cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metatranscriptomic analysis of ectomycorrhizal roots reveals genes associated with Piloderma–Pinus symbiosis: improved methodologies for assessing gene expression in situ

Summary Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi form symbiotic associations with plant roots that regulate nutrient exchange between forest plants and soil. Environmental metagenomics approaches that employ next-generation sequencing show great promise for studying EM symbioses; however, metatranscriptomic studies have been constrained by the inherent difficulties associated with isolation and sequencing of RNA from mycorrhizae. Here we apply an optimized method for combined DNA/RNA extraction using field-collected EM fungal–pine root clusters, together with protocols for taxonomic identification of expressed ribosomal RNA, and inference of EM function based on plant and fungal metatranscriptomics. We used transcribed portions of ribosomal RNA genes to identify several transcriptionally dominant fungal taxa associated with loblolly pine including Amphinema, Russula and Piloderma spp. One taxon, Piloderma croceum, has a publically available genome that allowed us to identify patterns of gene content and transcript abundance. Over 1500 abundantly expressed Piloderma genes were detected from mycorrhizal roots, including genes for protein metabolism, cell signalling, electron transport, terpene synthesis and other extracellular activities. In contrast, Piloderma gene encoding an ammonia transporter showed highest transcript abundance in soil samples. Our methodology highlights the potential of metatranscriptomics to identify genes associated with symbiosis and ecosystem function using field-collected samples.
Exploring the Relationship Between Teaching Efficacy and Cultural Efficacy of Novice Science Teachers in High‐Needs Schools

This qualitative case study sought to investigate what relationship exists between teaching efficacy and cultural efficacy of novice science teachers in high-needs, high-minority urban schools. One major theme—the importance of establishing positive teacher–student relationships—surrounding teaching efficacy in the context of cultural efficacy emerged. The data sources included: (a) teachers' responses to a focus group interview conducted at the end of their first year, (b) written reports and documentation from university-based field supervisors' observations during the teachers' first year, and (c) teachers' self-reported responses on the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument designed to measure science teaching efficacy. Final analysis of the data reflects a strong relationship between teaching efficacy and practice within the context of culture. The results of this study also indicated an existing relationship between teaching efficacy and cultural efficacy through cultural connections with students. Encouraging the development of teacher efficacy in the context of cultural efficacy becomes important at all levels of teacher preparation, especially to ensure the retention of high-quality science teachers in high-needs schools.
Coarse-Grained and Atomistic Modeling of Polyimides

A coarse-grained model for a set of three polyimide isomers is developed. Each polyimide is comprised of BPDA (3,3,4,4' - biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride) and one of three APB isomers: 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene, 1,4-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene or 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene. The coarse-grained model is constructed as a series of linked vectors following the contour of the polymer backbone. Beads located at the midpoint of each vector define centers for long range interaction energy between monomer subunits. A bulk simulation of each coarse-grained polyimide model is performed with a dynamic Monte Carlo procedure. These coarsegrained models are then reverse-mapped to fully atomistic models. The coarse-grained models show the expected trends in decreasing chain dimensions with increasing meta linkage in the APB section of the repeat unit, although these differences were minor due to the relatively short chains simulated here. Considerable differences are seen among the dynamic Monte Carlo properties of the three polyimide isomers. Decreasing relaxation times are seen with increasing meta linkage in the APB section of the repeat unit.
Unification of Statistical Methods for Continuous and Discrete Data

We propose the concept of unification of statistical methods in order to develop a general philosophy of statistical data analysis. We propose that ways of thinking about statistical ends (goals) and means (procedures) are needed that provide a framework for implementing and comparing several different approaches to a data analysis problem. We believe that unification has benefits which include: existing (often parametric) methods will be better understood; many new (often nonparametric) methods will be developed. The new methods are usually computer intensive; consequently unification of statistical methods can be considered to be closely related to computational statistics. We define computational statistical methods as characterized by being graphics intensive and number crunching intensive.
Generalization of Whittle's theorem to cyclostationary signals

Whittle's theorem greatly facilitates the computation of the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) for stationary signals by establishing that the Fisher information matrix can be asymptotically re-expressed in terms of the spectral density matrix, which for stationary signals is diagonal and thus is easily invertible. A generalization that accommodates cyclostationary signals is proposed, and examples of its application to computing the CRB for parameters of cyclostationary signals are given. >
Books: The college Experience

Abstract What Matters in College? Four Critical Years Revisited by Alexander W. Astin. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992, 482 pages, $30.95.
Special Section: Measuring Business Value of Information Technology in E-Business Environments

(2004). Special Section: Measuring Business Value of Information Technology in E-Business Environments. Journal of Management Information Systems: Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 11-16.
Reflections of Our Past: How Human History Is Revealed in Our Genes

