme conditions. The organisms, geochemistry, and sedimentology of lake sediments may provide a more continuous sequence of direct and indirect lake-climate interactions in the past. The most clearly interpretable paleolirnnological records of climatic change are those that use several lines of evidence to corroborate a climatic hypothesis and are from sites near an ecotone or in regions of extreme climate. In all cases, hydrologic setting mediates a lake's response to climate and must be considered in interpreting sedimentary sequences. Discussion of the impact of recent and future climatic changes necessitates a baseline against which the magnitude of observed or predicted changes can be measured. Commonly we look to recent history as a reference point for comparison; however, the landscape of recent decades, or in some cases even centuries, has been altered greatly by human activities. Thus, to determine whether recent or future climatic change is unique or unusual, we need long natural (preanthropogenic) time series against which observed or predicted climatic states and variability can be compared. Paleolimnological archives are a tool for looking at environmental patterns prior to anthropogenic impact and show a range of climatic states far greater than those documented by written records. Former strand lines of pluvial lakes Bonneville and Lahontan in the western U.S., for example, testify to moisture extremes unsurpassed in recent centuries or even millennia. In addition, one can us: the paleolimnological record as an independent climatic proxy against which patterns and rates of terrestrial response to climatic change can be compared. Here, I present a broad overview of paleoclimatic reconstruction in North America from lacustrine records, with a focus on the late Quaternary. The review is limited to climatic inference from paleolirnnological records, a term I use in a restrictive sense to refer to records of past lake states (physical, biological, and geochemical), as opposed to records of past stream hydrology (e.g. Ely et al. 1993; Knox 1993) or terrestrial conditions. I summarize paleolimnological tools available for reconstruction of past climate, the capabilities and limitations of these tools,
Concurrent validity of Spanish-language versions of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Mental Status Questionnaire, Information-Memory-Concentration test, and Orientation-Memory-Concentration test: Alzheimer's disease patients and nondemented elderly comparison subjects

One-hundred fifty-eight elderly Spanish-speaking U.S. residents (81 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and 77 subjects without dementia) were tested with Spanish-language versions of four brief cognitive assessment instruments: the Mini-Mental State Examination (S-MMSE), the Mental Status Questionnaire (S-MSQ), the Information-Memory-Concentration test (S-IMC), and the Orientation-Memory-Concentration test (S-OMC). Within-group performances were highly correlated for all four instruments. All tests distinguished between the demented and nondemented groups, but best discrimination was achieved with the S-IMC, which correctly classified 98% of subjects. This version was also the best predictor of functional disability, as measured by impairments in instrumental activities of daily living. Within the normal comparison group, neither gender nor a subject's monolingual/bilingual status affected test performance. These four Spanish-language cognitive screening tasks may aid in the evaluation of dementia among Spanish-speaking patients.
Microwave Propagation and Faraday Effect in a Solid State Plasma Waveguide

The conductivity of a solid-state plasma which consists of free electrons and holes in a solid such as a semiconductor becomes a tensor quantity under a dc magnetic field. If we take a coordinate system in such a way that the dc magnetic field B/sub o/ lies along the z-axis, the tensor conductivity may be expressed by /spl =over sigma/= [/spl sigma//sub perp/, -/spl sigma//sub x/, o, /spl sigma//sub x/, /spl sigma//sub perp/, o, o, o, /spl sigma//sub 11/] where if we assume that n/sub e//spl mu//sub e/>>n/sub h//spl mu//sub h/ as in the case of an n-type semiconductor, we have /spl sigma//sub 11/ =qn/sub e//spl mu//sub e/ / (1+j/spl omega//spl tau//sub e/),/spl sigma//sub perp/= /spl sigma//sub 11/ / (1+/spl alpha//sup 2//sub e/) /spl sigma//sub x/ = /spl sigma//sub 11//spl alpha/ sub e/ / (1+ /spl alpha//sup 2//sub e/), and /spl alpha//sub e/ = /spl mu//sub e/B/sub o/ / (1+j /spl omega//spl tau//sub e/). /spl omega/ is the angular frequency, q the electron charge, n the density, /spl mu/ the mobility, and /spl tau/ the relaxation time. The subscripts e and h refer to electrons and holes, respectively. Variations of /spl sigma//sub 11/, /spl sigma//sub perp/, and /spl sigma//sub x/ with B/sub o/ are shown in Fig. 1.
A Model Without a Mimic: Aristolochic Acids from the California Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor hirsuta, and Its Host Plant, Aristolochia californica

The pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor, feeds exclusively on plants in the genus Aristolochia, many of which are known to contain the toxic alkaloids collectively known as aristolochic acids. Pipevine swallowtails sequester these compounds and use them for their own defense against predators. Numerous palatable butterflies are involved in Batesian mimicry complexes with B. philenor over its range. The California subspecies of the pipevine swallowtail, B. philenor hirsuta, has no mimics. Analysis of the butterfly and its only host plant, Aristolochia californica, indicate that both contain aristolochic acid. Aristolochic acid (I) and (II) are the primary aristolochic acids found in A. californica. The highest concentration of aristolochic acids was found in the flowers, which bloom before B. philenor emerges. Concentrations of aristolochic acids decreased in the leaves but not in stem tissue over the course of the season. Butterflies contained primarily aristolochic acid (I). Aristolochic acid content of individuals from Arizona, which are involved in mimicry complexes, did not differ from California populations. Thus, lack of California mimics cannot be attributed to low aristolochic acid content of the model.
Loss of carbon sequestration potential after several decades of shifting cultivation in the Southern Yucatán.

Cumulative losses from shifting cultivation in the tropics can affect the local to regional to global balance of carbon and nutrient cycles. We determined whether shifting cultivation in the Southern Yucatan causes feedbacks that limit future forest productivity and carbon sequestration potential. Specifically, we tested how the recovery of carbon stocks changes with each additional cultivation-fallow cycle. Live aboveground biomass, coarse woody debris, fine woody debris, forest floor litter and soil were sampled in 53 sites (39 secondary forests 2-25 years old, with one to four cultivation-fallow cycles, and 14 mature forests) along a precipitation gradient in Campeche and Quintana Roo, Mexico. From the first to the third or fourth cultivation-fallow cycle, mean carbon stocks in live aboveground biomass debris declined 64%. From the first to the third cycle, coarse woody debris declined by 85%. Despite declining inputs to soil with each cultivation-fallow cycle, soil carbon stocks did not further decline after the initial conversion from mature to secondary forest. The combined aboveground and soil carbon stock declined almost 36% after conversion from mature forest, however two additional cultivation cycles did not promote further significant decline, largely because of the stability of the soil carbon pool. Although age was the dominant factor in predicting total carbon stocks of secondary forests under shifting cultivation, the number of cultivation-fallow cycles should not be neglected. Understanding change beyond the first cycle of deforestation will enhance forest management at a local scale by improving predictions of secondary forest productivity and related agricultural productivity. A multi-cycle approach to deforestation is critical for regional and national evaluation of forest-based carbon sequestration. Finally, models of the global carbon cycle can be better constrained with more accurate quantification of carbon fluxes from land-use change.
ACCEPTABILITY OF MICROWAVE AND CONVENTIONALLY BAKED POTATOES

A survey of 200 consumers who purchased fresh potatoes in supermarkets showed that 16% owned microwave ovens and most of these owners usually bake fresh potatoes in microwave ovens. Microwave and conventionally baked Norgold Russet and Viking potatoes grown in West Texas were evaluated by a lo-member trained sensory panel and by 120 consumers in a supermarket. Microwave baked potatoes had significantly greater percent cooking loss, less cooking time, and lower sensory scores by the trained panel than conventionally baked potatoes. However, the consumers indicated no significant difference in the preference or acceptability of microwave and conventionally baked potatoes. Specific gravity was not significantly related to texture or overall acceptability.
Public goods and the value of product quality regulations: the case of food safety

