cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
AMMONIA PRODUCTION IN UREA‐GROWN CULTURES OF CHLORELLA ELLIPSOIDEA12

SUMMARY Production of ammonia by urea-grown Chlorella ellipsoidea was investigated. Ammonia was produced during the stationary growth phase in cultures with urea as sole nitrogen source and glucose as supplementary carbon source. Ammonia was produced only in medium containing excess urea and limiting amounts of glucose. Ammonia production was accompanied by increase in pH. In cultures with nitrate as sole nitrogen source and glucose as supplementary carbon source, growth and pH changes were similar to those in urea-glucose medium, but no ammonia was detected. Cultures grown in urea-acetate medium were similar to those grown in urea medium without additional organic carbon source. No ammonia was produced under these circumstances and growth was significantly lower than that achieved in glucose-supplemented cultures. C. ellipsoidea evidently produces an enzyme or enzyme system which forms ammonia from urea. This organism was reportedly urease-free because previous workers did not detect ammonia formation from urea. Our findings indicate that special circumstances are required to produce detectable amounts of ammonia from urea. These findings are in agreement with a recent report of urea-splitting, cofactor-requiring enzyme in cell-free extracts of Chlorella.
Self-efficacy to Negotiate Partner Condom Use Among High-risk Adolescent Girls

Background Sexually active adolescent girls whose partners do not use condoms are at significant risk for sexually transmitted disease (SID). Low self-efficacy to negotiate partner condom use has been shown to be a major determinant of high-risk sexual behavior among adult women, but the factors that influence adolescent girls’ ability to engage in protected intercourse have not been fully explored. This study was undertaken to determine the association between self-efficacy to negotiate condom use and self-reported condom use. Methods 21 nonpregnant adolescent girls with cervicitis or pelvic inflammatory disease were enrolled over a 4-month period. Participants were interviewed to collect demographic infonnation, then completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included a 6-item condom use negotiation scale (Cronbach's alpha =.80), a 16-item SID prevention knowledge scale (Cronbach's alpha =.79), and questions on frequency of condom use, condom use at last sexual intercourse, and other sexual risk behaviors. Results Mean age was 17.3 years (range 14–22). 57% were black and 14% were Hispanic. Mean age at first sexual intercourse was 14.4 years; mean number of lifetime sexual partners was 6.2 (range 1–25) and 62% had I partner in the past 3 months. Over 80% reported high frequency partner condom use (“all of the time” or “most of the time”), but only 38% reported partner condom use at last intercourse. All participants whose partner used a condom at last intercourse also reported high frequency condom use. Mean knowledge score was 14.3 (± 2.4) (possible score 0–16). Knowledge score was not associated with condom use or negotiation score. Mean negotiation score was 26.1 (± 5.0) (possible score 6–30). Participants whose partner used a condom at last intercourse had higher negotiation scores than those whose partner did not (Wilcoxon Rank Sum test, p = 0.03). Participants who reported high frequency condom use had higher negotiation scores than those who reported low frequency condom use, but this difference was not significant. Conclusions High self-efficacy to negotiate condom use is associated with self-reported partner condom use at last sexual intercourse among high-risk adolescent girls. Further investigation into the influence of self-efficacy to negotiate condom use in adolescent girls is warranted and may have significant implications for development of STD risk reduction interventions.
Nonlinear Optical Polymers Derived From Organic/Inorganic Composites

Abstract : A general approach to the development of multicomponent multifunctional stable NLO materials based on sol-gel reactions has been discussed. We have shown that these second order NLO organic/inorganic composites exhibit excellent room temperature stability of the second order optical nonlinearity. The final structure is an orientationally ordered organic/ inorganic network. After an initial decay, excellent long term stability at elevated temperatures, ranged from 100 to 120 deg C is observed for a number of different systems. The second order optical nonlinearities are reasonably large for radical device considerations. Sol-gel, Nonlinear optical polymers, Organic/ inorganic composites.
Control of Stem Elongation and Flowering in Scrophularia marilandica

The influence of temperature, photoperiod. and certain metabolities was determined for stem elongation and flowering in Scrophularia marilandica. Induction for flowering did not occur until several weeks after the beginning of rapid stem elongation. From the experiments reported it is concluded that S. marilandica is a high-temperature quantitative long-day plant. Temperatures above 20°C negate the absolute requirement for long days for flowering. Plants exposed to photoperiods as brief as 4 hours flowered, given high temperatures. Stem elongation was found to be a necessary prerequisite for flowering. The process of stem elongation was somewhat more sensitive to inhibition by low temperatures than flowering and to a great extent more sensitive than leaf formation and leaf growth. Vernalization was found to be unnecessary for stem elongation and flowering. Gibberellic acid promoted stem elongation and branching without flowering under conditions resembling cool short days. Other metabolities were tested but had no observable effects.
Near-threshold K+ production in heavy-ion collisions.

