cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Usefulness of Global Longitudinal Strain to Predict Heart Failure Progression in Patients With Nonobstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

While predicting prognosis to anticipate adverse disease course has long been an aspiration in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC), reliable markers of progressive and unrelenting heart failure symptoms in the absence of obstruction are not well characterized. We sought to evaluate markers of systolic function, including the role of global longitudinal strain (GLS), to identify nonobstructive HC patients at risk for future heart failure. A cohort of 296 consecutive nonobstructive HC patients (42 ± 18years; 75% male) with NYHA class I/II symptoms and preserved systolic function at study entry (EF: 65 ± 6%), were followed for progressive heart failure symptoms (increase in ≥ 1 NYHA functional class) and/or development of systolic dysfunction (EF 18% (p 18% and EF ≥ 60%, who were at the lowest risk. In conclusion, in nonobstructive HC with no or mild symptoms and preserved EF, abnormal GLS is a strong independent predictor for subsequent development of progressive heart failure symptoms and/or systolic dysfunction. Furthermore, the greatest power in predicting outcome in nonobstructive HC is achieved by combining GLS with EF to identify HC patients at the highest risk for heart failure progression and systolic dysfunction.
Applying Tangible Augmented Reality in Usability Evaluation

Feedback from users is an invaluable part of the product design process. Prototypes of varying levels of detail are frequently used to solicit this feedback for attributes related to the physical and user experience aspects of a product. Accurate feedback is most useful in the early steps of design process where changes are easier to make. At the same time, highly detailed prototypes which allow accurate feedback are generally not available until much later in the process after many decisions have already been made. This goal of this study will be to investigate the use of Tangible Augmented Reality for performing usability testing of products with physical interface elements. The results will be compared to more traditional usability testing methods to determine whether the results are similar. Similar results may indicate accurate usability testing may be possible through the use of Tangible Augmented Reality allowing for earlier evaluation of product concepts.
Relationships between environmental features, distribution and abundance of the Argentine anchovy, Engraulis anchoita, on the South West Atlantic Continental Shelf

Abstract Marine fisheries in Brazil follow a similar trend as the rest of the world, with reduced catches of most stocks. Although extensive, the Brazilian coast is poorly assessed, and marine fishery resources are not properly managed. Small pelagic fishes are secondary consumers, which feed on zooplankton and serve as foraging species for large, carnivorous fishes. The anchovy (Engraulis anchoita) is an abundant, small pelagic fish found in abundance in Brazilian waters as it migrates along the Brazilian, Uruguayan and Argentine shelves. In 2010, five acoustic assessment cruises were conducted to estimate anchovy biomass in the southernmost part of the Brazilian coast. Hydroacoustic data were obtained using a SIMRAD EK 500 echo sounder along parallel transects. CTD (conductivity temperature depth) casts and mid-water trawl hauls were used to collect environmental and biological data. Anchovy biomass was estimated using NASC values, the fish target strength by size and the dimension of the surveyed area. For each survey, a GLM binomial was fitted to anchovy presence and the following explanatory variables: surface salinity and temperature, bottom salinity and temperature, and depth. Anchovy biomass ranged between 73,000 (June) and 814,000 (August) tons. We observed a mean temperature decrease of ∼3 °C during the June and August surveys. This sharp environmental change was followed by a distinct increase in adult anchovy biomass from the first to the second survey. Fitted GLM models indicated that the bottom layers of cold, saline water had a positive effect on anchovy presence in August but not in June. Furthermore, during the August survey, a sharp change in the surface layer waters was observed on the Southern Brazilian Shelf, as the result of a low-salinity water inflow to this area. This phenomena was due to the Patos Lagoon runoff and also to the coastal winds over the Argentine Shelf, which forces the northward spreading of the Plate River plume to lower latitudes. This inflow increases primary productivity and, subsequently, the occurrence of fishes within the area.
Role of histidine 35 of the S1 subunit of pertussis toxin in the ADP-ribosylation of transducin

Molecular modeling of the S1 subunit (S1) of pertussis toxin with other ADP-ribosylating bacterial exotoxins predicted that histidine 35 (His-35) would residue within the active site of S1. Recombinant derivatives of S1 (rS1 and the C180 peptide) which contained either a H35Q or H35P mutation were analyzed to determine the role of His-35 in ADP-ribosylation. C180 peptide is a recombinant peptide composed of the amino-terminal 180 amino acids of S1. Under linear velocity conditions, C180H35Q possessed 2% of wild type C180 peptide activity and C180H35P possessed no detectable activity in the ADP-ribosylation of transducin. The H35Q mutation did not change the affinity of recombinant peptides for NAD or two targets for ADP-ribosylation, transducin, or alpha i3C20, but did lower the kcat in the NAD glycohydrolase and ADP-ribosyltransferase reactions. Neither the H35Q nor H35P mutation reduced the ability of recombinant proteins to be photocross-linked with NAD which was consistent with the His-35 mutations not reducing the affinity for NAD. These data indicate that His-35 does not reduce the affinity of S1 for NAD or transducin, but functions as a catalytic residue in the ADP-ribosylation reaction possibly in a hydrogen bonding capacity.
Availability to Chicks of Biotin from Dried Egg Products