Reflections of Our Past: How Human History Is Revealed in Our Genes. John H. Relethford. Boulder: Westview Press, 2004. 257 pp.
Energy Expenditure in Obese and Nonobese Adolescents

We measured body composition, basal metabolic rate (BMR), and total energy expenditure in 28 nonobese and 35 obese adolescents aged 12-18 y using indirect calorimetry and the doubly labeled water method. BMR was highly correlated with fat-free mass in both the nonobese and obese groups (r = 0.77 and 0.84, respectively). BMR adjusted for fat-free mass was significantly greater in males than females and in the obese subjects. Total energy expenditure was significantly greater in the obese than nonobese cohort but ratios of total energy expenditure/BMR were not significantly different in the two groups (1.79 +/- 0.2 versus 1.68 +/- 0.19, nonobese and obese males and 1.69 +/- 0.28 versus 1.74 +/- 0.19 nonobese and obese females, respectively). These data indicate that BMR and total energy expenditure are not reduced in the already obese adolescent. Therefore, reduced energy expenditure cannot be responsible for the maintenance of obesity in adolescents.
Cleavage of type 2 adenovirus DNA by HaeIII endonuclease II. Map of HaeIII sites in EcoRI fragments C and E

Fourteen HaeIII cleavage sites have been located in EcoRI fragments C and E which together constitute the rightmost 16.6% of the type 2 adenovirus chromosome. In addition, nine sites recognized by SmaI, BalI, HsuI, HpaI, and HpaII endonucleases have also been mapped in this region.
Carbon Consequences and Agricultural Implications of Growing Biofuel Crops on Marginal Agricultural Lands in China

Usingmarginal agriculturallandstogrowenergycropsforbiofuel feedstocks is a promising option to meet the biofuel needs in populous China without causing further food shortages or environmental problems. Here we quantify the effects of growing switchgrass and Miscanthus on Chinese marginal agricultural lands on biomass production and carbon emissions with a global- scale biogeochemical model. We find that the national net primary production (NPP) of these two biofuel crops are 622 and 1546 g C m � 2 yr � 1 , respectively, whereas the NPP of food crops is about 600 g C m � 2 yr � 1 in China. The net
Transmitting Reform? Assessing New Media Influence on Political Rights in the Middle East

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region presents a challenge for political liberalization scholars.1 Although endowed with considerable natural resources and an educated elite, the MENA regi...
Tetanus toxin: Direct evidence for retrograde intraaxonal transport

The neurotoxin tetanospasmin causes tetanus when it reaches the central nervous system. In this autoradiographic study, 125-I-labeled tetanospasmin was injected into the leg muscles of rodents, and the nerves supplying these muscles were crushed. The labeled toxin accumulated within axons on the distal side of the crush. This study provides direct evidence for retrograde axonal transport of a macromolecular toxin that acts at synapses in the central nervous system.
Carbon helixes produced by hot filament assisted chemical vapor deposition

Carbon helix nanofibers were synthesized by a hot filament assisted chemical vapor deposition at a substrate temperature of 600 °C. It was observed that the formation of a carbon helix structure was attributed to the mixing of cobalt catalyst particles with copper. The diameter of carbon helixes varied from 20 to 500 nm. The growth mechanism and the structure of these carbon helix nanofibers are discussed based on scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy measurements.
Measuring shoulder internal rotation range of motion: A comparison of 3 techniques

Abstract Awan R, Smith J, Boon AJ. Measuring shoulder internal rotation range of motion: a comparison of 3 techniques. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002;83:1229-34. Objective: To compare the reliability of shoulder internal rotation (IR) range of motion (ROM) measured using 3 different methods: standard technique, manual scapular stabilization technique, and visual inspection technique. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Clinic-based sports medicine center. Participants: Convenience sample of 56 unimpaired high-school athlete volunteers. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Shoulder IR ROM was measured by using a digital inclinometer with each of the 3 techniques. All measurements were performed independently by 2 groups of examiners and repeated to determine intra- and interrater reliabilities. Results: IR ROM measurements obtained with the scapula stabilized or by visual inspection were significantly less than when measured with the standard technique ( P =.001). Intrarater reliability was good or excellent for all 3 methods (intraclass correlation coefficients=.63–.71), was similar for the scapular stabilization and visual inspection techniques, and was superior to that previously reported for similar measurements. In general, interrater reliability was lower than intrarater reliability for all measurements. Conclusion: Because the visual inspection and scapular stabilized techniques control for accessory scapulothoracic motion, these techniques may represent more valid measures of glenohumeral motion than the standard technique. Both the visual inspection and scapular stabilized techniques exhibited equally acceptable reliability for clinical use. However, because the visual inspection technique may be applied by a single examiner, we recommend its use to measure shoulder IR ROM in the clinical setting. © 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Effect of storage life and drive signals on the reliability of the Sandia Microengine