Within a hadronic transport model we study in detail contributions to kaon yields and momentum spectra from various baryon (resonance)-baryon (resonance) and $\pi N$ interactions in heavy-ion collisions at beam energies near the free-space kaon production threshold. It is found that the finite lifetime of baryon resonances affects significantly the shape of kaon spectra, and the high energy parts of the kaon spectra are dominated by kaons from $\pi N\rightarrow \Lambda K^{+}$ processes. $N^{*}(1440)$ resonances are found to contribute about 10\% to the kaon yield. Effects of boosting the Fermi momentum distributions of the two colliding nuclei into their center of mass frame, centrality of the reaction as well as the nuclear equation of state on kaon yields and spectra are also discussed. Model calculations on $K^{+}$, $\pi^{+}$ and $\pi^{-}$ spectra for the reaction of Au+Au at $E_{beam}/A= 1.0$ GeV are compared with the experimental data from the KaoS collaboration.
Optimization of the Adsorber in an Adsorption Solar-Powered Cooling System

The adsorption solar-powered cooling system is one of several types of solar-powered cooling systems currently under development. Increasing the efficiency and decreasing the cost of this system will make it a commercially viable alternative to traditional refrigeration systems. The objective of this project was to optimize the adsorber in the adsorption system. A mathematical model of the refrigerant distribution within a cylindrical adsorber was developed using equations from Chua et al. [1]. The simulation revealed effects of varying design parameters on the theoretical refrigerant mass flow rate, which is directly proportional to the system refrigeration capacity. These results indicated parameter values to be used in designing the adsorber. It was found that decreased particle radius, decreased bed porosity, increased pipe radius, increased adsorber radius, and increased fin thickness all positively affect the performance of the adsorption system. Further simulation and experimental trials are recommended to verify these results.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Recent advances in mammalian protein production

Mammalian protein production platforms have had a profound impact in many areas of basic and applied research, and an increasing number of blockbuster drugs are recombinant mammalian proteins. With global sales of these drugs exceeding US$120 billion per year, both industry and academic research groups continue to develop cost effective methods for producing mammalian proteins to support pre-clinical and clinical evaluations of potential therapeutics. While a wide range of platforms have been successfully exploited for laboratory use, the bulk of recent biologics have been produced in mammalian cell lines due to the requirement for post translational modification and the biosynthetic complexity of the target proteins. In this review we highlight the range of mammalian expression platforms available for recombinant protein production, as well as advances in technologies for the rapid and efficient selection of highly productive clones.
Technology serving the broadcaster

Video is a very demanding medium to handle. It has always required leading-edge technology to build new systems that can operate efficiently for broadcast applications where speed and quality are both in demand. The latest step is the development of video servers offering large scale central storage and simultaneous access for a number of on-line users. Being central to the whole operation, servers define the overall performance of the entire facility, so their specification is vital to the success of the whole operation. Although new, there are already many variants of video servers on offer differing, widely in performance and capabilities. This paper first traces a brief history of tapeless digital storage in television, with projections to the year 2000, and then looks at some of the parameters that define server performance making special reference to the demands of post production (as well as referring to transmission playout). Finally it looks at how today's digital technology can be applied to build a server for this area.
Do bending and torsional potentials affect the unraveling dynamics of flexible polymer chains in extensional or shear flows

Abstract We compare the flow-induced unraveling of a bead-spring model chain in which each stiff spring corresponds to a single Kuhn step to that of an atomistic representation of the backbone of the same polymer chain with realistic bending and torsional potentials. In our earlier work [Jain, S. and Larson, R.G. 2008. Effect of bending and torsional potentials on high-frequency viscoelasticity of dilute polymer solutions. Macromolecules 41(10), 3692–3700], we showed that in the linear viscoelastic regime, bending and torsional potentials suppress fast local diffusive modes. Now, in strong shear and extensional flows, we observe that bending and torsional potentials have only a slight effect on unraveling dynamics. However, in shear flow, we find that for relatively short coarse-grained chains having less than 20 or so Kuhn steps—representing polymers with fewer than around 150 backbone bonds—coarse-graining introduces periodic peaks in the probability distribution of steady-state stretch. We believe this occurs at high shear because of the dominance of a discrete set of stretch values each of which corresponds to an integral number of bonds that are nearly fully aligned between back-folds that are created during the chain's tumbling orbit. Even this difference between coarse-grained and realistic fine-grained chains disappears for more typical long chain lengths.
dGEMRIC as a function of BMI