Two feeding experiments were conducted with duplicate groups of five chicks each to study the availability of biotin in spray-dried egg products. In the first experiment chicks that were fed diets containing 43% dried whole egg (DWE) grew poorly and developed perosis and dermatitis. The signs were prevented and growth improved progressively with supplementation of 0.5 and 1.0 mg biotin/kg diet. In the second experiment dried egg yolk (DEY) and dried egg white (DEW) were compared with DWE at equivalent levels of egg components. Signs of biotin deficiency and reduced growth were slightly more severe with DEW than with DWE, although liver biotin content was slightly lower at 0 and 0.5 mg biotin/kg with DWE than with DEW. Growth with DEY and no added biotin was not different from that with DEY and 500 or 1000 mg biotin/kg diet, although liver biotin was lower than when supplemental biotin was added. Liver fat was approximately five times greater in the groups receiving DWE and DEY than in the groups receiving DEW. The results show that the biotin contained in egg yolk is inadequate to counteract the deficiency of biotin caused by the avidin in egg white so that unheated dried whole egg is deficient in this vitamin.
Distinctive expansion of gene families associated with plant cell wall degradation, secondary metabolism, and nutrient uptake in the genomes of grapevine trunk pathogens

Trunk diseases threaten the longevity and productivity of grapevines in all viticulture production systems. They are caused by distantly-related fungi that form chronic wood infections. Variation in wood-decay abilities and production of phytotoxic compounds are thought to contribute to their unique disease symptoms. We recently released the draft sequences of Eutypa lata, Neofusicoccum parvum and Togninia minima, causal agents of Eutypa dieback, Botryosphaeria dieback and Esca, respectively. In this work, we first expanded genomic resources to three important trunk pathogens, Diaporthe ampelina, Diplodia seriata, and Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, causal agents of Phomopsis dieback, Botryosphaeria dieback, and Esca, respectively. Then we integrated all currently-available information into a genome-wide comparative study to identify gene families potentially associated with host colonization and disease development. The integration of RNA-seq, comparative and ab initio approaches improved the protein-coding gene prediction in T. minima, whereas shotgun sequencing yielded nearly complete genome drafts of Dia. ampelina, Dip. seriata, and P. chlamydospora. The predicted proteomes of all sequenced trunk pathogens were annotated with a focus on functions likely associated with pathogenesis and virulence, namely (i) wood degradation, (ii) nutrient uptake, and (iii) toxin production. Specific patterns of gene family expansion were described using Computational Analysis of gene Family Evolution, which revealed lineage-specific evolution of distinct mechanisms of virulence, such as specific cell wall oxidative functions and secondary metabolic pathways in N. parvum, Dia. ampelina, and E. lata. Phylogenetically-informed principal component analysis revealed more similar repertoires of expanded functions among species that cause similar symptoms, which in some cases did not reflect phylogenetic relationships, thereby suggesting patterns of convergent evolution. This study describes the repertoires of putative virulence functions in the genomes of ubiquitous grapevine trunk pathogens. Gene families with significantly faster rates of gene gain can now provide a basis for further studies of in planta gene expression, diversity by genome re-sequencing, and targeted reverse genetic approaches. The functional validation of potential virulence factors will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of pathogenesis and virulence, which ultimately will enable the development of accurate diagnostic tools and effective disease management.
An Epigenetic Role for Disrupted Paternal Gene Expression in Postzygotic Seed Abortion in Arabidopsis Interspecific Hybrids.

Interspecific hybrids often increase the levels of heterozygosity and hybrid vigor, but some interspecific hybrid seeds are aborted shortly after fertilization. The mechanism behind this postzygotic seed abortion is poorly understood. Here, we report genome-wide analysis of allelic expression changes in developing siliques and seeds in three F1 interspecific crosses between Arabidopsis thaliana (Col, Ler, or C24) and Arabidopsis arenosa. The majority of maternally expressed genes (MEGs) were shared among all three F1 interspecific crosses, whereas ∼90% of 272 paternally expressed genes (PEGs) were found only in one or two F1 crosses, suggesting a role for disrupted paternal gene expression in seed abortion that varies in different crosses. Consistent with this notion, 12 PEGs in the infertile interspecific hybrids matched MEGs in fertile intraspecific hybrids. This disruption of PEGs in the interspecific hybrids was consistent with the upregulation of the genes in the paternal-excess interploidy cross (2X6) between a diploid mother and a hexaploid father, leading to the seed abortion. Moreover, a subset of PEGs in the interspecific crosses were also upregulated in the intraspecific hybrid met1XWT or meaXWT, in which the mutant of MET1 (DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE1) or MEDEA, a Polycomb Repressive Complex2 gene, was used as the maternal parent. These data suggest that maternal epigenetic factors and paternal gene expression play important roles in the postzygotic seed abortion in interspecific hybrids or neo-allopolyploids.
Non-invasive brain current stimulation in neurorehabilitation