In this study, the parameters affecting operational and nonoperational reliability of the Sandia Microengine were investigated. It was found that using a non-outgassing die attach material greatly improves storage life. The minimum force required to drive the microengines initially decreased from a much higher voltage to settle in at around 1250 V2 for all devices tested. Drive signal parameters were optimzed for individual engines and the resulting device lifetimes were found to be marginally better that when average values were used (1.2x106 cycles compared to 1.0x106 cycles). There was no correlation between the value of the lumped parameter kr/a and lifetime found, however the longest living engines used a kr/a of around 1000 V2. ues. Optimized drive signal lifetimes were found to be a factor of two higher than when sinewave drive signals were used (5x105 compared to 1.2x106),indicating the advantage of using optimizzed drive signals, but not the two order of magnitude in lifetime that was desired.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Wind fluctuations in stable air at the boulder tower

Spectra and variances of velocity components and pressure in stable air were analyzed at the 300 m tower of the BAO. Spectra in very stable air in light winds usually contain low-frequency fluctuations of large magnitude, and high-frequency fluctuations with considerably less energy, separated by a gap. The wave-length of the gap follows Monin-Obukhov scaling. The high-frequency portion of the spectra has characteristics of turbulence. The low-frequency energy is almost certainly due to gravity waves, since there is coherence between vertical velocities and temperatures, and since surface pressure time series resemble time series of velocity components at the higher levels on the tower. Variances of surface pressure changes appear to be positively correlated with variances of vertical velocity above 100 m, and also to some extent, with horizontal velocity components at all levels. Those results have applications to diffusion estimates from continuous elevated sources, but need confirmation on the basis of measurements elsewhere and additional analyses at BAO.
Feasibility of tunnel detection under rough ground surfaces using Underground Focusing Spotlight Synthetic Aperture Radar

Detecting and imaging the presence of illicit tunnels in any given volume of soil is occasionaly possible because the air that fills them is materially quite different from anything else underground. The Underground Focusing Spotlight Synthetic Aperture Radar (UF-SL-SAR) concept has been suggested for sub-surface tunnel detection due to its ability to scan large areas of terrain in a short amount of time. This paper explores the feasibility of tunnel detection under rough ground surfaces using an algorithmic implementation of the UF-SL-SAR concept. In particular, detectability is investigated as a function of tunnel depth, ground surface roughness and soil type.
A Tree-Like Network Enables Robust Adaptation without Energy Consumption

Adaptation is one of the key functions for living organisms to properly operate in complex internal and external signalling environments. A series of recent studies demonstrated that robust adaptation is achievable through 3-node regulatory networks, such as Negative-Feedback-Loops (NFL) or Incoherent-Feed-Forward-Loops (IFFL), that are intrinsically dissipative and must consume energy to operate (e.g. to adapt). And the underlying thermodynamics follows a trade-off relation that adaptation accuracy can be improved exponentially by dissipating more energy within certain adaptation time. In this work, however, we constructed a tree-like biochemical network that operates at dynamic equilibrium. We showed that this network is also capable to provide robust and accurate adaptation. The tree-like network shares certain degrees of similarity with the NFL reaction network found in E. coli. chemotaxis, yet with some distinct topological characteristics. We systematically analysed this tree-like network's static (e.g. adaptation accuracy and operating range) and dynamic (e.g. response magnitude and responding/adapting speed) performances in the model parameter space. Our analyses indicate that such network can maintain its function in a broad range of backgrounds and perturbations. And because it is essentially comprised of the operator itself, this network is more resistant to other intracellular defects (e.g. abnormal expression levels or ratios of participating enzymes). Therefore, it could act as a safety net for living organisms to carry out vital physiological functions, which is in line with the modal gating regulation of Ryanodine receptors (RyRs) in Cardiac muscle cells that is implemented through this type of adaptive network.
Genome sequence-independent identification of RNA editing sites

RNA editing generates post-transcriptional sequence changes that can be deduced from RNA-seq data, but detection typically requires matched genomic sequence or multiple related expression data sets. We developed the GIREMI tool (genome-independent identification of RNA editing by mutual information; https://www.ibp.ucla.edu/research/xiao/GIREMI.html) to predict adenosine-to-inosine editing accurately and sensitively from a single RNA-seq data set of modest sequencing depth. Using GIREMI on existing data, we observed tissue-specific and evolutionary patterns in editing sites in the human population.
Chemical modification of histidyl and lysyl residues in yeast enolse