Summary Objective Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) reflects cartilage glycosaminoglycan (GAG) distribution. The technique assumes that the plasma levels of the contrast agent Gd-DTPA 2− are the same across individuals after intravenous (IV) injection, when dosing by weight. However, adipose tissue has lower extracellular water (ECW) than lean tissue. The aims of this study were to measure (1) plasma Gd-DTPA 2− levels vs body mass index (BMI), and (2) dGEMRIC vs BMI after correcting for the dose–BMI effect. Method (1) Plasma Gd-DTPA 2− levels were analyzed at 3–90min after IV injection per body weight in 24 individuals with BMI between 21.5 and 46.5. (2) dGEMRIC was compared with BMI in 19 asymptomatic volunteers and 23 with osteoarthritis (OA). Results (1) Plasma Gd-DTPA 2− kinetics were similar in obese and non-obese groups, however, overall concentration was higher in the obese group. A very obese subject (BMI 45) would have 1.4 times higher Gd-DTPA 2− concentration than a lean subject (BMI 20), which translates into a bias in dGEMRIC of up to 20%. (2) With dose bias taken into account, dGEMRIC showed no correlation with BMI in asymptomatic knees. In OA knees, unnarrowed femoral compartments demonstrated a negative correlation between dGEMRIC and BMI ( R =0.57, P =0.004). No correlation was seen in radiographically narrowed compartments. Conclusion BMI can be a source of dosing bias in dGEMRIC and a correction factor should be considered in cross-sectional studies with a large range of BMI. There is no correlation between dGEMRIC and BMI in asymptomatic knees, but a negative correlation in OA knees.
Cell-cycle sensitivity, recovery from radiation damage and a new paradigm for risk assessment

Tikvah Alper's interest in science was broad, from scrapie to mammalian cells and cancer. Much of her own work focused on cell lethality, like that of many other radiobiologists, but this was natural because of the simplicity of the endpoint cell survival and its relevance to cancer therapy. Tikvah had broader interests, however, that included the effects of radiation on living systems in general like the induction of cancer and the cellular and molecular processes contributing to it. In this essay, some ideas are developed that lie in the mainstream of her interests. Starting with functional measures of the recovery or repair from radiation damage, a role for repair is illustrated in connection with mutagenesis and neoplastic transformation both discussed in the context of radiation-induced cancer. These topics are central to a model explaining the anomalous enhanced neoplastic transformation and cancer observed when low doses of a high-LET radiation are protracted in time. Under particular circumstances, the formalism of the model predicts application to protracted low-LET exposures as in the instance of repair-deficient target cells and sporadic breast cancer. The latter discussion leads to the proposal that the paradigm in current use for evaluating cancer risk should be broadened: from a simple dose-effect relation to one that includes cell kinetics (during protracted exposures), cell-cycle dependencies, and the influence of cellular repair or the lack thereof.
Visual pigments of crayfish.

Crayfish eye extracts contain two visual pigments resembling in spectrum vertebrate rhodopsin and iodopsin. In these crayfish, as in primates, the “iodopsin” appears to be the red sensitive pigment of colour vision.
An estimate of the nucleation time in the martensitic transformation

A method for the determination of nucleation times for martensitic transformation is described. The method utilizes a shock wave that, upon being reflected at a free surface, generates a tensile wave with a pulse duration that increases as it moves away from the surface. Once the duration of the reflected pulse is large enough for nucleation to occur, transformation can take place. The width of the martensite free layer adjoining the surface is measured and compared with wave predictions. A nucleation time can be obtained. The method requires that the temperature, pulse amplitude, and alloy composition be such that only the reflected tensile wave induce martensite transformation. For the experimental conditions used by Snell, Shyne, and Goldberg10 the nucleation time is found to be less than 55 nanoseconds.
Remainders of arcwise connected compactifications of the plane

Abstract A. Lelek asked which continua are remainders of locally connected compactifications of the plane. In this paper we study a similar problem with local connectedness replaced by arcwise connectedness. (Each locally connected continuum is arcwise connected.) We give the following characterization: a continuum X is pointed 1-movable if and only if there is an arcwise connected compactification of the plane with X as the remainder.
The abundance of estuarine larval and juvenile fish in a South Carolina intertidal creek

The fall and winter population of larval fish in a small intertidal creek was measured. The creek was blocked at high tide, and the immature fish were captured in a channel net designed for consistent quantitative sampling as they left with the ebbing tide. A total of 573,739 individuals with a biomass (preserved wet weight) of 66.1 kg were captured during the eight month sampling period (October 1974–May 1975). Twelve families, 13 genera, and 16 species were represented, with five species comprising 99.3% of the fish captured. The five species were:Leiostomus xanthurus (53.5%),Lagodon rhomboides (31.7%),Brevoortia tyrannus (11.9%),Micropogon undulatus (1.7%), andMyrophis punctatus (0.5%). The net was efficient, the catch was seasonal, and the greatest larval abundance occurred in February and March.
Excitatory Local Circuits and Their Implications for Olfactory Processing in the Fly Antennal Lobe

Summary Conflicting views exist of how circuits of the antennal lobe, the insect equivalent of the olfactory bulb, translate input from olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) into projection-neuron (PN) output. Synaptic connections between ORNs and PNs are one-to-one, yet PNs are more broadly tuned to odors than ORNs. The basis for this difference in receptive range remains unknown. Analyzing a Drosophila mutant lacking ORN input to one glomerulus, we show that some of the apparent complexity in the antennal lobe's output arises from lateral, interglomerular excitation of PNs. We describe a previously unidentified population of cholinergic local neurons (LNs) with multiglomerular processes. These excitatory LNs respond broadly to odors but exhibit little glomerular specificity in their synaptic output, suggesting that PNs are driven by a combination of glomerulus-specific ORN afferents and diffuse LN excitation. Lateral excitation may boost PN signals and enhance their transmission to third-order neurons in a mechanism akin to stochastic resonance.
Buckling of simply supported rectangular plates under combined bending and compression using eigensensitivity analysis