Neurologic conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, tumors, and degenerative diseases are often associated with dramatic impairments in brain function. Converging evidence in the fields of clinical neurorehabilitation and cognitive neuroscience has revealed that functional recovery after brain injury depends largely on compensatory plastic changes in remaining neural structures. Thus, while current treatments such as physical, occupational and speech therapy and pharmacological interventions have proven only modestly effective, there has been increasing interest in exploring potential therapies that can modulate the functioning of neural systems more directly. Noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transorbital alternating current stimulation (ACS) are promising approaches that can potentially be employed to facilitate functional plasticity after brain injury, leading to enhanced recovery. This special issue of RNN is devoted to this topic. As will be illustrated by the contributions included here, noninvasive brain stimulation techniques have potentially important implications for rehabilitation of a variety of neurologic disorders. The modern era of noninvasive brain stimulation was initiated by the demonstration that a magnetic field could readily and painlessly traverse the scalp and skull to generate a weak, brief and localized current in the brain (Barker et al., 1987). Subsequent studies demonstrated that, depending on the stimulation parameters, this electrical current could either inhibit or enhance neural function in the stimulated area. Over the next few years, this exciting breakthrough was exploited in investigations that contributed substantially to the development of theories regarding the localization and time course of sensory and motor processing in the intact human brain. Beginning in the 1990 s, TMS was also used to address questions regarding the localization of “higher” cortical faculties such as language and reading. In the late 1990’s Nitsche, Paulus and colleagues demonstrated that low power (e.g., 1 mA) direct current applied to the skin could alter neuronal excitability. The effects induced by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) were, at least in some instances, a function of electrode polarity; that is, anodal and cathodal stimulation produced different results. Like TMS, tDCS has been used to explore motor, sensory and cognitive functions. In this issue of RNN, Nitsche and Paulus review recent progress in the use of tDCS. This comprehensive overview discusses advances in our understanding of the neural mechanisms of stimulation, reviews important refinements that have made the administration of tDCS, and surveys the variety of basic and clinical applications that have been explored in the last several years with this versatile technology.
New Evidence on the Link between Government Subsidies and Wagering

The total volume of wagering on horse racing is important because it affects both racetrack and state revenues. This paper uses both daily data and data from individual races to explore the influence of a particular government subsidy, the sire stakes, on the racing industry. Previous work using daily data has found that this subsidy has no statistically reliable influence on the volume of wagering and that it amounts to a direct transfer from taxpayers to the breeding industry. My much larger sample of daily data produces the same result, but using new data from individual races, the results differ: I find a small but statistically significant increase in wagering on subsidized races. The increase is probably just too small to be detected in daily data. My results suggest, though, that the economic significance of the increase is almost surely too little to recoup the government's investment fully. For subsidized races to be a good use of taxpayers' money, then either taxpayers must derive other benefits or else the state must generate additional revenue because of the subsidy. I list several possible avenues to make that argument. I also suggest public goods that the industry might produce.
Reducing the parallel complexity of certain linear programming problems

The parallel complexity of solving linear programming problems is studied in the context of interior point methods. If n and m, respectively, denote the number of variables and the number of constraints in the given problem, an algorithm that solves linear programming problems in O((mn)/sup 1/4/ (log 1 n)/sup 3/L) time using O(M(n)m/n+1n/sup 3/) processors is given. (M(n) is the number of operations for multiplying two n*n matrices). This gives an improvement in the parallel running time for n=o(m). A typical case in which n=o(m) is the dual of the uncapacitated transportation problem. The algorithm solves the uncapacitated transportation problem in O((VE)/sup 1/4/(log V)/sup 3/ (log V gamma )) time using O(V/sup 3/) processors, where V (E) is the number of nodes (edges) and gamma is the largest magnitude of an edge cost or a demand at a node. As a by-product, a better parallel algorithm for the assignment problem for graphs of moderate density is obtained. >
Identification of an association between HLA class II alleles and low antibody levels after measles immunization

This is the first large cohort study to report a genetic association between humoral antibody level after measles vaccine and the HLA class II genes. The WHO goal to eradicate measles world-wide magnifies the importance of data relating to the influence of immunogenetics on measles vaccine-induced antibody responses. We present here the analysis of 242 individuals who received one dose of measles-mumps-rubella-II (MMR-II) vaccine at the age of 15 months and were genotyped for HLA class II alleles. These subjects fit into one of three categories; 72 were classified as seronegative, 93 were seropositive and 77 were serohyperpositive. HLA-DRB1*03 (odds ratio (OR), 2.22) and HLA-DPA1*0201 (OR, 1.71) were significantly associated with measles vaccine seronegativity, while additional alleles provided suggestive evidence of association with seronegativity: DQA1*0201, DQB1*0201, and DQA1*0501. The alleles DRB1*03 and DQA1*0201 remained statistically significant after accounting for the effects of other alleles. These findings are crucial in designing both measles eradication by the use of vaccine, and future vaccines to be used in genetically heterozygous populations.
SOLVING LARGE GAMES WITH SIMULATED FICTITIOUS PLAY