Abstract Modification of yeast enolase (2-phospho- d -glycerate, hydro-lyase, EC 4.2.1.11) by diethyl pyrocarbonate at either pH 6.1 or 6.6 caused a biphasic inactivation of the enzyme. In the presence of excess Mg2+, either an equilibrium mixture of substrates or 3-phosphoglycerate, a competitive inhibitor, prevented the second slower phase of inactivation, but had no effect on the first rapid phase. Complete inactivation by diethyl pyrocarbonate correlates with the modification of six histidyl residues/subunit, while 3-phosphoglycerate protects two histidyl residues/subunit from modification. Modification of enolase by two lysine-specific reagents, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonate and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, at pH 8.3 caused a slow loss of enzyme activity. However, substrates did not significantly protect against inactivation by either reagent, and inactivation with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonate correlates with the modification of 18 lysyl residues/enzyme subunit.
Plasticity in an isopod's clockworks: Shaking shapes form and affects phase and frequency

The stimuli which normally synchronize the endogenous tidal rhythm of the isopodExcirolana chiltoni arise from turbulent waves moving across the beach. A phase-response curve for two-h pulses of similar stimuli has been derived from experiments in which individual isopods were treated with vigorous intermittent shaking in a flask of seawater. This response curve differs qualitatively from all results previously obtained by administering pulse stimuli to ordinary circadian rhythms: it is bimodal per circadian cycle, with two intervals of about 6 h duration, during which phase advance of up to 4 h results from treatment, separated by two other 6 h intervals during which phase delay of up to 3 h is evoked. This kind of responsiveness to entraining stimuli is of clear adaptive value for synchronization of a circadian rhythm to the mixed semi-diurnal tidal regime of the isopods' habitat. In addition to inducing phase shifts, this same treatment can strongly modify the persistent pattern of activity, and such effects also depend upon phase of treatment: when administered shortly before or shortly after onset of activity, shaking tends to increase the amount of activity in subsequent cycles; when administered in antiphase (6 to 18 h after activity onset), it tends to decrease the activity in the dominant activity peak, and to transform a unimodal pattern of activity into a bimodal pattern. Such induction of a persistent secondary peak of activity in a previously unimodal circadian pattern demonstrates a plasticity which has not been previously reported in those circadian rhythms which are synchronized to the day-night cycle.
Comparison of Skill Training with Robotic Systems and Traditional Endoscopy: Implications on Training and Adoption

Background Robotic systems are being used by an increasing number of surgeons. This environment is markedly different from that of traditional surgery and involves videoscopic guidance, remote surgical control, and the loss of haptic feedback. Defining how surgeons learn with these systems is necessary to establish training protocols for this technology. This study compared the learning curve for a robotic surgical system with that of traditional endoscopy in the performance of two standardized skill drills. Materials and methods Twenty participants (average age 27 ± 4 years, six females) repeated two standardized endoscopic dexterity and depth perception drills for 15 repetitions with the ZEUS robotic surgical system and manual endoscopic instruments (MAN). A score combining time and precision was given for each repetition. The learning curves and overall performance with and without robotic assistance were compared. Results For both MAN and ZEUS, improvements in performance were significantly greatest during the first five repetitions ( P versus 10th for both drills). Using robotic assistance, dominant and non-dominant hand performance were statistically similar. The number of errors committed with ZEUS were significantly fewer for drill two (0.09 errors/repetition versus 0.24 errors/repetition, P = 0.002) compared to manual technique. Conclusions This study demonstrated that training curves for conventional and robotic-assisted systems are remarkably similar. This should prove useful in the training and education of this new technology. This study further suggested that robotics may increase ambidexterity by improving non-dominant hand performance.
Absorption Spectra of F - 2 , Cl - 2 , Br - 2 , and I - 2 in the Alkali Halides

After x-ray irradiation at liquid nitrogen temperature, holes are trapped by forming ${\mathrm{F}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ molecule ions in LiF; ${\mathrm{Br}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ molecule ions in KBr containing one of the impurities ${\mathrm{Ag}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{Tl}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{++}$, or N${\mathrm{O}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$; and ${\mathrm{I}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ molecule ions in KI containing one of the impurities listed above. An investigation of the optical and paramagnetic resonance spectra of crystals containing ${\mathrm{F}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, ${\mathrm{Br}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, and ${\mathrm{I}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ centers leads to an identification of the optical transitions of these centers. The polarizations and relative intensities of the optical absorptions in the ${\mathrm{X}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ molecule ion series are discussed with reference to the energy level scheme to be expected for such a species.
Film Bulk Acoustic-Wave Resonator based radiation sensor

This paper describes a high-energy electromagnetic wave radiation detection device using zinc oxide (ZnO) based Film Bulk Acoustic-Wave Resonator (FBAR). The resonant frequency of the FBAR decreased after gamma radiation, with the peak sensitivity of 9.3 kHz/krad and minimum detectable dosage of 218 rad occurring at the lowest experimental dose of 20 krad (all dosages are calibrated with ZnO), while the sensitivity decreased with increasing total ionizing dosage. The incident radiation generated charges that was trapped near the ZnO-silicon nitride (SiN) interface, which increased the plate capacitance of the FBAR, resulting in the decrease of resonant frequency.
Electrostatic, steric, and hydration interactions favor Na(+) condensation around DNA compared with K(+).