Abstract In this paper, an approximate quadratic closed-form expression is presented for the critical buckling analysis of a plate subjected to combined bending and compression. The formula is developed by expanding the eigenvalue, the critical buckling load, for a plate under combined bending and compression in a Mauclaurin's series about a plate subjected only to compression. The general expression can be used for all combinations of simply supported and clamped rectangular plates boundary conditions. An explicit formula in terms of the plate aspect ratio R and plate load parameter α is evaluated for simply supported plates. Compared with the Rayleigh–Ritz method, this approximate expression provides an excellent comparison when the load parameter α ⩽1.52 for plate aspect ratio between 0.2⩽ R ⩽2.8.
Latino officers and their involvement in police shootings

With an emphasis to examine Latino officers who have been involved in police shootings, this study analyzed twenty-one years (1990–2010) of data from one of the largest law enforcement departments in the United States. The study compared Latino population trends in the United States, the State of California, a southern California County, and focused on the representativeness of Latinos in one southern California law enforcement department. The analysis further investigated police shootings by the race of the officer, narrowing the focus to determine whether an increasing representativeness of Latino officers had any effect on police shootings. Results revealed that while the percentage of White officers in the department decreased and Latino officers increased, so too did their involvement in police shootings. Most surprisingly, Latino officer-involved shootings outpaced their growth in the department by a factor of 3.3 and in the county by a factor of more than 4.
A certainty equivalence principle based nonlinear separation control rule for random access channels: stability and delay analysis

Abstract Application of the certainty equivalence principle in the dynamic control problem of an unstable random access (RA) channel results in a nonlinear separation control rule which can be implemented in a decentralized fashion and yields maximum stable throughput e−1. Stability of the controlled RA channel is proven by showing that the channel backlog and its least squares estimate form an ergodic double Markov chain. Tight upper and lower bounds on the invariant probability distribution are also derived when the backlog is precisely known. The bounds are loglinear functions of the channel backlog and can be readily used to compute bounds on the average backlog and delay in the RA channel. An adaptive realization of the control is introduced for an RA channel with unknown traffic rates. Extensive simulation results are provided and the performance of our control is compared with other existing distributed controls.
Applications of GMDH-type modeling in manufacturing

Abstract This paper introduces the group method of data handling (GMDH) algorithm which addresses the problem of modeling complex systems. It is a heuristic self-organizing modeling approach for modeling different processes/phenomena on a metalworking shop floor. These models which can be used in monitoring/prediction of the processes also present information in a concise and accurate form to the planning functions, such as process planning and scheduling. This helps in making these functions more dynamic and the decisions more realistic. Most shop floor processes are difficult to model because of the large number of influencing factors and the complex interactions between them. The GMDH is particularly well suited for the modeling and control of manufacturing processes and shop floor phenomena. In this paper the GMDH algorithm is described and its application in three problems, i.e., modeling of positioning error of a machine under varying thermal conditions, modeling of tool wear and tool wear rate, and modeling of cutting forces is presented. These initial applications of the method suggest that the GMDH algorithm has good potential for use in the abstraction and computer control of such processes.
Inelastic light scattering from density fluctuations in dilute gases. The kinetic-hydrodynamic transition in a monatomic gas

The number-density fluctuation spectrum, ${S}_{n}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{K}}, \ensuremath{\omega})$, of xenon has been studied in the dilute-gas limit. Spectra of He-Ne laser light scattered through an angle of 10.58\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} at room temperature were measured for pressures ranging from 0.02 to 0.6 atm. Over this range ${S}_{n}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{K}}, \ensuremath{\omega})$ evolves from the Gaussian kinetic form to three peaked hydrodynamic form. Measured spectra were used to evaluate various kinetic and hydrodynamic calculations of ${S}_{n}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{K}}, \ensuremath{\omega})$ through this transition. Spectra obtained from the Boltzmann equation using the Gross-Jackson kinetic modeling procedure, for both Maxwell and hard-sphere intermolecular potentials, are in excellent agreement with the measurements. Among the hydrodynamic theories tested only the generalized hydrodynamics of Selwyn and Oppenheim satisfactorily provides the initial nonhydrodynamic corrections to the Navier-Stokes equations.
A Study of the Thymol Turbidity Test with Special Reference to Buffer Behavior Formulation of a Modified Reagent Using Tris-hydroxymethylaminomethane