A computational procedure, Simulated Fictitious Play (SFP), is introduced to approximate equilibrium solutions for n-person, non-cooperative games with large strategy spaces. A variant of the iterative solution process fictitious play (FP), SFP is first demonstrated on several small n-person games with known solutions. In each case, SFP solutions are compared to those obtained through analytical methods. Sensitivity analyses are presented that examine the effects of iterations (repetitions of the stage game) and number of sample outcomes generated within each iteration on measures of convergence. The algorithm is then used to approximate the solution of a 20-player game, in which each player has 601 pure strategies. The resulting strategy space, 60120, or 3.78 × 1055, has proved virtually unmanageable for existing solution methods and computer software packages that employ numerical methods. The paper discusses the origins and theoretical development of FP, as well as interest in FP as a model of learning. It concludes with a discussion of both the potential and limitations of SFP.
Matrix variational method

Abstract A general formalism is described for the matrix variational method, applicable to multichannel electron scattering by a many-electron atom, for energies below the first ionization threshold. Physical interpretation of the method and its relationship to others (close-coupling and polarized orbital methods) are discussed. Recent computations by this method of elastic and inelastic electron scattering are reviewed.
MEDIAPOD: A POCKET-SIZED AND PERSONALIZED MULTIMEDIA DESKTOP

We present MediaPod, a portable system that allows mobile users to maintain the same persistent, personalized multimedia desktop environment on any available computer. Regardless of which computer is being used, MediaPod provides a consistent multimedia desktop session, maintaining all of a user's applications, documents and configuration settings. This is achieved by leveraging rapid improvements in capacity, cost, and size of portable storage devices. MediaPod provides a virtualization and checkpoint-restart mechanism that decouples a desktop environment and its applications from the host, enabling multimedia desktop sessions to be suspended to portable storage, carried around, and resumed from the storage device on another computer. MediaPod virtualization also isolates desktop sessions from the host, protecting the privacy of the user and preventing malicious applications from damaging the host. We have implemented a Linux MediaPod prototype and demonstrate its ability to quickly suspend and resume multimedia desktop sessions, enabling a seamless computing experience for mobile users as they move among computers.
O10: Effect of Education and Availability of Food Thermometers on Food Thermometer Use Among Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) Participants

Food Thermometers on Food Thermometer Use Among Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) Participants Frankie L. Winn, MS, Colorado State University, 215 Garfield Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524, winfrak@yahoo.com; Jeffrey P. Miller, PhD, Colorado State University, 208 Gifford, Fort Collins, CO 805231571, jeffrey.miller@colostate.edu; Barbara Sutherland, PhD, University of California, 3150C Meyer Hall, 1 Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95615-8783, bsutherland@ucdavis.edu; David E. Most, PhD, Colorado State University, 245 Education, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1588, davidmost@colostate.edu; Kathryn A. Rogers, MS, RD, Colorado State University, 214 Gifford, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1571, karogers@cahs.colostate.edu; Susan S. Baker, EdD, Colorado State University, 214 Gifford, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1571, sbaker@cahs.colostate.edu
Tremorogenesis: Effects of reserpine on the substantia nigra

Abstract A study of the parkinsonism-like state in the dog was made by means of moderate dosages of reserpine. Light-microscope studies of the substantia nigra and autospectral analysis of the accelerometrically determined tremor were performed. Tremor measurements and histological studies were performed 4 hr after a single injection of reserpine and 4 hr after the last of four daily injections of reserpine. Some animals were allowed to survive for observation of additional signs of parkinsonism. The drug-induced tremor in the dog was compared with autospectrally analyzed tremor measurements on clinically evaluated Parkinson's disease patients. The administration of reserpine did not evoke a parkinsonian tremor frequency. Instead, a high-frequency tremor was produced. Alterations in arrangement of the Nissl substance, cytoplasmic vacuolization, and nuclear lobulation were produced by all dosages of reserpine, and could not be correlated with the occurrence of experimental tremor. It is hypothesized that such cellular alterations may briefly disrupt neuronal metabolic processes which are then reflected as a transitory nigral dysfunction related to gamma-alpha imbalance at spinal levels. Such an imbalance may contribute to the genesis of tremor.
Context-Based Adult Learning

Adult learning takes place in context where tools and the context intersect with interaction among people.
Identification of a chromosomal aberration associated with a hepatitis B DNA integration site in human cells.