Condensation of monovalent counterions around DNA influences polymer properties of the DNA chain. For example, the Na+ ions show markedly stronger propensity to induce multiple DNA chains to assemble into compact structures compared with the K+ ions. To investigate the similarities and differences in the sodium and potassium ion condensation around DNA, we carried out a number of extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of a DNA oligomer consisting of 16 base pairs, [d(CGAGGTTTAAACCTCG)]2, in explicit water. We found that the Na+ ions penetrate the DNA interior and condense around the DNA exterior to a significantly larger degree compared with the K+ ions. We have provided a microscopic explanation for the larger Na+ affinity toward DNA that is based on a combination of steric, electrostatic, and hydration effects. Unexpectedly, we found that the Cl- co-ions provide more efficient electrostatic screening for the K+ ions than for the Na+ ions, contributing to the larger Na+ condensation around DNA...
Timed Petri net representation of SMIL

A multimedia server needs to satisfy the temporal relations between multimedia objects when servicing clients. We propose an enhanced timed Petri net (TPN) model to capture the information of multimedia objects along with their timing and synchronization specified in the synchronized multimedia integration language (SMIL) of XML.
Playful query specification with DataPlay

DataPlay is a query tool that encourages a trial-and-error approach to query specification. DataPlay uses a graphical query language to make a particularly challenging query specification task - quantification - easier. It constrains the relational data model to enable the presentation of non-answers, in addition to answers, to aid query interpretation. Two novel features of DataPlay are suggesting semantic variations to a query and correcting queries by example. We introduce DataPlay as a sophisticated query specification tool and demonstrate its unique interaction models.
The role of neighbours in territorial systems: when are they 'dear enemies'?

Abstract Abstract. Many territorial animals respond less aggressively to neighbours than to strangers (the dear enemy phenomenon). The dear enemy phenomenon generally has been assumed to represent neighbour-stranger interactions for all territorial systems. Here studies of territoriality are reviewed and the occurrence of the dear enemy phenomenon is shown to depend on the kind of territory studied: it tends to be present in studies of multi-purpose, breeding territories, but absent in studies of feeding territories. Moreover, whether a territory owner interacts less strongly with a neighbour than with a stranger in studies of colonial nesting birds is a function of nearest nest distance. These results support hypotheses that explain the dear enemy phenomenon based upon the relative threat presented by neighbours versus strangers, but not those based upon familiarity with neighbours versus strangers. Hence, the role of neighbours may vary depending upon territorial conditions, and an owner's potential gains and losses from interactions with neighbours and strangers.
The Effect of Repeated Reactivations on Memory Specificity in Infancy

The cues that reactivate forgotten memories of young infants are highly specific. At the time of initial reminding, if either the cue or context differs from that originally present during encoding, then the memory is not recovered. In three experiments, we asked whether this specificity decreases over repeated reactivations. Three-month-old infants, trained in the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm with a particular cue in a particular context, received multiple reactivation treatments after their training memory was forgotten; either the cue or the context was changed during the final reminder. For a given age of the memory, context specificity was eliminated after fewer retrievals than cue specificity, and the number of retrievals required to eliminate specificity interacted with the age of the memory. These results confirm that different memory attributes become inaccessible at different rates and that repeatedly retrieved and older memories are likely to be less detailed. This transformation may underlie reconstructive memory in linguistic individuals.
Extraocular muscles: morphogenetic study in humans. Light microscopy and ultrastructural features.

The development of human extraocular muscles (EOM) was studied in a series of fetal specimens (12–24 weeks gestation). EOM were evaluated by enzyme histochemistry (EZ) (NADH and ATPase), by differential phase contrast microscopy (DPC) and electron microscopy (EM). In the early fetus (14 weeks), there was no clear-cut sub-division into fibre types. A uniform histochemical reaction was seen with NADH while ATPase showed light and dark myotubes. Myotubes contained large central nuclei, prominent eccentric nucleoli, abundant glycogen granules, free ribosomes, numerous mitochondria, and dense and looser bundles of myofilaments. Mesenchymal cells undergoing mitosis and fibroblasts with prominent stacks of rough endoplasmic reticulum were scattered within endomysium. Mast cells with well formed cytoplasmic granules were found as early as 18–24 weeks. The same specimens by DPC showed differentiation into at least 4 different fibre types at 12 weeks. All the intramuscular nerves at 12–16 weeks were composed of unmyelinated fibres. At 18 weeks, myelinated axons were present. Morphologically immature end-plates devoid of junctional folds were found at 12 weeks. The motor innervation of some EOM appears to be derived from more than one axon (multiple innervated fibres). At 18 weeks gestational age, differentiation into fibre types became apparent by enzyme histochemistry. These histochemical and morphological findings suggest that morphologically mature endplates are not prerequisites for differentiation into muscle fibre types.
Drosophila Tsc1 Functions with Tsc2 to Antagonize Insulin Signaling in Regulating Cell Growth, Cell Proliferation, and Organ Size