Replacement of barbiturate buffer by a tris-hydroxymethylaminomethane buffer in the thymol test reagent of Maclagan greatly improves the stability of the reagent. Thymol turbidity measurements made by means of the modified reagent agreed closely with those made with barbiturate-containing reagents. However in hyperlipemic sera, the latter reagent gave higher turbidities. A reaction of barbiturate with serum chylomicrons and triglycerides explains the difference. It is believed that the modified reagent is less likely to be affected by casual changes in serum lipid concentration and that therefore it should prove to be more dependable as an aid in the study of liver disease. Heating is not an essential operation in preparation of thymol test reagents. The p H is of critical importance in measurement of thymol turbidity. The large change in p H of barbiturate and Tris buffers with change in temperature makes careful control of temperature essential. Tables showing the appropriate reagent p H at various laboratory temperatures are presented.
On-line planning and scheduling for high-speed manufacturing

We describe a real manufacturing problem that lies between job shop scheduling and temporal planning. The setting is online in the sense that new jobs arrive asynchronously, perhaps several per second, while plans for previous jobs are being executed. We formalize the problem as a variant of STRIPS extended with action durations and resources. We present a hybrid algorithm for this problem that combines techniques from partial-order scheduling and state-space planning. No domain-specific search control is used. Our current implementation successfully controls two prototype plants and our technology is anticipated to enable a new line of products. By integrating planning and scheduling, we enable high productivity even for complex plants.
Real-Time Kinetic Modeling of Voltage-Gated Ion Channels Using Dynamic Clamp

We propose what to our knowledge is a new technique for modeling the kinetics of voltage-gated ion channels in a functional context, in neurons or other excitable cells. The principle is to pharmacologically block the studied channel type, and to functionally replace it with dynamic clamp, on the basis of a computational model. Then, the parameters of the model are modified in real time (manually or automatically), with the objective of matching the dynamical behavior of the cell (e.g., action potential shape and spiking frequency), but also the transient and steady-state properties of the model (e.g., those derived from voltage-clamp recordings). Through this approach, one may find a model and parameter values that explain both the observed cellular dynamics and the biophysical properties of the channel. We extensively tested the method, focusing on Nav models. Complex Markov models (10–12 states or more) could be accurately integrated in real time at >50 kHz using the transition probability matrix, but not the explicit Euler method. The practicality of the technique was tested with experiments in raphe pacemaker neurons. Through automated real-time fitting, a Hodgkin-Huxley model could be found that reproduced well the action potential shape and the spiking frequency. Adding a virtual axonal compartment with a high density of Nav channels further improved the action potential shape. The computational procedure was implemented in the free QuB software, running under Microsoft Windows and featuring a friendly graphical user interface.
Parallel Processing of Data, Metadata, and Aggregates within an Archival Storage System User Interface (Toward Archiving a Million Files and a Million Megabytes per Minute)

Archiving large datasets requires parallel processing of both data and metadata for timely execution. This paper describes the work in progress to use various processing techniques, including multi-threading of data and metadata operations, distributed processing, aggregation, and conditional processing to achieve increased archival performance for large datasets.
High-level synthesis: technology transfer to industry

High-level synthesis has been an active research area for ten years. However, the progress in research has yet to find its way into usage in industry. This paper describes the technology transfer of high-level synthesis at Texas Instruments. It explains how we have extended one research project, the System Architect's Workbench from Carnegie-Mellon University, into a tool that designers can use. Significant enhancements were made to the Workbench to enable it to make architectural tradeoffs and simulate the designs it produces. The resulting Architecture Design Tool was tested on a Texas Instruments' design. Based on this experience, the paper discusses how close high-level synthesis research is to being industrially useful.
A Comparison of the Relative Efficiency and Validity of Tailored Tests and Conventional Quizzes

Two types of computer-administered unit quizzes in a systematic pathology course for second-year medical students were compared. Quizzes composed of questions selected on the basis of a student's ability (tailored or adaptive testing) had higher correlations with the final examination than did quizzes composed of questions randomly selectedfrom topic areas (conventional testing). Further, tailored tests obtained optimum correlations with 25% fewer test items.
Neonatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs disrupts striatal synaptic development.

Objective Drug exposure during critical periods of brain development may adversely affect nervous system function, posing a challenge for treating of infants. This is of particular concern for treating neonatal seizures, as early-life exposure to drugs such as phenobarbital is associated with adverse neurological outcomes in patients and induction of neuronal apoptosis in animal models. The functional significance of the preclinical neurotoxicity has been questioned due to the absence of evidence for functional impairment associated with drug-induced developmental apoptosis.
Characteristics of Superficially-Porous Silica Particles for Fast HPLC: Some Performance Comparisons with Sub-2-µm Particles

Columns of 2.7-microm fused-core (superficially porous) Type B silica particles allow very fast separations of small molecules at pressures available in most high-performance liquid chromatography instruments. These highly-purified particles with 1.7-microm solid silica cores and 0.5-microm-thick shells of 9 nm pores exhibit efficiencies that rival those of totally porous sub-2-microm particles but at one-half to one-third of the column back pressure. This presentation describes other operating features of fused-core particle columns, including sample loading characteristics and packed bed stability. The superior mass transfer (kinetic) properties of the fused-core particles result in much-improved separation efficiency at higher mobile phase velocities, especially for > 600 molecular weight solutes.
Trimethylsilyl Cyanide: Cyanosilation of p‐Benzoquinone