Abstract Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA integrates into human cellular DNA during long-term persistent infections, implicating integration as one of the steps leading to hepatocarcinogenesis. The present study demonstrates that the integration of HBV DNA can result in or be accompanied by interchromosomal exchange of genomic material containing the integrated DNA. Unique cellular DNA to the left of an HBV DNA integration site cloned from a primary tumor mapped to chromosome 18q (18q11.1–q11.2); right hand flanking DNA mapped to chromosome #17 at a near-terminal region. The presence of chromosomal rearrangements in association with HBV integration may play a role in multistage hepatocarcinogenesis.
NEONATAL CONVULSIONS Incidence and Causes in the Stockholm Area

Abstract. The causes and short-term prognoses of neonatal convulsions in infants less than four weeks of age were studied in 77 full-term infants born in Stockholm in 1970–1976. In half of the infants (48%), hypoxia was considered to be the probable main etiology, while infection and metabolic disease including hypoglycemia and hypocalcemia were the next commonest cause, 12% for each condition. The etiology was unknown in 29 % of the infants although 15 of those 22 included in this group had other additional diagnoses. The total mortality was 13 %. At one year of age, 19 of the surviving 64 infants (30%) had severe psychomotor retardation. Of 11 infants with normal mental development at 12 months of age 6 had cerebral palsy and 5 epileptic seizures. Thirty-four (53 %) of the infants still had no signs of sequelae. The poorest prognosis was found in the group with hypoxia as the main probable etiology. The incidence of neonatal convulsions was 1.5 per 1000 full-term deliveries. In a similar study from Gothenburg which was performed 10 years earlier the incidence was 3.7 per 1000. Corresponding figures for perinatal mortality rate were 13.5 and 23.8.
(3Z)- and (3E)-phytochromobilin are intermediates in the biosynthesis of the phytochrome chromophore

Using a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based assay, we have demonstrated that isolated oat etioplasts convert the linear tetrapyrrole biliverdin IX alpha to (3E)-phytochromobilin, the proposed precursor of the chromophore of the plant photoreceptor phytochrome. In addition to (3E)-phytochromobilin, the synthesis of a second phytochromobilin was detected by its ability to functionally assemble with recombinant oat apophytochrome A. The structure of this new pigment has been determined to be the 3Z isomer of phytochromobilin by absorption and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Like (3E)-phytochromobilin, assembly of HPLC-purified (3Z)-phytochromobilin with apophytochrome yielded a holoprotein that is spectrally indistinguishable from native oat phytochrome A. However, the postchromatographic conversion of (3Z)- to (3E)-phytochromobilin appears to be responsible for this result. Kinetic HPLC analyses have demonstrated that (3Z)-phytochromobilin is synthesized prior to the 3E isomer by oat etioplasts. We therefore propose that (3Z)-phytochromobilin is the immediate product of biliverdin IX alpha reduction by the enzyme phytochromobilin synthase. This implicates the presence of an isomerase that catalyzes the conversion of (3Z)- to (3E)-phytochromobilin, the immediate precursor of the phytochrome A chromophore.
ISSUES TO CONSIDER WHEN CREATING OR JOINING AN EXPORT TRADING COMPANY

This paper is positioned as a manager's guide to the new export opportunity, the export trading company (ETC). ETCs are defined in terms of both the legislative provisions and practical managerial opportunities. A number of different ETC models are presented, both hypothetical and real. Guidelines for creating or joining an ETC are offered, and expectations for short‐term performance are assessed by reference to practical examples of new ETCs. Perspectives for future development of U.S. ETCs are also presented.
Why is your spouse so predictable? Connecting mirror neuron system and self-expansion model of love

The simulation theory assumes we understand actions and intentions of others through a direct matching process. This matching process activates a complex brain network involving the mirror neuron system (MNS), which is self-related and active when one does something or observes someone else acting. Because social psychology admits that mutual intention's understanding grows in close relationship as love grows, we hypothesize that mirror mechanisms take place in love relationships. The similarities between the mirror matching process and the mutual intention's understanding that occurs when two persons are in love suggest that exposure to love might affect functional and neural mechanisms, thus facilitating the understanding of the beloved's intentions. Congruent with our hypothesis, our preliminary results from 38 subjects strongly suggest a significant facilitation effect of love on understanding the intentions of the beloved (as opposed to control stimuli). Based on these phenomenological, and neurofunctional findings we suggest that the mirror mechanisms are involved in the facilitation effects of love for understanding intentions, and might further be extended to any types of love (e.g., passionate love, maternal love). Love experiences are important not only to the beloved himself, but also to any societal, cultural, and institutional patterns that relate to love. Yet, concerning its subjective character, love experiences are difficult to access. The modern procedures and techniques of socio-cognitive neuroscience make it possible to understand love and self-related experiences not only by the analysis of subjective self-reported questionnaires, but also by approaching the automatic (non-conscious) mirror experiences of love in healthy subjects, and neurological patients with a brain damage within the mirror neuron system. Although the psychology of love is now well admitted, the systematic study of the automatic facilitation effect of love through mirror mechanisms might open a new avenue towards the social mind and also self consciousness.
The impact of foreign direct investment on horizontal export diversification: empirical evidence

Using data on stocks of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from 131 countries spanning the years 1984 to 2004 and the number of products exported by each country, we examine the effect of FDI on horizontal export diversification. To quantify the effects, we utilize parametric (quantile) and semi-parametric econometric methods. Results from both approaches indicate that, in general, an increase in the stock of FDI enhances the horizontal diversification of exports. The actual magnitude of the effect however, varies greatly across countries depending on the existing stock of FDI and stage of diversification, giving rise to an almost inverted U-shaped relationship. A further look at our results provides useful insights on the circumstances under which FDI may aid or inhibit the horizontal expansion of exports.
Polybutadiene/polystyrene interpenetrating polymer networks

Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN's) of polybutadiene (PB) and polystyrene (PS) were prepared using both random (containing 36% cis, 55% trans, and 9% 1,2 vinyl) PB and high-cis PB. For both series, a wide range of PB/PS compositions were synthesized. Using samples stained with osmium tetroxide, electron microscope studies revealed an irregular cellular structure of a few hundred Angstrom diameter with the first component, PB, making up the cell walls. The size of the cells was found to depend on the PB crosslink density for the random materials. Modulus-temperature data revealed two distinct glass transitions, confirming the microscopy finding of two phases. However, the transition temperature and transition slope varied with composition, and with the microstructure of the polybutadiene, giving evidence of significant molecular mixing. Stress-strain data on the IPN's showed that materials rich in PB behave like self-reinforced elastomers. Charpy impact resistance experiments on materials rich in PS indicated values of 5 ft-lb/in. of notch, which compares well with graft-type polyblends of similar PB/PS composition. The results were interpreted in the light of the recent theoretical work of Bragaw, who considered the importance of the distances between domain boundaries with respect to crack acceleration mechanics. Although the IPN's considered herein exhibited somewhat less than the predicted optimum phase dimensions, the arrangement of the domains is different from ordinary impact resistant plastics.
Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders

Since the discovery of aquaporin 4-IgG, a sensitive and highly specific biomarker of neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a wide range of syndromes have been recognized as being associated with this condition. This observation has led to new proposed terminology for the entire disorder, NMO spectrum disorders (NMOSD). The discovery of a pathogenic autoantibody and its target antigen has also facilitated basic research into the immunopathogenesis of the disease. Key advances include establishment of passive transfer animal models demonstrating the pathogenic potential of the autoantibody and confirming an important role of complement suggested by immunopathology of NMO brain lesions and of B-cell subsets, plasmablasts in particular. These discoveries have led to phase 1 clinical trials of targeted immunotherapy with potential for improved efficacy and less toxicity than current empiric immunosuppressant medications used to treat NMOSD. Randomized clinical trials are beginning to assess the efficacy and safety of a variety of immunotherapies in NMOSD. Therapeutic options are likely to increase, and improved outcomes in NMOSD patients are anticipated.
Adolescents’ Internalizing Behaviors After Extreme Violence Exposure: A Comparison of Race and Gender for African American and Asian American Youth

This study compares African American and Asian American adolescents in their rates of extreme community violence exposure and consequent internalizing behaviors. Using information from a national l...
The function and mechanisms underlying baboon ‘contact’ barks

Free-ranging baboons, Papio cynocephalus ursinus, in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, often give loud 'contact' barks when separated from other group members. Although these calls appear to function to maintain contact between widely dispersed animals, individuals apparently do not give contact barks with the intent of informing others of their location. Females are more likely to give a contact bark in the 5 min after they themselves have called than in the 5 min after another female has called. Playback experiments suggest that females primarily 'answer' their close relatives' contact barks when they themselves are separated from other females or at the end of the group progression. ? 1996 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour When moving through wooded areas, free-ranging chacma baboons, Papio cynocephalus ursinus ,i n the Okavango Delta, Botswana, often give loud, tonal barks (Fig. 1) that can be heard up to 200 m away. These barks are acoustically distinctive and can easily be distinguished, both spectrographi- cally and by ear, from other calls in the baboons' vocal repertoire (R. Seyfarth & D. Cheney, un- published data). The barks appear to function as 'contact' calls, because they often seem to be ex- changed between widely dispersed sub-groups or individuals. Although not previously described for other populations of savanna baboons in East or Southern Africa, the calls seem functionally and acoustically similar to the contact barks of forest Guinea baboons, P. c. papio (Byrne 1981), and mandrills, P. sphynx (Kudo 1987). Analogous loud calls occur in other primate species. In squirrel monkeys, Saimiri sciureus (Boinski 1991), and white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus (Boinski 1993), for example, loud trills seems to function not only to maintain group cohesion but also to initiate and set the direction of the group's movement. In some species, long distance calls may also serve as conditional recruitment signals that attract others to food. Foraging sub- groups of both spider monkeys, Ateles geoVroyi (Chapman & Levebre 1990), and chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes (Wrangham 1977; Clark & Wrangham 1994), often give loud calls upon arriving at food resources. Typically, more calls are given at large food patches than at small ones.
Effects of feed application rates on growth, survival, and feed conversion of juvenile snakehead Channa striatus.