Abstract The paper examines preferences for product quality regulations. Our premise is that preferences for product quality regulations derive from preferences for both private and public goods. The model is used to explain public attitudes toward a referendum measure to eliminate pesticide residues on food. Results from a survey of consumers are consistent with the conceptual model and show that preferences for public goods influence support for the product quality regulation. The results help explain why consumption behavior is a poor predictor of political behavior, and have implications for methods that use voting and market behavior to value public goods.
Convex and concave relaxations of implicit functions

A deterministic algorithm for solving nonconvex NLPs globally using a reduced-space approach is presented. These problems are encountered when real-world models are involved as nonlinear equality constraints and the decision variables include the state variables of the system. By solving the model equations for the dependent state variables as implicit functions of the independent decision variables, a significant reduction in dimensionality can be obtained. As a result, the inequality constraints and objective function are implicit functions of the independent variables, which can be estimated via a fixed-point iteration. Relying on the recently developed ideas of generalized McCormick relaxations and McCormick-based relaxations of algorithms and subgradient propagation, the development of McCormick relaxations of implicit functions is presented. Using these ideas, the reduced space, implicit optimization formulation can be relaxed. When applied within a branch-and-bound framework, finite convergence to e-optimal global solutions is guaranteed.
Investigating Physical Systems with Optical Spectroscopy

The article is based on the lectures that I delivered at the beginning of the course “Frontiers of Optical Spectroscopy,” a NATO Advanced Study Institute that took place at the Ettore Majorana Center in Erice, Italy, May 16 – June 1, 2003.
GPI- and transmembrane-anchored influenza hemagglutinin differ in structure and receptor binding activity

We investigated the influence of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor on the ectodomain of the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) by replacing the wild type (wt) transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains with a GPI lipid anchor. GPI-anchored HA (GPI-HA) was transported to the cell surface with equal efficiency and at the same rate as wt-HA. Like wt-HA, cell surface GPI-HA, and its ectodomain released with the enzyme PI-phospholipase C (PI-PLC), were 9S trimers. Compared to wt-HA, the GPI-HA ectodomain underwent additional terminal oligosaccharide modifications; some of these occurred near the receptor binding pocket and completely inhibited the ability of GPI-HA to bind erythrocytes. Growth of GPI-HA-expressing cells in the presence of the mannosidase I inhibitor deoxymannojirimycin (dMM) abrogated the differences in carbohydrate modification and restored the ability of GPI-HA to bind erythrocytes. The ectodomain of GPI-HA produced from cells grown in the presence or absence of dMM underwent characteristic low pH-induced conformational changes (it released its fusion peptides and became hydrophobic and proteinase sensitive) but at 0.2 and 0.4 pH units higher than wt-HA, respectively. These results demonstrate that although GPI-HA forms a stable trimer with characteristics of the wt, its structure is altered such that its receptor binding activity is abolished. Our results show that transmembrane and GPI-anchored forms of the same ectodomain can exhibit functionally important differences in structure at a great distance from the bilayer.
New Product Development and Innovation: Literature Explorations and Decriptions

This paper explores the New Product Development (NPD) literature by focusing on technological evoluation and revolution. Critical success factors in product development are described by real cases. The paper also identifies areas of future study on NPD. Technological evolution is viewed in three perspectives: 1. the best time for new businesses to enter into markets, 2. the incumbents' response to the challenge from an entrant, and 3. the mortality of firms in an industry. The characteristics of each perspective are described in detail. the emphasis on the technological revolution is viewed as the comparison between sustaining technology versus disruptive technology and the types of innovation involved.
Language Efficiency and Visual Technology Minimizing Collaborative Effort with Visual Information