Trimethylsilyl cyanide: Cyanosilation of p-benzoquinone intermediate: trimethylsilyl cyanide product: p-Benzoquinone monotrimethylsilyl cyanohydrin Keywords: addition, to CO; replacement reactions, halogen by cyanide; silylation; p-benzoquinone; bis[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl]ether (tetraglyme); chlorotrimethylsilane; 18-crown-6-potassium cyanide complex; tetrahydrofuran; distillation residues, exposure to air; trimethysilyl cyanide
Sex Hormone-induced Carcinogenesis in Rb-deficient Prostate Tissue

The retinoblastoma (Rb) gene product is a prototypic tumor suppressor. Mice lacking the Rb gene are not viable and die in utero at approximately 13 days of gestation. In this study, we have rescued Rb-/- prostates by grafting pelvic organ rudiments from Rb-/- mouse embryos under the renal capsule of adult male nude mouse hosts. Grafts of embryonic pelvic organs developed into functional prostatic tissue. Some of the prostatic tissue generated was further used to construct chimeric prostatic tissue recombinants by combining wild-type rat urogenital mesenchyme (rUGM) with Rb-/- and Rb+/+ prostatic epithelium (PRE). The tissue recombinants were grown as subcapsular renal grafts and treated from the time of grafting with Silastic capsules containing 25 mg of testosterone plus 2.5 mg of estradiol. During 5-8 weeks of hormone treatment, rUGM+Rb+/+PRE tissue recombinants developed prostatic hyperplasia, whereas PRE in rUGM+Rb-/-PRE tissue recombinants developed hyperplasia, atypical hyperplasia, and carcinoma. During carcinogenesis in rUGM+Rb-/-PRE tissue recombinants, prostatic epithelial cells of the basal lineage disappeared, whereas the luminal cells underwent carcinogenesis. Epithelial E-cadherin almost totally disappeared. In all cases, epithelial PCNA labeling was elevated in tissue recombinants containing Rb-/- versus Rb+/+ epithelium. These epithelial changes were associated with almost total loss of smooth muscle cells in the stroma. In contrast, in untreated hosts rUGM+Rb+/+PRE tissue recombinants developed normally, and rUGM+Rb-/-PRE tissue recombinants developed mild epithelial hyperplasia. The results of this study demonstrate that Rb-/- prostatic tissue can be rescued from embryonic lethal mice and used to test its susceptibility to hormonal carcinogenesis. Deletion of the Rb gene predisposes prostatic epithelium to hyperplasia and increases proliferative activity Susceptibility to hormonal carcinogenesis in response to exogenous testosterone + estradiol is manifested in the progression from atypica hyperplasia to carcinoma. Thus, these findings demonstrate that the absence of the Rb tumor suppressor gene may predispose prostatic epithelial cells to carcinogenesis. Rescue of organs from Rb-/- embryos not only provides an opportunity to analyze the Rb gene pathway in the development and progression of prostate cancer but also provides an opportunity for specifically evaluating the role of the Rb pathway in development and carcinogenesis in other organs, such as the mammary gland and colon. Because rUGM greatly stimulates prostatic epithelial proliferation, the tissue recombinant model is a particularly useful tool for assessing the functional role of other genes in prostatic carcinogenesis through use of the appropriate transgenic or gene knockout mice.
Development and Optimization of Quantitative PCR Assays to Aid Ostrea lurida Carpenter 1864 Restoration Efforts

ABSTRACT The Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida)† is a prime candidate for the development of a rapid, high throughput, species-specific larval identification and quantification assay. We developed O. lurida specific DNA primers and a fluorescently labeled probe that amplify a mitochondrial DNA region cytochrome oxidase 1 subunit (COI) to use in quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We also developed qPCRs for the specific detection of Neotrypaea californiensis and Upogebia pugettensis, two burrowing shrimp species that have been shown to have a negative effect on oyster bed habitat. The primer and probes amplified only the target organisms. Using standard curves constructed from known quantities of larvae, we are able to rapidly and accurately identify and estimate unknown quantities of larvae. In blind tests, direct counts of O. lurida larvae did not significantly differ from qPCR estimates. DNA was fully liberated from up to 80 O. lurida larvae, and 10 N. californiensis larvae; PCRs were not inhibi...
The effect of mortality on estimates of net above-ground production by spartina alterniflora