Growth, survival and feed conversion ratio of juvenile snakehead Channa striatus were evaluated when fed a dry, formulated feed (50% crude protein) at 24 ± 1 C. Six daily feed application rates were used (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30%), as a percentage of fish body weight, with three replicates per treatment. After 29 d, final weights were all significantly greater (P 0.05). Feed conversion ratio was 0.99 at 5% feed application, and 6.3 at 30% feed application. Fish survival was increased by providing formulated diet, but no further improvement was found when feed applications exceeded 5%. Cannibalism was reduced by providing formulated feed, but it was unavoidable when substantial differences in fish size existed, even when feeding ad libitum. Our results indicate that the optimal feed application rate is close to 5% body weight/d for juvenile snakehead.
OLDER PEOPLE IN WOMEN'S PERIODICAL FICTION

The fiction in nine women's periodicals was surveyed to test the hypotheses that (1) older characters are underrepresented and shown in peripheral rather than major roles; (2) positive descriptions of older characters occur significantly more often than negative descriptions; (3) older characters are not representative of the actual population of older people in the United States on variables of age, sex, health, marital status, financial status, housing status, present or previous occupation, and retirement status; and (4) older characters are representative of the population to which the magazine readership belongs on the variables of marital status and financial status. The authors conclude that all but the first hypothesis are true. They recommend that stories in these magazines attempt a more realistic picture of old age, to help the readers learn the actualities of coping with problems specific to old age.
Methods for solving the stochastic point reactor kinetic equations

Abstract In this paper we present two new methods to analyze the statistical properties of nonlinear outputs of a point reactor to stochastic non-white reactivity inputs. They are Bourret's approximation and logarithmic linearization. The results have been compared with the exact results, previously obtained in the case of Gaussian white reactivity input. It was found that when the reactivity noise has short correlation time, Bourret's approximation should be recommended because it yields results superior to those yielded by logarithmic linearization. When the correlation time is long, Bourret's approximation is not valid, but in that case, if one can assume the reactivity noise to be Gaussian, one may use the logarithmic linearization.
Molecular cloning and functional characterization of zebrafish Slc4a3/Ae3 anion exchanger

The zebrafish genome encodes two slc4a1 genes, one expressed in erythroid tissues and the other in the HR (H+-ATPase-rich) type of embryonic skin ionocytes, and two slc4a2 genes, one in proximal pronephric duct and the other in several extrarenal tissues of the embryo. We now report cDNA cloning and functional characterization of zebrafish slc4a3/ae3 gene products. The single ae3 gene on chromosome 9 generates at least two low-abundance ae3 transcripts differing only in their 5'-untranslated regions and encoding a single definitive Ae3 polypeptide of 1170 amino acids. The 7 kb upstream of the apparent initiator Met in ae3 exon 3 comprises multiple diverse, mobile repeat elements which disrupt and appear to truncate the Ae3 N-terminal amino acid sequence that would otherwise align with brain Ae3 of other species. Embryonic ae3 mRNA expression was detected by whole mount in situ hybridization only in fin buds at 24–72 hpf, but was detectable by RT-PCR across a range of embryonic and adult tissues. Epitope-tagged Ae3 polypeptide was expressed at or near the surface of Xenopus oocytes, and mediated low rates of DIDS-sensitive 36Cl−/Cl− exchange in influx and efflux assays. As previously reported for Ae2 polypeptides, 36Cl− transport by Ae3 was inhibited by both extracellular and intracellular acidic pH, and stimulated by alkaline pH. However, zebrafish Ae3 differed from Ae2 polypeptides in its insensitivity to NH4Cl and to hypertonicity. We conclude that multiple repeat elements have disrupted the 5'-end of the zebrafish ae3 gene, associated with N-terminal truncation of the protein and reduced anion transport activity.
Response properties and visual receptive fields of climbing and mossy fibers terminating in the flocculus of the monkey

Abstract Response properties and visual receptive fields of climbing fibers and mossy fibers terminating in the cerebellular flocculus were studied in monkeys trained to fixate a stationary visual target. Among a total of 429 climbing fiber-related units (climbing fibers and complex spikes of Purkinje cells), 20 (4.9%) showed cyclic modulations in firing in response to sinusoidal retinal-slip velocities. Their receptive fields always included the fovea. Among 485 mossy fibers, 64 (13%) responded to the visual stimulation. Of the 64 visually responsive mossy fiber units, 39 (61%) responded exclusively to the retinal-slip velocity (visual mossy fibers and the remaining 25 mossy fibers (39%) responded also to the eye and head velocities (visuomotor mossy fibers). Receptive fields for 17 visual mossy fibers ( 17 39 or 44%) were within 10° of fixation and those for 22 others (56%) were in the periphery. Receptive fields for all 25 visuomotor mossy fibers were in the periphery. Each mossy fiber unit had a unique velocity-tuning curve and, therefore, the response patterns of individual mossy fibers were different depending on the range of their velocity sensitivity and on the retinal-slip velocity applied.
Conducting Polymers and Corrosion: Part 2 — Polyaniline on Aluminum Alloys