Tuberous sclerosis complex is a dominant disorder that leads to the development of benign tumors in multiple organs. We have isolated a mutation in the Drosophila homolog of TSC1 (Tsc1). Cells mutant for Tsc1 are dramatically increased in size yet differentiate normally. Organ size is also increased in tissues that contain a majority of mutant cells. Clones of Tsc1 mutant cells in the imaginal discs undergo additional divisions but retain normal ploidy. We also show that the Tsc1 protein binds to Drosophila Tsc2 in vitro. Overexpression of Tsc1 or Tsc2 alone in the wing and eye has no effect, but co-overexpression leads to a decrease in cell size, cell number, and organ size. Genetic epistasis data are consistent with a model that Tsc1 and Tsc2 function together in the insulin signaling pathway.
All or none peripheral tolerance induction in H-Y antigen-specific TCR transgenic mice

Abstract In in vivo tolerance induction, the dose of tolerogen injected is generally linearly correlated to and length of tolerance induced. Small, medium and large doses are related to no, partial and long-term tolerance, respectively. However, even with injection of substantially large doses of tolerogen, the length of tolerance induced varies over a wide range. Most of the recipients can still reject donor grafts. In this study, it is shown that the linear dose-response can be altered into an all or nothing response in a H-Y antigen-specific TCR transgenic (Tg) mouse model. In thymectomized female Tg mice, injection of 3, 30 and 100 × 10 6 male spleen cells was correlated to no, partial and massive deletion of Tg (α T β T ) CD8 cells, respectively. When the thymectomized Tg mice were injected with 9 × 10 6 T cell-enriched (T+) male cells, one half of the recipients showed no deletion of α T β t cells, and in the other half massive deletion occurred. In complete correlation with deletion, all male skin grafts were rejected in the undeleted group as PBS-injected controls, whereas with massive deletion they were indefinitely tolerized. Thus, partial deletion and partial tolerance can be avoided. Injection of 18 × 10 6 male T+ cells induced long-term tolerance in all the recipients. The all or none T cell deletion and long-term tolerance induction has not only significant implications in understanding the mechanism of peripheral tolerance induction, but also in tolerance induction in transplantation, gene therapy and the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
The cost-effective use of nebulized racemic epinephrine in the treatment of croup.

Recent studies have shown that discharging to home an emergency department (ED) patient with croup if the patient is clinically stable 3 to 4 hours after being treated with nebulized racemic epinephrine (NRE) is safe and cost-effective. The objective of this study was to determine if EDs in our geographic area are using NRE cost-effectively in the management of croup. A survey was mailed to the ED medical directors of 23 hospitals in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana within a 150-mile radius of our teaching/referral children's hospital. All the hospitals surveyed were community hospitals with EDs and in-patient pediatric units. The survey presented a 2-year-old with a croup-like illness and stridor at rest whom they have just treated with NRE and dexamethasone. The medical directors were asked what their disposition would be once the NRE therapy has been completed: automatically admit, transfer, discharge immediately, or observe for 3 to 4 hours and if stable at that time discharge to home with follow-up. Seven (30%) indicated they would automatically admit, compared with 16 (70%) who indicated they would observe for 3 to 4 hours (P = .06). This article discusses potential reasons that 30% of the ED medical directors in our geographic area would automatically admit these patients rather than observe for signs of improvement that could lead to safe discharge and resultant cost savings.
Evaluation of an intervention for staff in a long-term care facility using a retrospective pretest design

It has been previously established that human service workers often suffer from emotional exhaustion, which has been conceptualized by Maslach and Jackson as burnout. Burnout may be a particularly great risk in workers providing long-term geriatric care. The current study evaluated the effects of a series of three 3-hour sessions designed to address team building, communication skills, self-esteem, and stress management on a random sample of 51 of the 188 long-term care staff who participated. Using a retrospective pretest design, a statistically significant improvement from "then" to "today" was found for the three components of burnout: Depersonalization, Emotional Exhaustion, and Personal Accomplishment. Responses to an open-ended question about workshop effects corroborated the quantitative data, and effects noted were highly related to the defined objectives of the workshops.
A numerical scheme and benchmark tests for non-isothermal two-fluid ambipolar diffusion