When collaborators work on a physical task, seeing a common workspace transforms their language use and reduces their overall collaborative effort. This article shows how visual information can make communication more efficient. In an experiment, dyads collaborated on building a puzzle. They communicated without a shared visual space, using a shared space featuring immediately updated visual information, and using a shared space featuring delayed visual updating. Having the shared visual space helps collaborators understand the current state of their task and enables them to ground their conversations efficiently, as seen in the ways in which participants adapted their discourse processes to their level of shared visual information. These processes are associated with faster and better task performance. Delaying the visual update reduces benefits and degrades performance. The shared visual space is more useful when tasks are visually complex or when participants have no simple vocabulary for describing th...
Thyrotoxicosis with primary presentation as dysphagia: a rare manifestation

Thyrotoxicosis refers to the clinical manifestations associated with elevated serum levels of T 4 or T 3 in an individual. Dysphagia is a common problem but a rare manifestation of hyperthyroidism. Dysphagia is an uncommon manifestation of thyrotoxic myopathy. Reports have been sparse and its incidence is not clear. In our case report patient presented who with dysphagia and weight loss and investigation revealed hyperthyroidism. Patient dysphagia subsequently resolved after receiving treatment with methimazole and beta-blockers. This case report the need to include thyrotoxicosis in the differential diagnosis of an otherwise unexplained case of dysphagia.
Differentiation of intramedullary neoplasms and cysts by MR

To determine the MR criteria that are effective for differentiating intramedullary neoplasms from syringo- or hydromyelia, we reviewed MR scans made on prototype and commercial imagers of 33 patients with surgically confirmed cord abnormalities, including nine intramedullary neoplasms and 20 cysts (syringo- or hydromyelia). Two radiologists who did not know the clinical and radiologic diagnoses were asked to evaluate the scans with respect to cord expansion, distinctness of the disease margin, homogeneity, and signal intensity. These observations were correlated with the proved diagnoses. The combination of distinct margins and uniform signal intensity equal to that of CSF correlated consistently (88%) with spinal cord cysts. Other combinations were less reliable for diagnosing a cyst or tumor.
Beyond a Social Capital Agenda: Exploring Metrics and Motives Inside Business Incubators in Arkansas

Business incubators serve as a viable communal resource given the number of obstacles entrepreneurs face to successfully launch and commercialize a new venture. Yet given the wealth of positive economic impact a successful startup can bestow on its community, there is a lack of research on how to define, improve and deliver the incubator’s value so that entrepreneurs can grow. This case study suggests that in the context of the incubator environment, social capital can be expanded to include psychological capital. The findings suggest studying the business incubator from an organizational management perspective may enhance how the executive leadership designates Key Performance Indicators, designs curriculum and improves its marketing and communications messaging.
Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography for Non-Destructive, Quantitative Assessment of the Early Stages of Fracture Healing

Each year in the United States, approximately 600,000 bone fractures show delayed or impaired healing and require subsequent surgical intervention1. Techniques for early identification of these cases are presently lacking but could make substantial impact on reducing the morbidity and costs associated with poor bone healing. A current barrier to early assessment of fracture healing is the difficulty in visualizing the cartilaginous “soft” callus that forms at the fracture site in the early stages of repair. The soft callus serves to partially stabilize the fracture and provides a template for subsequent formation of the bony “hard” callus2. Although measurement or estimation of the size, stiffness, and strength of the hard callus is possible by x-ray or computed tomography (CT)3, no analogous methods have been developed for the soft callus, due to the low radio-opacity of cartilage.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
The Aesthetic Interpretation of Life in The Tale of Genji