Monthly changes in the live and dead biomass of harvested Spartina alterniflora Lois. were compared with the growth and mortality of individual tillers on permanent plots to determine the extent to which estimates of net above-ground primary production (NAPP) based on harvest methods missed the turnover of plant tissues. Enumeration of live tillers in the harvested samples revealed a 60% reduction in the number of live tillers between May and September. This loss of live biomass never appeared as a positive change in dead biomass during the growing season. Measurements of individual tillers showed that dying tillers had less mass than surviving tillers, and hence that the turnover of tiller biomass was less than the turnover of tiller numbers (15% of NAPP as opposed to 60%). Estimates to the turnover of biomass as a result of leaf mortality were also obtained from measurements of individual tillers. The mortality of tillers and of leaves added about 20 and 12%, respectively, to NAPP calculated from the summation of positive changes in live biomass. Other commonly used estimates of NAPP based on harvest data were 12 to 27% lower than the more direct estimate provided here based on documented mortality.
Integrative systems biology approaches in asthma pharmacogenomics

In order to improve therapeutic outcomes, there is a tremendous need to identify patients who are likely to respond to a given asthma treatment. Pharmacogenomic studies have explained a portion of the variability in drug response and provided an increasing list of candidate genes and SNPs. However, as phenotypic variation arises from a network of complex interactions among genetic and environmental factors, rather than individual genes or SNPs, a multidisciplinary, systems-level approach is required in order to understand the inter-relationships among these factors. Systems biology, which seeks to capture interactions between genetic factors and other variables, offers a promising approach to improved therapeutic outcomes in asthma. This aritcle will review and update progress in the pharmacogenomics of asthma and then discuss the application of systems biology approaches to asthma pharmacogenomics.
Computer simulation of the elastically driven migration of a flat grain boundary

This paper describes a strategy for the measurement of boundary mobility using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and its application to the migration of nominally flat h 001 i tilt grain boundaries in nickel, as described using an EAM potential. Determination of the driving force for boundary migration requires proper accounting for non-linear elastic effects for strains of the magnitude needed for MD simulation of stress-driven boundary migration. The grain boundary velocity was found to be a nonlinear function of driving force, especially at low temperature. However, extrapolation of the data to small driving force allows for the determination of the mobility at all temperatures. The activation energy for grain boundary migration was found to be 0.26 eV. This demonstrates that boundary migration in pure metals is not athermal, but the activation energy is much smaller than expected based upon experimental measurements. This discrepancy is similar to that found in earlier simulation measurements. 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc.
The Rabbit and The Duck : Antinomic unity in Dostoevskij, the Russian religious tradition, and Mikhail Bakhtin

At the core of Dostoevskij’s philosophy and theology lies a concept according to which the Truth (Istina) is antinomical: it contains both a thesis and its antithesis without expectation of synthesis. This concept can be traced to Eastern Patristics. After Dostoevskij, the theory of antinomies was elaborated by 20th century Russian religious thinkers such as Pavel Florenskij, Sergej Bulgakov, Nikolaj Berdjaev, Semen Frank, and Vladimir Losskij. Their ideas help us to understand that Dostoevskij’s dialogism, made famous in its secular guise by Bakhtin, has a theological underpinning. Dostoevskij’s exposition of conflicting truths should therefore be seen not as a case of irresolvable contradiction or paradox but as an organic wholeness.
Differences between near-surface equivalent temperature and temperature trends for the Eastern United States Equivalent temperature as an alternative measure of heat content

Abstract There is currently much attention being given to the observed increase in near-surface air temperatures during the last century. The proper investigation of heating trends, however, requires that we include surface heat content to monitor this aspect of the climate system. Changes in heat content of the Earth's climate are not fully described by temperature alone. Moist enthalpy or, alternatively, equivalent temperature, is more sensitive to surface vegetation properties than is air temperature and therefore more accurately depicts surface heating trends. The microclimates evident at many surface observation sites highlight the influence of land surface characteristics on local surface heating trends. Temperature and equivalent temperature trend differences from 1982–1997 are examined for surface sites in the Eastern U.S. Overall trend differences at the surface indicate equivalent temperature trends are relatively warmer than temperature trends in the Eastern U.S. Seasonally, equivalent temperature trends are relatively warmer than temperature trends in winter and are relatively cooler in the fall. These patterns, however, vary widely from site to site, so local microclimate is very important.
Stalking and Other Forms of Intrusive Contact among Adolescents and Young Adults from the Perspective of the Person Initiating the Intrusive Contact

As concern about stalking in domestic situations has heightened, increased attention has been paid to stalking and other forms of intrusive contact among adolescents and young adults. However, limited information about these relationships from the perspective of the person initiating the intrusive contact is available. This study describes the experiences of 52 undergraduates who acknowledged initiating intrusive contact after the breakup of a dating or romantic relationship. From a survey of 631 undergraduates, 7% of the females and 11% of the males initiated intrusive contact that lasted at least 2 weeks after the end of their relationship. Characteristics of the intrusive contact, the relationships in which it occurred, and those who initiated the intrusive contact are described.
Unusual cases of hydronephrosis with retroperitoneal fibrosis: mystery revealed