Abstract Stars form in magnetized molecular clouds composed primarily of neutral gas with a trace amount of ions. We present a semi-implicit strategy for incorporating the equations that describe the coupled ion and neutral two-fluid equations, with a full energy equation, into the RIEMANN code that uses a TR-BDF2 algorithm to stably handle the stiffness of the source terms. We demonstrate that the numerical implementation works through the use of a suite of test problems that we catalog here. We show that reproducing the analytic dispersion analysis for the propagation of waves in a two-fluid plasma is an especially strong code test. We also present a two-fluid analogue of the Noh wall-shock problem and demonstrate the performance of the code on the Wardle instability. We also present a novel blast wave test, showing that the results reduce to the single fluid results under strong coupling, yet differing considerably when the coupling is weak. These test problems demonstrate that the numerical implementation can accurately capture the dissipation rate of waves and reproduce the structure of a C-shock.
Cloning and the U.S. Congress

Legislation is pending in the Congress that could affect research using embryonic stem cells. In a Legal Issues in Medicine article, Annas outlines the bill passed by the House of Representatives, the bills pending in the Senate, and the position of the current administration on these issues. In his opinion, the issue of reproductive cloning must be considered separately from issues related to therapeutic cloning if any real progress is to be made. The controversy surrounding the scientific and medical use of stem cells is further explored in two Sounding Board articles by Weissman and Evers. Weissman discusses the situation in the United States, and Evers presents the European perspective.
50 Years of Computer Simulation of the Human Thermoregulatory System

This paper presents an updated and augmented version of the Wissler human thermoregulation model that has been developed continuously over the past 50 years. The existing Fortran code is translated into C with extensive embedded commentary. A graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed in Python to facilitate convenient user designation of input and output variables and formatting of data presentation. Use of the code with the GUI is described and demonstrated. New physiological elements were added to the model to represent the hands and feet, including the unique vascular structures adapted for heat transfer associated with glabrous skin. The heat transfer function and efficacy of glabrous skin is unique within the entire body based on the capacity for a very high rate of blood perfusion and the novel capability for dynamic regulation of blood flow. The model was applied to quantify the absolute and relative contributions of glabrous skin flow to thermoregulation for varying levels of blood perfusion. The model also was used to demonstrate how the unique features of glabrous skin blood flow may be recruited to implement thermal therapeutic procedures. We have developed proprietary methods to manipulate the control of glabrous skin blood flow in conjunction with therapeutic devices and simulated the effect of these methods with the model.
The Impact of Predation Stress by Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) on the Growth and Development of Leopard Frog Tadpoles (Rana sphenocephala)

ABSTRACT We examined the impact of visual stimuli and chemical cues released by largemouth bass (Micropterus salrnoides) and the prey they consumed on the growth and development of southern leopard frog tadpoles (Rana sphenocephala). Tadpoles were exposed to potential alarm cues from either conspecific or unrelated (mosquitofish) prey with and without the visual stimulation of largemouth bass. Tadpoles exposed to conspecific alarm cues exhibited the slo-est growth and were statistically shorter and lighter than animals from all other treatments. Tadpoles exposed to mosquitofish alarm cues grew at an intermediate rate, while tadpoles from control tanks (absence of predators) experienced the fastest growth. When visual cues were limited, tadpoles exposed to mosquitofish alarm cues grew much faster than those that could see the predator. However, the growth of tadpoles exposed to the conspecific alarm cues was not influenced by visual cues. These results provide additional evidence that amphibian larvae dete...
Comparing abilities of children with profound hearing impairments to learn consonants using electropalatography or traditional aural-oral techniques

Two groups of nine children with profound hearing impairments and low intelligibility were taught to produce the consonants /t,d,k,g,s,z∫/ using either electropalatographic (palatometry) or traditi...
The Surplus Inventory Matching Problem in the Process Industry

We introduce a new problem that arises from operations planning in the process industry. This problem involves matching an order book against surplus inventory before production planning. It can be formulated by generalizing the multiple knapsack problem along three dimensions: (i) adding assignment restrictions on items that can be assigned to a knapsack, (ii) adding a new attribute (called "color" in this paper) to an item and then adding the associated "color" constraints that restrict the number of distinct colors that can be assigned to a knapsack, and (iii) considering multiple objectives for optimization. We formulate the problem, provide a result regarding its complexity, and report on our computational experience with solving a set of real instances based on data from the operations of a large steel plant. We then propose a network-flow--based heuristic that yields solutions within 3% of optimal (or the best known feasible solution). This system has been successfully deployed and is now used daily in the mill operations.
A multivariate solution of the multivariate ranking and selection problem

The problem of selection of the best multivariate population is given a new formulation which does not involve reducing the populations to univariate quantities. This formulation's solution is developed for known, and (using the Heteroscedastic Method) also for unknown, variance-covariance matrices. Preference reversals and arbitrary nonlinear preference functions are explicitly allowed in this new theory
SET to RESET Programming in Phase Change Memories

Experimental data on details of SET (crystalline) to RESET (amorphous) transition are presented for Ge2Sb2Te 5 (GST) nonvolatile memory cell. It is shown that the main source of heat for a SET to RESET transition is the GST bulk and interface regions instead of the contacting electrode. A small-contact-area electrode is used primarily to supply current into and minimize heat loss from the chalcogenide. Increasing bottom contact resistivity offers a scaling path for RESET current with no electrical penalties
Continuous flow thermal desorption of VOC's from activated carbon