I first intend to focus on the refinement or rarefication of the cult of beauty which existed in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries in Japan, at the time when Murasaki Shikibu, or Lady Murasaki, wrote her universally acclaimed masterpiece, the Genji monogatari, or The Tale of Genji.1 She was born almost exactly a millennium ago, and her novel covers the reigns of four emperors (significantly, those of Genji’s father, his brother, his son, and his nephew, in that order), or approximately sixty or seventy years. Presumably, if the final portions of the novel are set in the contemporary period, i. e., the time when she was concluding the novel, it would cover a period from about the middle of the tenth century to the early eleventh century. The reason we can think that the depiction of the elegance (the Japanese term miyabi meaning “elegance” is widely used to characterize the court culture of Heian, the imperial capital), the extaordinary sensitivity to the beauties of nature, the beauty of women — the beauty of men also, for that matter — the beauty of music, pictures, clothing, incense, perfume, even certain kinds of games, reflects actuality, and is not just a kind of idealized world that Murasaki creates, is that we have other texts, such as Sei Shonagon’s exquisite Makura no sōshi, or The Pillow Book,2 thought to have been written in the last decade of the tenth century, and diaries of the same general period, which recount, and give us detailed descriptions of, precisely the same kinds of practices, the same kinds of aesthetic pursuits.
The Establishment of Geohistory

Martin Rudwick has said that with the completion of Worlds Before Adam he has no further large-scale writing plans in view. Two years ago (2007) he added the Sarton Medal to the cluster of awards on his shelf, and this year (2009) he reaches the age of seventy-seven. He is entitled to take great satisfaction as he surveys the remarkable body of work that has made him the most accomplished and influential historian of the earth sciences of his time. Fortunately, it would be mistaken to suppose that, lacking designs on another big project, Rudwick will lapse into silence. However, taking his remarks about this at face value, it may be fitting in a review of this latest book to make a few observations as well on the broader project it concludes and on what gives coherence to his oeuvre. Worlds Before Adam is the extension of and sequel to his 2005 volume Bursting the Limits of Time: The Reconstruction of Geohistory in the Age of Revolution.1 It will be convenient here to follow Rudwick in referring to these books as WBA and BLT, respectively. WBA is, as Rudwick states, entirely intelligible on its own, without requiring that BLT be read first. But the experience is greatly enriched by reading the two together, a point underscored by the many cross-references in WBA to relevant portions of BLT. And much of the historical analysis in these massive volumes represents, as Rudwick explains, elaboration on work that went into his previous books and articles.2
Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Inhibitor Induced Complete Remission of a Recurrent Subependymal Giant Cell Astrocytoma in a Patient Without Features of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

The majority of patients with subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) have tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). In such patients, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor everolimus has been shown to induce responses. Isolated SEGA have been reported in patients without clinical or genetic features of TSC. The treatment of these patients with everolimus has not previously been reported. We treated a patient with a recurrent isolated SEGA with an mTOR inhibitor. The patient tolerated therapy well and had a sustained complete remission. MTOR inhibitors may be useful for the treatment of isolated SEGA. Further study is warranted.
Airborne multistatic polarimetric radar modeling

Previous work developed a data model and corresponding imaging operation for multistatic polarimetric radar with stationary transmitters and receivers and moving targets. This paper extends the model to an airborne multistatic polari-metric radar scenario and considers multiple moving transmitting and receiving platforms in addition to moving targets. The formulation results in an expression for the received data that may be coherently combined across receivers, represented in a global coordinate system.
Radioimmunoassay of procollagen in serum of patients with Paget's disease of bone.

SummaryA new radioimmunoassay for human procollagen showed that the sera of 46 of 50 untreated patients with Paget's disease of bone contained increased concentrations of procollagen protein as compared to normal adults. After therapy with disodium etidronate, all the elevated serum procollagen concentrations decreased significantly, falling to normal levels in 33 of 40 patients. The procollagen levels before and after treatment were coordinate with the values for urinary total hydroxyproline and serum alkaline phosphatase activity. The data show that the radioimmunoassay for procollagen is a dependable and useful adjunct to the study of Paget's disease of bone.The authors thank Dr. Robert E. Canfield of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Dr. Walther Bohne of The Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, N.Y., for making available sera and clinical chemistries from 36 of their patients. Their studies were supported in part by NIH Grant No. AMO 9579.This work was supported by NIH Grant No. 1 R01 HL 175...
Sexuality in Allomyces Cystogenus