Retroperitoneal fibrosis encompasses a range of diseases characterized by the presence of a fibro-inflammatory tissue, which usually surrounds the abdominal aorta, iliac arteries and extends into the retroperitoneum to envelop neighboring structures such as the ureters. We present two cases with multisystem disease involving retroperitoneal fibrosis, renal failure, pulmonary infiltrates and skeletal abnormalities. The unifying diagnosis of Erdheim–Chester disease (ECD) is a non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis (NLH) characterized by bilateral metaphyseal sclerosis of long bones, retroperitoneal fibrosis and multiple organ dysfunction due to the infiltrative process.
Strong converses in source coding relative to a fidelity criterion

Two strong converses are obtained for an abstract alphabet stationary ergodic source coded relative to an appropriate fidelity criterion. It is shown that given a distortion rate point (D,R) that lies below the rate distortion curve, (1) block codes that operate at rate level R must encode sample source blocks at a rate exceeding D with probability tending to one as the block length tends to infinity, and (2) variable-rate codes that operate at distortion level D must encode sample source blocks at a rate exceeding R with probability tending to one as the block length tends to infinity. The previously known weak converses guarantee only that the indicated probabilities remain bounded away from zero as block length tends to infinity. The proofs of the strong converses involve sample converses in source coding theory. >
Comment on the Articles by June Nash and James Peacock

The two authors of these papers face in common one very complex and perplexing problem: the place that representations of dramatic art take in the personal lives of their spectators. Enormous effort has been put into this question, particularly in works on the popular forms of dramatic art in the United States. Both authors take the same point of view on the question, that there is a fairly direct correspondence between the content of the dramas they analyze and the content of the personal experiences and social world of the spectators. Nash argues that the differing contents of the passion plays produced in the three towns she examines faithfully reflect the differing local configurations of religious organization and Indian/Ladino relations. Peacock argues that the ways the ludruk dramas characterize the inner, kampung life versus the outer, more modern and worldly city life bias the spectators directly in their personal attitudes and decisions toward rejecting features of kampung life in favor of modes of modern city life. The difficulty with that point of view, it seems to me, is that it leaves out of account the nature of drama as art, that there are dramatic demands upon the material that produce plot themes and characterizations very far from documentary. We can believe that the varying characters of Judas and Maximon express ambivalent attitudes of hostility and admiration toward the ladino without needing to accept the one-to-one relation Nash wishes to see in each case between the dramatic production and the particulars of the local social scene. We should expect that a strong and variable element of dramatic fantasy is present, shaping the dramatic form weli beyond the control of local social determinants and thus introducing a marked arbitrariness in its form with respect to the local social scene. Also on the part of the spectators we should expect that the drama evokes only a certain variety of attitudes toward the ladino and the outside world, those best fed by dramatic fantasy, and that other, more prosaic attitudes are left unexpressed. Similarly in Peacock's very convincing descriptions of ludruk themes, especially the rise of a girl through a miraculously perfect marriage to a position of wealth and high prestige, we see dramatic form which is being derived from fantasy yearnings presumably present in many of the kampung dwellers and which is vicariously satisfying those yearnings. Our understanding of that
CONFINEMENT LIMITATIONS IN GRIDDED INERTIAL ELECTROSTATIC CONFINEMENT FUSION DEVICES

Multiple improvements to the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) fusion concept are presented. Prior efforts have consisted of considerable theoretical effort and numerous ground experiments resulting in the fusion of D-D, D-T, and DHe 3 at rates on the order of 10 10 reactions per second. Theory developed in the paper shows that prior experiments which observed a linear relationship between reaction rate and background pressure were ‘confinement’ limited. With improved ion confinement, the reaction rate and the pressure should decouple at high pressure where the beam-beam reactions are not yet dominant. Highly efficient beam-beam reaction rates are found to dominate the total reaction rate as ion lifetime is increased. The ion lifetime is limited mainly by collisions with background particles and by defocusing. The naturally low background pressure available in space environment effectively eliminates background pressure as a constraint on ion lifetime, leaving defocusing as the main ion lifetime limiter. In order to improve ion confinement, multiple grids are introduced to produce focusing channels for ions. The other main loss mechanism is electrons streaming from the core region to the anode. An additional grid is placed within the cathode, providing a central trap for core electrons. Theory predicts that improvements in confinement should be verifiable using existing relatively high pressure ground systems and the proposed experiment design is presented. The build-up of space charge in the focusing lenses is used to estimate improvements in confinement from <10 passes to the order of 1000 passes, boosting the performance of IEC reactors by 2 orders of magnitude, yielding in the near-term, fast neutron source suitable for medical, security, research and industrial applications.
ApoA-I secretion from HepG2 cells: evidence for the secretion of both lipid-poor apoA-I and intracellularly assembled nascent HDL.

The goal of this study was to determine whether apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) is lipidated before secretion by HepG2 cells. ApoA-I was extracted from microsomes after radiolabeling with [35S]Met/Cys. After ultracentrifugal flotation, d 1.25 g/ml fractions were immunoprecipitated and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Under steady state radiolabeling conditions, 20% of extracted microsomal apoA-I floated at d