A countercurrent thermal VOC desorber apparatus with 0.43 to 0.67 lb/hr (0.195 to 0.304 kg/hr) activated carbon flow and 0.43 to 0.49 scfm (0.88 to 1.00 kg/hr) purge air flow provided 26.6 to 77.7% VOC desorption efficiency over the 62 to 199°F (16 to 92°C) operating range. The VOC concentration of the carbon was measured at the carbon inlet, outlet, and two intermediate points in the desorber by thermogravimetric analysis. Inlet adsorbent carbon VOC concentrations ranged from 0.23 to 0.44 grams VOC/gram carbon. The VOC concentration of the purge air was measured at the purge air outlet and two points within the desorber by GC-FID. The VOC concentration of the outlet purge air ranged from 14,627 to 44,209 ppm (0.023 to 0.070 grams VOC/gram air). The VOC concentrations measured in the activated carbon and in the purge air provided the oprating line data for plotting on an X-Y diagram and together with the equilibrium isotherms resulted in mass transfer coefficients Kga in the 472 to 864 lb/ft3 hr (7,561 to 13,840 kg/m3 hr) range.
“I was just learning the ropes”: becoming a practitioner of safer sex

On the eve of the 21 st century, diverse communities face a future of continual management of the AIDS epidemic. Changes in sexual activity have become the primary method to curb the continued transmission of HIV. Safer sex has emerged as a collection of practices and ideas deployed to combat the spread of AIDS. Since sex workers make it their business to exchange sexual services for economic compensation, many have become extremely sophisticated in their innovations and expressions of eroticism using safer sex techniques. Based on original empirical research, this paper explores how becoming a competent practitioner of safer sex involves the alignment of particular social conditions and transformations of identity. I'm very angry about the fact that people keep talking about safe sex educators and safe sex control of the sex workers because we're not the problem. If anything, we're one small population where there is a solution going on. There are a lot of people, doctors and health educators included, who don't have a clue and could learn a lot from us. That's true. And see when you're talking to a health educator, they don't have hands-on experience. The tips they give you, they're not things you're going to go home and do, you know? I mean you want to learn it from somebody who actually knows how to have fun doing it. Yeh, I'm so tired of that myth. Excuse me, but if you doctors do know anything about safe sex, most of them learned it from us. So please, stop trying to save us. Come learn from us; let us educate you.-Michelle, 6 year veteran prostitute
MicroRNAs in the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis : extending Drosophilid miRNA conservation to the Tephritidae

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is an important plant pest species in the family Tephritidae. It is a phytophagous species with broad host range, and while not established in the mainland United States, is a species of great concern for introduction. Despite the vast amount of information available from the closely related model organism Drosophila melanogaster, information at the genome and transcriptome level is still very limited for this species. Small RNAs act as regulatory molecules capable of determining transcript levels in the cells. The most studied small RNAs are micro RNAs, which may impact as much as 30 % of all protein coding genes in animals. We have sequenced small RNAs (sRNAs) from the Tephritid fruit fly, B. dorsalis (oriental fruit fly), specifically sRNAs corresponding to the 17 to 28 nucleotides long fraction of total RNA. Sequencing yielded more than 16 million reads in total. Seventy five miRNAs orthologous to known miRNAs were identified, as well as five additional novel miRNAs that might be specific to the genera, or to the Tephritid family. We constructed a gene expression profile for the identified miRNAs, and used comparative analysis with D. melanogaster to support our expression data. In addition, several miRNA clusters were identified in the genome that show conservancy with D. melanogaster. Potential targets for the identified miRNAs were also searched. The data presented here adds to our growing pool of information concerning the genome structure and characteristics of true fruit flies. It provides a basis for comparative studies with other Dipteran and within Tephritid species, and can be used for applied research such as in the development of new control strategies based on gene silencing and transgenesis.
Effects of S-wave thresholds

The opening of a new $S$-wave threshold is frequently accompanied by an abrupt dip in the magnitude of an amplitude for an already-open channel. One familiar example is the behavior of the $I=0$ $S$-wave $\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\pi}$ scattering amplitude at $K\overline{K}$ threshold. Numerous other examples of this phenomenon in recent data are noted, and a unified description of the underlying dynamics is sought.
Effects of low-watt helium neon laser radiation on human lymphocyte cultures.

Etude des effets du rayonnement laser helium neon sur les lymphocytes. On constate une augmentation de la synthese de collagene. Le mecanisme exact de l'alteration des lymphocytes apres exposition au laser etant peu clair, l'etude s'est limitee a decrire l'augmentation d'ADN suivant cette exposition