Abstract The electrochemical behavior of conducting polyaniline coatings on various aluminum alloys subjected to immersion in dilute Harrison solution (0.35% ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4], 0.05% sodium chloride [NaCl]) was studied. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that the charge-transfer resistance (Rct) of polyaniline-coated alloys increased as a function of immersion time. Polyaniline-coated platinum did not exhibit a significant increase in impedance under similar conditions, indicating that an active metal in contact with the polyaniline is required for the observed increase in Rct. A similar pattern of increasing Rct was observed for Alodine (Product A)-treated Al 7075T-6 (UNS A97075) alloys. Mean current and mean potential values obtained from electrochemical noise measurements also suggest a substantial electrochemical interaction between the polyaniline and the aluminum alloy during the early stages of immersion. Polarization experiments and opencircuit potential measurements reveal...
Molecular characterization of the heat-inducible LmSTI1 protein of Leishmania major

Abstract We have recently isolated a cDNA encoding the Leishmania major homologue of the yeast stress-inducible protein STI1. Southern blot analyses indicate that this protein is encoded by a single copy gene in L. major and that this gene is highly conserved throughout the Leishmania genus. The STI1 gene is constitutively expressed in both L. major promastigotes and amastigotes however, STI1 transcript levels can be upregulated in promastigotes by a shift in culture temperature from 26 to 37°C. Upregulation of transcript was detectable within 5′ of heat shock and continued to increase for a further 8 h before returning to constitutive levels. In addition, biosynthetic incorporation of [ 35 S]methionine followed by immunoprecipitation revealed an increase in the level of nascent STI1 protein synthesized when promastigote cultures were shifted from 26 to 37°C. The L. major STI1 protein and the heat shock proteins Hsp83 and Hsp70 form a salt-sensitive complex in L. major promastigotes as evidenced by co-immunoprecipitation using an antiserum specific for L. major STI1. Furthermore, this complex can be reconstituted in vitro by adding recombinant STI1 containing an amino-terminal histidine tag to promastigote lysate and subsequent purification using metal chelate affinity chromatography.
Mechanism of Small-Molecule Binding by Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

We have demonstrated multiple examples of small molecules that are capable of specific binding to relatively short segments of intrinsically disordered (ID) proteins. Molecules that bind to the ID monomer of the cMyc bHLHZip protein are capable of disrupting the extensive protein-protein interface normally formed between cMyc and its heterodimerzation partner Max. The kinetics of the disruption is dependent on the location of the small-molecule binding site along the bHLHZip structure. One site allows rapid disruption with the small molecule acting as a wedge while two other sites are inaccessible to inhibitors when cMyc is dimerized and function only by trapping cMyc when it is in the dissociated, monomeric state. High-affinity, bivalent inhibitors retain the fast disruption profile of one of the constituent parts.
Sharpening estimators using resampling

We study ways to improve a given estimator using resampling methods like the jackknife or the bootstrap in terms of bias and the mean square error. Our key task is to devise a method to empirically check whether the bias correction employed leads to an increase or decrease in the mean square error in terms of second-order asymptotics. We derive conditions under which we can sharpen the given estimator in terms of bias and the mean square error. One may attempt to verify the condition empirically using resampling methods.
Bootstrapping the bounded nilradical

We give a new characterization of the bounded nilradical. Using the interplay between this and previous characterizations, we prove that the bounded nilradical is a graded ideal if the ring is graded. This allows us to completely determine the bounded nilradical of skew polynomial and skew Laurent polynomial rings in terms of information in the coefficient ring.
Reinforcing Spirals: The Mutual Influence of Media Selectivity and Media Effects and Their Impact on Individual Behavior and Social Identity

The attitudinal or behavioral outcomes of media use can be expected to influence selection of and attention to media content. This process can be conceptualized in terms of mutually reinforcing spirals akin to positive feedback loops in general systems theory. This reinforcing spirals perspective highlights the need for longitudinal modeling of mutually influencing media selection and effects processes; study of the impact of such processes in youth and adolescent identity development; and analysis of social and psychological factors that control, dampen, or eventually extinguish the influence of such spirals. This perspective may also, more speculatively, be extended to address the maintenance of social identity for political, religious, and lifestyle groups. The relevance of a reinforcing spirals model to theories including spiral of silence, agenda-setting, framing, cultivation, selective attention, and uses and gratifications is also discussed.
Chaperone-mediated autophagy in the kidney: the road more traveled

Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is a lysosomal proteolytic pathway in which cytosolic substrate proteins contain specific chaperone recognition sequences required for degradation and are translocated directly across the lysosomal membrane for destruction. CMA proteolytic activity has a reciprocal relationship with macroautophagy: CMA is most active in cells in which macroautophagy is least active. Normal renal proximal tubular cells have low levels of macroautophagy, but high basal levels of CMA activity. CMA activity is regulated by starvation, growth factors, oxidative stress, lipids, aging, and retinoic acid signaling. The physiological consequences of changes in CMA activity depend on the substrate proteins present in a given cell type. In the proximal tubule, increased CMA results from protein or calorie starvation and from oxidative stress. Overactivity of CMA can be associated with tubular lysosomal pathology and certain cancers. Reduced CMA activity contributes to protein accumulation in renal tubular hypertrophy, but may contribute to oxidative tissue damage in diabetes and aging. Although there are more questions than answers about the role of high basal CMA activity, this remarkable feature of tubular protein metabolism appears to influence a variety of chronic diseases.