The genus Allomyces has been subdivided by Emerson (1941) into three subgenera on the basis of the type of life cycle. Those forms in which there is an alternation of an asexual plant, bearing zo6sporangia and resistant sporangia, with a sexual one, bearing paired male and female gametangia, are included in the subgenus Euallomyces. Some isolates have repeatedly failed to produce a sexual generation. The single type of thallus in these forms corresponds in its general morphology to the asexual plant of members of the subgenus Euallomyces, i.e., bearing zo6sporangia and resistant sporangia. Such forms are segregated into a subgenus, Brachyallomyces. The third subgenus, Cystogenes, likewise, has only one generation. Its thallus is similar to that of Brachyallomyces and to the asexual plant of Euallomyces. Here, however, according to Emerson, the zo6spores released upon the germination of the resistant sporangia are biflagellate instead of uniflagellate as in Euallomyces and Brachyallomyces and, instead of developing directly into thalli, they encyst and later give rise to a tetrad of uniflagellate zo6spores each of which then develops into an asexual thallus. In the absence of cytological evidence it is not possible to interpret with certainty the Cystogenes life history. Emerson points out the close similarity between the biflagellate primary R.S. zoospores (zo6spores from the germinating resistant sporangia) and the biflagellate planozygotes of Euallomyces and, in an attempt to explain this similarity, suggests that sexual fusions may take place inside the resistant sporangia during their germination. In other words, the primary R.S. zo6spores might actually be zygotes. The production of secondary R.S. zo6spores (zo6spores produced in the cysts) in groups of four indicates that meiotic divisions may
Weak Cayley table groups III: PSL(2,q)

ABSTRACTA weak Cayley table isomorphism is a bijection φ:G→H of groups such that φ(xy)∼φ(x)φ(y) for all x,y∈G. Here ∼ denotes conjugacy. When G = H the set of all weak Cayley table isomorphisms φ:G→G forms a group &#x1d4b2;(G) that contains the automorphism group Aut(G) and the inverse map I:G→G,x↦x−1. Let &#x1d4b2;0(G) = ⟨Aut(G),I⟩≤&#x1d4b2;(G) and say that G has trivial weak Cayley table group if &#x1d4b2;(G) = &#x1d4b2;0(G). We show that PSL(2,pn) has trivial weak Cayley table group, where p≥5 is a prime and n≥1.
Evaluation of multiplex assay platforms for detection of influenza hemagglutinin subtype specific antibody responses

Influenza hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and virus microneutralization assays (MN) are widely used for seroprevalence studies. However, these assays have limited field portability and are difficult to fully automate for high throughput laboratory testing. To address these issues, three multiplex influenza subtype-specific antibody detection assays were developed using recombinant hemagglutinin antigens in combination with Chembio, Luminex®, and ForteBio® platforms. Assay sensitivity, specificity, and subtype cross-reactivity were evaluated using a panel of well characterized human sera. Compared to the traditional HI, assay sensitivity ranged from 87% to 92% and assay specificity in sera collected from unexposed persons ranged from 65% to 100% across the platforms. High assay specificity (86-100%) for A(H5N1) rHA was achieved for sera from exposed or unexposed to hetorosubtype influenza HAs. In contrast, assay specificity for A(H1N1)pdm09 rHA using sera collected from A/Vietnam/1204/2004 (H5N1) vaccinees in 2008 was low (22-30%) in all platforms. Although cross-reactivity against rHA subtype proteins was observed in each assay platform, the correct subtype specific responses were identified 78%-94% of the time when paired samples were available for analysis. These results show that high throughput and portable multiplex assays that incorporate rHA can be used to identify influenza subtype specific infections.